Overly Protective Boxer - Advice Please

[brindlepup]

I have a brindle boxer named Butch whom I adore. Butch came to us a year ago as a rescue dog. His first year of life was filled with abuse and neglect. For the most part he has adjusted fabulously to our home and has become a member of the family and is a wonderful companion to our elderly Bassett and two cats as well as to my 10-year-old son and infant niece. However, that said, he is extremely protective of the house and property and lunges at the door or fence line whenever a stranger approaches. He welcomes family (even those he doesn't see more than a few times a year) estatically but he is very aggressive with people he doesn't know. Usually I get him in a seperate room before I open the door which has worked fine until now. Last night my worst fears came to light when my son opened the door to a friend of his before I could contain Butch and Butch bit the child. His friend needed stitches. This behavior has to stop. Last night proved to me that I cannot always be on hand to control him. I have set up an appointment with a local dog trainer but I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me? He only acts this way when people come to the house. He is very well behaved, even a bit timid which I attibute to his past abuse, when we meet people out in public.

 

[LILYLARUE]

My only suggestion is to contact a behaviorist, not a trainer. This is a behavior problem and you need more in depth training and behavior modification direction.

I would also suggest crate training when you can not be there to control the dog. Next time, it could be uglier and I certainly wouldn't rely on kids to have any control before or during any altercation until this behavior is under control. You don't want your kid being next with even worse of an attack.

Wishing you much luck and sure hope you can get this resolved.

 

[brindlepup]

thanks

Thanks for the reply. I spoke at length with the trainer today and she actually recommended another person who is an animal behaviorist and is willing to come to the house to work with the dog. She is the only person in the area who does this. I have her name and number and will call her tomorrow (she does not work Mondays) to set up a meeting. Butch is crate trained but I hesitate to use the crate to control him when he gets out of hand. I have heard that can lead to him thinking the crate is a punishment and make it confusing for him when I need him to go in there while I am gone. We had another minor incident tonight when my brother and a friend came over. I tried to keep Butch's attention on me and give him praise & treats while the friend came in. It worked at first but no sooner had the friend come in and taken off his boots that Butch lunged for him. My son wanted to have a friend over and I told him absolutely not until we can get this behavior under control.

 

[moburda]

In the same boat

Patrick does the same exact thing (among his other issues). We rescued him in August of last year and knew right away he had some special needs. We had a trainer from the beginning and recently have been going to a behaviorist. Slowly but surely things are getting better. The behaviorist finally put Patrick on Prozac and it is helping but we have come to the conclusion that he is probably the best dog he can be right now. Three years of abuse and neglect are hard to erase. Patrick will never be able to be left with the run of the house when we have company.

When we do have company, what works best for us is to tether Patrick to the bed on a 20 foot lead and give him a nice big bully stick to occupy himself. He can see us, move around a bit but cannot get to any visitors.

I hope that everything works out for you and Butch. Good luck with the behaviorist.

 

[LILYLARUE]

That's great that you have a contact! And one with experience is a MUST in this case. Like the other poster said, it takes time, patience and slow progress to erase the memories.

With crate training, the key is to give lots of praise when they enter, give a few treats and toys to keep them occupied and NEVER use it as a "bad time out" place. You should be crating when they are in a calm state. Routine times are best. NEVER put them in or force them in when they are in a heightened state of aggression, anxiety or fear. That will cause the association between the emotion and the crate. It should be a solitude place for them.

The best way to crate is to put them in BEFORE company even arrives on the property, and preferrably before your energy changes to prepare for such guests. That energy alone can escalate your dog's energy level. If you are not calm and relaxed, they won't be either.

Of course there is always those unexpected guests. In which case, training them to a specific, closed off area, can be your salvation. Training the dog at varies times, a few times a day at first, you should be able to work towards when the doorbell rings, the dog is taken to his area before the guests are allowed to enter. A special treat for only these times is a great way to keep their attention away from the activities.

Sounds like you have some work, training and rehab ahead of you and I give you a big KUDOS for doing what you can to make him a happier guy. Don't expect an overnight fix as this will take lots of time and patience. But he is in great hands with you, and will pay you back ten fold with love and devotion! Best of luck and I hope the behaviorist can get a grasp on this behavior and guide you in helping him overcome his baggage.

 

[brindlepup]

Thanks to LilyLaRue and Moburda for your advice and support. I have left a message and an email (am I being pushy?) with the behaviorist this AM to let her know I REALLY would appreciate her help asap with Butch. Hopefully she will call me back soon. I did put Butch in my son's play room last night when someone came over. This worked pretty well because he likes to go in there anyway and I gave him a treat when he went in. Normally I do not have that many visitors (which could be part of the problem with Butch, he has not become desensitized to new people coming in) but tomorrow is my son's birthday so we've had more guests than normal.

As to crate training, he has had no problems with going in and he always gets a treat and lots of praise. He even trained my elderly Bassett to use HIS crate. My Bassett, Bear, is getting not so reliable in the house when we are gone so we started using the crate when Butch joined our family. Now if Butch goes in his crate and gets a treat, Bear will go in his to get one as well.

If the behaviorist/trainer cannot help me learn to get Butch under control then I might follow-up with asking my vet about Prozac or something similar. Butch is already on daily meds for colitis (a condition which I am sure lead to his being abused by his first owner). He takes meds daily and has no more accidents inside. It did take over three months and A LOT of expensive tests, food, and meds to figure out he has colitis.

Thanks again for your advice. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[EAO76]

I have a rescue boxer like this. We have spent a ton of time & money on training. My own dog responded well to the training to a point. The main thing is you have to work on it consistently everyday over and over. You have to make an effort to have new people come to your house again & again just for the sole purpose of retraining the dog how to act around guests. And your company has to follow the trainer’s instructions exactly. In the beginning you HAVE to have 100% control of the dog. He needs to be on leash and (depending on the severity of his aggression) possibly muzzled at 1st. Also depending on how crazy he gets you might even need to start with days or weeks of just de-sensitizing him to the doorbell / knocking and not even let anyone inside. Once he was under control at the sound of knocking then you could move on to allowing people to enter. There are months & months of baby steps that you have to go through to change this mindset. It’s a very long & drawn out process. Also you have to have a personality that the dog respects and is willing to follow. In order for the dog to stop protecting his territory he has to see himself as subordinate to everyone in the house. So that he realizes that protecting you is not HIS job.

For us personally we really did not have the time or enough pretend guests to really solve Trucker's issues so our dog is not 100% reliable. But I know that is totally our fault and if we would have continued with the training protocol he would have continued to improve. Fortunately we have a very quiet house and no one stops by announced. When we know that guests are coming Trucker gets crated (prior to their arrival) in a bedroom with the door shut with a Kong or other treat. And honestly he seems fine with that. He doesn’t even bark anymore. He is totally used to it.

In regards to the meds: we tried it (trucker was on Prozac for about 18months) and I can tell you it’s not a magical cure. The meds are to be used in conjunction with a behavioral modification program. If you dog has high anxiety or his very high strung then the meds may help to take the edge off so that the training can be more effective. But using the meds alone to cure aggression is probably a waste of time. Meds seem to work better for OCD or separation anxiety rather than aggression.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[brindlepup]

Well, the behaviorist/trainer comes tonight for our first session. I know this is going to be a huge undertaking. I have started a few changes this week to things that she said we were doing wrong. I have not allowed Butch on my bed or the furniture all week and he has adjusted well to the change. At first he kept trying to get on things but I would tell him to get down and that he was a good boy when he complied, which he always did. He has quit trying to get on the furniture or in my bed. I am sure at some point he will try again when he thinks I have forgotten. We were also feeding the dogs right when we got home before we even ate. The behaviorist said that was a no-no as well. So we have bumped back feeding to at the same time or after we eat. I need to clarify with her which is better. I have also been making him "work" for his food and to come in by having him sit and wait a moment until I am ready for him to proceed. He doesn't care for this but he is being compliant.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Trucker. When you put him in the crate when guests arrive do you ever let him out once they are there or do you just leave him in? Usually Butch does ok with people once they are in the house; it's the entering the house that he has issues with. I have been wondering if I should get a muzzle for him just in case. I hate that I cannot be sure he won't bite even after training. Seeing him bite someone was horrible and has really scared me that he might do it again even after training. As I look at him sleeping on his dog bed next to my chair it is hard to imagine how such a sweet animal can behave so visciously.

 

[LILYLARUE]

Fill us in on the first training session and the responses of the trainer.

 

[ehayes21]

Fill us in on the first training session and the responses of the trainer.

Yes! I am curious as to what came out of your first session!