Is this normal?

[angelakenney]

We just got a 10 month old girl boxer to add to our family. We've had our male boxer for 6 months or so and he is a year and a half old.

I've never had 2 dogs before and I don't know if what they are doing is normal or if I should try to intervene.

They wrestle. CONSTANTLY!!! Sometimes it's just rolling around on the ground and making noise and chasing each other. Sometimes I'm just not sure though. Last night I saw the youngest one steal a chewtoy from our oldest. He's always been an only dog and has never had to stand up for himself and has never had his toys stolen by another dog. We humans do it all the time but it's always in play, not to just steal. Should I stop her from doing this? We have two of everything. He rarely shows interest in toys anymore, just her. Maybe once the newness wears off, he'll play with his toys more and not let her just take them away.

Today they were playing tug with a rope toy and tugging back and forth with it. At first I thought it was pretty cute, but I'm not sure if they were just fighting over the toy or just playing. I couldn't tell if their tails were wagging much, they were just sticking up. He would get the toy and run around while she chased. She'd try to bite his back legs while he was running.

She has also been hogging the food. My boy has never been food oriented, but she obviously is. So he just steps back and lets her eat what she wants out of his bowl.

So. Is this ok? Are they just playing? I don't want my boy to think that I brought a bully home to pester him or that I won't stick up for him. I wish I could read their little minds and know what is really going in their heads. :(

 

[Althea]

They are playing. And she may be more dominant than he. Trust me -- fighting, you'll know. This is all play, and she's having a great time -- chances are, he is too. He'll probably, in time, stand up for himself. I have three very strong dog personalities in my house, yet everyone manages to get along.

The food theft: I'd feed them separately, and I would not allow her in his bowl. It requires you to be vigilant when you feed -- either feed in separate areas, or I stood between my dogs, and made sure each finished and stayed out of each other's bowls. Now that I have three, we feed them in their crates. You don't want her having all that food, and him not getting enough, and it could eventually cause some issues, even if it doesn't now. That's my $0.02 of experience!

 

[srennie]

Yeah, like Althea said, there will be no doubt if they are fighting! And it usually sounds worse than it is but they sure can sound nasty!

I also agree about controlling the eating routine a little more. I used to stand between them but now they are to the point that they wait for eachother to finish (from a respectful distance) and only when the last one to finish is done do they switch to 'inspect' the others dish to see if they left anything behind.

Sometimes one will value the toys more than the other. Our little boston is the toy theif around here and both boxers just bowed to his thievery. I'll tell you though if it is a new or prized toy, our boxer will definitely back him off if he tries to steal it. It doesn't happen very often but she'll give a low growl and he acts all dejected and turns away. They'll work it out. It could be your boy just doesn't care enough to argue with her just yet but he might in time.

 

[caruse]

From what I have been told , a year and a half is good time to add to the group...We got Frazier when Laila was a year and a half...its like having two, two year olds! Mine did what you describe..at first I was worried about their wrestling and rough play, but my son said it was normal play, which I have come to realize...I see now the difference between play and fighting, which happens on occasion..when they "steal toys, I watch and let them work it out and usually they do it on their own without a lot of fuss and it ends up being a game. I think they need to learn to work out the differences on their own as they are getting used to one another, If things get a little out of hand, or carried away I will say "that's enough" and they will stop and look at me and that seems to be enough to break the cycle
My two are not food aggressive but my younger one will try to steal a treat or sometimes food pieces and that is where I step in and let them know it is not ok to do this...they will listen to a simple "no that is not yours" , they never go for the others meal bowl.
It takes time and trial and error but it works out..good luck and have fun!!
Barbaralovicon

 

[angelakenney]

Thank you guys so much for your advice and kind words! It's really amusing to watch the two of them work this stuff out and get to know each other. My husband has started to stand between them when they eat. It's helping a lot. Brady is actually starting to eat all of the food he's given and eat it quickly....and Lucy is...well...she's still trying to steal his food, but eventually I think she'll realize that isn't allowed.

Today I think it started to sink in to both of them that this whole deal is for good. Lucy seems to be a little moody and snippy, makes me wonder if she misses her family. And Brady is being a little love sponge and acting all depressed and mopey. He seems to be annoyed by her and is kinda ignoring her. And yet they're sleeping in a big tangled mess of dog. haha!

It was weird. They slept all evening yesterday, all night, all morning and afternoon today....and tonight they played outside for maybe half an hour and then passed out again. HUGE change in routine for us!! Normally Brady requires a lot of our attention in play time...now he just wants some hugs before he goes back to sleep. LOL!

I'm so glad this is working. I'm head over heels for Lucy and sooo wanted my boy to have somebody to keep him company when we're at work.

 

[Lizzie]

I agree with the others - it sounds like play to me. And she may well end up being the boss! Diva and Monty were fed at the same time and Monty was rather fond of trying to steal Diva's food and so I would stand between them and if he moved toward her bowl I would just say 'ah ah' and he knew that he was not allowed to go near Diva and her food.

All I can say, is enjoy them both - I always found it highly entertaining to watch my two play and carry on.

 

[FebruaryRain]

We adopted two boxers years ago, Harley was 13 months old when we rescued him and he was 3 when we rescued Star. Star was 5 or 6, very food driven and used to being the dominant dog in the house. Harley was quite happy to have her in the family until about the 4th night after Star's arrival. They both had rawhide bones and Harley tried to steal Star's. She jumped up, pinned Harley by the neck and forced him to the floor. We had to hit her over the head with a slipper to get her to back off. After that, Harley seemed to know who was boss and accepted it. Of course, we were dominant to both dogs but Harley knew his place in the canine pecking order. We didn't try to intervene but kept a close eye on both dogs for several days to see how things were going to go. Harley and Star settled into a very close relationship, playing, wrestling and chasing each other everyday and all curled up together to sleep but Harley definitely knew his place. We never again saw any sort of aggression, on Star's part, towards Harley. I guess, once dogs set up their pecking order, they just seem to know what to do and how to act. The boxers also spent hours "wrestling" with one another and playing very roughly. We finally realized that that's how boxer's play. We lost both Harley and Star last year and are still grieving our loss. We now have two new furbabies, Sassy, a 3-year-old female boxer rescued from the pound and Chica, a 14-month-old chihuahua whom we received as a gift to help us deal with the loss of our beloved boxer babies. Anyway, best of luck with your new furbaby. Boxers are the best!!

 

[PattonsPeeps]

same here...

What you first described is EXACTLY how my 2 boxers act. Like you, we have a 1.5yr old and a 9month old. Patton, the oldest and biggest is my dog...he's a lovable, affectionate and very obedient boy. The pup, Ranger, is my husband's dog. She's the total opposite...independent, does what she wants when she wants, princess who back talks a lot. We got her about 3 months ago to be my husbands best friend, but our plan back fired. They both would rather be together than with either one of us, and all they do ALL DAY LONG is wrestle. Sometimes they'll play with a toy but that just leads to more wrestling. The first thing they do in the morning is wrestle, when the go outside, they wrestle, and after dinner, they wrestle some more. Usually you only hear them grunting, but when they really get going they sound like they're trying to kill each other! I used to get nervouse, but now I know it's just their way. When I would stop them, they'd look at me with big smiles and drippy tongues like, "what?!" They also have this Wild & Crazed way of play fighting where they bare their teeth and make loud wookie noises while clashing their mouths together like walruses. It's hilarious, and of course, they only do that while I'm on the phone, like clock-work. Look forward to more fun times ahead as they adjust. Soon you'll see them playing nicer, the bigger one being more aware of the little one's pain threshold, and the little one keeping up more and more each day.

 

[jbbtlr]

You will get to enjoy all sorts of Boxer "firsts" with having 2 of them!! It is sooo much fun and they are such characters!!!!!

The older one will put the puppy "in her place" if he gets tired of something she is doing. Well I shouldn't say that, sometimes the olders ones don't care but I think everyone has their limits including dogs.... :D

Koda will put up with Harley for the most part but when she starts doing something he doesn't like, he gets tired and is done playing and she wants to continue or she tries to steal his bone he corrects her and she backs off. He has only gotten really crabby with her two or three times where I actually took notice, but she just wouldn't leave him alone. It is funny to watch her get all cuddly with him when he's had enough and he's let her know.

If they are crate trained, I would try feeding them in their crates. I started doing that about a year ago because Harley would try and eat Koda's food, and it just has continued, I love. They eat with their doors open now, but it's great, one of those things I wonder why I never did it before.

Anyway......sounds like they are having fun together!!!! Enjoy the entertainment!