Concerned about Growling

[indylizzy]

My boxer Lizzy is 11 weeks old. I have posted other Lizzy issued on here Here is a new one that popped up.

I still have issues with walking Lizzy on her leash - she will grab it with her teeth and yank back (as if she wished to engage in a tug of war). I have tried to ignore her while doing this and stop walking - this only aggrevates her bad behavior more. She will try to jump at me and nip at my legs - when we stop walking or I ignore her. When I make her sit and calm her down - she seems to do ok.

Yesterday - a new development happened - which makes me question my corrective tactics with her. We were walking - she put the leash in her mouth, yanked and started to growl. I had to make her sit and she tried to bite me. I was devasted at this turn of events. I promptly ended the walk, and we returned home. When we got back home - we have a pile of dirt -set aside- for her to dig in (to expel some of that puppy energy). I walked her over to the dirt pile and had her dig until she was tired.

Has anyone had their boxers growl at them? If so - what where the circumstances? Is this an impending sign of an aggresive dog?

I spend time with her, since I work from home. Every morning, after I run, I set aside an hour as "Lizzy time" - where we can go at a leisurely pace and she can invstigate the grass, the woods, the rocks, etc... The last 10 to 15 minutes - we go through the tricks she knows and attention exercises with her treats. Then we go out in the afternoon for 15 mins to 1/2 hour - then evenings we spend an hour outside (longer if we go to watch a pee wee baseball game). Maybe I am not using our time together appropriately?

I feel a bit overwhelmed at her behavior, at times. Other times, she is real good. We went to a cook out, for Father's Day. She played with the kids there and was behaving quite well for a puppy her age. I even received compliments on how well she was behaving for her age and how I was able to have her behave by telling her to sit. I was thinking - oh if you only knew what happened this morning.

Is she trying to play with me or trying to establish herself as the alpha? What can I do to deter this behavior, without making it worse as she matures?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated - I am at a loss.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Honestly, I think you are expecting WAY too much out of an 11 week old puppy. Most of the behaviours you have mentioned are 100% normal puppy behaviours. And if you think about it, most training classes won't even take a dog until 4-5 months of age, it's partially because of vaccinations but partly because they're not old enough to fully grasp it yet either. I'm not saying don't try, not by any means, but goodness don't expect so much out of her at such a young age. It would be like expecting your 6 month old child to be walking, starting to talk, know right from wrong, etc, and obviously that just wouldn't happy with a 6 month old human baby. My puppy did the same thing, I just stopped leash walking him until he was around 5 months old, once he had had all of his shots and I felt it was safe for him to be out and about in the first place (I had been doing it in the house previously), and by that time he was old enough to do it properly without trying to play with the leash, now at almost 11 months old he does just fine and walks perfectly alongside me w/o pulling walking in front of me, etc. IMO if she put the leash in her mouth yanked and started to growl she was probably just trying to play. Mine will grab a toy and shake the heck out of it while he's growling at it, he's just playing, he'll growl if we play tug of war too but when I say "enough" he stops growling drops the rope and we go about our business. More than likely IMO she's just being a BABY and wants to play, same with the nipping. Again definitely correct the nipping so that doesn't turn into something more, but, and I mean this nicely (which on writing I understand that is hard to perceive sometimes), but lighten up, I think if you don't expect quite so much out of her at such a very young age things will be a lot more fun and enjoyable. To some extent let her be a puppy and have those fun times, yes correct her, but let her have some fun too. And she may just not be ready for the leash yet, give it 3-4 weeks and try again.

 

[ehayes21]

I agree, she just wants to play! At her age, aside from potty breaks, you shouldn't even be taking walks right now. Like the above poster stated you are expecting a little too much too soon.
You can however, get her used to the leash by letting her wear it and drag around the house (supervised of course). You can play games like putting the leash on and have her follow you (while you hold the leash) and dole out some tasty treats.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Also, I'd like to add that IMO things like taking her for walks outside, going places, etc, really should be extremely limited, she really shouldn't be venturing outside (minus potty breaks) until 1 month after she is full vaccinated, which is usually around 4-5 months old depending on when you started and how close you got them together. She is just WAY to supseptible to puppy diseases that can possibly be deadly (such as Parvo).

 

[indylizzy]

Thank you so much with your input!

I think you are correct - I am probably doing too much too soon with my little Lizzy (I feel bad, too), in regards to her leash and my expectations of her. I did lighten up this morning and it was much better for both of us.

I am relieved that the growling is a part of puppyhood - and not an outright sign of aggresion. I have been reading so many books on training a boxer that it has made me paranoid - and they really do not differentiate what is normal puppy behavior or not.

I am thankful for you and this website!

peace and love:

Lizzy's Mom and Lizzy

 

[mikroma]

Your post sounds exactly what Nero was like at 11 weeks. I have to admit - I have a different point of view than the above posters. If Nero displayed aggressive behavior to us, like biting or growling - we would nip him with our hands like a mother dog would. This is not to hurt him in any way - but it established us as the pack leaders early on. We tried telling him 'NO!' but he didn't get it. He did respond very well to the nip like touch. We did not do this for stuff like training. We only used it for aggressive behavior- so it would not be an issue when he weights 50 pounds.

He is 4 months now and is still very much puppy in his play, but also very respectful. I think that is the key - if we thought the behavior was undesirable - we told him upfront in a way a puppy can understand, nope, not with us kiddo.

We live in NYC and walking on the leash well is a must. We live in a very busy area and he has to behave, for his own safety as well. We probably put high expectations on him as a result of where we live, but he walks perfect on the leash. These little guys are smart, and we try to start the positive habits right from the start. Now are 4 months we are working on sitting at street crossings. We are about 25%!

 

[ehayes21]

Your post sounds exactly what Nero was like at 11 weeks. I have to admit - I have a different point of view than the above posters. If Nero displayed aggressive behavior to us, like biting or growling - we would nip him with our hands like a mother dog would. This is not to hurt him in any way - but it established us as the pack leaders early on. We tried telling him 'NO!' but he didn't get it. He did respond very well to the nip like touch. We did not do this for stuff like training. We only used it for aggressive behavior- so it would not be an issue when he weights 50 pounds.

He is 4 months now and is still very much puppy in his play, but also very respectful. I think that is the key - if we thought the behavior was undesirable - we told him upfront in a way a puppy can understand, nope, not with us kiddo.

At 11 weeks your baby puppy knows NOTHING about aggression. He is simply playing. Being the "leader" has nothing to do with showing him who's boss or nipping him like his mother would do. In fact, his mother would have given a half a dozen or so warnings before ever nipping at her puppy. You are not a dog, he knows you are not a dog, so I doubt pretending to be one is going to be very effective for you. Besides getting physical with your dog does NOTHING to establish yourself as the leader Being a leader is about controlling the resources and showing him what you would like him to do instead. If he nips or growls and you want it to stop simply ignore him and walk away. This tells him that the fun stops when he goes to far. It's not physical and it's not threatening.

Here are a few articles that might be worth reading.

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/dominance.htm
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/macho.htm
http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

 

[Jan]

Has anyone had their boxers growl at them? If so - what where the circumstances? Is this an impending sign of an aggresive dog?

I

It is a rare puppy that doesn't growl at some point. I think the growling with the leash was just play, and it nothing to be concerned about.

Growling is not something that you ever want to discourage. A play growl is okay and you need to learn the difference between that and aggression. If you punish a dog that growls, you may end up with a dog that bites without warning and that is not a good thing.

 

[Caney Creek]

I agree with the other posts, it sounds to me like she is just trying to play. Caney, my female who is now 1 1/2, ALWAYS jumped and grabbed at her leash when we walked. If I would start jogging, she would get excited and jump at me. She didn't mean anything by it, except that she was having fun. She slowly grew out of the leash-biting, but every once and a while she STILL does it.

The growling also, in fact I'm SURE, is only play. I think you will come to find that boxers are EXTREMELY vocal, growling, barking, whining, and "woo-woo-ing," but that's just how they talk. Have you every seen two boxers play together? It sounds like they're killing each other! :eek: I should record or video on Creek and Caney and post it Also, I know it varies from one dog's personality to another, but Caney still, at 1 1/2 years, has never shown any, ANY aggression AT ALL. Sure she bites and growls, but it's all in fun.

Just try not to take it so seriously -- not that you shouldn't care about anything she does, but remember that she has only been on this earth for 11 weeks, she is still very much a baby; she still has lots to learn and yet all she wants to do is play (which for boxers is lifelong really). :D My advice for you is to enjoy her while she's a sweet, clumsy puppy -- she'll be 50lbs before you know it.

 

[AimeeDBoxer]

same with my bambam she is 8 month old but every time she plays with my older boxer she growl some times people think they are fighting but i find it normal. dont worry just observe.