Boxer Dog Dominance Issues

boxer dog chels15 Boxer dog dominance, and fighting among the pack (family), is an issue many multi-dog families have experienced. My pack experienced this with Buffy and I. In order to stop this, you must first understand why it happens.

All dogs are pack animals. This means we live in a family group. Each member of the group has a certain position of importance in the pack. Without this order, there would be chaos in the family. Your position in the group is determined by many things, but if you want to increase your status in the pack, you must fight the others above you to move up in rank. This is the way it is done in the wild.

In a domestic environment with people, this is still the case, but with one important difference. People are included in the pack as well as the other pups in the household. In my pack, the order was Dad and Mom, the Alpha (dominant) male and female, Buffy, (because she was already in the pack when Obie and I arrived and was older), myself and Obie.

Because I was a female and Buffy was a female, the stage was set for a possible dominance issue between us. I say possible because it depends on if everyone is happy with their position in the pack. This is why when we were small puppies, Buffy did not treat me the same as she did Obie, and even tried to hurt me on occasion, because she did not want me to possibly challenge her for her position in the pack.. There was not any issue with Obie, since he was a male and could not compete for her position. As it turned out, I did want Buffy's position in the pack and I did challenge her for it. Buffy also tried to continue to intimidate me so I would be afraid to challenge her, but it did not work.

We had many fights, until finally the Alpha male made it real clear, this was not going to be tolerated. His action told all of us we were to remain at our current status in the pack and that any more challenges by either of us would be met with increasing punishment. We both got the message and were content to remain in our current position. We did so and never fought again. We remained in our rank until Buffy passed away, and I moved into her position.

So what steps did the Alpha Male take to stop this? Lets see:

Dad first had to realize that HE was the Alpha male. Many people with dogs do not realize they are included in the pack. Furthermore they do not know they must be the dominant members of the pack. (Important Note) If you are not the dominant member of the pack, you and the rest of your human family are in a dangerous situation. Do not attempt these techniques if you are not 100% sure you are the dominant member of your pack and your dogs will submit to you or your could be severely bitten. See Note Below...
As the dominant male, any confrontations with myself and Buffy were met with growls, and a physical push away from one another. We were both scolded, but never hit, and made to submit to him.
Never let a confrontation go without punishment... ever.
Sometimes you must increase the punishment. Dad had to finally start making me submit and then used a choking technique to get me to realize that fighting was not going to be tolerated.
Stop challenges before they start. Look for intentional signs of a challenge, like staring, stiff body posture, taking the others toy etc. If you see any of this behavior, growl and make the offender submit to you.
Be persistent and you will stop the fighting between the offenders

Dominance issues between dogs in the pack are one thing. Dominance issues between humans and canines in the pack are an entirely different issue. Dad and mom did not have this issue, as we all knew who was dominant and never challenged them.

However there are many packs where this is the case.

Note:. We are not authorities on this issue and have never had to deal with the problem, so we cannot address this issue from experience. Also, because of the dangerous nature of a human/canine dominance issue, mom and dad would prefer you see your vet or see a dog trainer for assistance

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