Gets over-excited and escalates into aggression

[slwoody]

I agree it's not always his fault and have watched him tolerate other dogs nipping/yipping quite well for a while before he finally tells them where to go. I'm holding out hope the behaviourist will help because we live downtown Toronto and the dogs-per-capita rate is quite high. It's difficult to walk 10 steps without running into someone with their dog. Linus is a sweet little guy and we love him to death. He's very gentle with smaller, weak dogs and seems only to react to dogs that intimidate him or show any signs of aggression towards him. I'll wait to do some homework, but think he might just be fearful. If we can find out where that's coming from perhaps it can be relieved.

Thanks for letting me know we're not along (and it actually could be worse). We'll do the best we can and live within our limitations. He's pretty lovable.

 

[ELubas]

Many times aggression is based in fear, more often than not as a matter of fact. The way you descibe your pup I think you could be absolutely right. My girl is the opposite and tends to prey on the submissive, timid dogs (attractive, huh??) I am sure a good behavorist can work with you and your pup and bring him a long way. He is so young! Please keep us posted on your progress

 

[northernboxr]

Slwoody, what dog park are you going to in Toronto? I also live downtown for part of the year and I have had problems in a couple of them (especially Sibelius Square). I find that some of the off-leash areas are too small and that seems to put a lot of dogs on the offensive, leading to more fights.

I live in Guelph for the other part of the year, where the off leash areas are huge. I really notice the difference when tensions get high. If there is a squabble, the dogs seem to do a better job at getting themselves away from the situation. In your case, the other dogs might feel a little cornered by Linus' energy in such a small space.

My pup is now 8 months old, but he too went through a scrapper phase between 5-6 months when I was worried that he would become dog aggressive forever. Basically, he failed to pick up on the other dogs' signals, they would try to tell him off and he would respond aggressively. He would also act aggressively if he got hurt while playing (a sort of bruised-ego effect).

I stopped going to the Toronto dog parks for about a month and settled for making play-dates with nice dogs that I knew Riker got along with. It was way more work, but at least it seemed to stop the escalating pattern of aggressive behaviour.

So if possible, I would really suggest some play-dates with some stable dogs you might know, one-on-one until he matures a bit... it might just get his social skills back on track. It seemed to work for us. We are now back at the dog park and Riker is not scrapping at all.

 

[slwoody]

Thanks so much

We had a quick phone chat with a behaviourist today and will likely engage her help to see if we can nip this in the bud. I'm encouraged because he's not aggressive right off the bat, but seems to react this way when he's over-excited or unsure. She added he may just be confused about his role/station because we've given him free reign of the house when he's not crated. He's allowed on the couch and doesn't wait to be invited (My fault - I love my cuddle too much).

After only a quick chat she suggested he might have entitlement issues and think he's ranked higher than he is? We'll wait for a full assessment and advice about how to help him.

As far as parks go... we take him to Trinity Bellwoods (we're in the King West Village) and it does get pretty crazy at puppy rush hour. We're avoiding off leash areas for a while and just roller-blading with him for now. Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Merryann]

I have two boxer pups on is 8 months (girl) and one is 7 months (boy)...They chase and play a little too rough for my liking sometimes. I actually took my girl to a behaviorist to make sure she wasn't showing any behavioral problems. She is great meeting dogs on leash - but I am always unsure off leash. If she doesn't like the way someone plays with her she gets on top and starts to snarl. I showed a video of this to the behaviorist and she said that what she was doing was a normal behavior. She didn't like what our boy was doing to her and told him so. I think as a rule Boxer's play rougher than most dogs and you really need to know the tone of the growl that your boxer has when it goes from play growling to "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH".

 

[ELubas]

her she gets on top and starts to snarl. I showed a video of this to the behaviorist and she said that what she was doing was a normal behavior. She didn't like what our boy was doing to her and told him so. .

Does she only do this to your boy? I ask because my girl does this and it is not easy to get on top of another dog and "pin" them without a fight, unless the "pinned" dog is well known to the "pinner" or the dog being pinned is intimidated-in which case the dog doing it should be removed. My girl has never bitten (she is 18 mos) but this behavior generalized to strange dogs and I am very careful now that she does not get the opportunity to do it. The behavorist I saw also observed this behavior and felt strongly it should be discouraged (she was 8 mos at the time). Just my experience... My girl tried it with the wrong dog and got a nasty lickin'-her own fault but no less upsetting for all of us. "Normal" dogs settle things with body language and a curled lip-not pinning and intimidation :(

 

[LucNesbitt]

I just want to give you a little encouragement! Moab is 18 months old and when he started hitting social maturity around 14 months, he started a lot of these behaviors. He's now longer allowed at day care because of it. We sought a behaviorist and she was a lot of help. She commented that she sees a lot of boxers that start this behavior at some point as they grow up and called it "frustration control". She gave us a series of protocols and training to do with him and we're making progress.

Moab also exhibited a lot of attention seeking behavior at home from the time he was about 8 months, which she's helping us with as well. I've learned you have to be very diligent and strict with NILIF but when we are, there's a big difference in his personality. Even something as simple as getting a pat on the head, he has to ask for.

I know how frustrated you are because I'm living it every day. Just know you're not alone and you've got a huge support group here. Hang in there!