Dominance Agression or just growing up???

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mcali

Boxer Buddy
Hi, my boxer's name is Lennox and he is a 9 month old flashy fawn. He was just neutered on December 23rd.

Lately he has been very difficult to deal with regarding his behaviors. We had been told that after being neutered that it would take time for his hormones to adjust, however, he did exhibit these behaviors prior to the surgury, but not to the extent that he is doing them now.

Lennox attended a beginner obedience training class when he was younger and I worked with him at home. He understands 'sit', 'stay', and 'down', yet his ability to obey these commands depends on his mood and what he chooses to do. He is wonderful outside on his leash, but he will occassionally pull and bite on his leash when he is excited or wanting to play. Overall he can be very stuborn.

The behaviors that really worry me are the constant barking when "he doesn't get his way" or when he is told "no" or reprimanded verbally (i.e., 'Lennox stop', 'Bad boy', etc.). He basically answeres back with constant barking. In addition, he bites at our feet and at our socks and pants. He will grab the bottom of our pants and try to pull it or shake it like he does his stuffed toys. When we go downstairs in our den he runs down the stairs (jumping from the second step up) and just starts to jump up at us and bite at our feet. Origionally I thought that he did this because he wanted to play. We would get toys and play with him, but after some time he wold be bored and go right for our feet again.

If we sit down to watch TV he will jump at us and snap at our hands, growl at us, bark, and try to bite. When he gets like this no commands seem to work, he is defiant and will bark if you tell him 'no'.

Since the surgury it has gotten so bad that my husband and I don't even want go downstairs anymore to watch TV, because Lennox won't let us sit and enjoy ourselves. He has tons of toys, bully sticks, nylon bones, bones that we stuff with cheese, tons of things to chew on and he prefers our clothing or us.

I read information regarding the agression in dogs and it made me wonder if we should get a behaviorist or possibly a personal trainer. Is Lennox suffering from dominance agression or could he still be puppy who wants attention and wants to just play? I admit that my husband and I were a little lax in our training and let Lennox get away with things, allowing him to get his way if he wanted something. But I need some advice. Has anyone had this problem or anything close to it?

Thank you for your time and advice.
Catherine
 

gmacleod

Elusive Moderator
Staff member
Yep, welcome to the wonderful world of boxer adolescence :D

It will last several months. The way to deal with it is to go back to training basics, and keep on being patient and consistent. If you can do that, then a well trained dog will emerge at the end.

Ignore the bad behaviours and reward the good. Rewards doesn't just mean treats - it also means attention, responding, games etc. And ignoring doesn't just mean sit and take it - it can include getting up and leaving him alone when he's biting, growling and generally behaving like a spoiled brat. That's not the response he's trying to get from you ;)

Please do use the search engine here at Boxerworld. Everything you're describing is what most boxer owners go through to a greater or lesser degree when their pups hit adolescence. As a result, there is an absolute ton of information and advice right here that you can use if you read those previous threads. Just search using the terms 'adolescence', 'jumping', 'biting', and 'growling'.

A book that could also help you out is "the dog listener" by Jan Fennell.
 

hanley

Boxer Insane
He just needs to be worked,walked, & trained, take him out for a good run, play fetch with a ball or frisbee,a tired dog is always a good dog!LOL, Hanley
 

mcali

Boxer Buddy
Thank you everyone for all your advice. My husband and I have ordered some books and are going to work hard at retraining Lennox. Also, we are going to run him more. Hopefully his teenage years won't be too bad.
Lennox thanks you too because now we understand him better!!! :)
Many thanks,
Catherine and Michael
 
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