I have 3 dogs, 2 females and a male. One of the females randomly attacked the other female and won't stop trying to do it again. We can't even keep them together any more. Both dogs are spayed and they have been together for 4 years. They have both been to the vet and are in perfect health. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
By Bron
Is there an age difference between the two? I have an 11 year old Dobe (female) and a 5 year old male pug mix. They have been together for 4 years. About a year ago the pug started bulling the mild mannered Dobe. The Dobe is in good health but has arthritis. When she comes in from outside the pug goes on a barking rampage. My dobe will take this for so long, and will then show teeth.
They only got into a fight once and the pug got a clip in the ear (very minor). I keep an eye on them. They only argue when I am right there. I just feel that the younger dog knows that the Dobe is slowing down with age. I make sure that the older dog is fed first, treated first and that she knows she is still top dog. She is not the agressor. I really feel that in my case this is just nature.
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?
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.
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
We have 4 female dogs in the family. One 6 year Lab lives upstairs in my daughter's apartment and another 6 year old Lab lives with me. I also have 2, 16 month old female Boxer sisters. They all got along fine and played in the yard together, but twice now the Boxers have attacked my Lab and the vet had to give her antibiotics for puncture wounds as the Boxer held on with her teeth like a Pit Bull.
We love all of them and now we have separated them putting the 2 Labs out together at one time and the Boxers out together by themselves. In the house we keep a watchful eye. Any suggestions?By Vera
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'.
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!
My dog is 15 yrs old and has got loads of lumps and bumps, coming up everywhere. Now he is fighting with my 6 yr old dog. The younger dog has been here since he was 10 weeks old, so they are used to each other. If I tell my older dog off, he starts growling at me.
By Susan
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
My 8 year old Lab mix has been extra grumpy this past month or so. I understand when she growls when our 9 month old Husky starts pestering her trying to get her to play. What I don't understand is why she'll start growling if she's in the same room chewing on her toy, nowhere near her. She'll just start growling if the Husky comes into the room.
It gets annoying and is a pain, if she jumps up on the bed with her or even lays next to her! It never used to bother her this much unless the Husky was actually touching her or really trying to bother her.
Yesterday she attacked the Husky while I was at work and my husband put a bowl of water down. All he knew was that they were both drinking water and all the sudden the Lab snapped. They haven't gotten in a fight in months which is kind of why I'm confused. They were doing great and then she just snapped for a reason.
I don't know why is she being like this. I've tried almost everything I can think of to get her to stop, but nothing is working. How can I make her stop being so grouchy and stop fighting the Husky?
By ashley from Seattle, WA
Ashley, this is a complicated situation that deserves more than a few posts, but let me give it a shot. I understand your problem as we had a similar situation with an older dog and a new puppy. At first they were great buds, then the older one started getting irritated about the younger one thinking he could do whatever he wanted to do. The older one got more territorial and chaos started to prevail. We had to learn it was a power struggle for dominance between the two dogs and (treating them like older children trying to "be the boss" of younger children) had to take steps to remind both who was in charge.. Us, adult humans!
Dogs have a instinctive, pack mentality. If you don't take on the role of the human alpha, leader of the pack, one of the dogs will! Again, it's instinct on the part of the dog to take charge if he or she doesn't perceive another to be an effective leader. The dog shouldn't be "punished" for trying to take the lead, but you, the true human alpha of the pack, must remind the more dominant dog who is actually in charge. (The humans.) Honestly, once the dogs know how much you want to be in charge, most are happy and willing to let you take the lead.
When our older dog got snarly or snarky with the younger dog, we would take him into another room and make him go through a series of "sit, down, stay" commands to remind him who was the "boss." (Us humans!) We would do the same with the younger one when he got a bit cocky. The trick was to discipline them in private. No one, skin or fur, appreciates being corrected in front of others! :-) It works almost every time. (No such thing as perfection, here, but this technique works well for us.)
We still have the occasional spat between the fur boys, but for the most part we all get along. It's important to remember that, skin or fur, all get miffed on occasion and a simple break can sooth a few rattled nerves.
I know this is not nearly detailed enough, but I hope the general idea helps you with your situation. Seriously, I think your older dog is having a few issues with sharing time with the younger one, and the younger one is just pushing the limits, as all youngsters do. I wish you the best of luck.
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.
