My puppy is making me nervous.

[Odinstud]

Our puppy, Odin, just turned sixteen weeks today and up until last week has been great, we have had very little complaints. But as of late, He has started acting out and I would like advice from owners who have many years of experience in raising Boxers. I'm staring to get conflicted advice, all of our neighbors have dogs and each one has their own theories of why and how we should handle him, but none of them are boxer owners. He are the main issues:

Biting - I think he is playing but then after multiple attempts to make him stop, mainly by walking away ,yelping and/or using the **leave it command (which i know he knows **because **if i catch with one of my kids toys and use it he listens) he still continues to chomp down on the back of my calves, which makes it really hard to get out of the situation if I can't even he turn my back. My calves are starting to take a beating and tonight he actually broke the skin and drew blood. The rough play seems to be triggered when I'm disciplining him for getting too rough with kids or while we are on our walk he will just stop and when I give him a tug to go he will bite at my calves as well. I'm****all about the positive reinforcement training and it does work really well on him. I was so excited this afternoon when I had turned up the charm and praised him all morning for following his commands like a champ. I thought we were turning a corner and were going to get through the day without incident.**
I have confessed my frustrations with my neighbors **and have read many forums topics on here. A**couple pieces of advice we've been given was to hold him down and dominate him, hold his muzzle together and flick him in the nose if he won't let go, but all those things seem to do is escalate his intensity. The only way I've managed to cool him down is to pick him up and put him outside. **Im trying really hard to stay positive and hope this is all a phase and he will grow out of it, but I can't help the slight fear thAt is growing inside of me.**

Growling -**He seems to do this mostly at night when I'm trying to relocate him to his crate. He won't listen to my commands to go to bed and we are pretty routine about the procedure **every night. He knows exactly what I want because when I say it's bed time he will just open his end look out of the corner of them at me. After multiple faed attempts to command him up I **will go to push his butt off the couch or his dog bed and he will growl or even snip. Or the other time is when I'm having discipline him for standing on top of my four year old. **He is half licking half nipping, but she doesn't like it and he won't get off so now when it gets to this point I have to grab him by the collar and pull him off in which he returns with a growl and starts ghe rough play which turns into calf biting. I'm starting to get nervous to approach him when in these situations, especially with my daughter, I certainly don't want him becoming anymore aggressive to her. **

A few things to keep in mind - We always redirect with toys if we have them handy, but this only works some of the time. **He gets plenty of exercise, usually two walks a day plus tons of playtime with my children and I. He is free to roam the house and backyard all day because I'm home with him, only crating him when I'm gone for more than an hour. He has always been stubborn since he was a puppy, but he has never been aggressive if you touch his food while he is eating or play with any of his toys. He seems to love other dogs too, never once had an issue there. **I've wanted this puppy for so long and want to do anything possible to help him adjust to our family and home. He is treated like a king, but has boundaries. **I know he is smart, he was doing two or three commands and walking on a leash at eight weeks old. I don't want him to sense my insecurities, but it is becoming more and more unclear of what he is going to pull. Help me nip him in the butt! **

P.s. it's late, I'm sure I forgot something or if you have questions, I'm an open book.**

 

[Elifaelyn]

I'm new to the boxer thing, but I'm going through some of the same things with my boxer. But I read what you posted and hope it wont be a bad thing for me to comment on some of it. With that in mind...

You said your puppy is 16 weeks... so he's still very young. Mine is 14 weeks, but he is Crate trained, and actually likes being in the crate. Yes he's my first boxer, but he isn't my first dog.. and I've never had an issue crate training, so here's what I can let you know. At 16 weeks old, it might be too much to expect him to spend a whole night in a crate. I don't even have mine in a crate at night instead he sleeps in my room on his own bed, and only uses the crate during the day, even though I am home. I put him in it after he eats...and stays in them no longer than 2 hours if possible. It's my belief A young puppy shouldn't be in a crate longer than 4 hours.

A crate should always be a place of relaxation and happiness for a dog, a place they can get away from others... I would suggest getting him more use to using the crate during the day before you move to using it at night.

What I did with mine and you could probably do with yours was give him a pillow I used. He would lay on it to take his naps during the day... Then after about 2 weeks I started moving the pillow into the crate. I'd set a snack on the pillow and encourage him to go in and investigate the pillow and the crate. At first it was scary for him so I would stay by the door and relax there, and talk softly to him... I never forced him to stay in, and I never closed the door on him... Got him use to just being in there.

Then one time he went in and layed down and slept on the pillow inside. I closed the crate but stayed nearby... When he woke up and wanted out I let him out... eventually I was able to not have to be near the door of the crate. And then just in the room..

I did however always put him in the crate after he ate, and as I put him in I'd tell him "Go in your crate" I've done it so long that now after a month of it he goes into the crate when I tell him. In fact now he even goes in on his own when it's night time. Eventually you can progress to the all night factor... but if your dog is not happy going in it'll only make it harder on you and stress your dog and yourself out in the process.

Also like with everything repetition is key. Every now and then my Dog Beau still tries to challenge the "Go in your kennel" command... Usually when he's excited. Don't use force... if he doesn't listen the first time don't push just pick him up and set him in and close the door. Just like kids, dogs sometimes like to push back at being told what to do (especially if they think they are missing out on something fun)

Hope that helps you some, at least with that issue.


Also, another comment. You said your daughters 4.... If I were you I would never leave them unsupervised together. In fact my neighbor and friend has a 1 year old... and the only way I can get my 14 week old boxer to not jump on her is to not allow him to come in her space. They are allowed in the same room.. but he's not allowed to approach her space bubble. When he gets too close I usually warn him off with a "Hey" at 16 weeks they are still learning how to control themselves.. and until they have learned to control the impulses it's best not to let them around any young kids, or the kid and puppy both could get hurt. It usually takes a bit of work to get him to stay out of her space but after about a month he's improved, but it always has to be closely watched, because some simple gestures that kids make can over excite a puppy and often cause the puppy to want to play with the kid as if it was another puppy. And with boxers that means jumping on top of the kid and licking and nipping

When my neighbors daughter wants to pet my dog I usually make beau sit, and trust me, if he wants it bad enough your dog will definitely sit for the affection. I know beau does.. though sometimes he whines about it because he just wants to give those kids so much love.

 

[Odinstud]

Support

He actually likes his crate. He whined the first night we brought him home but never since. Most of the time when we go up to bed he doesn't even need to be told to go in, he just does. I don't think that is the issue, I think it has more to do with him falling asleep downstairs and us waking him to go up. It reminds me of trying to get one of our kids to bed and them being grumpy.

Now that I'm writing this with a little more clarity and not late at night, i was reaching out in hopes Boxer people could say that this is either normal or abnormal puppy behavior seen in Boxers.

Our puppy, Odin, just turned sixteen weeks today and up until last week has been great, we have had very little complaints. But as of late, He has started acting out and I would like advice from owners who have many years of experience in raising Boxers. I'm staring to get conflicted advice, all of our neighbors have dogs and each one has their own theories of why and how we should handle him, but none of them are boxer owners. He are the main issues:

Biting - I think he is playing but then after multiple attempts to make him stop, mainly by walking away ,yelping and/or using the **leave it command (which i know he knows **because **if i catch with one of my kids toys and use it he listens) he still continues to chomp down on the back of my calves, which makes it really hard to get out of the situation if I can't even he turn my back. My calves are starting to take a beating and tonight he actually broke the skin and drew blood. The rough play seems to be triggered when I'm disciplining him for getting too rough with kids or while we are on our walk he will just stop and when I give him a tug to go he will bite at my calves as well. I'm****all about the positive reinforcement training and it does work really well on him. I was so excited this afternoon when I had turned up the charm and praised him all morning for following his commands like a champ. I thought we were turning a corner and were going to get through the day without incident.**
I have confessed my frustrations with my neighbors **and have read many forums topics on here. A**couple pieces of advice we've been given was to hold him down and dominate him, hold his muzzle together and flick him in the nose if he won't let go, but all those things seem to do is escalate his intensity. The only way I've managed to cool him down is to pick him up and put him outside. **Im trying really hard to stay positive and hope this is all a phase and he will grow out of it, but I can't help the slight fear thAt is growing inside of me.**

Growling -**He seems to do this mostly at night when I'm trying to relocate him to his crate. He won't listen to my commands to go to bed and we are pretty routine about the procedure **every night. He knows exactly what I want because when I say it's bed time he will just open his end look out of the corner of them at me. After multiple faed attempts to command him up I **will go to push his butt off the couch or his dog bed and he will growl or even snip. Or the other time is when I'm having discipline him for standing on top of my four year old. **He is half licking half nipping, but she doesn't like it and he won't get off so now when it gets to this point I have to grab him by the collar and pull him off in which he returns with a growl and starts ghe rough play which turns into calf biting. I'm starting to get nervous to approach him when in these situations, especially with my daughter, I certainly don't want him becoming anymore aggressive to her. **

A few things to keep in mind - We always redirect with toys if we have them handy, but this only works some of the time. **He gets plenty of exercise, usually two walks a day plus tons of playtime with my children and I. He is free to roam the house and backyard all day because I'm home with him, only crating him when I'm gone for more than an hour. He has always been stubborn since he was a puppy, but he has never been aggressive if you touch his food while he is eating or play with any of his toys. He seems to love other dogs too, never once had an issue there. **I've wanted this puppy for so long and want to do anything possible to help him adjust to our family and home. He is treated like a king, but has boundaries. **I know he is smart, he was doing two or three commands and walking on a leash at eight weeks old. I don't want him to sense my insecurities, but it is becoming more and more unclear of what he is going to pull. Help me nip him in the butt! **

P.s. it's late, I'm sure I forgot something or if you have questions, I'm an open book.**

 

[Cami]

I have had a Boxer in my life for 9 years. Two Boxers during this time and have been through puppy hood with both.
What you describe is perfectly normal behavior from a Boxer puppy. I also take care of animals for a living, including puppies and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Boxers are THE WORST (and the best).

A**couple pieces of advice we've been given was to hold him down and dominate him, hold his muzzle together and flick him in the nose if he won't let go, but all those things seem to do is escalate his intensity. The only way I've managed to cool him down is to pick him up and put him outside.

STOP DOING THESE THINGS TODAY.

Dominating a dog is old school. Flicking him on the nose is painful, doesn't do anything but hurt him and it isn't teaching anything except that you are mean and are a source of pain. Putting him outside, again isn't teaching him anything it is only taking him out of the equation when he frustrates you. These are far from perfect temporary fixes to what will become a lifetime problem (or problems) if you don't turn over a new leaf.

There isn't anything wrong with having rules that he must follow (not biting for example) but he needs to be taught that you don't want that behavior. It won't be corrected overnight and if truth be told it can take many months before he finally gets it. It is up to you to continue to teach him until the day he learns! My girl is 21 months old and still "forgets" that she shouldn't bite me during play sometimes. Or she bites a little too hard. Excitement fuels their fire (so to speak) and Boxer puppies have no problem getting excited. They are a constant work in progress and someday if you put in the time and effort you will end up with a well behaved adult.

Stop listening to anyone who tells you to dominate your pup or harm him physically in any way. It won't help and can eventually make matters worse. Continue to research about training a soft mouth and bite inhibition. This forum is filled with weeks worth of reading on all of the issues you mentioned. Those of us with puppies have been through it or are going through it and a good portion of us have come out the other side.

 

[Odinstud]

Phew!

I have had a Boxer in my life for 9 years. Two Boxers during this time and have been through puppy hood with both.
What you describe is perfectly normal behavior from a Boxer puppy. I also take care of animals for a living, including puppies and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Boxers are THE WORST (and the best).

I appreciate you giving it to me straight. Trust me, we want him to know he is part of a loving family and he should never fear us, ever. The last thing we want him to do is become an aggressive dog, especially with our two young children. That is why I have sought advice every where possible. I have heard it all, from training, down to vaccinations. I understand there are several schools of thought out there, just as there is in raising human children. With that said, we only want what is best for our puppy and we are working really hard eEVERYDAY creating a routine and guidelines.

I also believe you seem to understand how frustrating it can be raising a boxer puppy and that is what I find helpful. It's reassuring to hear that other people have seen this type of behavior in their puppies and eventually with time, training and of course patience they will grow out of it.

STOP DOING THESE THINGS TODAY.

Dominating a dog is old school. Flicking him on the nose is painful, doesn't do anything but hurt him and it isn't teaching anything except that you are mean and are a source of pain. Putting him outside, again isn't teaching him anything it is only taking him out of the equation when he frustrates you. These are far from perfect temporary fixes to what will become a lifetime problem (or problems) if you don't turn over a new leaf.

I don't want to seem defensive because I'm not trying to be, but we were not using these tactics above lightly and no more than once each during EXTREME biting fits where he was hurting someone. This was how my breeder and my neighbor next door who raised multiple litters of puppies, advised us to do during the extreme situations when all other methods of stopping play were exhausted. I can also say, yes, none of the tactics listed above worked, they only caused him to get more aggressive and I'm sorry we even tried it.

There isn't anything wrong with having rules that he must follow (not biting for example) but he needs to be taught that you don't want that behavior. It won't be corrected overnight and if truth be told it can take many months before he finally gets it. It is up to you to continue to teach him until the day he learns! My girl is 21 months old and still "forgets" that she shouldn't bite me during play sometimes. Or she bites a little too hard. Excitement fuels their fire (so to speak) and Boxer puppies have no problem getting excited. They are a constant work in progress and someday if you put in the time and effort you will end up with a well behaved adult.

Stop listening to anyone who tells you to dominate your pup or harm him physically in any way. It won't help and can eventually make matters worse. Continue to research about training a soft mouth and bite inhibition. This forum is filled with weeks worth of reading on all of the issues you mentioned. Those of us with puppies have been through it or are going through it and a good portion of us have come out the other side.

I appreciate the time you have taken to write me and others who may find your post helpful because they too are experiencing a bump in the road during their training. Today he has been wonderful and the more positive reinforcement I've given him, the better he is responding. We will just take it day-by-day. We love this little-big guy, his gas and all!!!!

 

[Odinstud]

Responding to Cami

Sorry, I'm just getting used to the formatting on here. In case you couldn't see it in among your paragraphs I also wrote:

I appreciate you giving it to me straight. Trust me, we want him to know he is part of a loving family and he should never fear us, ever. The last thing we want him to do is become an aggressive dog, especially with our two young children. That is why I have sought advice every where possible. I have heard it all, from training, down to vaccinations. I understand there are several schools of thought out there, just as there is in raising human children. With that said, we only want what is best for our puppy and we are working really hard eEVERYDAY creating a routine and guidelines.

I also believe you seem to understand how frustrating it can be raising a boxer puppy and that is what I find helpful. It's reassuring to hear that other people have seen this type of behavior in their puppies and eventually with time, training and of course patience they will grow out of it.

Regarding this paragraph: Dominating a dog is old school. Flicking him on the nose is painful, doesn't do anything but hurt him and it isn't teaching anything except that you are mean and are a source of pain. Putting him outside, again isn't teaching him anything it is only taking him out of the equation when he frustrates you. These are far from perfect temporary fixes to what will become a lifetime problem (or problems) if you don't turn over a new leaf.

In response: I don't want to seem defensive because I'm not trying to be, but we were not using these tactics above lightly and no more than once each during EXTREME biting fits where he was hurting someone. This was how my breeder and my neighbor next door who raised multiple litters of puppies, advised us to do during the extreme situations when all other methods of stopping play were exhausted. I can also say, yes, none of the tactics listed above worked, they only caused him to get more aggressive and I'm sorry we even tried it.

I appreciate the time you have taken to write me and others who may find your post helpful because they too are experiencing a bump in the road during their training. Today he has been wonderful and the more positive reinforcement I've given him, the better he is responding. We will just take it day-by-day. We love this little-big guy, his gas and all!!!!

Since I inadvertently did this incorrectly before I wanted to make sure you saw the whole response. Thanks again.

 

[srennie]

Sounds like you have a perfectly normal, bratty, boxer pup on your hands. I raised one of those and we had a love/hate relationship until he was 3y/o. That is why we have adopted our other 2 boxers at 5y/o and 4y/o....I prefer to skip those first 3 years from now on,. So hang in there, it does get better it just takes time, patience and consistency.

 

[Cami]

I also believe you seem to understand how frustrating it can be raising a boxer puppy and that is what I find helpful. It's reassuring to hear that other people have seen this type of behavior in their puppies and eventually with time, training and of course patience they will grow out of it.

Frustrating is an understatement. Read some of my previous posts concerning my girl Raine (or some of her own posts!). I love her like no tomorrow. She is a wonderful girl with a very big heart. She is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met and I am not saying this because she is mine. On the flip side she often acts possessed. I say this with love. I will swear till the day I die that Raine hears voices and listens to them far more often than she listens to the humans in the house. I have a picture of her from when she was very small and I captioned it with "I am not a bad puppy I just have bad thoughts".
That should have been my biggest clue that this girl was going to be a handful.
I have been so mad at her that I have broke down and literally bawled my eyes out wondering if she was ever going to let me live long enough to help her to become a well behaved adult. The jury is still out on that.
I joke about it but she will get there eventually. It won't be at my pace or she would already be there.
Some of the things that were suggested to you have worked for some people but it is much better to have a dog that respects you and does things for you because of that respect than to do things for you out of fear.
Being "nice" but firm might take longer to see results but the results will be better and your pup will enjoy his life more (so will you).

 

[Odinstud]

I think we can see the light...

I just wanted to give you an update, especially for the other family on this thread who was in a similar situation.

As you know we are going through some severe temper tantrums and Odin is nipping and growling pretty severely when being told he isn't allowed to do something. He immediately lounges and snips and he is tarting to get the upper hand in most of theses situations, despite all efforts to calm him. I was breaking down out of fear and frustration only to be greeted by my eager little puppy, who didn't understand why I was so upset. It was crazy, one moment kujo, the next, lassie. So back to the boards I went, reading every piece of information I could find to help empower me to become the best puppy mommy ever, when I stumble onto using a squirt bottle. Now at first, I wasn't keen on the idea of spraying him with water, because we live three blocks from a lake and I want him to enjoy the water as much as we do, but his fits were getting so bad, he was stating to break my skin and my legs are covered in bruises, not to mention my spirit was at an all time low, at this point I was desperate. Besides the on the positive side, it wouldn't hurt him.

The next morning my spirits were up and my squirt bottle handy, I was ready if a situation was to get out of control. Of course we made it through the morning, lunch and dinner and no need for it, well that was great too! But sadly my prayers of it just stopping on its own didn't prevail. I was getting my children to bed and Odin was angry he couldn't join us on the bed, so after I told him off several times and gently removed him once he decided he would grow a fit and started biting the back of my pant leg. I first tried to command him to leave and tried to calm him down, but no good. When he grabbed a hold of my ankle I grabbed the squirt bottle and I let him have, just one squirt. He jumped back so confused and I could immediately tell he was now nervous, the tables had turned. After a moment he came at me again, like maybe he only imagined the first squirt and bit down. I said "nooooo" deep and low while squirting at the same time and he laid down! Huh???? I was so amazed. I praised him for controlling himself and we had no issues the rest of the night. Although it felt nice to finally win a few battles, I know this war is far from over.

Today, we didn't start off as pleasent as the day before, but I was once again prepared. He was begging at my children's table to my dismay. I told him to go lay down and when he didn't move I raised my voice and asked again. Gently I guided his butt with my knee and said "out", he started too, then turned and nipped and started to growl. I just grabbed for the squirt bottle and he started to go. Wow, he didn't forget. So I've been keeping the water bottle near and I have only had to use it once more today. He just can see it and backs down.

I'd like to think this might be a success. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[chriscude]

I just wanted to give you an update, especially for the other family on this thread who was in a similar situation.

As you know we are going through some severe temper tantrums and Odin is nipping and growling pretty severely when being told he isn't allowed to do something. He immediately lounges and snips and he is tarting to get the upper hand in most of theses situations, despite all efforts to calm him. I was breaking down out of fear and frustration only to be greeted by my eager little puppy, who didn't understand why I was so upset. It was crazy, one moment kujo, the next, lassie. So back to the boards I went, reading every piece of information I could find to help empower me to become the best puppy mommy ever, when I stumble onto using a squirt bottle. Now at first, I wasn't keen on the idea of spraying him with water, because we live three blocks from a lake and I want him to enjoy the water as much as we do, but his fits were getting so bad, he was stating to break my skin and my legs are covered in bruises, not to mention my spirit was at an all time low, at this point I was desperate. Besides the on the positive side, it wouldn't hurt him.

The next morning my spirits were up and my squirt bottle handy, I was ready if a situation was to get out of control. Of course we made it through the morning, lunch and dinner and no need for it, well that was great too! But sadly my prayers of it just stopping on its own didn't prevail. I was getting my children to bed and Odin was angry he couldn't join us on the bed, so after I told him off several times and gently removed him once he decided he would grow a fit and started biting the back of my pant leg. I first tried to command him to leave and tried to calm him down, but no good. When he grabbed a hold of my ankle I grabbed the squirt bottle and I let him have, just one squirt. He jumped back so confused and I could immediately tell he was now nervous, the tables had turned. After a moment he came at me again, like maybe he only imagined the first squirt and bit down. I said "nooooo" deep and low while squirting at the same time and he laid down! Huh???? I was so amazed. I praised him for controlling himself and we had no issues the rest of the night. Although it felt nice to finally win a few battles, I know this war is far from over.

Today, we didn't start off as pleasent as the day before, but I was once again prepared. He was begging at my children's table to my dismay. I told him to go lay down and when he didn't move I raised my voice and asked again. Gently I guided his butt with my knee and said "out", he started too, then turned and nipped and started to growl. I just grabbed for the squirt bottle and he started to go. Wow, he didn't forget. So I've been keeping the water bottle near and I have only had to use it once more today. He just can see it and backs down.

I'd like to think this might be a success. Keep your fingers crossed.

How is is going?