Is he or isn't he aggressive?

[alisanapier]

Let me preface this by saying that I have asked this question before and paid close attention to the responses but I am just not sure..........
I have an adorable 12 week old brindle boxer ( Beau)that just loves to BITE!!! In addition to the biting he growls. I understand that they play and chew and bite but sometimes it takes on a diferent tone. If I correct him he just bites harder, he won't play with his toys when I try to distract him, and when I have to seperate his mouth from whatever appendage he has latched on to he growls at me and barks. He can occassionally play nicely but there are times when he starts to play roughand just won't stop and there is no other solution but to put him up until he can play gently.

How much biting is play and how much is aggressiveness? I failed to mention that he know growls and bites at me when it is time for the crate. He had been acclimating to the crate nicely until recently. I am home during the day so he is in and out of the crate during the day and sleeps there at night. He gets plenty of exercise and we try to play with him frequently throughout the day. Please help us, we desperately want to play with our new addition.!!!
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[orgcrsh]

I have some of the same concerns with my 10 week old boy. He does some of the same stuff, except for the crate stuff. He still likes his crate. I want to think he is just a puppy and this is what he does. But I want to make sure it does not get out of hand.

Thanks, any advice also would be great.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

No, again, your dog is not aggressive. This is typical boxer puppy play mode.

When the pup bites, turn and walk away from him. End the game or play time and ignore the dog until he has calmed down and is no longer seeking your attention. Then call the dog to you and play with him. This way the dog learns that play time only comes after he is calm and does not bite or growl.

I also suggest taking a look at the book section here at Boxerworld. There are some excellent publications which will be of great assistance to you in this regard. Particularly "The Culture Clash," "The Dog Listener," and "How To Train Your Boxer."

Good luck.

 

[NJBOXER]

I have had the same thing and he still does it at 6-months. I at first thought it was aggression as this is my first boxer but after Tulsa-Dan reassured me it wasn't I took a closer look and noticed even though he is growling, barking, biting etc., he is also wagging his nub and not displaying any agressive body language. Mostly with max its to get my attention or an invitation for a fun(but violent) game of wrestle on the floor. We now need to establish the fact that this behavior needs to stop not when he wants, but when I say. We will be addressing this in the much overdue start of Max's training.