I Never Thought It Would Happen *LONG*
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tcarlisle
Super Boxer
Mandy (and others in this situation),
Riley got spooked, and his "fight or flight" instinct tried to kick in. Since he was being restrained by his collar, that removed the "flight" option and left him with only one option which was to "fight".
We all think we know our dogs, and sometimes we forget they are what they are -- animals, carnivores, hunters, etc. They are adorable, and when properly trained they are very safe, but we must never forget they are animals. As animals, some situations will trigger the "fight" or "flight" instinct.
His fight/flight instinct probably kicked in as a result of being handled by his collar, by both of you and the child and in conflicting direction. He was trapped and vulnerable, and possibly choked. On top of that, you were leading him away because you were cautious that he would hurt himself on the scissors. Your body language and "vibe" was probably read buy the dog that danger was present. Obviously, he couldn't comprehend the danger was from the scissors -- but he might have taken cues from you that he was in danger. Then the child grabbed at him and he assumed that was the source of pending danger.
Add all that up, and it is probably a good explanation for what happened.
Now, picking it apart even further might help prevent it from happening again. Obviously, being aware of the "danger vibe" you may be sending and not restraining the dog would probably be advised. If the dog is well trained, a command to sit, down, or come would be best. This allows you to control and remove the dog from the situation in a way that he is accustomed to.
But then there is the aspect of not being able to control what your guests, and especially children, will do to the dog out of ignorance. Riley may have not reacted this way if you were the only one leading him by the collar. He trusts you, etc. But the girl grabbing the collar was beyond your control.
Children should be taught how to behave around a dog, but nonetheless it will happen where kids will grab the tail, pull loose skin, get in the dog's face (to try to hug/kiss), etc. All of these things are harmless, the child doesn't mean to hurt the dog, but the dog can perceive these things as aggression and spook the dog.
So since you cannot control what your guests will do to the dog, you might consider training your dog to be more tolerant of these things that kids typically do. Train him to tolerate you playing with his tail, pulling his skin, and running up out of nowhere and putting your face in his. Make funny noises as you do this stuff. Since you know grabbing the collar was a trigger, train him to desensitive him to that also.
If he tolerates these things, but seems weary, then you need to continue it and reward him to make him like to tolerate these things. If you do these things and he tolerates it happily by wagging his tail and smiling at you, then you can move on to having other people do these things to desensitize the dog completely.
In most cases, boxers will gladly tolerate these things and they are wonderful with children. In fact, they will see these things as being similar to puppy play, and they will want to play and possibly scratch the child, stepp on the child, or knock the child over. But in some cases, even boxers need to be acclimated to the erratic behavior that most kids will force upon a dog.
So really, in a nutshell, I am saying that lowering the threshold where the dog's flight/fight instinct is triggered is where I would focus, plus modify the handling techniques by using regular obedience commands (sit, down, come) to control the dog rather than restrain or lead by the collar. By the circumstances you list, it is doubtful this will ever happen again. But I would still take training actions to lower the chances.
And in the future, you of course have to be extra careful when kids are around, but there is a catch. Your dog will read your caution as a vibe that danger is present. So we have to find a way to be cautious without sending off that vibe and putting the dog in a state of anxiety of an unkown source of danger. This is critical, becuase since this has happened you are going to be very weray when kids are around. If you are unknowingly sending this vibe, then over time your dog will be taught that kids are a threat.
Consultation with a professional behaviorist might not be a bad idea. But then again, I tend to over analyze things.
Regards,
Tom
Riley got spooked, and his "fight or flight" instinct tried to kick in. Since he was being restrained by his collar, that removed the "flight" option and left him with only one option which was to "fight".
We all think we know our dogs, and sometimes we forget they are what they are -- animals, carnivores, hunters, etc. They are adorable, and when properly trained they are very safe, but we must never forget they are animals. As animals, some situations will trigger the "fight" or "flight" instinct.
His fight/flight instinct probably kicked in as a result of being handled by his collar, by both of you and the child and in conflicting direction. He was trapped and vulnerable, and possibly choked. On top of that, you were leading him away because you were cautious that he would hurt himself on the scissors. Your body language and "vibe" was probably read buy the dog that danger was present. Obviously, he couldn't comprehend the danger was from the scissors -- but he might have taken cues from you that he was in danger. Then the child grabbed at him and he assumed that was the source of pending danger.
Add all that up, and it is probably a good explanation for what happened.
Now, picking it apart even further might help prevent it from happening again. Obviously, being aware of the "danger vibe" you may be sending and not restraining the dog would probably be advised. If the dog is well trained, a command to sit, down, or come would be best. This allows you to control and remove the dog from the situation in a way that he is accustomed to.
But then there is the aspect of not being able to control what your guests, and especially children, will do to the dog out of ignorance. Riley may have not reacted this way if you were the only one leading him by the collar. He trusts you, etc. But the girl grabbing the collar was beyond your control.
Children should be taught how to behave around a dog, but nonetheless it will happen where kids will grab the tail, pull loose skin, get in the dog's face (to try to hug/kiss), etc. All of these things are harmless, the child doesn't mean to hurt the dog, but the dog can perceive these things as aggression and spook the dog.
So since you cannot control what your guests will do to the dog, you might consider training your dog to be more tolerant of these things that kids typically do. Train him to tolerate you playing with his tail, pulling his skin, and running up out of nowhere and putting your face in his. Make funny noises as you do this stuff. Since you know grabbing the collar was a trigger, train him to desensitive him to that also.
If he tolerates these things, but seems weary, then you need to continue it and reward him to make him like to tolerate these things. If you do these things and he tolerates it happily by wagging his tail and smiling at you, then you can move on to having other people do these things to desensitize the dog completely.
In most cases, boxers will gladly tolerate these things and they are wonderful with children. In fact, they will see these things as being similar to puppy play, and they will want to play and possibly scratch the child, stepp on the child, or knock the child over. But in some cases, even boxers need to be acclimated to the erratic behavior that most kids will force upon a dog.
So really, in a nutshell, I am saying that lowering the threshold where the dog's flight/fight instinct is triggered is where I would focus, plus modify the handling techniques by using regular obedience commands (sit, down, come) to control the dog rather than restrain or lead by the collar. By the circumstances you list, it is doubtful this will ever happen again. But I would still take training actions to lower the chances.
And in the future, you of course have to be extra careful when kids are around, but there is a catch. Your dog will read your caution as a vibe that danger is present. So we have to find a way to be cautious without sending off that vibe and putting the dog in a state of anxiety of an unkown source of danger. This is critical, becuase since this has happened you are going to be very weray when kids are around. If you are unknowingly sending this vibe, then over time your dog will be taught that kids are a threat.
Consultation with a professional behaviorist might not be a bad idea. But then again, I tend to over analyze things.
Regards,
Tom
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