Dog aggression

[mannagrym]

So, I have a few questions about this...

I read a lot of stuff about the boxer, talk to other owners, soaking up all information that I can, wherever I can.

One thing that seems to be popping up from time to time on diffrent boards/forums is dog aggression. I'm not talking about a male that's aggressive towards other males, or bitches towards other bitches. I'm talking about aggression towards other dogs, regardless of gender and that's not due to poor socialization as a pup (some describe it that they have played fine withe other dogs, but around 2-3 years this changes).

Some people do have this problem with their individual dog evidently, but what's your take on this? Is this common? Is it as common as a problem in the breed? Is it not common at all?

Mind that I'm from Sweden and read a lot of european boards.

 

[gmacleod]

I don't think that's commonly the case, no. Or at least, it hasn't been my experience nor one i can recall hearing of that a dog suddenly became aggressive upon reaching maturity (the 2-3 years old mark) without there being some reason or trigger for it to happen. From your post, I'm assuming you mean cases where there isn't any apparent reason

It is, on the other hand, fairly common for intact males to become more aggressive at this age - often due to being frequently on the recieving end of other dog's aggression. Leash aggression is also something that sometimes comes up. A further common problem is that people forget that socialisation is an ongoing requirement, stop socialising and then wonder why the dog becomes increasingly nervous (possibly ending in fear aggression) on the rare occassions he is around other dogs. But these aren't cases where there is no reason for the behaviour

 

[mannagrym]

From your post, I'm assuming you mean cases where there isn't any apparent reason

, yeah... those cases do "exist" as well. Theres always a reason, but there are other cases where seasoned boxer people have described this behaviour as well.

For instance - even the swedish boxer club has a line in their description of the breed that reads (loosely translated): "A problem in the breed could be dog aggression."

Unfortunatly there is no secret among the workingdog people (don't know how to translate that into english - workingdog: tracking, seeking, protection, obediance and so on) in Sweden that some boxers have problems around other dogs. And theese are no beginners with dogs.

I'm curious if there are specific blood lines that are moore prone to be more or less aggressive towards other dogs, than other lines. Mayby not aggressive, but has a way lower threshold, if you know what I meen (english, not my native tounge...).

It is, on the other hand, fairly common for intact males to become more aggressive at this age - often due to being frequently on the recieving end of other dog's aggression. Leash aggression is also something that sometimes comes up. A further common problem is that people forget that socialisation is an ongoing requirement, stop socialising and then wonder why the dog becomes increasingly nervous (possibly ending in fear aggression) on the rare occassions he is around other dogs. But these aren't cases where there is no reason for the behaviour

Yes, this I am aware of, but it's fairly common in most breeds.

 

[LILYLARUE]

My Lily became dog aggressive/reactive at maturity. She was well socialized. I thought it was due to her being attacked 3 times before she was 1 yr old. Well, turns out that her thyroid level was really low. Put her on meds, did some strong training and now she gets excited when she sees other dogs. I always tell my boxer clients, if there is a sudden behavioral change, get the full thyroid panel checked first. Almost 90% of these dogs ended up with some level of thyroid issue. It's always a good place to start and any good behaviorist will request a blood panel first anyways.