It can be very scary when a dog acts differently toward one person or a group of people over others, especially when that dog acts aggressively. Have you encountered something like this?
A three year old spayed German Shepherd acts aggressively toward a particular man. She acts perfectly fine with everyone else but she does not like or trust him. His erratic actions hinder their relationship, as sometimes he is calm with her and others “he yells and swats.” If he is laying on the bed, she will lay by him and ask for attention, but as soon as he gets up, she tenses. She is a “one person dog,” though she tolerates petting from others. She has never snapped at or bitten anyone, other than this man. Her body language when she shows aggression include a wagging tail, low rear and upright ears. The biggest problem is that the man described is also the owner’s husband.
First, let’s address the body language she displays. Contrary to popular belief, a wagging tail is not always a friendly sign. Her lowered rear end, probably a crouching position, is an indication of her fear. The erect ears shows that she is “on alert.” When you couple that with the barking, charging, and crouching, you have a dog that is trying to figure out a human, the husband. What happens? Is it a snarling, vicious bark? I doubt that he needs to defend himself from an attacking dog, since they are both still in the house. To me, this sounds like an attention bark, since it probably gets her attention. Even though it may be corrective or negative, she gets attention.
Photo via Flickr (garryknight)
The real problem here is the human factor. If you want this man to be safe, then HE better be ready to make some changes. The husband is not PART of the problem, he IS the problem. When she is lying next to him and they both are calm, the dog feels safe. However, when he gets up, the dog responds by tensing up, as if she expects him to strike her. She certainly shows signs of fear around him. What I worry about here is how fast that fear can turn into aggression. Unfortunately, in a situation like this, when she does bite, she will be likely be put to sleep, when there are things HE can do to rectify the situation.
Dogs do not like to be yelled at anymore than humans do. They certainly do not like to be “swatted” either. The unpredictability of her relationship with the husband ruins it. Some dogs may take this for their whole life, while some dogs may snap one day inflicting a bite that may cost them their life.
Remember, adult dogs have 42 teeth in our mouths. These teeth serve a purpose, biting down hard, holding the meat and pulling it away from the bone. Why would a human think they can take that on? The average German Shepherd bite unleashes a force of 238 pounds of pressure. They make great police dogs, because not many people can withstand or overcome that bite to get away. Only an idiot would try to intimidate that!
For this situation to continue incident-free, the husband needs to learn some canine communication skills. First, it is never acceptable to strike a dog. If you do, you deserve to be bitten! As for the yelling, most dogs have a very keen sense of hearing. Sometimes, my Mom will whisper commands to me. I think she is just testing my hearing. This dog is confused. She wants to understand what she does that causes the yelling and swatting. Since most of of do not use reason or logic, it is the person that must make the change.
He needs to know that the dog does not understand his actions and barks and charges out of frustration, as if she is asking him, “Why do you yell and swat at me? It frightens me and I really just want to be loved.” He MUST change his ways if you want him to be safe around her. Once she knows to expect a calm demeanor from him, you can work on building a stronger relationship between the two of them.
Last September, a reader adopted what they think is a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix puppy from a rescue at approximately eight weeks of age. Throughout most of her puppyhood, she had a very timid personality, and she was always extra cautious of people and inanimate objects, but she was always very playful with and intrigued by other dogs. Now, the family is starting to notice some behavior at 1 ½ years old that is disturbing to them. 
