Bella is a 16-month-old female boxer lab mix. She has been through basic and intermediate training and passed with flying colors. She knows stay for duration, sit, down, focus, stand, follow, backup, even left turn and right turn, we are working on spin but only does it with a treat lure. She is super easy to train and is very food motivated. She is wonderful most of the time. Our main problems are
1.in the evening. She knows place and we setup a mat for her to place on during dinner time. She will stay on it when she wants to. Most nights it she sits there and whines very loud. We have tried to ignore her, it just gets louder till we finally give up and yell. If not whining, she is under the table trying to get me to play by pawing my lap or sticking her nose on it. I've found putting a leash on her settles her down quickly, but then the crying starts. After dinner she then wants to play and will paw me I stand and she stops. The second I sit dI get pawed or jumped on. This escalates to growling or barking till I finally give up and leave the room. Bella is my "shadow" and will follow me wherever I go. She is fine till my husband get's home then the pawing and jumping at me starts. Never directed towards him.
2. When outside in our fenced yard she barks at any distraction and leaps (can all but clear the fence). She has a doggie door ()Only way we could get her potty trained). As I am typing I had to lock the doggie door as she was having a barking episode. If I open the door and say enough she stops till I walk away.
3. If I go outside she is sometimes fine, other times especially if off the porch and in the grass she consistently lunges at me either planting her paws on me or trying to nip my hands. I admit when she was younger I would play rough with her> I'm trying to stop this as she is big enough now to knock me down. She plays very nice with my 5 year old and husband. I'm the only one who get's this treatment.
I do understand she does not get enough exercise. With my crazy work schedule, away from home in the am, then work from home in the pm, and have the 5 year old home all day I find it hard to fit in a walk. I get finished working my night shift at 8pm, it will soon be light out and I will start her evening walks back up. We hav no street light in my neighborhood. I used to take her to the local pet store on weekends and walk her around for exercise and socialization. I had to stop as my husband is now off working on the weekends also and my son is not good enough for me to completely focus on the dog. My husband keeps saying "maybe she's not the right dog for us" "I'm gonna get rid of her and get a new dog" He doesn't walk her when he get's home from work. I try to tell him, she will get in trouble because she is bored but still nothing. My main question is how to get her to stay calm with me once he get's home. her acting up every night is really getting the best of him.
Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
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dgtrainer101
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:09 pm
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Sounds like an understimulated teenager. As she gets older, things will get better. Some dogs don't "mature" until about 2, sometimes 3 years of age. But think of it this way, human teens are teenagers for what, like7 years or so....at least your dog is only a teenager for less than half of that time 
. Most dogs are given up when they become teenagers because of the hyper and "bad" behavior. Patience and work is needed, no matter what dog you have, because all dogs have a teenagehood, just some are longer than others.
Can you afford a dog walker? I don't know where you live, but by mean, using US money, its about $15 for 30 min. Does your dog like other dogs? Doggie daycare might be an option, plus it gives you more one on one time with your son and tires out your teenage pup. for 4 hours of daycare it's about $20 by me and $35 for a full day. Might be well worth the money. Otherwise, try to wake up early in the morning when both you and your husband are home and before your son is awake, and one takes the dog out for a walk then, or do the opposite late at night, or both
. She needs her exercise and you've admitted that, try to find the time or someone else to do it for you. Getting another puppy is not the answer, because all puppies and teenagers need exercise. If you got an adult dog instead of a puppy, then check out breeds that like to be couch potatos and don't require much exercise.
That being said, it is not fair to bring in an animal into a house and not do what is necessary to make their lives the best they can possibly be. You are not alone on this, so please don't take this the wrong way, but many people don't fully research breeds to fit their lifestyle. Boxer and labs are two very very high energy dogs, and you have a combo of the two. If you think you really cannot get her exercised, than maybe rehoming her would be best. I strongly suggest research breeds and stick to one that would fit your lifestyle. Otherwise, if you plan on keeping her, then you need to find a way to exercise her.
Besides physical exercise, mental stimulation is necessary. They have food puzzle toys which get the dog thinking which burns off mental energy. Try stuffed Kongs with peanut butter or cheese whiz and part of their breakfast. Place it in the freezer. Then pup has to work to get breakfast out, burning off mental steam. Chew things like hooves and bully sticks are good to keep pups occupied.
As far as the whining, since eventually you do give in, she has learned to whine harder, louder, and longer to get your attention. Even if your attention is just an "enough." I don't know how you taught her "place, " but if a dog gets up off the towel or place mat without being released to come off, the mat comes up. We get the dog "addicted" to the mat first, where all good things happen when dog is on the mat. The dog actually gets to liking the mat so much, he wants to pull owner towards it. So if dog makes the mistake of coming off the mat without being released, mat comes up and all good things stop. After only a few times, dog usually gets the idea and doesn't move his butt off the mat unless released, and even then sometimes doesn't want to come off the mat.
During dinner time, when she is on the mat while you are eating, you could give her a stuffed kong to keep her occupied....before she starts to whine, which may stop the whining all together and help keep her on the mat because she's too busy doing something else.
Pawing, you could do 1 of 2 things. 1) instead of standing up and ignoring (may have become a ritual) just walk out of the room, or 2) give pup a time out.
If you do give a time out, do it in a gentle manner. You don't have to throw pup and yell at pup while you put her in a room. Just gently lead her to the room, close the door, wait a few seconds, like maybe 10, then let her out. If you keep doing this, she will learn her behavior is a precurser for a time out. Pup will not hate the room, provided that you don't harshly throw her in there or yell at her when you do. Her punishment is not playing with her playmate, you.
It was kind of interesting......does she only do this when your husband comes home, or does it just get worse when he comes home? Reguardless, continue the above, either you walk away, or she gets a time out. Pick one and be consistant. Sounds like your husband doesn't have too much of a relationship with her, am I right? To build up their bond and to help with any jealousy issues or insecurities, try to have your husband be more involved...I might be guessing at this because you didn't say whether there was a lack of bonding or not. If there is, maybe have husband feed her both meals. Have him play games with her.
You can even make playing with the dog as a family time. One person holds pup, the other hides in an easy spot in a different room, like behind a corner. The person hiding calls the dog. When dog finds person, dog gets a treat. Now the other person takes turns. As dog gets good, your hiding spots should get harder and harder. This could be fun for your son to do as well, he can hide with you or your husband. This will help build up relationships between your dog and everyone in the house, burn off mental and physical energy, and will be a family fun night.
. Most dogs are given up when they become teenagers because of the hyper and "bad" behavior. Patience and work is needed, no matter what dog you have, because all dogs have a teenagehood, just some are longer than others.Can you afford a dog walker? I don't know where you live, but by mean, using US money, its about $15 for 30 min. Does your dog like other dogs? Doggie daycare might be an option, plus it gives you more one on one time with your son and tires out your teenage pup. for 4 hours of daycare it's about $20 by me and $35 for a full day. Might be well worth the money. Otherwise, try to wake up early in the morning when both you and your husband are home and before your son is awake, and one takes the dog out for a walk then, or do the opposite late at night, or both
. She needs her exercise and you've admitted that, try to find the time or someone else to do it for you. Getting another puppy is not the answer, because all puppies and teenagers need exercise. If you got an adult dog instead of a puppy, then check out breeds that like to be couch potatos and don't require much exercise. That being said, it is not fair to bring in an animal into a house and not do what is necessary to make their lives the best they can possibly be. You are not alone on this, so please don't take this the wrong way, but many people don't fully research breeds to fit their lifestyle. Boxer and labs are two very very high energy dogs, and you have a combo of the two. If you think you really cannot get her exercised, than maybe rehoming her would be best. I strongly suggest research breeds and stick to one that would fit your lifestyle. Otherwise, if you plan on keeping her, then you need to find a way to exercise her.
Besides physical exercise, mental stimulation is necessary. They have food puzzle toys which get the dog thinking which burns off mental energy. Try stuffed Kongs with peanut butter or cheese whiz and part of their breakfast. Place it in the freezer. Then pup has to work to get breakfast out, burning off mental steam. Chew things like hooves and bully sticks are good to keep pups occupied.
As far as the whining, since eventually you do give in, she has learned to whine harder, louder, and longer to get your attention. Even if your attention is just an "enough." I don't know how you taught her "place, " but if a dog gets up off the towel or place mat without being released to come off, the mat comes up. We get the dog "addicted" to the mat first, where all good things happen when dog is on the mat. The dog actually gets to liking the mat so much, he wants to pull owner towards it. So if dog makes the mistake of coming off the mat without being released, mat comes up and all good things stop. After only a few times, dog usually gets the idea and doesn't move his butt off the mat unless released, and even then sometimes doesn't want to come off the mat.
During dinner time, when she is on the mat while you are eating, you could give her a stuffed kong to keep her occupied....before she starts to whine, which may stop the whining all together and help keep her on the mat because she's too busy doing something else.
Pawing, you could do 1 of 2 things. 1) instead of standing up and ignoring (may have become a ritual) just walk out of the room, or 2) give pup a time out.
If you do give a time out, do it in a gentle manner. You don't have to throw pup and yell at pup while you put her in a room. Just gently lead her to the room, close the door, wait a few seconds, like maybe 10, then let her out. If you keep doing this, she will learn her behavior is a precurser for a time out. Pup will not hate the room, provided that you don't harshly throw her in there or yell at her when you do. Her punishment is not playing with her playmate, you.
It was kind of interesting......does she only do this when your husband comes home, or does it just get worse when he comes home? Reguardless, continue the above, either you walk away, or she gets a time out. Pick one and be consistant. Sounds like your husband doesn't have too much of a relationship with her, am I right? To build up their bond and to help with any jealousy issues or insecurities, try to have your husband be more involved...I might be guessing at this because you didn't say whether there was a lack of bonding or not. If there is, maybe have husband feed her both meals. Have him play games with her.
You can even make playing with the dog as a family time. One person holds pup, the other hides in an easy spot in a different room, like behind a corner. The person hiding calls the dog. When dog finds person, dog gets a treat. Now the other person takes turns. As dog gets good, your hiding spots should get harder and harder. This could be fun for your son to do as well, he can hide with you or your husband. This will help build up relationships between your dog and everyone in the house, burn off mental and physical energy, and will be a family fun night.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Thanks for youre reply. When researching Boxer lab mixes I was reading what a great loving family dog they were, they were suposedly great with kids and big lap dogs. I did not read about their very high activity needs till after she came to live with us. My husband has had labs when he was younger and wanted one. We thought the boxer would calm her down....wrong that just made her more of a goof and determined dog.
She has bonded with me a lot more, as I'm home with her alot more than he is. He works away from home 8hrs and is gone most weekends doing his construction stuff. I do think there is jealousy on his end as he says the next dog he gets will be one that goes on jobs with him. She loves him as well and wants her nightly snuggle time on the couch with him. I have tried using a Kong treat dispensing ball during dinner. it worked great for a night or two, till I caught her tearing the bottom off. eah she is a super chewer, she manages to destroy most any toy she has within minutes. She now has one big Kong the I am starting to use. I like the freezing part, I'll have to start that.
Walks. Unfortunately I leave the house at 6:30am and it is still dark here, with no street lights I don't like to take her out by myself, and I know my husband won't do it, it's hard enough to get him to take her out in the evening. I have managed to get her out to a lit shopping center a few nights recently. She did very good, she's not the best walker, so we have lots of stopping and me turning around. We are working hard at this, I'm trying to put her in many different situations to desensitize her to strange things. Now that the weather is getting nicer I will start afternoon walks with her and my son. The evening one is just her and myself, I'd rather do it that way as I have time to work on her walking behavior. Lots of dogs and distractions in the neighborhood.
I'd love to take her to the doggie day care nearby, unfortunately she is currently not fixed so they won't take her. She also is rather dominant with any dog she meets, so I don't know if they would let her out to play. She loves to play find with toys. I've done the hid and seek with my son, and of course she is the one who always finds me.
The acting out towards me is mostly once my husband gets home at night. The only other time I get it, is when I first get home from work, she sits till I get close and then starts jumping and mouthing my hands. I have learned with her it's best to just turn my back and ignore her till she calms down then tell her good girl. I've used time out, even tonight she got put into 6time out during dinner, when she emptied out her treat ball she started hollering at me for attention.
I know once she gets older and calms down a bit she will be a wonderful dog, it's just a matter of time. She is a very smart dog, with plenty of time on her hands...that is why she keeps getting herself in trouble. I figure once I get a few of the basic problems fixed I can work on the others. digging, stealing stuff, etc
She has bonded with me a lot more, as I'm home with her alot more than he is. He works away from home 8hrs and is gone most weekends doing his construction stuff. I do think there is jealousy on his end as he says the next dog he gets will be one that goes on jobs with him. She loves him as well and wants her nightly snuggle time on the couch with him. I have tried using a Kong treat dispensing ball during dinner. it worked great for a night or two, till I caught her tearing the bottom off. eah she is a super chewer, she manages to destroy most any toy she has within minutes. She now has one big Kong the I am starting to use. I like the freezing part, I'll have to start that.
Walks. Unfortunately I leave the house at 6:30am and it is still dark here, with no street lights I don't like to take her out by myself, and I know my husband won't do it, it's hard enough to get him to take her out in the evening. I have managed to get her out to a lit shopping center a few nights recently. She did very good, she's not the best walker, so we have lots of stopping and me turning around. We are working hard at this, I'm trying to put her in many different situations to desensitize her to strange things. Now that the weather is getting nicer I will start afternoon walks with her and my son. The evening one is just her and myself, I'd rather do it that way as I have time to work on her walking behavior. Lots of dogs and distractions in the neighborhood.
I'd love to take her to the doggie day care nearby, unfortunately she is currently not fixed so they won't take her. She also is rather dominant with any dog she meets, so I don't know if they would let her out to play. She loves to play find with toys. I've done the hid and seek with my son, and of course she is the one who always finds me.
The acting out towards me is mostly once my husband gets home at night. The only other time I get it, is when I first get home from work, she sits till I get close and then starts jumping and mouthing my hands. I have learned with her it's best to just turn my back and ignore her till she calms down then tell her good girl. I've used time out, even tonight she got put into 6time out during dinner, when she emptied out her treat ball she started hollering at me for attention.
I know once she gets older and calms down a bit she will be a wonderful dog, it's just a matter of time. She is a very smart dog, with plenty of time on her hands...that is why she keeps getting herself in trouble. I figure once I get a few of the basic problems fixed I can work on the others. digging, stealing stuff, etc
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ladybug1802
- Posts: 1991
- Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:39 am
- Location: Surrey
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Hi. It is good you understand that she isnt getting enough exercise.....and that is the main issue here. She NEEDS exercise and mental stimulations....unless she gets this her behaviour wont change, and it isnt fair to blame her for this. I do understand it is sometimes hard to fit in walks around working, but we all do it and it is a requirement we all need to consider before getting a dog. So I'm afraid you either need to invest in a flashing collar and a good torch and walk her before you go to work, as well as after, or employ a dog walker during the day. Or go home at lunch time. There is no way around this I'm afraid.
You say your husband has said this may not be the right dog for you.....but if you cant exercise the dog on a daily basis then NO dog is going tpo be the right dog for you. Even lower enrgy dogs needs daily exercise. She wont necessarily just automatically 'calm down' when she is older, as the issues you describe are not her being 'naughty' or 'troublesome', simply that she is climbing the walls with pent up energy and frustration.
You say your husband has said this may not be the right dog for you.....but if you cant exercise the dog on a daily basis then NO dog is going tpo be the right dog for you. Even lower enrgy dogs needs daily exercise. She wont necessarily just automatically 'calm down' when she is older, as the issues you describe are not her being 'naughty' or 'troublesome', simply that she is climbing the walls with pent up energy and frustration.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Well, the good news is that she only has one issue: the lack of exercise/stimulation. So you do need to think hard about what you are prepared to do to get this dog walked. We do understand how hard this is for you but it is far harder on your dog.
You have a fenced yard - GREAT You can put up a small agility course (no high jumps - she's young yet) and get her going over, under, round, through and weave, stand on a platform, that sort of thing, and you can also lay scent-trails for her to find - if you are prepared to do this, we can tell you how. You can play retrieve games with her, and find-the-ball.
But she does need to get out at least once a day for a proper walk at a brisk speed.
You have a fenced yard - GREAT
You can put up a small agility course (no high jumps - she's young yet) and get her going over, under, round, through and weave, stand on a platform, that sort of thing, and you can also lay scent-trails for her to find - if you are prepared to do this, we can tell you how. You can play retrieve games with her, and find-the-ball.But she does need to get out at least once a day for a proper walk at a brisk speed.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Thank you again, Bella is a great super smart dog, and more mental and physical exercise will help her greatly. When my husband fusses about her acting out I keep telling him she needs to get walked more, but unfortunately this falls on deaf ears, as he ends up going off and taking a nap before dinner. I have been able to get him to play frisbee (her favorite game) when he 1st get's home. I think she knows when my night shift is over at 8pm now that I've taken her out a few warm nights recently. I can usually find her sitting beside me rather excited and whining a bit. If I walk to the kitchen she will go sit by the drawer we keep her harness and leash in, waiting to go out.
She has definitely picked me as her human, as she follows me anywhere i go even if my husband is home. If I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work or taking a shower she is laying right outside the door, whining till I come out. At night she has to follow me to bed. Dinner she wants to be beside me. It would be nice if she would not get so rowdy when my husband comes home. That is when she misbehaves towards me for some strange reason. I get the whole mouthing of my hand to play, pawing on my lap or arms . I can not sit on the couch with him as she will jump on me mouthing my hands and if I try to correct her at this time she ends up growling which escalates to barking and lunging so I can't get her collar to put her in time out. That is why I usually get up and walk out of the room. She will follow and ends up just laying at my feet whereever I go. If I walk back into the living room she follows and starts right back up. Any clue what that's all about. As I've said it's never directed towards him, just me.
I would like to add she is not home alone very often. My babysitter watches our son at our house, she is alone about a half an hour each day when I run the sitter home. Thankfully she does not get in trouble when I leave, just sleeps and waits for me to come back. I usually get home every day around lunch time and my sitter has agreed to stay at the house longer so I can take the dog out for her walk before running him home. I have tried jogging with her, usually ends up running full speed with her nipping at me every other step. I've learnt to extend my arm a bit to keep her at a distance.
We are planning on changing our chainlink fence to a taller wooden privacy fence. This should help with the barking and jumping at it. She absolutely loves to be outside laying in the yard but gets brought in due to the barking at anyone walking by. When she jumps at the fence she is able to put her front paws on the top of the fence and I'm afraid one day she will figure out how to jump over. If she does that she will run off after whoever is out there. When she figured out how to go under the fence we had to chase her down several times. We have since fixed (pinned down the bottom) the fence so it is secure. She is a leaper and always wants to lick the face of people she meets. I am working very hard on the Off command for this. She pretty much doesn't jump up to lick me unless I forget and bend down, then I get a quick lick.
She has definitely picked me as her human, as she follows me anywhere i go even if my husband is home. If I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work or taking a shower she is laying right outside the door, whining till I come out. At night she has to follow me to bed. Dinner she wants to be beside me. It would be nice if she would not get so rowdy when my husband comes home. That is when she misbehaves towards me for some strange reason. I get the whole mouthing of my hand to play, pawing on my lap or arms . I can not sit on the couch with him as she will jump on me mouthing my hands and if I try to correct her at this time she ends up growling which escalates to barking and lunging so I can't get her collar to put her in time out. That is why I usually get up and walk out of the room. She will follow and ends up just laying at my feet whereever I go. If I walk back into the living room she follows and starts right back up. Any clue what that's all about. As I've said it's never directed towards him, just me.
I would like to add she is not home alone very often. My babysitter watches our son at our house, she is alone about a half an hour each day when I run the sitter home. Thankfully she does not get in trouble when I leave, just sleeps and waits for me to come back. I usually get home every day around lunch time and my sitter has agreed to stay at the house longer so I can take the dog out for her walk before running him home. I have tried jogging with her, usually ends up running full speed with her nipping at me every other step. I've learnt to extend my arm a bit to keep her at a distance.
We are planning on changing our chainlink fence to a taller wooden privacy fence. This should help with the barking and jumping at it. She absolutely loves to be outside laying in the yard but gets brought in due to the barking at anyone walking by. When she jumps at the fence she is able to put her front paws on the top of the fence and I'm afraid one day she will figure out how to jump over. If she does that she will run off after whoever is out there. When she figured out how to go under the fence we had to chase her down several times. We have since fixed (pinned down the bottom) the fence so it is secure. She is a leaper and always wants to lick the face of people she meets. I am working very hard on the Off command for this. She pretty much doesn't jump up to lick me unless I forget and bend down, then I get a quick lick.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
I can't really add much to what the others have said..
Your hubby needs to help out here, presumably HE wanted a dog too - so he needs to step up, no good being annoyed that the dog doesn't really care much about him when he doesn't involve himself in her life!
If he did some training and some walking with her, she would soon regard him as interesting and fun to be around as you are. That would help you enormously.
She attention seeks when you are sat on the couch with him because she knows its gonna get a response - it may not be the response she ideally wants, but it IS a response nonetheless!
Time outs for this won't work unless/until she is getting the exercise, both physical and mental, that she needs - and WHEN she is getting that I w ould suggest you step out of the room for a count of 10, closing the door behind you and repeating this as often as is necessary until she gets the idea (at first you will be up and down like a yo-yo!).
Until she is getting the exercise though this will be a pointless and futile strategy, and attempting to grab HER collar or to tell her off is going to fail also as its giving her a reaction and setting the pair of you up for a conflict, neither thing is helpful!
It sounds as if shes also a pain in the rear to walk, jumping and nipping and pulling on the lead. I would have the sitter come earlier, stay later so you can fit in a short (ten or fifteen minute max!) walk before you go, and when you come back, focussing totally on walking nicely on the leash (check out our thread on loose leash walking in the Articles section). If you mix tht up with practicing in the yard too and also some clicker training every day, you will make a big dent in her energy./attention needs and find it much easier to persuade hubby to walk her as she improves.
Your hubby needs to help out here, presumably HE wanted a dog too - so he needs to step up, no good being annoyed that the dog doesn't really care much about him when he doesn't involve himself in her life!
If he did some training and some walking with her, she would soon regard him as interesting and fun to be around as you are. That would help you enormously.
She attention seeks when you are sat on the couch with him because she knows its gonna get a response - it may not be the response she ideally wants, but it IS a response nonetheless!
Time outs for this won't work unless/until she is getting the exercise, both physical and mental, that she needs - and WHEN she is getting that I w ould suggest you step out of the room for a count of 10, closing the door behind you and repeating this as often as is necessary until she gets the idea (at first you will be up and down like a yo-yo!).
Until she is getting the exercise though this will be a pointless and futile strategy, and attempting to grab HER collar or to tell her off is going to fail also as its giving her a reaction and setting the pair of you up for a conflict, neither thing is helpful!
It sounds as if shes also a pain in the rear to walk, jumping and nipping and pulling on the lead. I would have the sitter come earlier, stay later so you can fit in a short (ten or fifteen minute max!) walk before you go, and when you come back, focussing totally on walking nicely on the leash (check out our thread on loose leash walking in the Articles section). If you mix tht up with practicing in the yard too and also some clicker training every day, you will make a big dent in her energy./attention needs and find it much easier to persuade hubby to walk her as she improves.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
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dgtrainer101
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:09 pm
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Is there any reason why she is not spayed yet? This does not and will not replace exercise, but will help calm her down in the long run. Are you planning on breeding her? I hope not, just not good when we already have so many that need a home. What makes you think she is dominant? Many people really don't understand what dominant is, they only understand it from false heirarchy based training....and in fact the man who originally studied wolves and came up with terming some of the behavior actually got it wrong. Most dogs will play, one on top and one on the bottom, and often times switch positions. And if she humps, that could be hormones, nothing to do with dominance. Please explain why you feel she is dominant.
Don't worry about doggie day care. If you find a good one, they will correct any inappropriate behavior without harsh methods. The dogs will get breaks so they don't get irritable during the play dates. But get her spayed so she can join.
I am glad to hear that you are making the time to take her for a walk, try at least an hour of walk throughout the day, if not more, even if it does mean you need to wake up earlier before work.
Barking at strangers at the fence, does she know the Leave It command? If she knows that Leave It means to stop paying attention to something because your're never going to have it, it could work for her. If we are walking and my dog wants to go after something, like another dog's mess, or want to play with another dog, I tell them "leave it, " and the ignore what it is they originally wanted in return for something better.
If she doesn't know leave it.....there are a few ways to teach, this way is the easiest to explain, plus teaches the dog not to nip at fingers to get what they want
Place an o.k. treat, like a dog buscuit in a closed fist.
Have another treat, like a small peice of hotdog in your pocket.
Let dog smell the buscuit in your fist
dog will probably, lick nibble hand to get treat, maybe paw or bark or whine
Once dog stops going for treat, tell dog good girl, and give her the hotdog
Repeat 5 times
Now add "leave it."
Place buscuit in closed fist
Let dog sniff the buscuit
Tell dog "leave it."
When dog stops going for the buscuit, tell her good girl, and reach into your pocket and give her a peice of hotdog
Repeat 5 times
Now try a yummier treat, such as moist dog treat in your closed fist
Note: She will never ever get the treat in your closed fist.
When she is successful at leave it with a moist dog treat, try placing a yummy peice of hotdog in your closed fist, and when she "leaves it," give her a peice of bacon or beef jerky or a peice of hamburger as her reward for leaving it.
Now try dropping food on the floor---make sure it's close to your foot so you can step on it...don't let her get it. as the food drops, tell her leave it, if she goes for it, step on it and wait for her to stop going for it. Tell her good girl and give her a different treat from your pocket. Pick up the treat on the floor and drop it again.
You know she fully understands "leave it" when you tell her and she freezes and you no longer have to cover your foot over the treat.....this is your goal.....now you can start using it towards other things.
Practice with things on your walk, When she goes after a leaf, tell her leave it, (carry treats with you on walks) and give her a treat for leaving the leaf alone. Practice the leave it command with all sorts of things....when you feel she understands, ask her to "leave it" when you pass another dog or person on your walk....if she does ignore them....jackpot treat her...give treat let her chew give treat let her chew give treat let her chew.....this tells her fantastic because you know that her not greeting another dog or person is probably really hard for her....
Now you can try where she has a problem the backyard....
Good luck!
Don't worry about doggie day care. If you find a good one, they will correct any inappropriate behavior without harsh methods. The dogs will get breaks so they don't get irritable during the play dates. But get her spayed so she can join.
I am glad to hear that you are making the time to take her for a walk, try at least an hour of walk throughout the day, if not more, even if it does mean you need to wake up earlier before work.
Barking at strangers at the fence, does she know the Leave It command? If she knows that Leave It means to stop paying attention to something because your're never going to have it, it could work for her. If we are walking and my dog wants to go after something, like another dog's mess, or want to play with another dog, I tell them "leave it, " and the ignore what it is they originally wanted in return for something better.
If she doesn't know leave it.....there are a few ways to teach, this way is the easiest to explain, plus teaches the dog not to nip at fingers to get what they want
Place an o.k. treat, like a dog buscuit in a closed fist.
Have another treat, like a small peice of hotdog in your pocket.
Let dog smell the buscuit in your fist
dog will probably, lick nibble hand to get treat, maybe paw or bark or whine
Once dog stops going for treat, tell dog good girl, and give her the hotdog
Repeat 5 times
Now add "leave it."
Place buscuit in closed fist
Let dog sniff the buscuit
Tell dog "leave it."
When dog stops going for the buscuit, tell her good girl, and reach into your pocket and give her a peice of hotdog
Repeat 5 times
Now try a yummier treat, such as moist dog treat in your closed fist
Note: She will never ever get the treat in your closed fist.
When she is successful at leave it with a moist dog treat, try placing a yummy peice of hotdog in your closed fist, and when she "leaves it," give her a peice of bacon or beef jerky or a peice of hamburger as her reward for leaving it.
Now try dropping food on the floor---make sure it's close to your foot so you can step on it...don't let her get it. as the food drops, tell her leave it, if she goes for it, step on it and wait for her to stop going for it. Tell her good girl and give her a different treat from your pocket. Pick up the treat on the floor and drop it again.
You know she fully understands "leave it" when you tell her and she freezes and you no longer have to cover your foot over the treat.....this is your goal.....now you can start using it towards other things.
Practice with things on your walk, When she goes after a leaf, tell her leave it, (carry treats with you on walks) and give her a treat for leaving the leaf alone. Practice the leave it command with all sorts of things....when you feel she understands, ask her to "leave it" when you pass another dog or person on your walk....if she does ignore them....jackpot treat her...give treat let her chew give treat let her chew give treat let her chew.....this tells her fantastic because you know that her not greeting another dog or person is probably really hard for her....
Now you can try where she has a problem the backyard....
Good luck!
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Dgtrainer we have to be careful not to give out inaccurate information here, and spaying/castration is not applicable to behaviour problems. It does not quieten dogs down and it does not replace retraining. Its place in dog care is that it prevents unwanted litters and the dog cannot get illness in the parts it no longer has. Done at the wrong time and/or for the wrong reasons it can cause behaviour problems so we do not advise it for training issues as it is something separate.
It is not pertinent to this issue and very much an individual decision of the owner. It is perfectly possible to have beautifully-behaved dogs of either gender that are complete, and it is impolite to press people to have their dogs neutered.
It is not pertinent to this issue and very much an individual decision of the owner. It is perfectly possible to have beautifully-behaved dogs of either gender that are complete, and it is impolite to press people to have their dogs neutered.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
It spaying and neutering calmed dogs down I would have very different dogs to what I have now, in fact Cyril was neutered too young and at 2 years old is still a puppy in his brain, a puppy Staffy is not always nice to have especially when he is an adult body. If neutering calmed dogs down he would be a different dog.dgtrainer101 wrote:Is there any reason why she is not spayed yet? This does not and will not replace exercise, but will help calm her down in the long run.
This has nothing to do with you, me or anyone else, if an owner doesn't want to spay or neuter their dog that is there choice, personally I will always spay a b itch but not neuter a dog, Cyril wouldn't have been neutered unless there was a health reason for it, he was neutered before I got him unfortunately, I am now having to deal with the problems this has caused. As she is a big dog she may not have had a season yet or may have just had one, many big dogs don't have seasons until they are well over a year old, Tilly was 15 months old when she had her first season, Dolly is very small, she didn't have a season until she was about 14 months old but could have been a month or 2 younger.Are you planning on breeding her? I hope not, just not good when we already have so many that need a home.
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Bella has not been spayed yet as we a working it into the budget. We had missed getting it done before her 1st cycle, which was around 12 months. Now of course she is much bigger and the cost has skyrocketed from if we would have done it as a puppy. So this part definitely is in our plans, for the health of Bella.
Leave It
She does actually know Leave it, though doesn't listen all the time. We tought her and she is to the point I can put a tasty piece of chicken on the floor beside her and say leave it. or no touch. I can then nudge it closer to her and she will scoot backwards to avoid touching it.. Usually if she is barking when I open the back door (if she see's me) she will stop and look at me, I then say enough and she stops till the next noise or person get's her attention.
Dominant?
I say this based on her previous expreriences meeting other dogs. My Brother-in-law came over with his 6 month Rotti pup to play. We 1st met at the pet store and Bella immediately pounced on him pinning him by the throat to the ground growling fiercely as he submissive peed all over the store. We broke that up and they managed to tolerate each other. After a little of this they came back to the house and we let them meet in the back yard (leashed of course). Bella was a bit of a bully, but of course so was the pup, he kept nipping at her to play. We also had them in the house, She did very well considering the situation with the pup nipping. The next visit about 2 weeks later, she greeted the nicely but still wanted to be on top of the pup. I let her out her doggie door to get away from him, and he managed to figure out how to use it also. I was there with 2 unleashed dogs chasing each other....ugh. She would rush him growling and grabbing for his neck, I could get them apart temporarily by tossing a ball or frisbee. They played kinda nice for a bit then ended with Bella rushing the pup when she pins him she growls firecly, shows teeth, and gets on top of him, then would turn her body while still laying on him so she was over his head, then each side and whole back. He did not yelp at this encounter, however she was not about to let him up. When I yelled they both looked up as to say "What"
She has greeted dogs nicely, even letting a little schnauzer stand with his front paws on her back. Other dogs she has not done very well almost immediately growls and trys to grab at them. When meeting I try to remain calm, as I know she will sense my tenseness. It is hard as she is pulling something terrible to go say hi. When she was little, 5-months, we took her to puppy playtime and she decided she was king of the group and had to pin all the other pups, and we had to grab her off the one rotti as she was getting too rough. I would love to take her to a dog park where she could run and play with other dogs off leash, I'm just afraid she would start a dog fight. (Note, I am not the least bit frightened to pull her out of one), or I'd have a heck of a time getting her to come when it's time to go home. Also I can't take my son to the dog park in my community till he is 9 so I have quite a few years till then and 2 years till he is in school full-time.
Leave It
She does actually know Leave it, though doesn't listen all the time. We tought her and she is to the point I can put a tasty piece of chicken on the floor beside her and say leave it. or no touch. I can then nudge it closer to her and she will scoot backwards to avoid touching it.. Usually if she is barking when I open the back door (if she see's me) she will stop and look at me, I then say enough and she stops till the next noise or person get's her attention.
Dominant?
I say this based on her previous expreriences meeting other dogs. My Brother-in-law came over with his 6 month Rotti pup to play. We 1st met at the pet store and Bella immediately pounced on him pinning him by the throat to the ground growling fiercely as he submissive peed all over the store. We broke that up and they managed to tolerate each other. After a little of this they came back to the house and we let them meet in the back yard (leashed of course). Bella was a bit of a bully, but of course so was the pup, he kept nipping at her to play. We also had them in the house, She did very well considering the situation with the pup nipping. The next visit about 2 weeks later, she greeted the nicely but still wanted to be on top of the pup. I let her out her doggie door to get away from him, and he managed to figure out how to use it also. I was there with 2 unleashed dogs chasing each other....ugh. She would rush him growling and grabbing for his neck, I could get them apart temporarily by tossing a ball or frisbee. They played kinda nice for a bit then ended with Bella rushing the pup when she pins him she growls firecly, shows teeth, and gets on top of him, then would turn her body while still laying on him so she was over his head, then each side and whole back. He did not yelp at this encounter, however she was not about to let him up. When I yelled they both looked up as to say "What"
She has greeted dogs nicely, even letting a little schnauzer stand with his front paws on her back. Other dogs she has not done very well almost immediately growls and trys to grab at them. When meeting I try to remain calm, as I know she will sense my tenseness. It is hard as she is pulling something terrible to go say hi. When she was little, 5-months, we took her to puppy playtime and she decided she was king of the group and had to pin all the other pups, and we had to grab her off the one rotti as she was getting too rough. I would love to take her to a dog park where she could run and play with other dogs off leash, I'm just afraid she would start a dog fight. (Note, I am not the least bit frightened to pull her out of one), or I'd have a heck of a time getting her to come when it's time to go home. Also I can't take my son to the dog park in my community till he is 9 so I have quite a few years till then and 2 years till he is in school full-time.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Oh what I wouldn't give for Jack to be un neutered while we worked through his fear/confidence issues. if spay/neutering was actually the "miracle" cure that it's claimed to be I wouldn't have had a fraction of the issues I had to work through with Jack.Mattie wrote:It spaying and neutering calmed dogs down I would have very different dogs to what I have now in fact Cyril was neutered too young and at 2 years old is still a puppy in his brain, a puppy Staffy is not always nice to have especially when he is an adult body. If neutering calmed dogs down he would be a different dog.dgtrainer101 wrote:Is there any reason why she is not spayed yet? This does not and will not replace exercise, but will help calm her down in the long run.
spay/neuter is purely about birth control. do not put your dog through this if your only reason is to "calm" her down. if the root issue here is lack of exercise, then that is what needs to be addressed, not trucking her off to surgery. in my opinion may of the alleged benefits of spay/neuter have their roots in simply trying to get people to actually spay and neuter their dogs to prevent unwanted litters, which has lead to a lot of myths about spay/neutering that are coming back to bit us. If you choose to spay/neuter your dog to prevent unwanted litters, this is very admirable, but be sure that is your only reason. other than a health issue of course. my 2 cents for what it's worth.
she isn't "dominant". she is a teenager with too much energy, possibly poor social skills and/or possibly some level of fear or uncomfortableness with other dogs. if she is unpredictable with other dogs, the dog park probably isn't the place to take her. If this is the case there are things you can do. BUT the exercise issue has got to be address otherwise all other issues will be that much more difficult to impossible to address. and at the risk of sounding like I am "beating" up on you about your husband (which isn't my intention), somehow, some way you need to find a way to get him involved.
if her issue is fear, there are things that can be done. if her issue is impulse control, poor social skills, a bully etc. there is things that can be done as well. if it is a combination of all that fear, bull, impulse control, poor social skills you can still help her.
address the exercise, work on loose leash skills (see here viewtopic.php?f=20&t=858) you might be surprised how much that alone improves things.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
Spay answer
We were planning on spaying her for 1. unwanted litters, 2. She is a mess during her cycle leaving spots all over our floors before we notice. Last time I got her disposable diapers She believe it or not did not try to pull them off but gave me that pathetic look of humiliation. 3. My trainer told me and I've read online that there is a very high chance of her either getting uterine infections or mammary cancers if she is not spayed before her 2nd or 3rd cycle.
Walking and hubby
I'm glad to say after a lot of pressure on my part my husband has agreed he will try to help more with her. After all, he is the one that was pushing to get a dog. When I said I wasn't sure, I've had dogs in the past and knew the amount of work they are from puppy hood, he said he'd be the one walking and cleaning up after the dog. Unfortunately, I think since she bonded so quickly to me over him, he pulled away and only wants to be involved in the fun stuff like playing ball or frisbee and not the walking or cleaning the back yard. With my bad eyesight I have to have the 5-year-old walk with me to point out her droppings. He thankfully enjoys that job, and thankfully Bella tends to just go around the fence and not in the interior of the yard, so it is easier to find them.
Our schedule
This is our normal schedule. Hubby wakes and leaves at 5:30am to pickup the sitter. He is normally back about 10 mins before I leave for work at 6:30. He has agreed to try and give Bella a short walk before he has to leave for work around 7:30. I return home around 12:30 and take the sitter home and usually get back to the house around 1:30pm. One good thing, we pass a rail trail walking area on the way, so, once it is warmer I will be taking Bella along and we will stop there for a nice long walk. We will have lots of chances to meet people and other critters so many opportunities for her to succeed. Bella does ok in the car, she does whine almost the whole drive, but I can deal with that. I then start work from home again either 4:30pm or 5pm and work till 8pm. Hubby gets home usually around 6pm or so. I plan to walk Bella when I get off work at 8, so if this schedule works and stays consistent, she will get her walks at 6:30am, 1pmish, and again at 8. The lunchtime one won't be a brisk pace as I have my son along. The other day I tried opening both gates to our yard and jogged Bella around the yard a bunch, she really enjoyed this and I didn't have to worry about my son falling behind. He had a ball chasing us, and out ran me.
Loose Leash
We have worked on this, Initially when we walked and she would pull I would stop until she sat or the leash got loose. For her this did not work as it continued every couple of steps. I then tried to turn and walk the other way a few steps and turn back around. She caught onto this and walked the neighborhood rather nicely. of course she is still learning and I need to do it several times during the walk. Part of the neighborhood has sidewalks, the other part does not., so I tend to stay in the one without sidewalks. The smells distract her so much . The walks is where we work on left turn and right turn. In class we started with quickly slowly, however the instructor said I could change the words and darn it if the dog didn't pickup on the different words. I'm amazed how quickly and when I say left turn or right turn she goes the right way. I have not managed to get her to stay right beside or behind me yet, she still is slightly ahead but always on the left. I'd say her back hip is by my left leg.
I've also found when I haven't walked her and she is getting rowdy, I can tell her to sit and toss out a bunch of different command very quickly and it stops her rowdiness a bit. I've told my husband to try these also as it's working her mentally to keep up with what command we are saying.
We were planning on spaying her for 1. unwanted litters, 2. She is a mess during her cycle leaving spots all over our floors before we notice. Last time I got her disposable diapers She believe it or not did not try to pull them off but gave me that pathetic look of humiliation. 3. My trainer told me and I've read online that there is a very high chance of her either getting uterine infections or mammary cancers if she is not spayed before her 2nd or 3rd cycle.
Walking and hubby
I'm glad to say after a lot of pressure on my part my husband has agreed he will try to help more with her. After all, he is the one that was pushing to get a dog. When I said I wasn't sure, I've had dogs in the past and knew the amount of work they are from puppy hood, he said he'd be the one walking and cleaning up after the dog. Unfortunately, I think since she bonded so quickly to me over him, he pulled away and only wants to be involved in the fun stuff like playing ball or frisbee and not the walking or cleaning the back yard. With my bad eyesight I have to have the 5-year-old walk with me to point out her droppings. He thankfully enjoys that job, and thankfully Bella tends to just go around the fence and not in the interior of the yard, so it is easier to find them.
Our schedule
This is our normal schedule. Hubby wakes and leaves at 5:30am to pickup the sitter. He is normally back about 10 mins before I leave for work at 6:30. He has agreed to try and give Bella a short walk before he has to leave for work around 7:30. I return home around 12:30 and take the sitter home and usually get back to the house around 1:30pm. One good thing, we pass a rail trail walking area on the way, so, once it is warmer I will be taking Bella along and we will stop there for a nice long walk. We will have lots of chances to meet people and other critters so many opportunities for her to succeed. Bella does ok in the car, she does whine almost the whole drive, but I can deal with that. I then start work from home again either 4:30pm or 5pm and work till 8pm. Hubby gets home usually around 6pm or so. I plan to walk Bella when I get off work at 8, so if this schedule works and stays consistent, she will get her walks at 6:30am, 1pmish, and again at 8. The lunchtime one won't be a brisk pace as I have my son along. The other day I tried opening both gates to our yard and jogged Bella around the yard a bunch, she really enjoyed this and I didn't have to worry about my son falling behind. He had a ball chasing us, and out ran me.
Loose Leash
We have worked on this, Initially when we walked and she would pull I would stop until she sat or the leash got loose. For her this did not work as it continued every couple of steps. I then tried to turn and walk the other way a few steps and turn back around. She caught onto this and walked the neighborhood rather nicely. of course she is still learning and I need to do it several times during the walk. Part of the neighborhood has sidewalks, the other part does not., so I tend to stay in the one without sidewalks. The smells distract her so much . The walks is where we work on left turn and right turn. In class we started with quickly slowly, however the instructor said I could change the words and darn it if the dog didn't pickup on the different words. I'm amazed how quickly and when I say left turn or right turn she goes the right way. I have not managed to get her to stay right beside or behind me yet, she still is slightly ahead but always on the left. I'd say her back hip is by my left leg.
I've also found when I haven't walked her and she is getting rowdy, I can tell her to sit and toss out a bunch of different command very quickly and it stops her rowdiness a bit. I've told my husband to try these also as it's working her mentally to keep up with what command we are saying.
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dgtrainer101
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:09 pm
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
First off, I never said spaying and neutering is a cure all for anything........But hormones do have some effect on behavior. And at her age, it won't make a big difference but it will help IN THE LONG RUN. Hormones don't have anything to do with fear.....I NEVER SAID THAT and wasn't refering to anyone else's dog....of course it won't help with fear Jakesdad. You can't tell me that dogs in heat or male dogs in tact don't get a little goofy.
Re: Boxer/Lab mix so many issues
I have an intact male, and he is not at all goofy, aside from normal puppy crazies.
