My 8-year-old Boxer mix is aggressive and biting family. Help!

Hello, sorry to hear about Jackson. I am concerned this behavior could lead to more severe results. I would recommend not leaving them unsupervised in the same room to hopefully prevent this from happening. It is likely that your other dogs are being triggered by something Jackson is doing that they do not agree with. This could include moving too closely to the food bowl or water bowl, a special toy or area at home all of which could be a sign of territorial aggression. Here are some more tips on how to reduce the incidence of aggression between your dogs. Ultimately if this does not work, you may need to seek a professional behavior consultation to obtain further recommendations. ntroduction Aggression is a common problem faced by many dog owners. It is commonly misunderstood to be based in dominance. In actuality, there are various reasons that dogs can react aggressively. Most commonly these acts are based in fear or anxiety. This handout, will attempt to help you differentiate whether your dog’s aggression is based in dominance or another stimulus, like fear or possession. However it is not meant to replace visits and discussions with your veterinarian. Common types of aggression • Fear aggression: Many commonplace human behaviors are threatening gestures to dogs, but their reactions are often times very subtle and easily missed by most people. Anything that can cause your dog to feel distressed or uneasy can illicit an aggressive reaction. Such things include: sustained eye contact, pressure over the top of the head, lifting the dog, bending over the top of a dog, certain force-based training techniques, or trying to take something of high value away from the dog. • Territorial aggression: Dogs can react aggressively when a person comes into an area that it regards as its home. There is often a basis of anxiety in dogs that have territorial aggression. • Possessive aggression: When aggression is directed toward a person that the dog views is approaching something of high value (food, toys, family members). • Redirected aggression: When the dog is frustrated by the inability to reach an object or person that elicits its aggression and instead acts aggressively toward a person that is within reach. • Dominance aggression: True dominance aggression is very rare. Most often aggressive acts are based out of another type of motivation. Usually what is assumed to be dominance aggression is actually based out of fear or anxiety. What is your dog’s motivation for its aggression? It is important to watch the body posture of your dog during a time of aggression to determine the underlying emotional state of the dog causing the aggression. Here are some examples of what to look for: Fearful or submissive postures • Avoiding eye contact • Lowered head and tail • T ense body posture • Ears to the side, back or down • Horizontal lip retraction • Licking lips • Yawning • Crouched body posture • Moving slowly or freezing • Submissive urination Dominant postures • Sustained eye contact • Ears erect and forward • Vertical lip retraction • Forward-leaning body posture

I'm so sorry that you're in this position! Behavior problems like this can be heartbreaking for everyone involved, and you're correct that the unpredictable nature of the aggression makes Jack much more dangerous to manage. I do believe that euthanasia can be a reasonable option in cases like these, even though this decision may be very difficult. If you want a professional opinion to help you make a decision, I would recommend consulting with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Jack in person. He/she can give you a much better idea of the risks involved in working with him and trying to manage him safely, as well as an opinion on the prognosis for significant improvement. Your vet should be able to help you find the nearest veterinary specialist in this field, generally at a referral center or teaching hospital, if this is something that you decide you want to do.

Oh dear! That is a worry for sure! It's really important that you don't get hurt, because dog bites can be pretty serious. I would suggest making an appointment with your vet to talk about possibilities. They might be able to link you up with a behaviorist, or dog trainer that could help a lot. There also could be medications that might help. Or, like you said, there could be a medical problem that is upsetting him.

I am afraid that unless Murphy is properly assessed and trained, he is a bomb waiting to go off and very likely will hurt someone. I suggest you make an appointment with your vet to have him examined in order to rule out any physical or health reasons that feed his aggression. Then get a recommendation for a veterinary behavior specialist (or you can find one here: https://www.dacvb.org/ ) and have Murphy assessed and then the behaviorist will work with you to alleviate the aggression, and the urinating issue (which is likely a dominance issue). It is best to deal with this while he is a puppy.

I am sorry you are struggling with Chico. I would highly recommend bringing a trainer into the house after making sure a physical exam by a veterinarian is normal. Behavioral issues/ training takes a lot of time and patience. I feel having someone come into the home and observe the situations where he is anxious and aggressive will help. Also recommend getting him neutered as soon as possible.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem with Champ! Unfortunately, aggression towards humans and other dogs is a complex behavior issue that can be caused by many different things. In most cases, it's related to stress or anxiety - treatment is usually based on trying to identify what situations trigger the aggression, then either avoiding them or teaching the dog to be more comfortable in these situations through reward-based training. It would be best for you to find someone who can work with you in person on this problem, so I would recommend asking your veterinarian if they can refer you to a good behaviorist or trainer in your area. Ideally, try to make sure that the trainer does not use any type of punishment - aggressive dogs should be handled with reward-based techniques only, as corrections tend to make this behavior worse over time.

I'm sorry that you're going through this difficult situation. You may be correct that Jett is territorial/resource guarding, or there may be other factors at play. He could also be anxious or fearful, leading to him acting “aggressive”. It is very important that you have Jett see a veterinarian to rule out medical causes, and to see if medical therapy is indicated for his behaviour. It is also essential to make sure he is up to date on his vaccinations, particularly his rabies vaccine, in the case of a bite. I recommend you seek the advice of a veterinary behaviorist to help curb this behavior. If left untreated, Jett and Sasha may end up in a fight, where one or both of them may be seriously injured, or worse. I’m not sure if you mean that he is barking and lunging or if he has actually tried to bite you or Sasha when you say he is aggressive, but it is important to curb his behaviour before he gets to that point. Please work with a veterinary behaviourist, or if that's not possible, a reputable dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement immediately. Hopefully he will improve with training and learn what is and is not acceptable behaviour. I would advise keeping him on a leash and away from other animals and people until you have the chance to work with a trainer or behaviourist. In the home I recommend using baby gates and dog crates to separate the dogs from each other, and alternating the areas in the home in which the dogs spend time so neither is left alone or one one side of the home for too long. The links below have some good information on how to introduce dogs to each other. If you decide to "reintroduce" them, you can try having Jett wear a basket muzzle (while supervised, of course) to help prevent injury. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=8677941 https://indoorpet.osu.edu/dogs/new_additions_dogs/dog-dog-intro Good luck, and I hope things get better soon!