Aggressive Boxer

[BoxerStyle]

Well my family owns a 2 year old Golden Retriever bout 70 Lbs(Ruby). Ruby is an outside dog where as my boxer (Vargas) stays inside. He is 8 weeks. Eventually he will be an outside dog along with Ruby when its not 0 degress outside anymore. Our daily schedule is to let Ruby inside for about 30 mins - 1 hr a day to just be in the family room and warm up. We try to give Vargas as much exposure time to Ruby as we can because we want them to get along when they are permanently together....

Well as of late Vargas has been snarling and sort of attackin Ruby. Ruby is passive and just sits there and doesnt defend herself. While Vargas still continues to bite Ruby's face, cheeks, legs, and tail. 1 Time he even bit her ear and she Yelped. The most Ruby does to defend herself is swipe gently with her paw to knock him away but he is relentless.. Ruby tried to mind her own business and just chew her bone but cant relax because Vargas is continously trying to bite her.

I figured if Ruby were to get hurt then she would attack back to show dominance because she is a Giant compared to the boxer pup... but she just seems to take it. Also at the same time I dont want my boxer trying to attack her, I just want them to get along...

Is this normal behavior? If so around what age does this tend to fade? If not, what are my options towards fixing this.

Any advice would be great
Thanx

-BoxerStyle

 

[Caney Creek]

That is completely normal puppy behavior, and not aggression at all. He is trying to get her to play with him. It's also normal for Ruby, an adult dog, to be extremely tolerant of a young puppy's antics. Once he gets older she will most likely stop putting up with it and correct him, or "put him in his place." Or maybe she never will. Either way, once he gets a bit older all the puppy nonsense will stop.

One other thing that I must add is that boxers are NOT suited for outdoor living at all. Their short coats offer no protection from the cold, insects, or heat (a dog's undercoat actually helps keep cool in hot weather just as much as it keeps them warm in cold weather). Their short muzzles make them even more prone to heat stroke. Besides physical factors, if left in a yard they will become very bored and destructive, and will never be happy if they cannot be inside with their humans. I think it would be best to keep this puppy indoors -- even when he's grown.

 

[caruse]

I am sorry but I could never think of leaving either of mine outside all the time! Laila is a year and 8 months and shivers when she is out too long in this weather....boxers do not do well in either extreme temperature....they are not made to endure the too hot or too cold....please research this a little....

 

[EAO76]

Yes, he is just being a puppy. Most adult dogs will tolerate a lot from puppies and then once he is enters the adolescent (around 5 months) stage they will be less tolerant. But if your Golden is one of the rare dogs that will take anything then you can step in on her behalf. If you believe he is being inappropriate you can correct him by telling him “no” and giving a quick time out. He needs someone to give him some boundaries. Everything with a puppy is trial & error. If no one ever shows him the right way how will he learn?

I have to ask, why do you have “outside dogs”? What does that mean exactly? Does your Golden at least come in at night? As others have said Boxers are NOT built for the elements. But just because your Golden has an undercoat doesn’t mean its OK for her to spend all her time outside either. Dogs are pack animals, craving contact with humans and other dogs. In the dogs eyes social isolation (living, sleeping, outside away from their pack [the family] is a form of punishment. Dogs are social animals that form extremely strong social bonds. A dog deprived of companionship and activity becomes bored, frustrated and stressed. Making a dog live in the backyard is unnatural – they need to live with you.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

Yep it is completely normal. Our Kilby was about 2.5yrs when we got Kona (who came home at 8wks). Kilby would put up with ANYTHING when Kona was small, she'd let her take her food, kick her out of her bed and take her toys. Plus Kona's favourite thing was to bite Kilby's jowls, ears and the back of her leg generally until Kilby was crying. Occassionally we would call both girls to us if we thought it was getting a bit out of hand or telling Kona off it she was taking it too far (you're the boss of them both remember!).

We were worried because we didn't want Kilby to be submissive to the puppy either especially because we know that Kona is going to grow up to be much bigger than her petite "big" sister. We were worried that if Kilby didn't assert herself while Kona was small she never would. Of course that was about human emotion, not dog behaviour. Your boxer pup might turn out to be the more dominant of the two or maybe she won't... they'll sort eachother out.

Once Kona started getting bigger (I'd say around 4.5-5mths) Kilby started letting Kona know when things weren't fun for her anymore (actually she started by gently biting her back). Kona is 7mths now and about the same size as Kilby and except for the occassional lunge during walks Kona knows her place in the pack and they get along really well.

I don't know if having one inside and one outside might make things harder or easier because our girls have always gone eveywhere together. I think the more time they spend together now the quicker they'll probably work out their places in your family.

Good luck!

 

[BoxerMom999]

As others have said please don't put your boxer outside for long hours away from humans. Boxers crave human companionship - without it there will be problems. Please reconsider.

 

[Box Boys]

I hate to sound like a broken record....but PLEASE bring your golden in and keep your boxer baby inside too. The fact that you said you bring your golden in for 30 min to 1 hour a day to "warm up" tells you that it's too cold outside for her. It is COLD in Ohio right now and snowing...I can't imagine keeping my baby outside all the time (boxer or other breed)...and Ohio also gets hot in the summer. I would urge you to reconsider and bring your babies inside where they want and need to be.

The "aggression" you speak of is playing and quite normal puppy behavior. Allowing your golden and boxer baby to spend more time together will teach your puppy what is appropriate and what isn't.

 

[bmwinter]

Outside boxer

Hi all - Some of you might be interested in my thread in Dog Health Issues (didnt know where to post it) regarding my neighbours outside boxer. I may copy some of your comments onto a letter & post it through their door!!

 

[SweetCody]

About to chime in as another broken record. Why have outside dogs. If the dogs live in the back yard with hardly any companionship then wouldn't they be better off just not being there. If you are going to pay all that money for the dog, to feed and dr the dog, then why in the world do you not want to play with, love on, snuggle with just basically enjoy dog ownership. All you have now is a living creature roaming your backyard, bored and feeling very unloved, unprotected, pushed out of the pack.

Again as everyone else has said, you have a puppy. A puppy of a breed that is very energetic, almost to the point of hyperactivity. Your older dog will put up with a lot of puppy antics. The older the puppy gets the less your GR will take of it and she will start letting him know when she has had enough. Cody put up with a lot from Aniah when she first came home, he still does, but he will let her know with a quickness when he has had enough and when she needs to leave him alone. She doesn't always listen to him, she is a naughty little thing , so then we have to step in and she gets a time out until she can play nicely. About 5-10 minutes away from Cody. This usually works really well, as she does not like to be away from him at all.

Please bring in your GR and don't ever kick your Boxer out. They need to be with you.

 

[RoxDiezAlize]

Well, I'm going to chime in on the broken record too... I can't imagine keeping my babies outside all the time, and I wouldn't even if I had other breeds either. Especially in Ohio. It's way too freaking cold in the winter, and too hot in the summer, even if you have a doghouse for them. I've never understood why people have "outside dogs." I don't mean to sound rude, I just don't understand it.

I have a neighbor who has a Golden. The poor dog is outside all day and night in the warmer months, and barely gets any attention from his owners. In the winter, they at least bring the dog into the garage, but he still gets very little attention. And they wonder why the dog is an escape artist! He's constantly getting out of the backyard. The poor thing is just starving for affection. I always go over and talk to him, pet him and give him some attention. He gets so excited, and it just breaks my heart.

Out of curiousity, why do you keep your dogs outside? I hope you reconsider. I agree with everyone else, boxers are not built for extreme temperatures - hot or cold. They get bored extremely easily and quickly, and I absolutely believe a boxer would tear up a yard if left outside all the time. Heck, they'd do the same thing inside under certain circumstances.

I also agree with everyone else's assessment that your puppy is exhibiting typical puppy behavior, and is trying to play with Ruby.