Training a new Boxer Pup - Help!

[indylizzy]

Hello everyone!

I just got a female Boxer Pup 2 weeks ago. Lizzy is 10 weeks old, and I have numerous questions about training (sorry - this may be a bit wordy).

We pretty much have her house trained - she picked up on that pretty quick. The only time she did have an accident inside the house - she went to her "pee pee pads".

We have taught her to sit, stay, shake and down (as in lie down). She knows sit pretty well - but we sometimes have to get her attention (via a treat) for her to sit for us.

My concerns fall with her leash. I have a nylon, lightweight leash that I am using. She wears it around the house - so she gets use to it. Inside the house - she is good about it - as it does not seem to bother her. But - when we go for a walk - that leash is a source of irritation for her. She puts it in her mouth, pulls (like she wants to play "tug-of-war"), and sometimes growls (with her ears back). I say "Lizzy, No", then make her sit. I count to 10 (out loud) while she is sitting, then I let her resume the walking on the leash. I am not sure how effective this is - as we cannot get her to stop the actions described above. Sometimes she will do it mutilple times in a row. I am not sure if my "corrective" actions are appropriate, in handling this situation. Does anyone have any experience with a puppy/dog whom acts aggressively with the leash? I was thinking of trying Bitter Apple spray - has anyone used it and has it helped?

Since she is a puppy - she does bite. I do not mind if it is her toys - but she will bite us when she is riled up. We tell her no, we say "ouch", we giver he a chew toy, we take her on a walk (thus the leash aggression kicks in), we even walk away - and that does not seem to deter her from biting. My concern - she will continue to bite when she gets older/bigger. Does anyone have any tips on what they did, to keep the biting where she knows only her toys are OK? She does not bite hard - but she has baby teeth - and I cringe to think about that biting habit when her adult teeth come in.

Overall, I think we are lucky with our Lizzy - she picks things up quickly (which I heard Boxers are real quick to learn). I am not sure if some of the things we are dealing with are normal for a puppy or a forewarning of an aggressive dog?

I am not sure if I am training her properly - or if I should enroll her in some classes. I never owned a Boxer Pup before - so I am not sure what is considered to be ok (for her age) and what may signal a potential problem.

My concern: I need to control her (when she gets older) and I am petite. I read about establishing yourself as the Pack Leader (the Alpha) - what techniques are used for Puppy to acknowledge that I am Alpha?

I apologize for the long post - I have so many questions about what I am experiencing - and really no good point of reference to obtain answers.

I appreciate any advice and help.

Lizzy's Mom in Indiana

 

[Just-A-Clown]

We pretty much have her house trained - she picked up on that pretty quick.

I wish it was true, but they don't potty train that quickly. You will need to keep reinforcing when she uses the potty outside. Some take all most a year before they are totally reliable. What it does say is you are doing the right things and are well on your way.

We have taught her to sit, stay, shake and down (as in lie down). She knows sit pretty well - but we sometimes have to get her attention (via a treat) for her to sit for us.

Great stuff! As far as getting her attention, try this. Say her name and when she looks at you give her a treat. Keep doing this everyday until she looks when you call her name pretty consistantly. Then you can say her name, you now have her attention, then say sit and give a hand signal, treat when she sits. Only give the command once and treat immediately. Idea is to set her up for success, don't tell her to sit unless you know you have her attention and she can do it. Only command when you know it will be successful, this builds confidence in both you and her.

But - when we go for a walk - that leash is a source of irritation for her. She puts it in her mouth, pulls (like she wants to play "tug-of-war"), and sometimes growls (with her ears back). I say "Lizzy, No", then make her sit. I count to 10 (out loud) while she is sitting, then I let her resume the walking on the leash. I was thinking of trying Bitter Apple spray - has anyone used it and has it helped? .

Well she is a baby yet and all she wants to do is play, she probably is playing tug of war. The bitter apples can help curb the biting on the lead. I would try first going outside and playing a little, just have some fun. Then try some very short walks, what ever she can manage. When she starts having her little fit with the lead just stop, don't say anything just stop. When she settles begin the walk again and treat and praise, don't go far, end on a good note. Then work on increasing the distance after each little episode. Key here is to let her know what you want from her, you tell her with a treat, when she does what you want her to do you treat.

Since she is a puppy - she does bite. I do not mind if it is her toys - but she will bite us when she is riled up. We tell her no, we say "ouch", we giver he a chew toy, we take her on a walk (thus the leash aggression kicks in), we even walk away - and that does not seem to deter her from biting. My concern - she will continue to bite when she gets older/bigger. Does anyone have any tips on what they did, to keep the biting where she knows only her toys are OK?

This is normal and it sounds like you are doing some of the right things. I would stop with the "no" command, it gets over used and means nothing after awhile. You can teach her what you want without even saying much. Try this little game.... sit on the floor and engage playing with her using a toy. As soon as she bites on you or I even included climbs on you, say "AHHH" pull the toy away, kind of sit up on yoiur knees and turn your upper torsal and head away from her. She is going to look at you kind of strange, wait only 5 to 10 seconds and go back to play. Keep doing this and soon she will learn that if she wants to continue to play she can't bite or climb on you.

There's also some great links here on bite inhibition that you may find useful, try a search. It will get better, stay consistant and keep working with her. That's the fun part, trying to find ways to get the behavior you want. Good luck!

 

[mikroma]

Oh boy - Can I identify. We have Nero and he was the same way (the craziness biting and play vs dominance). He sounds the same - quick to pick up on the commands, bad social skills.

- The leash biting is a sign of dominance. The puppy views the leash as an extension of your hand. Eg: biting the leash is biting your hand. We would not tolerate this with Nero. We live in NYC in a busy area and he must be well behaved on the leash. We treated the leash biting like he was biting us. We also don't allow him to grab the leash while walking. We keep his collar behind his ears and the leash by us. We tied knots in it so my husband and I will know how much lead to give him. If he behaves and walks beside us - no tension on the leash - and then if he pulls - he pulls and we say 'wait'. He is actually really good on the leash for a 4 month old puppy.

- We play tug-of-war with Nero. But all of his play is controlled. Meaning he knows the drop it command and we control the setting. Like we tug for a few minutes, say drop it and make clapping sounds like 'this is fun!'. Even when he plays with a stuffed animal we ask him to bring it to us and 'drop it' and then we ask him to sit and we throw it. He is almost better at listening when there is a toy or fun play going on.

- We use the name thing that Just-A-Clown mentioned and it works really well. Give them a treat every time they look at you when you say their name. For us - now that Nero is 4 months we have to do this outside on the street, around other people and dogs. He is not so good in an environment with distractions, so we will practice!

You know, I am trusting my gut with the dominance thing - if it is an undesirable behavior, correct it now. We have many people pet Nero on the street and he jumps on them (he is getting better) and I say down, the people are like 'oh - its ok!' and I am like - no it is not. He is not allowed to jump now or when he is 80 pounds. It sounds hard core, but I think a clear consistent message for the puppies.

I have to admit after he was 13 weeks - we saw a huge shift - it's like he just got it. And knew we were in charge. It is a long road - but you will make it!

 

[tianthai]

I trained him the sit, stay, down, come, shake, hi5, turn, just 3-5 minutes each time before meal. Unfortunately he still cannot "roll-over". In between I used dried meat to train him. Until now I still reinforce training by using raw meat or anything that it is special for him, that he does not get it as a meal.

If he pulled on the leash I stopped walking or turned the other direction. It was very frustrating but it worked. Mine did bite the leash as well while walking, he usually bit and jumped so I just looked at the sky, stopped walking, not paid any attention to him at all. All he wanted was attention.

Your puppy might be teething. I gave my dog a lot of toys to chew. When he accidentally bit me I screamed "ouch" then walked away.

By the way you should not say "no", perhaps use the word "ah ah" instead. I use "no" only when something is really serious and want him to stop immediately.

Hope this helps.

 

[LucyLuweluvU]

Don't worry about the biting....they will do it.
When I was with our family boxer and my first pet all she did was bite. Madi was called a little shark. She would go for your ankles and hold nothing back.
You have to think though they are just like babies and they are growing their adult teeth. Our fleshy arms and legs waving around in front of them all of the time are tempting for their hurting, tender little gums.
The best things, patience.
Boxers are SUPER hyper their first year or so and then they cool down. You just have to keep on giving lots of love and attention and you will be so pleased with the outcome.

Sounds like you are off to a great start.

We have only had Lucy Lu for a few days and I am hoping we can start getting off with training and tricks soon. She knows the word no...so that is a start.

Your leash problem...try one of those retractable leashes...then she won't have any slack to bite on.

 

[RoxiesEcho]

Bitter apple never worked with Bella - she loved the stuff As far as walking on the leash, Bella would constantly chew on hers and wanted nothing to do with walking. When I started her in obedience the trainer suggested the Gentle Walk harness and it was the difference between night and day! She's now 2 and I still use it when I take her to places where she might get overly excited and want to pull a bit.