misinterpreting boxer play for aggression...I think

[Kamate]

Our 14 Week old boy Luger is a rough player, we found a boxer girlfriend for him at puppy pre-school so they can play together as rough as they like. All the other dogs at PPS get owned by our little guy includng a dog roughly twice his size LOL BOXERS RULE

 

[jimseabee]

Yep; dog parks are a problem with boxers for the very reasons you mentioned. Other dogs interpret their boxing as aggression and get defensive, often resulting in a scuffle. Luckily, here in Athens, GA there are many bulldogs of various kinds, so we see a LOT of boxers at the park, a few mastiffs, and some boxer mixes. I haven't found a way to break Butler of the boxing habit; I think it just comes with owning, or being owned, by a boxer.

this is why I have scratches all over me, why my DS went to work with a long scratch down his face... this is what they do....the use their paws to box the .... out of you.

 

[karabracht]

Thanks so much for all your replies. The video was fun to watch. My Boxers don't run so much. They just stay put in one spot and wrestle, exactly like yours in the vidoe. They growl while they play but I put a stop to it if they start to bark and it looks they're getting too wound up. I notice sometimes, especially my older boxer, they can get a little too excited and then have trouble calming down without a little intervention. I agree about the dog parks. I've noticed some dogs like it and some dogs don't. The trick is catching up to her fast enough to make her stop if she is being annoying. Because we are fairly new to the dog park I've tried attaching a long lead to her while she plays so I can get to her quicker if there is a scuffle, but it seems to get in the way more than it actually helps.

 

[CTteach1331]

same here

That's the growling that I was worried about when he's with other male dogs.....but maybe he's just playing but the other male dogs get defensive, and it has turned into a fight a couple of times.....

The dog park......lately I try to go when noone is there and then he can run like crazy and appreciate the space, though I feel bad he doesn't have anyone to wrestle with like that....one day when I get a house, hopefully next year or so, I want to get a female boxer for him to play with~

Robyn

 

[ELubas]

I find at dog parks too that the park is used for exercise , not socializing, so a lot of the dogs are just too excited when they arrive. On the rare occassion I take my boy I make sure he is well exercised first.

 

[MoparGirl]

Our girls play pretty rough with each other as well, and they box us too. We have to watch them with other dogs because like everyone else has said, they don't appreciate getting popped in the face. Plus, our girls do not roll on their backs for any other dogs (except each other).

I have had to learn to relax a little bit, because they sound differently when they are playing with other dogs versus each other. They sound much more aggressive when they are playing with other dogs, but they are still playing. We thankfully had a friend with a yellow lab that was more relaxed than I was when they started playing together. We just watch the other dogs to make sure that they aren't scared or misinterpreting our girls and becoming aggresive in return. Their german shepherd friend has tried to box them back now.

We also went through figureing out how they played when we first got them because they can seem as if they are becoming aggressive when playing with us, when they are just playing. There is quite a learning curve when you're a new boxer parent.

 

[cjoram]

If you saw my 55 lb boxer playing and heard my 100lb shepard growling at her as he chased her around my back yard you would think he was trying to kill her. I believe that boxers do play aggressive, because she will knock him on his back and climbed on top of him and bit at him. When she has gone to far he lets her know.

 

[miamiboxer]

Other breeds will get used to it if they play long enough.

My boxer girl plays that way with my other dog, a boy dog of very questionable pedigree. They love to play rough and he has even developed some "boxing skills of his own, which I never saw for the whole year I owned him before she came along.

I have a friend who has a large retriever who always had problems with boxers at the park. But after he spent a little while in my back yard with my dogs, he sort of got the handle of it and played heartily but friendly with my boxer. Even though, after a little while he did seem a little tired and annoyed, but no aggression.

I think the breed is a little too much for other dogs sometimes if they're not used to it.

 

[joeys mom]

My Joey is such a sweet non aggressive boy, he doesnt even bark at strangers, but when he is playing with our other dog cloey (a blue heler-his best buddy) he sounds so mean like he is being way too rough but she (cloey) goes right along and gives it back to him. they are inseperable.

 

[brianloki]

Loki plays like that too. He doesn't usually growl or make a lot of noise (unless he's trying to get another dog to chase him), but he definitely throws his paws around as much as he can when he's playing.

Thus far, though, it hasn't been a problem with other dogs, even ones who don't use their paws much during play. His best friend is a female dog next door names Onyx, a chow mix that's about the same size as Loki (around the fifty pound marker), and they fight like crazy and chase each other around. Onyx doesn't play like Loki at all, but they seem to have a great time together, and they go crazy whenever they see each other outside.

He also used to play really well with another neighbor's pit mix (although they also had a Boxer, so the pit was probably used to the paws), but they moved away recently.