Question About Play Style

[pairofboxerz]

I have questions about how my 3 year old Boxer boy, Duke, plays, whether its aggression or just a Boxer thing or ?? We go to the dog park daily as I want to keep him well socialized (and I just plain enjoy going..;-) but not everyone appreciates his style of play which I do understand.

With very submissive dogs, he pounces on them and just seems to lose his mind - he dive bombs them and gnaws on them and just completely seems to overwhelm them. I call him off with the word 'off' and sometimes he responds and backs off and sometimes he doesn't (the more tired he is, the better he responds) and I wind up having to drag him off. He doesn't pull back his lips and show teeth or snarl (though he always has been a vocal boy when playing) but bounces around like he has springs on his feet and just generally acts like he wants to jump out of his skin. He reacts the same way with puppies.

With bigger dogs, he runs and chases, sometimes the chaser and sometimes the chasee though so tall and fast, he usually is the chaser. He does like to 'grab' or trip the other dog when running but its all open mouth stuff, never bites down and then likes to get in and tussle. His best buddy is actually a small dog (he is usually too hyper with small dogs but this little guy holds his own no problem) a Boston terrier and they play like manics - he sometimes sticks Otis' whole head in his mouth but never bites down and it doesn't seem to faze Otis. Otis will grab him and hang off his jowls, sometimes causing Duke to yip but Duke never gets mad or retaliates - sometimes Otis even gets him down on the ground and is just all over him and Duke doesn't have any issue with that at all. The few times a large dog has gotten him down, he doesn't seem to have a problem with that either.

We do have a dominant female at home and she is definitely the boss with him. He toes the line with her no problem though at the dog park initiates the play with her versus her doing so at home. He also came from a home (we are his third) in which he was attacked, by an intact male, requiring stitches, and sounds like it was an ongoing problem from the other dog. He was also extremely thin when we got him as the first home couldn't afford to feed him (don't even get me started on that).

Any input on this would be GREATLY appreciated. I am working with him on training to get him to more consistently listen to commands but in the meantime would love to hear from people experienced on how Boxers play.

Thanks in advance!
Lorrie

 

[Toffee]

Toffee plays the same way with her doggy friends! They're a great dane, doberman mix, chocolate lab, and akita mix. There's lots of chasing/being chased, boxing, head-in-mouth, and rolling around in the grass. With dogs that are the same size or larger, I wouldn't worry about it as much as him playing with smaller dogs.

 

[pairofboxerz]

Unfortunately, I can't really keep him away from smaller dogs because there are small dogs in the large dog park all the time as that rule is never enforced. I am trying to get him to learn off but he gets so excited about the other dogs, he doesn't always listen. How does Toffee do around smaller dogs or more submissive dogs?

 

[Caney Creek]

Sounds like normal boxer stuff for the most part. That's a plus that his interactions don't ever escalate to fighting, so you know he's doing something right! The way he is with more submissive dogs, it sounds like he may be a tiny bit of a bully in those circumstances, just because he knows he can get away with it (my girl Creek is the same way -- she will pick out the weaker dogs and hover over them like she's trying to pick a fight almost, but she won't even go near the bigger, more confident dogs!). That's good that you can call him off whenever you see that the other dog is not reciprocating play.

 

[Toffee]

One of the dogs Toffee plays with, the doberman mix, is a bit smaller than her and is submissive. When she rolls over on her back, exposing her tummy, Toffee will nose her a bit or lick her tummy then move on. For really small dogs, like chihuahuas or yorkies, I let Toffee sniff them and be polite but then I move her on to bigger dogs. She has so much energy that she'd rather play with the big dogs who can keep up with her.

 

[pairofboxerz]

I wish Duke would act like Toffee - even with large dogs, he's all over them if they are at all submissive. I think Caney Creek is right in that he is being a bit of a bully and I hate seeing him do that not just because I don't want him acting like a bully but also because then the dog doesn't want to play with him when he wants SO much to play with other dogs. He also doesn't seem to always pick up on the cues from the other dogs that he is becoming too rough (or is ignoring the cues) and then the other dog gets pissed at him and has to get rough before he gets it. Today, we were playing with a couple of GSDs and I called him off several times because I could see he was starting to frighten/make her mad but its always temporary and finally the female got mad at him and start snapping at him which to me he had coming. Then, I again called him off and made him sit and gave him a stern command and he stayed by me for quite some time before trying to play again.

I know he loves to play and isnt' mean but is a bit like the hyper kid in class who's in everyone's face that everyone gets annoyed at.... And he is so sad when there is no one to play with so I know he really does want to play but dang it, he is ruining it for himself and I just don't know how to teach him to read the cues. He really does know how to read cues though because he read's all the cues from Reba my female just fine and knows when to back off from her no problem!

 

[pairofboxerz]

I decided to try a little experiment with Duke at the dog park by taking just him instead of both of them and he was so much better behaved! I don't know if its because he doesn't have 'back-up' without Reba there (Reba is very protective of him - only SHE gets to beat him up...) or because I am less tense and can pay more attention to him (Reba doesn't like small dogs so I am always on the alert and tense when I take both of them). Whatever the reason, I am going to continue to make extra trips to the dog park with just him and hopefully he'll learn not to be such a knucklehead.