I have a Pit Bull that is so loving and affectionate with myself and 4 grandchildren, but every time he catches the door open, he bolts out of it and will not come back by being called. I have to go get him in my car telling him to "let's go for a ride."
He will go from house to house trying to fight other dogs. I just don't know what to do with him, he minds so good when he's inside and even lets my cat sleep on his back, but will try to attack other cats or dogs. What should I do because I really don't want to give him up?
I, personally, think you are radically speaking; sitting on a time bomb that could go off at any time.
There are thousands of online courses, videos, etc telling you how to stop your dog from running away but how many of those 'course' can you actually do? Most lessons are done in an open area and it's very clear that you cannot do that due to the problem he has with other animals.
I recently brought a new dog into my house, and she is really aggressive to my other two dogs. She growls, barks, and tries to bite them. We have them separated now, and when they are separate, she is the sweetest dog ever. How do I get her accustomed to my two resident dogs?
It can be a very slow process that requires a lot of consistent and positive reinforcement for good behavior and no response to bad behavior (after they are separated of course).
There are so many good videos on YouTube how to do this. Find a few that are specific to your breeds if you can and check them out.
If that does not work, then you may need a professional trainer. We had to go that route...but our case was our resident dog would not let the new kid in. We had one session with a trainer and got peace in the house. It was a miracle. She taught us techniques to de-escalate and manage the old girl's behavior.
Sadly there are times when it never works. I have dog sat for dogs where there is an upstairs dog and a downstairs dog and never the two shall meet. It is not easy, but sometimes it has to be down.
Prayers for easy solutions!
I have a question. I need help fast cuz I do not want to give up my puppy. I'm afraid I might have to though. I have 3 dogs: a 2 and a half year old Pit Bull named Schnookums and a 6 year old Chihuahua named Moya. They're the best of friends.
We just got a puppy at 6 weeks old and now she is 3 months old. Her name is Lucy. She's a Dutch Shepherd and Pit Bull mix. Since then she has ferociously attacked my Chihuahua 7 times by the back of the neck and it's hard to get her to let go. She's drawn blood a few times. She's now as big as my Chihuahua. My Chihuahua won't play with her, only my Pit Bull plays with her. I have 5 kids and we all treat all of the dogs equally. But whenever we talk to Moya, our Chihuahua, she will attack her. I've realized it's a pattern, but idk how to stop it. They all sleep on their own pillows in the kitchen. They're good with each other until either someone says hi to Moya or Moya comes in from outside!
She waits for her to come back in from going pee and then will side butt her basically, idk how to explain, but she pushes her butt to Moya and basically pushes her with her tail straight up. When I see that I realize she's about to bite her, but she's fast and she's not one to give up. She bit her this morning. I couldn't get her off of her and then she turned and bit me.
When I first got her she did it the first day to Moya and also bit my Pit Bull Schnookums, but my other dogs won't bite back. I'm not sure if it's the breed mix or what. Also few weeks after I got her my sister wanted a puppy so I got her the sister of the puppy I have. So the guy dropped the sister off at my house and that puppy attacked my puppy/her sister and my Pit Bull over and over again to where I had to keep her in my basement until I brought her an hour away to my sister's house. Now I'm confused because they are sisters and both of them are the same way. I don't know how these puppies grew up. I don't know the owner it was a friend of a friend, but the sister was like this too, so who knows. Maybe they were mistreated or the bred mix is a bad one or an aggressive one. I need help. I don't need her trying to hurt or kill my old lady Chihuahua. They're also all girls, so I'm not sure. I train my dogs to do tricks. I've just been good at it since I was a kid. I never did it professionally, but I've always liked training animals. I don't know how to train for aggression! I learned the stuff I know just by myself lol. Schnookums does flips in the air, crawls, sits, speaks quietly, speaks loudly, pee, lol and stay. I say what do you want, and she goes to the cabinet for food, or other cabinet for peanut butter, or my oven if I cooked food, which she knows she can't have, or the door if she has to go out. If she wants to play she'll give you her toy. I have her trained to find things, but this new puppy is hard. I got her to do so far 5 different things and "let go" is one of them, but she won't give up when Moya gets attention. I thought I was good at training, but nooooo. This isn't easy at all. I hope I can get a quick response cuz if I can't control this I will give her up, maybe to a police officer, who knows. She'll be good for that as much as she likes to bite, but seriously I really love her. She's a sweetheart. Her name is Lucy and she gets along with Schnookums fine. I just don't know what her problem with Moya. Please can you help us?
Thank you.
I have a Jack Russell and she has been attacking our 18 year old Chihuahua. Every time the chihuahua squeals like she is in pain. Any suggestions on curbing this behavior?
We recently re-homed a 3 year old Boxer dog. We already have a Lab bitch which we've had since a puppy. She's now 4. The Boxer apparently was bullied at his previous home. The initial meet on neutral ground was perfect, lots of playing and sharing toys. Within 20 minutes of getting them both home he started being aggressive towards her. Snapping at her when she walked past, not letting her have any toys, charging at her for no reason.
We thought he's probably confused and scared so gave him a few days to settle, but he now seems to be guarding us from her. He is not letting her in a room with us, or wanting us to give her any attention. We are using a crate for time out which I don't like, but seems the only safe solution for her. My fear is the children could be in the way 1 day. My Lab is so placid it's pathetic some times so she's not helping by running away from him. I'm not sure if he would bite her if we let it escalate, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take. It's fine for him to be top dog between them as I'm definitely the alpha, but I don't want my Lab being scared in her own home. Any advice appreciated
I am disabled due to several painful medical conditions and I am in bed a lot because of this. I have 4 fur babies, ages ranging from 16 years old to 1 year old. My problem is with my 3 year old, Sophi Grace. She has started to attack my 2 year old. I have been bitten and bruised up breaking these fights up. I don't really care about myself getting hurt. But I am scared sooner or later my 2 year old is going to get hurt badly. Living on disability I can't afford a trainer to come here.
I go without to make sure my babies see the vet like they should and they get fed one of the top brands of food. These are my babies and the love and affection they all give me is priceless. I love these babies and getting rid of any of them is out of the question. Sophi is a very smart and loving baby. It's just seems like she just turned on Hunni the 2 year old. They use to play together all the time. Can someone please help me, I'm at my wits end. Thank you.
I have a 15 year old Maltese and a cross Shih Tzu Maltese which get along just fine. I have recently been given a Jack Russell by my daughter who can't look after him any more. He doesn't like my little Maltese and has attacked it twice and would have killed it if I wasn't there to save her.
How can I make him not attack her and how can I ever trust him?My mom's female Shih Tzu and dad's male Corgi Chihuahua have recently started snapping at our 7 month old Pug Chihuahua Dachshund mix puppy. How do my parents and I correct their behavior toward my puppy?
I have a 10 year old JRT and an 8 yr. old Cockapoo. I got a Boxer x Mastiff and since the age of 6 months she has been attacking the 2 small dogs. She will pick them up by the back of the head and shake them. This has happened roughly 7 times! She is 16 months old now and just attacked the JRT again. Another time she just bounced on them. Other times they are fine together. She has drawn blood at times. What do I do to correct this or can I?
By L.M.
What you are describing sounds like your boxer is using the smaller dogs as toys. Large breed dogs often carry cats by their heads.
Bouncing is simply what dogs do. They jump on each other. I bet your boxer mix doesn't realize she's gotten as big as she has.
Considering she's still a puppy, you should be able to fix it. When the puppy grabs a dog, bring yourself to your full height, stretch your arm out fully from your shoulder, point and say "Drop it!" in a stern voice.
Practice doing this with various toys and other articles until your puppy obeys right away.
Practice also the command "Sit!" so you can use it when your puppy is jumping.
Large breed dogs require more training and better behavior than small breed dogs because of their size. I suggest you ask yourself a few questions. Do you have any experience with large breed dogs? Are you willing to put in the extra time and effort it will take to train your dog to keep it from becoming a menace? Do you have the time? Be honest.
If not, the puppy is still young, and you can find it a home with someone who has a lot of experience with large breeds.
If you are willing to put in the extra time for training it will need, then you should start now. A six month boxer-mastiff mix is already a big dog and people will soon start to see it as a potential danger. Your dog could be in trouble with the neighbors and their pets if it doesn't learn some manners soon.
The previous answer was excellent. As a retired AKC Boxer raiser-breeder (after 40+years) who also did many years of breed rescue, all I can add is the following:
Boxers and certain cross (like the Mastiff in your cross) breeds mature at a much later age than most dogs - a Boxer generally matures fully at around aged three years (although sexually mature at around aged 6-8 months, so spaying/neutering at that age is 99.9% of the time highly advisable). You should expect puppy behaviours like 'play fighting' for some time to come.
You don't mention her being spayed so I'm going to assume you've not had that done - do it now, as soon as you can. Sooner. That will help lessen her aggressive play with the others. It's not a cure by any means. Training is also a good step - if you haven't already, you should have her on a training course. Your local Leisure Services likely offers low-cost training courses for you and your dog.
The local library and the Internet are great sources of 'self-help' training information; your vet is always your first go-to for breed specific information and training suggestions. You must completely understand the breed specific needs of your dog - both Boxer and Mastiff breed traits and characteristics.
I can't stress how very vitally important training is - you will not be able to stop her wanting to be 'assertive' or 'aggressive' towards the other animals but you must be able to rely on her obeying your command of 'Stop!' 'Down!' and 'Come!'.
It should go without saying your cross Boxer-Mastiff must never again be left unsupervised with any other animal or vulnerable human - vulnerable is defined under US and UK (where I now live) as: child under 16 years, unwell/physically or mentally challenged of any age, and elderly.
Many locales in the US and UK have strict legislation against certain breeds and crosses. I don't think Boxer-Mastiffs have made that list yet but you should check with your local authorities to be sure. You may have to have specialised insurance, heavy fencing, etc including using leads and muzzles when in public or around the vulnerable.
If you feel all of the above is too much for your family to cope with, please find a reputable breed rescue group to rehome this dog to a home knowledgable about the cross and able to take on the tremendous responsibility.
To be completely clear - it's been my experience a Boxer-Mastiff (or Boxer-Staffie) cross should be the only companion animal in the family. Frankly, they don't usually 'play well with others'.
Approximately 1.5 years ago I adopted a male, 7 month old, distemper survivor from a rescue. The resident dog was an 8 year old male English Bulldog, who is now almost 10. Both dogs have been neutered. They got along fabulously and we were so pleased the older dog had a companion.
About 6 months ago, the younger male (Buddy) for no apparent reason would start growling, showing teeth, and raised fur at Chopper, the Bulldog. Apparently Chopper takes this as a challenge and will bull rush the younger dog and then the fight is on. Noteworthy is that the bulldog will not bite the younger dog. Both dogs are 65lbs so this is no small deal. Originally, the younger dog, Buddy, would just make noise and do more corn cobbing on the Bulldog's head, as he has the height advantage, but now he is actually biting the older dog. The younger dog has many problems due to distemper, rotten teeth, bad back legs, and a nerve problem that makes his back left leg constantly move.
The two dogs can get along great, lay in the sun together, go for walks together and then for no known reason the younger dog either feels threatened or who knows and starts showing teeth and growling and it's a fight. We have had the younger dog exhibit this behavior when the older one is sleeping and obviously not provoking. We make the dogs stay in their own beds when they are in the house. They are out of each other's site for the most part, but in the same room to keep the tension down. Any suggestions?
I do not want to have to get rid of the younger dog as he is a good dog and has already been through so much, but I cannot have this constant tension in my house. I worry that a child will spook this dog and he will hurt them. It's almost like he goes into a trance and you have to put him outside to get him to snap out of it. Help!
By Ruth S
It's typical in the wild for a young but mature dog to challenge an older dog for the leadership role. That's how packs change leaders. That's in the wild, though- not your house.
The dogs would not be fighting for leadership in the household if you were the leader (or "boss" if you prefer). This tells me you aren't.
Study Cesar Millan's pack leadership techniques. He has books and DVDs. Some of his programs are available on internet tv services you may subscribe to, but I'd recommend his Dog Whisperer program. Start at the beginning if you can.
You need to be the pack leader in your dogs eyes' so they will accept you as such and stop fighting over this position.
Here's a link to get you started: www.cesarsway.com/
