brindlepup
Boxer Pal
A couple of months ago I posted a message asking for advice as to what to do with my overly portective Boxer. To give some background, we adopted Butch when he was a little over a year old (he's now 2 1/2) from a rescue after he had been terribly abused. He took to the family extremely well, even those he doesn't see often, however right around the time her turned 2 he would become extremely protective and fierce when anyone came to the house that was not family. This cumulated in him actually biting one of my son's friends in January and causing the child to have stitches. After quite a lot of searching I found a dog behaviorist near where we live in Iowa who was willing to make house calls for training. She was VERY expensive but TOTALLY worth every penny.
I am happy to say that after two months of working with Butch that he MUCH improved. We went through several sessions where we learned some basic obedience that showed Butch I am the boss, she had friends come knock while I treated him and then eventually they came in and treated him to desensitize him to people knocking and to show him good things (treats) happen when people come. I still don't totally trust him when strangers come to the door but we now have a very consistent routine where when someone knocks I have him sit infront of the entertainment center where I click on his leash attached to one of the legs (it is a very heavy entertainment center). Butch sits, gets a treat, praise for being good and told to wait then I open the door. If he tenses and growls (which he did at first) I have the person wait and immediately take him to a time out leash affixed to a piece of furniture in a different room. We've only had to do this twice. Usually he relaxes shortly after the new person comes in and he sees they are not a threat. If he doesn't then he stays on his leash until the person is gone or I take him outside away from the source of his anxiety. In all it has been an amazing experience and Butch has surpassed my hopes in terms of his progressthus far.
To anyone who is having issues with a Boxer who is being overly protective I suggest they seriously look at the dynamics in their house. Unknowingly I let Butch assume the role of pack leader. He went in and out of doors ahead of the family, I fed him before I fed anyone else in the family, I let him on my lap, bed and furniture, I let him control playtime, my son would wrestle with him, etc. All things that I learned after the fact lead Butch to think he was pack leader and it was his job to protect his family. Now that we have the family dynamics back on track he is able to just be a puppy and is much happier and relaxed. The behaviorist was terrific. If you can find one to work with, I highly recommend it. Ours was all about positive feedback and understanding where your dog's thoughts and actions are coming from. To those who warned me it is A LOT of work to train a dog this way and that I would have to be very consistent, you are correct but it is soooo worth it.
I am happy to say that after two months of working with Butch that he MUCH improved. We went through several sessions where we learned some basic obedience that showed Butch I am the boss, she had friends come knock while I treated him and then eventually they came in and treated him to desensitize him to people knocking and to show him good things (treats) happen when people come. I still don't totally trust him when strangers come to the door but we now have a very consistent routine where when someone knocks I have him sit infront of the entertainment center where I click on his leash attached to one of the legs (it is a very heavy entertainment center). Butch sits, gets a treat, praise for being good and told to wait then I open the door. If he tenses and growls (which he did at first) I have the person wait and immediately take him to a time out leash affixed to a piece of furniture in a different room. We've only had to do this twice. Usually he relaxes shortly after the new person comes in and he sees they are not a threat. If he doesn't then he stays on his leash until the person is gone or I take him outside away from the source of his anxiety. In all it has been an amazing experience and Butch has surpassed my hopes in terms of his progressthus far.
To anyone who is having issues with a Boxer who is being overly protective I suggest they seriously look at the dynamics in their house. Unknowingly I let Butch assume the role of pack leader. He went in and out of doors ahead of the family, I fed him before I fed anyone else in the family, I let him on my lap, bed and furniture, I let him control playtime, my son would wrestle with him, etc. All things that I learned after the fact lead Butch to think he was pack leader and it was his job to protect his family. Now that we have the family dynamics back on track he is able to just be a puppy and is much happier and relaxed. The behaviorist was terrific. If you can find one to work with, I highly recommend it. Ours was all about positive feedback and understanding where your dog's thoughts and actions are coming from. To those who warned me it is A LOT of work to train a dog this way and that I would have to be very consistent, you are correct but it is soooo worth it.
