alclemmo
Boxer Pal
We need some opinions and advice on our boxer buddies' episode!
We have a 2 year old female, Zoey. She is spayed. We have a 1 year old male, Oscar. He is not neutered just yet, but will be getting neutered very soon.
We had Zoey first and brought Oscar into the home as a puppy. They have always gotten along great and played very well together.
My husband and I have gotten so attached to these two. We don't have children yet, so we get to devote lots of quality time with them. They are very spoiled!
Let me begin by telling you some of the first things that we started to notice before the episode (but thought were normal):
1) Zoey, the female, is very jealous of any attention that we give Oscar. She always has to come and get in between us and Oscar, as if she is saying… "no… pet me instead."
Zoey has never been a toy freak. Oscar loves toys. If we start to play with Oscar and his toys… Zoey is right there pretending to want the toy. She always wants to be center of attention.
2) When we feed them, we do feed them in the same room, but at opposite ends of the room. Oscar will watch Zoey eat her food first and then wait until she comes over to check out what he has, and then he will growl at her and guard his food. It has never escalated past just a growl or two.
When we are not around, they seem to play well together. We have a fenced in yard. When they go out to play, they love to do the same things. And they will play with a toy together outside. They do like to rough-house play outside. I will look out and see them going up in the air doing the chest bang and dueling in that way, but it has never escalated to any more that just rough "play".
AND THEN SATURDAY HAPPENED! We were outside with them. It was a beautiful day here. My husband was throwing a soft frisbee around for Oscar. He only got in maybe two throws. Oscar had caught the frisbee and returned it to my husband. My husband dropped to the ground to greet and praise Oscar. Zoey must have been watching them very close. She was with me on the patio. She took off after them. She just trotted out to them and the next thing we knew, she got between them. We are not sure if Oscar made the first growl or Zoey, but I am pretty certain that Zoey, the female, jumped him first.
A serious fight broke out. My husband was still on the ground between them. He tried very hard to break them up, getting scratched severely in the process. When he was finally able to get himself up off the ground, he managed to pick Oscar up. Zoey was still trying to get to him. So, I pulled her back by grabbing her two back legs. Once I got her pulled away from them, she got control of herself. I don't know if she just needed a breath and was glad that I stepped in or what… but it didn't take much for me to hold her in place. She just stood there and caught her breath, licking her lips constantly. I guess she had blood on them.
There was only a small cut around Oscar's mouth. It was not bad at all. But had we not separated them when we did, I think it could have been much worse. They were both so determined!
I scolded Zoey pretty hard. I would not let her leave her spot for a while. She ended up just laying down in that spot. I was hoping that she knew she had done wrong. But she could have just been tired. We would not pet them or give them any attention immediately after that. We did check their wounds, of course, but no affection.
We were on pins and needles the rest of the afternoon, or at least I was. My husband seems to think this was an isolated incident. He doesn't think that it changed their relationship. It was very upsetting and scary to me. It hurts mainly because I saw two great buddies want to harm each other. I want them to love each other!
Can they love each other, yet sometimes fight like this? Is this just a jealousy thing or something worse?
Can we trust them when we are not here?
When Oscar gets neutered, could this help their relationship? Even though it is Zoey, not Oscar, that is the problem.
I have read lots of threads on here about aggression and how to break up fights etc. So, I have learned a lot already.
I just want some confirmation if anyone recognizes this behavior. Is this just a jealousy thing getting out of hand? If so I want to nip Zoey's behavior or ours in the bud before we are possibly breaking up another fight!
If needed, I would consider taking them to a professional for help. Oscar did attend puppy classes and does great with commands. Zoey did not attend a class. I have worked with her on commands and she listens pretty well. Her worst issue is over greeting my guests, which I think is extremely normal for a boxer.
PS… They were fine the rest of the day. Of course, they were exhausted after the fight. They crashed together on the same couch. They have been fine ever since. We are very careful and handling them with care. We are scolding Zoey for any early signs of dominance, and praising her when she stops. It is working so far.
I would love to hear your thoughts or any advice!
Thank you!!
(Sorry this was so long, just felt needed to understand situation)
We have a 2 year old female, Zoey. She is spayed. We have a 1 year old male, Oscar. He is not neutered just yet, but will be getting neutered very soon.
We had Zoey first and brought Oscar into the home as a puppy. They have always gotten along great and played very well together.
My husband and I have gotten so attached to these two. We don't have children yet, so we get to devote lots of quality time with them. They are very spoiled!
Let me begin by telling you some of the first things that we started to notice before the episode (but thought were normal):
1) Zoey, the female, is very jealous of any attention that we give Oscar. She always has to come and get in between us and Oscar, as if she is saying… "no… pet me instead."
Zoey has never been a toy freak. Oscar loves toys. If we start to play with Oscar and his toys… Zoey is right there pretending to want the toy. She always wants to be center of attention.
2) When we feed them, we do feed them in the same room, but at opposite ends of the room. Oscar will watch Zoey eat her food first and then wait until she comes over to check out what he has, and then he will growl at her and guard his food. It has never escalated past just a growl or two.
When we are not around, they seem to play well together. We have a fenced in yard. When they go out to play, they love to do the same things. And they will play with a toy together outside. They do like to rough-house play outside. I will look out and see them going up in the air doing the chest bang and dueling in that way, but it has never escalated to any more that just rough "play".
AND THEN SATURDAY HAPPENED! We were outside with them. It was a beautiful day here. My husband was throwing a soft frisbee around for Oscar. He only got in maybe two throws. Oscar had caught the frisbee and returned it to my husband. My husband dropped to the ground to greet and praise Oscar. Zoey must have been watching them very close. She was with me on the patio. She took off after them. She just trotted out to them and the next thing we knew, she got between them. We are not sure if Oscar made the first growl or Zoey, but I am pretty certain that Zoey, the female, jumped him first.
A serious fight broke out. My husband was still on the ground between them. He tried very hard to break them up, getting scratched severely in the process. When he was finally able to get himself up off the ground, he managed to pick Oscar up. Zoey was still trying to get to him. So, I pulled her back by grabbing her two back legs. Once I got her pulled away from them, she got control of herself. I don't know if she just needed a breath and was glad that I stepped in or what… but it didn't take much for me to hold her in place. She just stood there and caught her breath, licking her lips constantly. I guess she had blood on them.
There was only a small cut around Oscar's mouth. It was not bad at all. But had we not separated them when we did, I think it could have been much worse. They were both so determined!
I scolded Zoey pretty hard. I would not let her leave her spot for a while. She ended up just laying down in that spot. I was hoping that she knew she had done wrong. But she could have just been tired. We would not pet them or give them any attention immediately after that. We did check their wounds, of course, but no affection.
We were on pins and needles the rest of the afternoon, or at least I was. My husband seems to think this was an isolated incident. He doesn't think that it changed their relationship. It was very upsetting and scary to me. It hurts mainly because I saw two great buddies want to harm each other. I want them to love each other!
Can they love each other, yet sometimes fight like this? Is this just a jealousy thing or something worse?
Can we trust them when we are not here?
When Oscar gets neutered, could this help their relationship? Even though it is Zoey, not Oscar, that is the problem.
I have read lots of threads on here about aggression and how to break up fights etc. So, I have learned a lot already.
I just want some confirmation if anyone recognizes this behavior. Is this just a jealousy thing getting out of hand? If so I want to nip Zoey's behavior or ours in the bud before we are possibly breaking up another fight!
If needed, I would consider taking them to a professional for help. Oscar did attend puppy classes and does great with commands. Zoey did not attend a class. I have worked with her on commands and she listens pretty well. Her worst issue is over greeting my guests, which I think is extremely normal for a boxer.
PS… They were fine the rest of the day. Of course, they were exhausted after the fight. They crashed together on the same couch. They have been fine ever since. We are very careful and handling them with care. We are scolding Zoey for any early signs of dominance, and praising her when she stops. It is working so far.
I would love to hear your thoughts or any advice!
Thank you!!
(Sorry this was so long, just felt needed to understand situation)
That's what I would do but maybe a behaviorist would have a better ideas?