HELP! My boxer wants to fight!

[aself]

Hi, I have posted on this website before and gotten some great advice regarding other pets. I hope someone can help me on this one. It is a long story, so here goes...

My husband and I just adopted a stray female boxer (Lucy). She wandered up to my husband's grandfather's farm in Louisiana. No one knows anything about her or her owner. We took her home last Sunday, so have had her for a week and a half. She is small for a boxer, only about 35 lbs (she looks a lot like that rescue dog from last week on the homepage - Delilah). She isn't fixed (yet), but she probably isn't a puppy - she was in heat when grandpa found her 3 months ago.

My worst problem is our cats - Ike and Tina. We adopted them last January and they are about a year old (with their claws still). They are very sweet and affectionate cats - not aggressive at all. I did some research with cat/dog intros before Lucy came home and tried to follow all of the advice. Lucy had tried to chase them, but hadn't barked at them and would wag her tail whenever she could see them through the petgate. On Saturday night, Tina (not the sharpest knife in the drawer) ran out from under the bed right by Lucy. Lucy started to chase her. Tina, instead of running, turned, hissed and stood her ground. Lucy went at her full force with a wide open mouth. My husband got to Lucy with about 6 inches to spare. Lucy runs around the house constantly looking for the cats. She will sit still for about 10 mintues and then is up running around after the cats. I had heard that most dogs will chase the cats and then try to smell them. Lucy tried to bite them.

My next problem: last Tuesday I took her to this large dogpark in Dallas. She ended up in 3 fights! I couldn't figure out if she had started it, though. So, on Saturday, we took her to my parents' house to meet their dogs. They have a 4-yr-old male German Shepherd who is a big baby. We let them meet in the backyard and Lucy smelled him and immediately started growling and trying to bite his neck. He just looked at her and then looked at my mom, not knowing what to do about this little dog! We scolded her and kept trying, but she kept doing it.

Then, on Sunday, we were on a walk and one of our nieghbors walked up with her standard poodle/lab mix - male. He is also a very sweet dog. Lucy did the same thing! that dog also didn't respond harshly to her. It is terrible because I have been taking her on 2 walks a day (she is very hyper and needs lots of exercise). Whenever other dogs come up, I just pick her up, because I don't know what she will do.

What do I do? We have a vet appointment this evening that I made when I first got her for normal health stuff. Now I am going to ask him about all of this.

This is all so upsetting for me because she is such a sweet dog with ALL people. She wants so much attention and affection. She was housetrained in 2 days and sits on command. She just has this thing with big dogs and our cats! I cried about 5 times this weekend about it all (mainly about the cats - I cannot let them get hurt - they are my babies too!).

I don't know what has happened to this dog to make her this way. I have heard about training techniques like muzzles and those shock collars you can get at pet stores. Help please! I am not ready to give up on her, but I can't let anyone get hurt. :confused: :(

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Moving this to behavior forums

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

The first thing that strikes me is that you have found a dog whose history you know nothing about. You've only had him for a few weeks and you are expecting a WHOLE LOT from this dog awfully quickly.

I'd say give the dog some time to calm down and acclimate to his new home before trying to socialize or re-socialize him. He needs to learn first that YOU are now his parents and protectors and that he has a safe place to live and people who will be there to protect him.

I suspect his lashing out at other dogs (and the cats, although I think this is merely play in terms of the cats), the dog is fearful. He is unsure of his role with you and among other dogs. This has to come slowly and one step at a time. He needs to establish his relationship with you and your family first. Give that two or three weeks at least.

Then, you can start exposing him to the neighborhood, etc., just as you would start socializing a new puppy. Do it slowly and DO NOT FORCE the dog into situations that frighten him. Reward and praise good behaviors and turn and walk away when bad behavior occurs. Picking up the dog is NOT the way to handle the situation as you describe. Turn and walk away with the dog, then put the dog into a sit/stay and look him in the eye and say "BAD DOG" or "NO BITING" or whatever it is you are teaching. Wait 3 to 4 full seconds then pet and release. The dog will learn.

In this dog's situation, being unsure of its home, etc., a dog park is probably not a good idea right now. Too much confusion and too many fear factors. First socialize with dogs you know, one on one, with leashes ON. This way you can control the dogs, give a time out or reprimand if necessary easily and quickly to teach the dog. Once your new dog has learned to behave less aggressively with these "friendly" dogs, then you can start exposing him to other dogs in the dog park. But I think right now a dog park is too overwhelming for him.

Give the dog lots of time and love and attention for a few weeks more, just you and your family. You'll have many years of love and affection ahead of you, so during this transition period, take it slowly and patiently. It will all work out.

I also recommend you get a copy of "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson and start restablishing his training with YOU and your family in command. Help the dog to understand what is expected of him, and reward and praise him when he gets it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Kobalt]

I agree that the dog is fearful...and something that you might want to consider is your attitude when you approach other dogs....by you picking your dog up you are reinforcing her fear of other dogs....you are telling her that other dogs are a threat and she should stay away...so when she does interact with one she remembers that....I think you should let her get used to her new surroundings....it will take some teaching....start with the sit command....so that then when another dog approaches you can make her sit instead of picking her up. This will help her realize that she is equal with them and not to fear them. It will take time...weeks or months...but be patient. I also think you should check out "Calming Signals" or the "Culture Clash" two great books that help a lot. Good luck with your rescue.

 

[aself]

Thanks

Thanks for all of the help. I will pick up a copy of The Culture Clash after Lucy's vet appt tonight.

I have been picking her up whenever dogs who aren't on leashes come up - it amazes me how many people walk around our neighborhood with their dogs not on leashes, or how many people let their dogs just hang out in their driveway with no leash. I don't pick her up whenever she sees dogs on other leashes, just tell her "no" when she starts to pull at them. I am nervous about a dog who isn't on a leash - I don't want Lucy hurt and I don't want to get hurt breaking up a dogfight. There is one Chow in our neighborhood who runs around free (with tags and everything) and growls at Lucy, even when I have her picked up. What do I do then?

Now, she sits whenever I tell her to. Someone has trained her a little.

She is such a sweet little thing - only wants attention and affection from people and is VERY friendly with strangers!

 

[peblz200]

While were on the suject maybe someone can give me advice too..

4 nights ago I adopted a 3yr old female (Candy) she is very sweet great with my son and great with my 1 year old boxer boy.
Problem is she hates all the other dogs on the other side of the fence my dogs are indoors but all my neighbors have outdoor dogs Candy runs riht to the fence tries to get over it or under and wants to attack the other dogs im scared one of these days shes gonna get through and when she does its not going to be a pretty sight shes very aggressive with them Ive been walking her ou and leaving her collar on so when she tries to attack I can hook her leash on and pull her away I have her sit and tell her no, but still no changes....

Anyways I think my neighbors are begining to hate us I can tell they are sick of it I just dont know what to do I have a young son and this is taking alot out of me I cant take being nervous all the time..

lso she is not fixed yet i it true when they are spayed it calms them down some????

Any Advice would be greatly appreciated!!:confused:

 

[Krikkit]

4 nights ago I adopted a 3yr old female (Candy) she is very sweet great with my son and great with my 1 year old boxer boy.
Problem is she hates all the other dogs on the other side of the fence my dogs are indoors but all my neighbors have outdoor dogs Candy runs riht to the fence tries to get over it or under and wants to attack the other dogs im scared one of these days shes gonna get through and when she does its not going to be a pretty sight shes very aggressive with them Ive been walking her ou and leaving her collar on so when she tries to attack I can hook her leash on and pull her away I have her sit and tell her no, but still no changes....

Hi Stacy, congratulations on the new addition to you family It could help getting Candy desexed as our girls can be rather moody at certain times. Also, I'd recommend that you purchase the video and booklet 'Calming Signals' by Turid Rugass, and the book 'Culture Clash' by Jean Donaldson as these are both wonderful resources and will help you a great deal with Candy. Candy would be picking up on you being nervous too - I'm sorry you have this problem :(

One of our girls, Amy, was a fence fighter :rolleyes: Bella and Ruben have never been overly bothered and Layla just used to run up and down. Very few dogs are fenced in here which annoys me. I tried a few things, what was successful was pairing the dog next door with something great for Amy. I would have introduced her to the dog next door but it has a history of being involved in serious fights and has no bite inhibition so I did not dare risk it. How do the dogs next door respond to Candy aggressing them through the fence? Once you get to know Candy better (give it some time), and get to know the dogs next door as well, this exert from Culture Clash could help:

We do know that fence fighters are best treated by introducing them, off-leash, without barriers, provided the dogs in question don't have ultra hard mouths. Owners typically expect a blood bath given the long history of blustering at each other through the fence, but these dogs almost always fizzle out after some minor jostling or scuffling provided they are not completely unsocialized or have zero bite inhibition. Many become playmates. Needless to say, the ideal is for the dog to experience as little barrier frustration as possible in the first place. This is easily accoomplised by not tying out or leaving them interminably in yards. As well, you should allow regular contact and play between dogs who live on the opposite sides of a fence.

It would be a good idea to not allow Candy out in the yard off lead for a while. You could get a flexi lead so she has lots of room yet still be under control. Go out in the yard with her with a lot of tasty treats and simply treat and praise her for not paying attention to the dogs next door.

I did not do the on lead stage with Amy, but should have. I actually used raw meat as treats, and even if Amy was fence fighting would wave the treats under her nose. At first she would not notice it, then one day she sniffed it, then looked at it, then ate it, after that it was uphill all the way and now if the dog next door comes up and barks at the fence she runs to me for a treat and never starts anything I realise that many people will not like the 'treat the dog even though the dog is aggressing idea' but it worked, and worked as a permanent solution with any dog on our fence line, and has worked for one of my friends with a cattle dog who was a fence fighter, and for a club member with a GSD with the same problem. I did wean Amy off the treats and now she would get a treat about once in every 20 times she comes to me when there is a dog at our fence. The dog next door is a lot better too about running at our fence as it is getting zero reaction from my Boxers. I never used any correction methods, verbal or physical, when we were retraining (this article might help explain why http://members.aol.com/RottnMary/Classical.html )

I'd keep Candy onlead until you get to really know her, and until you have read the books I mentioned. You will then have a much better idea of what to look for and how Candy may react to different forms of retraining. I knew how Amy would react which is why I tired the behavior modification method of getting in her face with food. Do you know Candy's history at all? It might be worthwhile to consult a behaviorist to help you out. Remember to never treat aggression with aggression and be very cautious how you handle Candy if she is fence fighting. Many dogs involved in this type of activity could bite you, not 'on purpose' but because their brain is on another planet and they are once big ball of adrenalin - a bite would be the result of redirected aggression and the dog is not even aware of what they are doing.

Perhaps a double fencing type thing would help as well if you could manage it. You could also look at replacing your fence so it is solid, this usually always solves the problem. If fence replacement is not an option then you could cover your existing fence with tarps, plastic or similar so Candy can not see through it. This might help too http://www.bcrescue.org/fenceaggression.html as well as this on dog body language http://www.wagntrain.com/BodyLanguage.htm

All the best with Candy.

 

[EMWAZ]

dog aggressive

Just a suggestion and anyone else on the board can critique my thoughts. I was wondering if it could be a dominance issue?? One of the female fosters we had for about six weeks showed dog aggression and food aggression when I got her. She also had not been around cats. I think with her it was dominance.

I worked with her on this with some basic rules about sitting before being fed, let out, let in, leaving the food bowl down for only 10 minutes, etc. I also followed the rule about separating her when she showed this behavior and keeping her away from the rest of the family for short periods. She snapped at my female a couple of times when we first got her and she tried to keep all the food for herself. I also paid attention to whether or not she was above me, etc. It seemed that making her follow these rules without fail worked in about 3 weeks and she mellowed out a lot. About the cat issue, the thing that helped me was our male cat was used to being around dogs and would stand his ground and we also were very careful when they were together.

Give yours some time and understanding maybe some of the suggestions will work. Do research I found a lot of information on the web!!!

 

[Kurika]

I also have a female with 16 months that as always been like that and she never had lack of dogs to play. I think it's a dominance problem in all Boxer females, because almost all the ones I know here in Portugal are like this, except the ones that live with other dogs since a very young age. My girl is also quite agressive towards other dogs (never bitten a dog, but growls like she wants to kill them if they don't let her get on top, and when she does, she doesn't let them move an inch!!!), but it seems to me that it's worse in places that she doesn´t know very well. I have allready tried to scold her, but it's no good.