Please Help- I'm at my wits end with Winston

[Tricia]

WHERE DO I START? Anyone out there that has any advice on this, please help! My boxer Winston is 13 months old, and to be quite blunt, a holy terror! I love him to death, but he is very "high-strung". He is aggressive with his paws, always swatting at my face or body when he wants attention. He bites at my ankles, hair, and guests (not all the time, just when he feels like it). He is still not totally potty-trained, and he is starting a new thing now. Every night he wakes me up about 3 or 4 times to go out. But when I let him out, he sometimes just stands there on the deck. Ignoring him is not an option, as he will continue to scratch me with his paws until I get up. He has eaten through 2 doors, pulled off about 12 feet of wallpaper border, ate 3 sets of blinds, a blender, about 10 disposable razors, etc. etc. etc. Also, he recently had a pink scrape on his paw, and it started to grow into 3 connected bumps. The vet diagnosed it as a "juvenile tumor" and said its very common. If the drops don't work that she gave me, she said they remove it surgically. Is this common? I've only mentioned all the bad stuff. Don't get me wrong, he is a GREAT dog. Very lovable and sweet, just hard to handle right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[JulieM]

Some quick advice:

1) Crate training
2) Obedience training

Winston is still a puppy, so you need to take that into consideration. I'm guessing that eating doors, wallpaper, blinds, etc. is happening when you're not home - this is a perfect example of the benefits of crating! Not only is your home not destroyed, but he can't eat cleansers, electrical cords, etc. - potentially fatal things. Obedience training will give him something to think about, and will establish your position as the alpha. He does not respect you right now, and as he gets older and bigger that can become more of a problem. (At the very least, a good solid DownStay will be a great help!) There are several posts on this forum and the Boxer Ring on this - search for alpha, aggression, and maybe biting.

Julie

 

[nanabear]

Exercise, exercise, exercise. Does he get enough? Young Boxers need a lot of exercise or their high energy will get them into trouble every time. He should have some in the morning and again after dinner or later in the evening. Plus any long hike you can arrange 1-2 times a week.

Do you think he's waking up and wanting to go out just because he's not tired enough?

 

[samnkelli]

Your puppy sounds exactly like our puppy, Jackson! Jackson is a bit younger (almost 5 months) but we are having identical problems with him....he figured out how to climb over our dog gate (we have him in the kitchen with his crate, not confined to it, just somewhere to sleep)and he ate our new area rug and the corners of our coffee table...pooped and peed all over the rug too! I just about LOST it! Also, my husband let him sleep on our bed when I was out of town and now he thinks our bed is HIS bed. When I put him on his own bed at night, he wakes up every 3 hours, wants to go out...then, when I let him out, he just sits on the deck and star gazes!
My suggestion is that you take your puppy to obedience training...we are going to start in a few weeks and I hope it makes a difference!
And definately make sure he gets TONS of exercise...that is something I am trying to work on too, so we all can have a good night's rest!

Kelli