We have had Baxter since he was three months old. He is currently 14 months. Recently within the last few weeks, Baxter has been acting much more agressive towards me. However, he is not agressive all the time. He will be laying on the floor playing with a toy or just laying down, and I will be laying on the couch and he suddenly will pounce on me and start thrashing around. Occassionally he will wrap his mouth around my arm like he wants to bite me, not just mouthing. He will rarely act up when I am busy or standing, but if I lay down, sit down to relax, etc. he turns into a little devil. It's almost like he is posessed and gets an evil glare in his eye. It's actually beginning to frighten me a bit. Tonight I was sending him to his crate for bed and he started growling and barking and kind of lunged at me. I don't want him to be a mean dog and we have done nothing but treat him like a little prince, but what do I do???? I'm afraid he will bite me and then my boyfriend will want to get rid of him. However, I can't keep a dog that is turning psycho on me either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I want to get rid of this behavior before we have a real problem on our hands.
My Boxer Is Becoming Agressive Towards Me -HELP
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Jade'sMommie
Boxer Pal
By no means am I a dog expert...I too am pretty new at being a Boxer mom myself. However, with any dog its common knowledge that if they sense you're intimidated, they will continue to act as the Alpha and maintain their position as leader of the pack. My only suggestion is that when he displays that type of behavior you firmly tell him NO BITE, or DOWN to let him know that YOU are indeed the leader of the pack! Jade is still just a puppy herself, however, she tends to try me when we're walking like pulling ahead, etc. To correct her, I hold the chain next to me, and I stand slightly over her to let her know that I'm the leader and usually she'll get the hint and walk to my side.
Boxers are known to push the envelope (my Dad's youngest clown used to all the time) so don't give up on him just yet, but don't ignore the problem either. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you keep us posted on his progress.
Boxers are known to push the envelope (my Dad's youngest clown used to all the time) so don't give up on him just yet, but don't ignore the problem either. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you keep us posted on his progress.
Taliesyn88
Boxer Booster
You Need To Make It Known You Are the Boss
Hi,
Sounds like you have a boxer who is pushing the limit. I have boxers, too, and spoil them rotten, but there comes a time when you have to reprimand them severely when they do naughty things. You have to make him respect you, as you are the leader of the pack. Next time this happens, scold him severely and then put him in his crate, and ignore him for awhile. If he thinks he can get by with it, and you do nothing to reprimand him, he will only get worse when he gets older. Boxers are just like children, they will push you to try to get away with things. And, like children, they can grow up to be nasty brats if you do not get them to respect you. Rusty and I used to play very rough when he was a puppy, he would grab my arms and shake them like spaghetti noodles. Of course, I loved to rough house with him. But, there was a time and a place. And, not when you are sitting on the couch relaxing. My mother has 7 dogs and none of them respect her. In fact, one has bitten her twice, and she cannot even give him a bath!!!! The dogs run all over her because THEY CAN. If reprimanding him does not work out, contact a behavioral school or the vet to make sure everything is normal with him. Let the vet pick him up, and see what the animal's behavior is. My vet told me of a boxer puppy that was so aggresive, that nothing could be done.
I would not worry about it yet, I think he is just pushing you. So, push back, and let him know who is the boss!!!!
Hi,
Sounds like you have a boxer who is pushing the limit. I have boxers, too, and spoil them rotten, but there comes a time when you have to reprimand them severely when they do naughty things. You have to make him respect you, as you are the leader of the pack. Next time this happens, scold him severely and then put him in his crate, and ignore him for awhile. If he thinks he can get by with it, and you do nothing to reprimand him, he will only get worse when he gets older. Boxers are just like children, they will push you to try to get away with things. And, like children, they can grow up to be nasty brats if you do not get them to respect you. Rusty and I used to play very rough when he was a puppy, he would grab my arms and shake them like spaghetti noodles. Of course, I loved to rough house with him. But, there was a time and a place. And, not when you are sitting on the couch relaxing. My mother has 7 dogs and none of them respect her. In fact, one has bitten her twice, and she cannot even give him a bath!!!! The dogs run all over her because THEY CAN. If reprimanding him does not work out, contact a behavioral school or the vet to make sure everything is normal with him. Let the vet pick him up, and see what the animal's behavior is. My vet told me of a boxer puppy that was so aggresive, that nothing could be done.
I would not worry about it yet, I think he is just pushing you. So, push back, and let him know who is the boss!!!!
I would disregard the advice to try bullying your dog into believing that you are the "leader". That's not how canine leadership works, and your dog won't believe you're his leader that way, he'll just believe that you can be unpredictable and nasty. If you want to be the leader, then lead. Bullying gets you nowhere, and aggression begets aggression.
You might like to take a look at this previous thread, that contains some very good links to articles on leadership and dog training: http://boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71282
As for your actual problem here - have a think about how you are actually reacting when he does this. He is an adolescent boxer, and they are notoriously pushy and demanding at this age. It sounds very much as though your pushy adolescent is trying to play, and he is demanding your attention. So how are you reacting to this? Are you giving him attention? If you are (and negative attention is still attention) then you might like to try a different approach.
For a start giving him an alternative thing to do is a good idea - redirect him to a toy of his own. If that doesn't work (and initially I don't imagine that it will) then you need to ignore him. Don't give him the attention that he is seeking, or anything he can interpret as engaging in his game. Giving him a time-out is one possibility, but you need to give him attention in order to do that. So a better idea is probably simply to get up and leave the room, shutting the door so that he can't follow. Don't speak to him, acknowledge him or even make eye contact. Just get up and leave for a few minutes. That may not seem likely to be effective to you - but in fact it is. It is isolation for the dog and the precise opposite of what he was trying to achieve. Instead of attention and his game, he gets isolation and NO game. And if that is the consistent response he receives, then he will give the behaviour up because it doesn't work.
Note that initially he might try even harder, since behaving like that has got him what he wanted in the past - but if you're consistent and just get up and leave, then he will become convinced that that sort of behaviour does not get him what he wants, and because it doesn't work, he'll give it up.
Another thing you can do when he's being a bit pushy is to engage him in a short training session instead. That will give him something to do and to think about, without actually engaging in the game he wanted and simultaneously reinforce your role as leader. Taking him to obedience classes is also a VERY good idea. A teenage boxer is an obnoxious one, and ongoing training is very helpful in keeping him in his place in your 'pack'. At this age, ongoing physical and mental exercise is very important - he needs to have things to do. And a tired boxer is a good boxer
(note that is mentally, not just physically).
Have you ever read "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell? If not, it is a resource that you might find very useful. It deals specifically with establishing and maintaining a leadership relationship with your dog. Could be very useful for you at this time.
You might like to take a look at this previous thread, that contains some very good links to articles on leadership and dog training: http://boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71282
As for your actual problem here - have a think about how you are actually reacting when he does this. He is an adolescent boxer, and they are notoriously pushy and demanding at this age. It sounds very much as though your pushy adolescent is trying to play, and he is demanding your attention. So how are you reacting to this? Are you giving him attention? If you are (and negative attention is still attention) then you might like to try a different approach.
For a start giving him an alternative thing to do is a good idea - redirect him to a toy of his own. If that doesn't work (and initially I don't imagine that it will) then you need to ignore him. Don't give him the attention that he is seeking, or anything he can interpret as engaging in his game. Giving him a time-out is one possibility, but you need to give him attention in order to do that. So a better idea is probably simply to get up and leave the room, shutting the door so that he can't follow. Don't speak to him, acknowledge him or even make eye contact. Just get up and leave for a few minutes. That may not seem likely to be effective to you - but in fact it is. It is isolation for the dog and the precise opposite of what he was trying to achieve. Instead of attention and his game, he gets isolation and NO game. And if that is the consistent response he receives, then he will give the behaviour up because it doesn't work.
Note that initially he might try even harder, since behaving like that has got him what he wanted in the past - but if you're consistent and just get up and leave, then he will become convinced that that sort of behaviour does not get him what he wants, and because it doesn't work, he'll give it up.
Another thing you can do when he's being a bit pushy is to engage him in a short training session instead. That will give him something to do and to think about, without actually engaging in the game he wanted and simultaneously reinforce your role as leader. Taking him to obedience classes is also a VERY good idea. A teenage boxer is an obnoxious one, and ongoing training is very helpful in keeping him in his place in your 'pack'. At this age, ongoing physical and mental exercise is very important - he needs to have things to do. And a tired boxer is a good boxer
(note that is mentally, not just physically).Have you ever read "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell? If not, it is a resource that you might find very useful. It deals specifically with establishing and maintaining a leadership relationship with your dog. Could be very useful for you at this time.
Draymia
BW Adviser<br><img src="/forums/images/modpaw.gif"
Excellent advice from Debbie. He is at the age where you look at this big body and see an adult, but his brain is still puppy. Obnoxious puppy, but puppy. If you look at many rescue sites, you will see many young males between the age of 12-20 months sitting there and their only crime was being a puppy.
You will find that one day you will wake up to a lovely adult with grown up brains. Do find an obedience class that will help both of you and also be fun.
You will find that one day you will wake up to a lovely adult with grown up brains. Do find an obedience class that will help both of you and also be fun.
Thanks so much for all the advice. I have to admit at first when he started this I started to reprimand him severely, thinking that I need to show my dominance. But I did start to do some research on dog aggression and read that it should be treated by ignoring the action, or going into the other room. However, this is sometimes hard when you have a 75 pound boxer on top of you. But I have been trying the method of getting up and leaving the room and shutting the door. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I have considered getting him into another obedience class, which I plan to do very soon. I will do anything to help him overcome this stage because I would not want to get rid of him. However, I would still like to have all my limbs in tact too It is just sometimes so frightening to see my sweet dog being so mean.
It is just sometimes so frightening to see my sweet dog being so mean.mmichaelson
Banned
michizme said:Thanks so much for all the advice. I have to admit at first when he started this I started to reprimand him severely, thinking that I need to show my dominance. But I did start to do some research on dog aggression and read that it should be treated by ignoring the action, or going into the other room. However, this is sometimes hard when you have a 75 pound boxer on top of you. But I have been trying the method of getting up and leaving the room and shutting the door. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. I have considered getting him into another obedience class, which I plan to do very soon. I will do anything to help him overcome this stage because I would not want to get rid of him. However, I would still like to have all my limbs in tact too
Obedience school is definitely a must, especially if he's never been! It is soo helpful to all dogs!! Good luck, and keep us posted!
Taliesyn88 said:
Personally, I would never use the crate as a place to put him when you are disciplining him. They need to consider the crate as a good place not the place they go to when they are in trouble. How will they know the difference when you put him in the crate when you want to leave the house vs when they are in trouble. The only time our Kona goes in the crate is when we leave the house and a cookie goes with that.
I would suggest a "time-out" for him in the corner rather than in the crate. I make them sit in the corner for 10 minutes. They have to stay in the same spot for 10 minutes. If they move the 10 minutes starts over.
I really like the time out in the corner idea. I have never wanted to make his crate a place that he goes when he is bad, but lately that has been the case. I am going to try a 10 minute time out and see how it goes. I have a feeling getting him to sit still for 10 minutes, might turn into an hour but I'm willing to give it a try.
ladyluck_t
Boxer Insane
from what i have learned on here and from reading LOADS of training books is: if you are going to use a "time-out" command, you just say "time-out" in a normal voice/tone like you would say "too bad" , place the dog in the crate/room/corner and ignore. No fussing, no talking, no anger. Just calmly and quietly place the dog in the spot and ignore it. The problem with the corner idea, as I see it, is if you use the sit/stay command to get the dog to stay in the corner then he/she is "working" and not on a time out. So you would need to train the dog that the command "time-out" means sit in a corner until told you may leave. Which is possible, just train it like a sit/stay, but it takes time, which the OP may not have right now. The crate or seperate room is ideal in this instance in that the dog is "forced" to remain in an area with out additional time spent in training. which for an immediate problem would be a better choice (IMO that is)
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