Aggression vs. playing (sorry, long)

[Langespup]

After reading through the forums, I see this topic has been brought up a few times (which I guess makes me feel a little better) but I wanted some input on how we handle it....

I have a 6 mth boxer that has high energy.... Most times very loving, but will, just out of nowhere, start barking, biting, scratching and growling at us... This could happen at any given time - when we are sitting and watching TV, sometimes when we take him out to go to the bathroom, when my girls take him for a walk, or when he is playing with our cat (and gets a little to playful), we will say, "Enough", and he will start barking and growling at us...

I am very concern for my girls, since he is much more aggressive towards them, then my husband and me... When he starts to do this in the house, we immediately stand up and get right in front of him and say, "No bark, sit".. we will continue to stay on him until he finally calms down and sits. This usually takes a minute or two. Most of the time he will stay calm, but there are times when we walk away he starts all over agian... This has been going on since we have gotten him and although he seems to be getting a little better, it is quite exhausting and can become aggervating esspecially when you are trying to relax...

Outside sometimes becomes a different story... Once in awhile, on a walk or if we are in the backyard for pottytime, something will click he will start jumping, biting and growling-this seems more aggesive then playful... He refuses to listen to commands at this point, so I will hold the collar down towards the grounds to get him to sit or lay and tell him in a very stern voice to "stay"... there are times this still does not work, so I will immediately take him into the house and put him in his crate... For me and my husband, we can handle this usually, but for my girls, they can not and I am afraid he is going to really hurt them...

Any suggestions.....

 

[northernboxr]

I don't want to make a statement saying your dog is not aggressive, because if he is then it is important to deal with it before you or your children get hurt.

However, I will say that my pup behaves this way when he is bored and pushing the boundaries. Out on a walk, he will decide he is bored and begin to run around me barking, growling and nipping. It looks and sounds quite nasty. However, I am 100% convinced that in my situation he is being bad just for the sake of attention, not because he is aggressive.

I don't have children, so I have the time to work on this problem slowly. Whenever he does it, I cross my arms and look up at the sky. He'll nip me on the bum (which bystanders seem to find pretty funny), bark, jump and growl. However- he eventually realizes that this behavior gets him no attention at all and he gives up. Sometimes he acts way worse before he gives up. When he gives up, I'll break out a toy and play tug of war with him or throw a ball (to combat the boredom). I have been getting better at picking up the signs that he is getting bored and heading off the problem with some obedience commands and a game before the tantrum starts. He is gradually doing it less and less (maybe once a week vs. every day).

I am convinced that what I am doing is working and will eventually solve the problem. However, since you have children, this may not be an option for you. If you are convinced his behaviour is genuinely aggressive, then I would seek professional help for him. If you think he might just be doing it for attention, then maybe it would be best to have you or your husband (or another dog I find is the best!) get all of his energy out before he can play with your children. That way if he acts up- it will be you who has to deal with it and not your children who may inadvertently reward his behaviour with attention. If he is all tired out and he still acts up around your children, then he can have a time out or go to his crate.

I have found that my puppy never acts like this if he has a chance to play with another dog that day. Nothing tires out a boxer puppy like wrestling with another dog- and it seems to mentally satisfy him for the entire day. Perhaps you could try that until he matures a bit? Boxers need an obscene amount of rigorous exercise- so exhausting him might solve the problem.

It sounds like normal obnoxious-bored-boxer-puppy behaviour to me, but if you aren't sure then maybe a bahaviorist might not be a bad idea.

Good luck!

 

[renzo]

We are having the same problem but our boxer is almost 2 years old. We adopted her about 3 months ago and the same behavior started about a month ago. I have 2 boys and I do worry about them also. The boys don't want to play with her anymore in the yard. She bites at the ankles, growls, barks and if you move away or towards her, she just comes right back at you. She doesn't give up no matter what we have tried (spray bottles, making a loud noise, ignoring her). Just a suggestion but not sure if it's the right one, we have started putting the leash on her when she gets too wild and that does settle her down. I currently have her in a dog obedience class - she only knew the sit command when we adopted her. I asked the trainer what to do but I didn't agree with him - he said to strike her on the nose, grab her neck and put my fist in her mouth to get her to stop biting. I cannot expect my boys to do this - there has to be a better way.