Need Advice with Prince - Page 5

Laura, what a lovely post.

Deanna, I also have a male with very similar tendencies. He can be sharp, handler aggressive, etc, likely stemming from insecurities, however unlike Prince, Cisko is extremely social with strangers in the house and in other unfamiliar locations. His biggest issues are showing aggression towards me when being given a correction, verbal or leash. He too will growl, and sound very vicious. He turned 3yrs old in June, and the tone has definitely gotten more intense recently. You must stick with the program though, I know you can do it. I train Cisko consistently, I work with him every single day in one way or another. He's a jerk Sometimes, but I love him, :-) and I know you love Prince.
Theresa

Call me crazy, but sometimes a low vitamin B-12 level can cause behavioural changes in dogs. Funny things you just can't explain away. Timidness or aggressiveness that you haven't seen before because the brain needs B-12 for normal cognitive functioning. German shepherds are notorious for digestive issues, which means that the very little B-12 they are getting is probably not be fully absorbed.  Before putting on the shock collar have your vet run a B-12 test next time you are in to see him/her. Personally, I now believe all dogs should have vitamin B-12 supplementation as I don't believe canned or kibbled dog food provides near enough of the required B-12 our dogs require. Having Maya diagnosed with EPI, has changed me forever regarding pet food and nutrition.

I admit I  did not read all those posts and I am responding just to OP,
Some dogs ( especially GSDs ) are muttering like that  if you do something they do not like or when they have crabby moment. I would not get too excited  about it unless it starts to escalate.  Use +/- reinforcement methods in order to establish and maintain  leadership position. If you have leadership position you are OK. I have dogs like that here too. I do not think much of it even so it sounds scary. They usually do not target it against me but against Debbie and I am 100% sure that she is safe.
In situation when you came home late at night the dog may not have recognize you rather way. That is common thing. Dogs usually need to employ 2-3 senses of hearing, sight and smell   before they are sure who you are. 
On the other hand if you do not have leadership position and dog growls at you you have a major problem. How do you know you have leadership position. That is a big one. Generally dog will respond to you on first command in any situation and you have a special command which makes him to submit to you which he shows by submissive posture. If you do not have that and dogs growl then you may be heading for trouble.  
Prager Hans

It's so simple to do basic blood work on Prince that it seems fool hearty to not do it.

I would also like to say that grabbing a dog and kissing it may induce natural reaction of aggression. Dogs may not necessarily see it as a kiss. Grabbing , hugging , towering over the dog  may not go well with many dogs. Also laying below it's center of gravity may induce growl. However if it is your dog which you have from young age and where you have leadership position then this should not happen. 
If you get older dog and he is doing this then you may have a different problem which may be hard to overcome. 
That is why it is very important to establish 100% respect and leadership position form earliest age. With some dogs if you miss the boat and the dog learns that he is in leadership position, then you may or may not be able to reverse that. 
Remember what the dog learns first he will know , like and remember the best and will revert to it in the moment of stress. Thus if even as a young pup or youngster  he learns that he is in leadership position then if under even mild stress he will revert to it.  That is why +( positive)  only touchy feely methods of training and socialization with genetically dominant dogs are very dangerous and often lead to disaster. 
Some may disagree, but so be it. 
Prager Hans

 Prager. Excellent posts.

Jim,, Last night I came in from work and after walking into the house he sniffed me and went right back into his create,,No happy tail wagging only an acknowledgement of my arrival..As I went back down the hall towards the door he came up behind me with a pushy body language and growled..My initial reaction, as embarrassed as I am to admit this, was to avoid him and pretend like I didn't notice,,He wanted to intimidate me and for a minute or two he did,,After having a three minute conversation with myself behind the laundry room door I decided that I rather risk getting bit then loosing Prince..If I didn't go out there now and address this it would be over..That is what I kept telling myself,,I walked back out into the hall where he was waiting for me ...I never made eye contact I just walked up to him and brought him to his outdoor pen...He immediately perked up because he thought we were going outside to play  ....I put his prong collar on ( my kids took it off while I was at work because it's uncomfortable..darn kids ) and started to do some heeling exercises and ball play in between and did this for about 15 minutes,,went back into the house and did some down stays and rewarded with treats,,I put him into his create to bed which was a first because he usually sleeps on the floor next to my bed. I called it a night  SIGH..,,Not sure that I made all the right decisions last night, but coming out of that laundry room and approaching him was big for me,,With that collar on and working a little obedience exercises he is definitely a different dog..

Laura..What an encouraging and thoughtful post!,,thank you..I can look back and see how/why it is at this point again with Prince..I have not been diligent to put into practice the things I have been taught ..I know that sending Prince to IL with Kelly is not the be all / end all, but it will lay a clear foundation for me/Prince to build from again...I need to commit to putting more time into him as you said you do...

 

Also, 

Prager, thank you for the posts above..I appreciate your input it is always insightful..:)

Sheesh,,,Yes, I do love that little devil!,,I always said that Julie must have put too much red in that batch..lol...

Eldee, I am going to have a full blood work drawn up..thanks...

Keith..Should I be reading between the lines!!,,

...... to add to my previous post** I was in bra and underwear ~only ~ behind that laundry room door..lol,,I had to approach a nasty Prince half naked!!,,hope you find it funny,,It wasn't at the time..:)