Wild Boy

[crosbyjanes]

Hi,
I have a 11 mos. old boxer boy. He is full of energy - like all boxers at a young age. We are having problems with him and have a few concerns.
A) Will this go away
B) Do we need to seek professional help
C) Does this happen often
D) Will it turn into agressive behavior.

When Crosby gets a little twist in his tail he likes to jump up on us and bite our arms. It isn't beacuse he is mad it is becuase he wants to play with us like he does with the dogs at the dog park. My husband I and tell him no and off but that just doesnt get through to his little head. We end up pinning him down and waiting till he calms down. As well, at times we just turn away and ignore him. Either way, it isnt fixing the problem. It is NOT okay for him to bite our arms, hands, feet etc. We exercise him EVERY day for an hour walk and the dog park 3x per week and doggie day care almost one time per week. Are we doing something wrong? Any advice would be great.

 

[Net45582]

Its going to take a lot of consistant and persistent training but you can correct the problem. He's biting for play and attention....so even by over correcting him he's getting the attention he wants. ......a loud "ouch" and turning your back and ignoring him should get the point across there will be no more playing as long as he bites. After a couple of minutes pick up a favorite toy for him to play chew on..you'll need to keep one handy until Crosby realizes that's the only thing that's acceptable to chew on. Good luck

 

[crosbyjanes]

Thank you for your response. Another example is if I am playing with him on the floor he can turn it real quick into rough play and biting. I'll put his toys in his mouth or get up and walk away...he still does it. I really hope he will out grow this. Do you think we should bring in help or just keep doing consistant correction?

 

[ladyluck_t]

A good training class wouldnt be amiss. This will give you the skills to work these issues. You have the exercise down, and how to apply the correct corrections. Now you need to work on self control, he needs to know he is responsible for his own behavior. I have a 9mo's old pup that my son isnt working with :rolleyes: so now I have to teach the self-control. And I just had a foster baby 11mo's old that was the same way. So here are the things I did:

1. Since you know about when he gets to the point where he will start getting rough, stop him before that point. Stop, call him to you, ask for a sit, wait for it to occur or help him sit, then praise (quietly not excitedly), and release him with a "go play" Do this OFTEN at first. You are teaching him to control his behavior on command and breaking the arousal cycle before it gets out of hand. It is much easier to teach a dog to do something than it is to teach them not to do something.
2. If ignoring him is not workinig, then, leash him to a piece of furniture or yourself (waist leash) and then ignore him. Basically, he is in "time out"
3. Couple of times during the day, leash him, sit on the leash, and wait for him to settle down on his own (usually takes about 20mins ) then leave him leashed in a down position (he will go down on his own, it is very boring at this time) for 20mins. Now through out this whole exercise, dont say a word to him! dont look at him, dont pay him any attention. He is learning that is it POSSIBLE to be calm and quiet near people
4. When entering or exiting any closed door, he must sit and wait until invited through. This is the one that takes the most amount of time, so dont do it if you are late to get somewhere! So lets say it is going outside to play, Ask for a sit, wait until the sit is done, then start to open the door. First couple of times, you may not even be able to touch the door cause he will get up, help him back into the sit position, and then repeat opening the door. Also be sure your BODY is blocking the doorway, you want to make sure he cant slip out during this. Now the point is, he is not allowed to get up from the sit unless you say "you may go" or what ever you choose. This teaches self control. Take you time, dont speak or say anything or look at him at all. The only time you should say sit is the first time, otherwise he hasnt been given permission to leave the sit, no need to repeat the command.
5. When guests or other people enter the room, he should be leashed to furniture or you, again do the same as the doorway only it is the people he gets. Only when his butt is on the floor does he get attention from the new people. this takes time to teach, especially to a teenager :rolleyes: but they will get it!

As time goes by, you can start leaving the leashes off......dont go to fast. The rule of thumb is if you can guarentee that the dog will perform as expected 98% of the time with the current task and difficulty level, only then will you increase the difficulty or task effort.

Good Luck!