lirpa23
Boxer Booster
I'll start by saying that my 13 week old boy has been with my family for a little over one week. He has settled in nicely and has shown the BEST temperament. He is a total spoiled cuddle bunny and had never shown aggression toward any of us. When we went last week to pick him out of the litter, my husband lied him on his back and the little guy struggled for maybe 2 seconds and then totally gave up and relaxed like he didn't have a care in the world. Since coming home he loves to be held like a baby or sitting on a lap, but he also doesn't seem too clingy either. He has become more independent, and will now play on his own and go in his crate willingly throughout the day. He loves everyone and seems so laid back and docile.
Well, tonight was his first puppy kindergarden class and I was very excited to get him in and show him off, especially since I have been training him at home and he is already doing some basic commands. He is very smart and trainable. The most important part of the class to me was surrounding him with other people and animals and getting him the proper socialization. When I got there he immediately loved all the smells and noises, and went around the room wagging his whole butt, very anxious to play with all the pups, to the point he was actually whining. However, I was disapointed to see that it was a fairly small class and 90% of the other pups were all toy sized. He was jumping around crazy and ready to play, like any boxer, and I held him on the leash and wouldn't let him play with the little ones because I felt he could accidentally hurt them. I was hoping some bigger dogs would come in, and finally 2 huge dogs came in. One was a huge standard size poodle. I really thought this dog might be too large for him to play with and the woman that brought him didn't seem very interested in talking to anyone else or socializing her dog. Finally, a seven month old giant schnauzer came in, weighing in at 35 pounds. Of course, I'm a new mommy and was reluctant to let Rocko play with him either because I didn't know this dog's temperament. After a while of talking to the schnauzer's owner and getting to know the dog, I let Rocko do some boxer pouncing on him. The schnauzer seemed good natured about it. However, my calm and docile 17 lb. Rocko surprised me. He was wagging his tail at first and seemed like he wanted to play. But as soon as he got on the big dog he started showing signs of dominance and aggression. I'm not sure if he was playing anymore. He got snippy and started lunging and biting, which seemed like play. But then he began standing directly over the dog on all fours with his feet spread out and growling and even looked like he was trying to hump this dog a couple of times. Finally, Rocko got out of hand with the growling and lunging to the point that I had to literally pull him off of this huge dog and scold him. A few minutes later I let the two play again and Rocko's body language still seemed to be very dominant and aggressive.
We have class again next Tuesday and I know now that Rocko really needs it. Should I worry about aggression issues? What can I do that will help? I want Rocko to learn on his own through experience, but I'm afraid that if he keeps this up that the bigger dog will eventually put a stop to it and little Rocko will get hurt.
Well, tonight was his first puppy kindergarden class and I was very excited to get him in and show him off, especially since I have been training him at home and he is already doing some basic commands. He is very smart and trainable. The most important part of the class to me was surrounding him with other people and animals and getting him the proper socialization. When I got there he immediately loved all the smells and noises, and went around the room wagging his whole butt, very anxious to play with all the pups, to the point he was actually whining. However, I was disapointed to see that it was a fairly small class and 90% of the other pups were all toy sized. He was jumping around crazy and ready to play, like any boxer, and I held him on the leash and wouldn't let him play with the little ones because I felt he could accidentally hurt them. I was hoping some bigger dogs would come in, and finally 2 huge dogs came in. One was a huge standard size poodle. I really thought this dog might be too large for him to play with and the woman that brought him didn't seem very interested in talking to anyone else or socializing her dog. Finally, a seven month old giant schnauzer came in, weighing in at 35 pounds. Of course, I'm a new mommy and was reluctant to let Rocko play with him either because I didn't know this dog's temperament. After a while of talking to the schnauzer's owner and getting to know the dog, I let Rocko do some boxer pouncing on him. The schnauzer seemed good natured about it. However, my calm and docile 17 lb. Rocko surprised me. He was wagging his tail at first and seemed like he wanted to play. But as soon as he got on the big dog he started showing signs of dominance and aggression. I'm not sure if he was playing anymore. He got snippy and started lunging and biting, which seemed like play. But then he began standing directly over the dog on all fours with his feet spread out and growling and even looked like he was trying to hump this dog a couple of times. Finally, Rocko got out of hand with the growling and lunging to the point that I had to literally pull him off of this huge dog and scold him. A few minutes later I let the two play again and Rocko's body language still seemed to be very dominant and aggressive.
We have class again next Tuesday and I know now that Rocko really needs it. Should I worry about aggression issues? What can I do that will help? I want Rocko to learn on his own through experience, but I'm afraid that if he keeps this up that the bigger dog will eventually put a stop to it and little Rocko will get hurt.
