My baby, the daycare bully?

[ruebaby]

Hello, everyone. :D I'm new here, and I just have a situation that I would love to get your opinions on.

I have a 9 & a half week old fawn boxer puppy named Rue. She is wonderful with us! A real lapdog, who plays when she wants to play and then plops down to sleep.

Today, we had a surprise! In a few weeks we will be bringing her to Doggy Daycare for a few hours each Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (we don't want her to be lonely at home when everyone has to work), and so today we did a trial run. She was dropped off at 8:45 & we picked her up at 3:00.

When we picked her up from daycare, the people who run it told us that she was very growly with the other 2 puppies that were there. She also tried to mount one 13-week-old Jack Russel Terrier mix, and was playing rough. The owners of the daycare would not leave her in the pen with any of the puppies without close watch and someone at the ready to separate them if Rue started to growl and bark.

We have never seen this kind of behavior from her, in the time we have had her. (Since she was 8 weeks.) She has been fine (yet a bit timid) with dogs we have cautiously introduced her to at the park & at stores such as PetCo.

Should we be worried about this? I have read through some other threads that say that this is very normal Boxer puppy behavior. (We are already taking her to training, starting last Saturday.) So, is this true? Should we be at all worried about this, and should we tell the people who run the daycare that this is normal Boxer puppy behavior? (They do not have much experience with Boxers.) Or should we have her evaluated by a behaviorist? They seemed quite worried about this & the other puppies, and she was also very surprised that Rue would do this, as she is so very mellow with everything else she does.

Sorry that this is so long! We just want to be very careful & give her the best possible care that we can. Any help is very, very much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Shakira's Ma]

First off...yes this is normal boxer baby play I would do some research on the internet and print out some pages about boxers expecially boxer puppies for the daycare. You can get some useful boxer puppy information right here at BW. If they still refuse to understand her behaviour then I would seek out another daycare facility that will understand the breed. You don't want her somewhere she will be misunderstood and maybe get handled improperly in the process. Also keep in mind that she is really too young to be going to the dog parks or parks in general and daycare as well, they need to have their shots completed before having them around animals that you are not sure of. Droppings from a contaminated animal (raccoons, dogs etc) can transmit parvo and other nasty dieases. Their shots are usually not completed until around 16 weeks old, up until that time you really need to be extra careful about where they go and what kind of animals they are around. Good Luck with your baby, she sounds just like all the other boxer babies out there. Have fun, you are about to begin an exciting roller coaster ride through her life with her.

 

[Cami]

For anyone NOT familiar with Boxer puppies (and Boxers in general), when you hear them play it can literally sound like a dog fight in process!!!
Boxers also "box", many breeds are not used to this style of play. Some take it and pick it up others get frightened and even others seem offended by it.

I agree that she is too young to be around other dogs right now, at least until she has all of her puppy shots. Does the day care have a medium sized breed area? A Boxer pup can generally be bigger and a lot stronger than another smaller breed of pup even the same age. Adult dogs, if you feel comfortable going that route, may be another option for your dog to play with.

Here is a link to my girl and her best girlfriend PLAYING.....puppy growls are adorable, "big-girl" growls can be scary if you didn't know that it was totally being done in good fun! I actually had to stop the playing since my neighbor came outside during filming and she always thinks they are fighting!

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=50636&cdate=20060413&ctime=185032

 

[entelekia]

Oh my God, I just laughed so hard at the girls at the end when they finally stop... Cami's tongue hanging out over to the side... Cracked me up. They looked like they were having a blast! Too bad you had to stop them.

 

[Loki'smom]

AHH!! I love the video, just like my guys and their boxer friends. Its so nice to know that boxer lovers understand this behaviour as normal and acceptable, I can't tell you the number of times we have gotten disgusted looks from other dog owners who think we can't control our dogs and that they're vicious. They're just having fun. Thanks for the clip.

 

[ctmusmc]

I'm glad I read this thread. I was going to post a new one about the whole growling thing.

Our new baby and our older boxer are getting a slow start at getting used to each other. Today though, she actually wanted to play with Kasch. He's been wanting to play with her since we brought her home, however he's still way too rough. Today though, she pounced on him and grabbed him by the neck, biting and growling (it sounded viscious to me) then he rolled her over and sat on her. She wriggled free then went at him again baring teeth. Kinda made me wonder if she's too agressive for a pup her age, especially towards a dog that weighs about 45 lbs more than her. Is this normal?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm just concerned that she's going to end up overly agressive towards him because she's WAY more hyper and "bitey" than he was at that age.

 

[ruebaby]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
They keep the puppies in a pretty medium-sized area, as they have separate ones for every need. :D
Also, she has received all of her shots (the breeder's vet gave her some shots that are good for a year, and don't need a booster until then), and we haven't really let her play with any unknown dogs. We introduced them at the park where we take her, and at the store we are pretty cautious. We would hold her back and while many dogs would bark, she would just hang back and stare. We leash her at all times at the park, but basically she just chews on her toy and occasionally says hello to a passerby.

 

[BXRBESTFRIND]

. Kinda made me wonder if she's too agressive for a pup her age, especially towards a dog that weighs about 45 lbs more than her. Is this normal?

There is a grace period for puppies and older dogs the pup will hit a certain age and the older dog wont put up with as much. Kinda like humans and babies we say "Hes just a baby and doesnt know any better"

In a few months yur lder dog will start laying down the law of what is acceptable. Untill then if you feel your pup is getting too rowdy seperate them have both calm down and when they are calm (not fixated on each other) then let them play again. Remember your the leader it should be your responsiblilty to dictate when play is ok andwhen its too much (or not at all)

Good luck

Ohh and Ruebaby ive never heard of those types of shots do you have anymore info about them??

 

[MyBoxerDewey]

Becareful with a pup so young. Normally shots arent done till 16 weeks. Diseases an older dog will shake off can kill a pup...Anyway Boxers certainly do have a very interesting way of playing. One of the doggy day cares in our area do a boxer only play group because of how rough they play. Check for something like this. Other than that you may just have to wait while she learns her manners.

 

[Jpep]

well don't feel bad my girl got kicked out doggy daycare her first visit. I dropped her off at 7:30 they called me at 8:20. They didn't kick her out of the daycare center just all the group play which was the reason I brought her there in the first place. Also like the previous post said most daycares I find will not put up with a overly playful dog, a boxer play group would be awesome, but I never heard of one of those in my area. Also your quote that she is such a lap dog, I'm not trying to be the bearer of bad news but having that mentality might set you up for failure later on. Boxers need discipline and allowing them to roll all over you is a behavior that they will bring to other dogs and try to act on them the same way they do to you.
Be glad that they were open and honest with you about her behaviors it will help you to stop them. My girl at 16months still tries to mount and dominate dogs, not only is it embarassing to me but definately not an appropriate behavior (behaviorist came last tues.). Goodluck with proper training I'm sure you'll have no probs with that daycare but time to nip things in the bud as they happen.