Hi all,
This list has been sort of quiet for a while so I thought I'd
throw my situation past you and see what sort of suggestions
I get.

I have a two year old GSD, we have had him for one year. His first
year was spent living in a kennel. He has turned out to be just
a great dog, he loves people, goes everywhere with me, is great with
kids. I never thought after seeing him the way he was that he
would ever look and act the way he does.

But....there is a kicker here (you knew there would be right?)

Jerry loves people when we are out somewhere but is very stressed,
anxious, and or fearful about visitors coming to our home. He has
always been a bit grumbly about certain people, mostly men, at the
door but it was never a big deal or atleast I didn't think it was.
He has now, in the past couple of months, taken to growling at all
people, and even growled at our 18 month old niece when he saw her.
It is very strange behavior because those same people he would be
fine with if he saw them outside. I have a trainer working with
us now and she thinks that I caught this very early and that
Jerry has a workable temperament. She did not want to classify him
as a fear biter but did say that his nerves/anxiety about new people
were at the base of this. We are using gentle, non confrontational
methods with him along with a gentle leader and I am seeing some
progress. I very quickly learned that punishing his aggression made
it ten times worse.

Anyway, even before this aggression became a concern, Jerry has
always been what we call our "hair trigger" dog, he is almost hyper
alert and has trouble calming down when anything new is happening
at the house. He just has a more nervous nature. We have another
shepherd and he barks at the door too but as soon as we open it and
greet the person he is fine, not an ounce of aggression there.

I would like to be able to give Jerry something on a daily basis
that would help with the anxiety he seems to feel. I don't however
want him doped or drugged because I want to train him how to act
properly not just have him live doped up to where he can't be himself
or show his true personality. I have never used any herbal calming
remedies and am wondering about the effects on his learning.


Thank you,

Michelle Werner, Max & Jerry Lee