Dog jealous of other dogs on the field.
I have a boxerdog who previously had a reputation for being an absolute softie who got along with all the dogs on our local field.
This changed a few months ago when he started pouncing on other dogs and pinning them down. He doesn't nip or bite them but holds them down and growls. He has usually been happily playing with them before that and they are usually either the submissive type like springers, or young dogs, although not pups.
I've been trying to figure out what the trigger is so I can try to train him out of this behaviour. He definitely gets upset if owners are giving out treats and he thinks the other dog is going to take his. He also doesn't like me giving attention to other dogs. Again he only acts dominant towards those who are ultra submissive and usually doesn't act badly unless they are laying on their back.
There is one particular dog, a young beagle, whom he really seems to dislike now, despite having been friends before. He will stand and eyeball him from a distance then charge at him and pin him down. btw the owner of this dog is great and is trying to help me figure out what the problem is. His dog can run faster than mine. We think its jealousy because today I called the young dog who was hanging back and Baxter immediately ran at him. Minutes later they were both sniffing around the edge of the park together and were fine. They were away from me.
Do you think this problem could have started because Baxter had reached maturity? He will be 3 in March and has also started becoming a lot more protective at home, barking a lot at any noises outside.
Obviously I don't want my dog to hurt any of his playmates. At the moment at the first sign of trouble he is put on his lead and calms down straightaway, but I don't think this is a good way to deal with it because being on the lead means he's right next to me and therefore getting the attention he's craving.
I've tried taking toys down to the field and really interacting with him and that helps until we stop and then he's possessive again.
I no longer take treats to the field but other dog walkers keep giving them out to the dogs.
This changed a few months ago when he started pouncing on other dogs and pinning them down. He doesn't nip or bite them but holds them down and growls. He has usually been happily playing with them before that and they are usually either the submissive type like springers, or young dogs, although not pups.
I've been trying to figure out what the trigger is so I can try to train him out of this behaviour. He definitely gets upset if owners are giving out treats and he thinks the other dog is going to take his. He also doesn't like me giving attention to other dogs. Again he only acts dominant towards those who are ultra submissive and usually doesn't act badly unless they are laying on their back.
There is one particular dog, a young beagle, whom he really seems to dislike now, despite having been friends before. He will stand and eyeball him from a distance then charge at him and pin him down. btw the owner of this dog is great and is trying to help me figure out what the problem is. His dog can run faster than mine. We think its jealousy because today I called the young dog who was hanging back and Baxter immediately ran at him. Minutes later they were both sniffing around the edge of the park together and were fine. They were away from me.
Do you think this problem could have started because Baxter had reached maturity? He will be 3 in March and has also started becoming a lot more protective at home, barking a lot at any noises outside.
Obviously I don't want my dog to hurt any of his playmates. At the moment at the first sign of trouble he is put on his lead and calms down straightaway, but I don't think this is a good way to deal with it because being on the lead means he's right next to me and therefore getting the attention he's craving.
I've tried taking toys down to the field and really interacting with him and that helps until we stop and then he's possessive again.
I no longer take treats to the field but other dog walkers keep giving them out to the dogs.
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Could you utilise a long line for the time being, so he can be easily removed when he's getting OTT, whilst you work an a really solid recall.
Sorry can't be more help, my older dog was a boxer cross and played like this, we jsut had to make sure she was under control at all times and find her confident playmates
It does depend on other owners - some are fine and recognise that my dog is engaging in play. Others completely dislike it and says she's aggressive and I can't blame them for that because that's how I felt about it. I also concentrated on good recall and 90% of the time she is great but 10% she goes deaf! We now walk with a group regularly so she can socialise with dogs (and their owners) that are tolerant and they can all learn from each other.
Problem as you say is will other owners see this as aggresion and could they hurt old or vulnerable dogs accidentaly, also if they try it with a dog aggresive dog they could be in deep trouble.
I would imagine training is the real answer but how I am not too sure. If you don't mind I will pm about another forum where they have some expert help and support.
If there is a way of the owner teaching this I'd be interested.
All my experience and opinion of course I am not expert but I know what has worked for us.
This is very different. When he pounces on the dog he locks his paws round their neck, keeps his own head up and growls. His tail is down. When I pull him off he often lunges to get them again.
Today I took him down to the field with a pocket full of cheese. I had a lovely play, just me and him and a new tug toy and mixed this with some training. I taught him to stay, which I haven't done until now and he really enjoyed himself.
I got chatting to a lab owner whom bax has never had a problem with and he agreed to hold bax by the collar whilst I petted his dog, then went back to bax and gave him a big fuss and some cheese. It was very obvious that he didn't like me touching the other dog at all. Tail down and ears back and when we let him go he ran over and batted the lab on the nose.
I have a 50ft lunge rein which I might use for a while as suggested so I can grab him back.
the only other problem is that for one of his walks each day he is accompanied by my neighbours lurcher, whom I look after, and she's hard work too. So I'm going to put in an extra walk each day just with my own dog so we can do a lot more training and try and assert myself as boss again.
One thing you don't mention. Your boxer is coming up to 3 and full maturity. Has he been neutered? If not - then it is possible that his behaviour is orientated towards the need of being the pack leader. He may want to dominate other males and also control any females he comes into contact with. The domination theme does seem to point towards that.
He was neutered at 7 months, just after he'd started humping everything in sight lol. It would have been 6 months but we had to wait for one of his balls to drop. :eek:
Thinking about it though it does tend to be male dogs he is picking on and he's fine with male dogs whom are under 6 months.
He knows when a dog is full as he stands there and sniffs the air.
However I also know that some boxers do play by pinning down others - if my pooch was piined down by a boxer in the past he fought until he could get up and had a go back.
Well done! It's really hard to deal with entrenched behaviour but you've made a great start
If it's a dominant dog he won't go near it. There's one which used to nip him when he was a pup and he still stays clear. If the dog is a full male but more submissive, he'll sit on it.
He did pin one down on this afternoon's walk, a little staff who can handle himself and told baxter off straight away. But that was my fault as I sat down on the bench and all the dogs ran up to me, and I know that when I sit down Baxter becomes ultra protective. But I gave him a time out for a minute by attaching his leash to the bench and ignoring him. Then went over to the staff, gave it lots of fuss and a treat then went back to Bax and did the same a few times and it worked just like it had earlier this morning with the other dog.
Looks like I'll just have to keep doing the same and eventually he will hopefully cotton on to the fact that I want him to behave with all dogs.