My dog.....Seriouse Answers Please!?

Question

I have a 2 year old male (neutered) purebred boxer, who is in good health, and is top notch in obiedence. He has never once challenged my position in the house and has never been aggressive with a single person or child. A few months ago we got a new puppy and every time we scolded him my boxer would jump in a violently attack him. We have stopped him from doing that now. The problem is, yesterday, my husband and I were joking around and wrestling, and suddenly my boxer was in my face, hackles sticking up, teeth showing, the aggressive growling and kept trying to bite my face, while my husband had me pinned in a head lock and halfway under the couch. He barreled his head inbetween my husband to get to my face and today I have a massive black eye from him head butting me. I have lost confidence in this dog, and I don't know what to do? I'm so mad at him, because its after the fact, I can't discipline him for it. I would like some advice to prevent this from happening again. thnx

I hold the alpha status in the house, my husband is hardley home and has been in Iraq for the past year, (just got back in OCT). My husband doesn't play a role in the discipline, because hes hardly ever home.

This dog is not food/toy aggressive, is tolerant with children, playful and is very submissive with me, he's never challenged my position.

When he tried to attack me, he wasn't not playing, or trying to protect me, I had to wiggle my arms loose from my husband and cover my face, my husband had to drag him off me, and he said every muscle in his body was hard as a rock, and when I got to my feet, my husband let him go to see if I was alright and he came at me again. Where my husband was able to catch him again, pinned him down, and put him in the crate for the rest of the night.

I am very aware of what an attack looks like, being in the military for 4 years and working with the Military Working dogs on a weekly baisis.

The actions my boxer displayed were aggressive not playful, and certainly not be encourage because of his breed. A boxer is a family dog by nature, not a dog that turns on his family.

Answer 1

Well here's what I think... Your dog is a social climber, neither strictly dominant nor strictly submissive... more of an opportunist that will seize any advantage of increasing his social status. Basically what your dog thought was happening when you and your husband were wrestling... was a mutiny... a chance for him to overthrow the leader and gain a position higher up in the ranks. By his very reaction I can tell you certainly ARE the alpha of the household however your mistake was in letting your dog observe behaviour on your part that lowered your status as leader in his eyes. As a social climber, any sign of weakness in a higher ranking individual caused your dog to try and overthrow you as leader with the help of your husband (at least thats how the dog interpreted it) Insight can be gained by observing the same behaviour in a wolf pack... I watched a documentary which followed a wolf pack, the Alpha female was a merciless tyrant and her sister seemed to be a submissive individual however at the first sign of weakness her sister with the help of other pack mates deposed the alpha female and took her place... dogs act the same way as their wild cousins do and I believe that is what happened in your household... your dog thought your husband was leading a mutiny and he happily joined in because he is an opportunistic social climber, and upon seeing your percieved weakness tried to take advantage of that. What you need to do now is constantly reassert your position as alpha and never show any sign of weakness... when you and your husband wrestle next time put the dog in the crate where he can watch BUT this time make sure to stage the wrestling so that you appear to win all the time, make it look like even your husband submits to your authority.... dont let the dog see your husband physically dominating you otherwise he will try to take advantage of that. You need to restablish your dominance and alpha position in your dogs eyes, I also suggest implementing NILF on a daily basis http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm. And make sure to do everything possible to reestablish your rank as alpha, because after seeing your husband dominating you your dog has started to doubt your social status and your right to be leader.

PS the incident with your new pup was a similar thing... in wolf packs the higher ranking individuals always gang up on the omega (lowest ranking) wolf in order to remind him/her of thier place in the social status. Your dog was just doing what comes naturally to him... reminding lower ranking individuals of their place, and challenging higher ranking individuals who show weakness in an attempt to gain a higher position in the social hierarchy.

Answer 2

You absolutely need to find a professional dog trainer that has experience dealing with dominance and aggression issues. Interview them carefully - anyone who proposes use of violent or extremely rough handling of your dog is not a good choice. Call your local humane society for recommendations.

You have a very dominant male dog - it is good that he is neutered. 18 months to 2 years of age is about the time these problems seem to emerge. You need help in learning how to handle him and to get his behavior in line. A good trainer can also assess if he might be better placed in a different home - he may be more than you want to handle and an owner who has experience with very dominant dogs may be a better choice.

Right now he poses a risk to you and your other dog. A large breed like a boxer can do a lot of damage. I would not underestimate what happened and I'd seek good professional training help as soon as possible.

Answer 3

Sounds like the puppy has caused some disruptions. I am wondering if the dog basically has to relearn who is pack leader. Now that there is a new puppy, that puppy is at the bottom of the pack chain, so to speak. Maybe he is challenging you as a pack leader.

Add: After reading your additions, it appears that you were the alpha. Your husband has challenged by rough housing...the dog didn't understand that you two were just playing. The dog doesn't know who the alpha is anymore.

Answer 4

Based on your description, here is what I am thinking. Since you said that you are dominant, and that your husband isn't as he is never there, I think either one of two things. First, you aren't actually dominant, and just think you are. However, the fact that you have experience with working dogs makes me kindof doubt that. Although, I will freely admit it is harder to maintain dominance with our own dogs than someone else's dog. Anyway, the other, more likely option is that because your husband was wrestling with you, and is probably stronger than you, it probably appeared to the dog that you were showing weakness and he decided to help take over. I know that I have to be really careful about wrestling in front of my dogs, because at the very least they get visibly uncomfortable. Anyway, the second option seems the more likely option to me.

Answer 5

PLEASE take your dog to the vet for a check immediately. The puppy incident does not concern me as much as the attack on YOU.

I do not want to scare you, but I know of two instances where formally sweet, mild, dogs turned violent because of a brain tumor.

My own dog stalked me from our hall into the kitchen, growling, hackles raised, acting like I was a stranger.

I put my 2 yr old son on a high table and tried to figure out what I was going to do --pregnant and unarmed against what used to be the sweetest dog in the world. I was talking to him the whole time. Suddenly he snapped out of it and I put him in his crate.

My dog had been treated for cancer in his leg and the vet said it had reached his brain.

Maybe it is something else--something trainable. But you must get a vet to look at the dog and check him out for every possible thing. My dog gave us a few warning signs before the day he stalked me. I would never have forgiven myself if something had happened to my toddler or my unborn son because I ignored those warning signs.

Peace and best wishes for a good checkup and a happy resolution to this problem.

Answer 6

I understand your position of having a perfect dog and him becoming agressive out of nowhere. The same thing happened to us when we brought a new puppy home. I unfortunately had to relinquish my dog (still a puppy) because of his violent tendencies. It is a scary situation for you and the dog. I think he was protecting your boyfriend. I know it is hard to overcome this kind of event but it could have been an isolated event. Maybe he was playing too, but you didn't realize it. You have put so much into this dog, you can't just give up...I would work back into things again slowly with you and your boyfriend and with the dog around. Try to involve him in your play, and then he might get the idea that is just that...PLAY!!!

Answer 7

I think you'd be better off consulting a dog behavior specialist in person for this. Ask your veterinarian or the breeder you got the dog from for a recommendation.

Here's an article on selecting a behavior consultant: http://www.webtrail.com/petbehavior/guide.html
and a page listing certified animal behaviorists:
http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

Advice you get on the 'net might be helpful, or might make things worse - it's much better to have someone experienced and recommended by your vet interact with the dog & your family in person.

Answer 8

Firstly,I wouldn't rough house with the dog around anymore. Secondly,you need to practice being absolute alpha for a while. Start strictly using NILF(nothing in life is free) training with him. Let him know in a positive way it is you who controls the food,the toys and when he gets to go out and play time. This is fairly common behavior for Boxers -or has been my experience these past 40 + years anyway. Good luck!

Answer 9

What!!!give the dog a lash,shout and scream,this is a straight A no.

The dog will be quaking so make up and be nice,you will only have to do it once,and maybe a strong word later on if it shows signs,

The worse things for dogs are shades of grey.
If you dont straighten this out the dog will have to be put down,this is very serious,You cannot have a dog that thinks its ok to bite people.

Otherwise it seems like youve got a good dog there.

Alpha beta?i've had dogs all my life and thats all doggy psyco babble.You are master and thats it.

Answer 10

One of desentizing him would be to have him tied off or in a cage while you do things that make him attack. When he cannot respond and jump in, he will realize it is futile.
Respond immediately, or as soon as can. The most effective method is to take him firmly by the ruff of the neck with both hands, force him to the floor [but not hurting, just very firm], lean over him with him lying face up in classic inferior dog/wolf position, and raise voice scolding him while looking him in the eye. Keep staring him down, holding him down for a minute or two, then put him somewhere he doesn't like [outside maybe] or on a 'sit stay', for awhile [10-15 min.].