A dog and her bone - why so aggressive?

AlanD

We've a 1 year old Boxer bitch, well slightly over 1. She's aways been a good dog and we've spent a lot of time training her what's right and wrong with every day actions.

Walking her is still a chore, but that's another story and I'm constantly working on it.

Anyway, just the other day I bought her a couple of bones from the pet shop. They looked like hip joints. She's only ever got one or two bones before, both small and both with a different smell. This is the first time she's got a proper, real animal big bone.

Well as soon as I gave it to her, she turned in to a very aggressive and possesive dog. I tried to move it, but get close to it and she'd growl at me. Keep trying and she snapped at me. Put her outside and she did her best to get through the window to attack me. I wasn't afraid so there's no way she'd have sensed any sort of fear from me. I stood my ground and let her calm down and she eventually calmed down. Give her access to the bone again, and without doubt, she'd turn aggressive again. So I took the bone away and she went back to being our normal loveable dog.

Today then, I gave her the bone alone to chew on and I'd watch her from far away. Instantly, she turned very protective about it again, looking over her shoulder to see who is coming or if she's alone. She "hid" it then. I went out to find it and she came with me and stood between me and the bone. Move towards the bone and the growls started again and move closer again and she'd snap. So I put her inside and threw away the bone.

What's up with her and this bone! She's never possesive like this. I can move her food, remove her food, take her toys, everything like this and she doesn't bat an eyelid. But go near her bone and it's war!

I'm slightly concerned as we've a baby hopefully arriving in 6 weeks or so and I'd be concerned that this type of aggressiveness in what is otherwise a very placcid dog may arise at the wrong time with a kid that doesn't know any better. Although the aim would be to educate the child and always supervise dog and child together over the next few years.

Any thoughts on why our dog acted like this? She hasn't been spayed yet, although we're now considering it.

SuzyS1972

Get her spayed for her own health and to prevent any unwanted pregnancies - Bitches have a 90% less chance of getting cancer when spayed ! It also increases a bitches life span...
Although spaying won't I imagine make a difference to this behaviour.
I would consult a trained behaviourist on this one personally - It sounds serious .
People on the net will have all sorts of theories why this happened but a few minutes chatting to an expert would set u right and may prevent u taking unwarranted and wrong advice- Good Luck

peasant

It is called the bone of contention for a reason:D

A bone to most dogs IS special and they will not give it up easily ...but attacking you over it is totally out of order.

Even though it doesn't seem like it at first glance (she gives up everything else quite willingly) my guess would be that your boxer isn't quite convinced yet that you actually are her boss. All she needed was something worth testing that theory for ...with the bone she's found it. (And with the shenanigans on the lead)

Growling at you, questioning you is totally unacceptable behaviour. In a case like that you need to be quick, somewhat ruthless and decisive and underline YOUR leadership right there and then.

With your seeming acceptance of her ownership of the bone

I went out to find it and she came with me and stood between me and the bone. Move towards the bone and the growls started again and move closer again and she'd snap

you made a bit of a mistake ...she defended it as hers and you let her get away with it. (That you threw it away later doesn't really matter ...she "won" there and then)

Confronting a dog (and "winning") when things get a bit hairy isn't easy. Especially when up to now everything has been peaceful and "nice"

I would second the advice above that you get professional help to re-enact the situation and "win" this time. Don't try this on your own ...your dog will sense the slightest hesitation and think that she has "won" again.

Until you find that professional help ....NO MORE BONES ! And try not to loose any more ground in the meantime ...be strict and decisive about the rules she already knows ...no priviledges, no half measures for the next time ...your way or no way at all. But don't go OTT and turn "dictator" on her now, just make sure that she does the things she already knows promptly and well ..you know ...the old reliables like "sit, stay, etc" ...correct any and all mistakes, be strict but non-confrontational (you loosing your cool would be another sign of weakness and a point scored for her)

All this probably sounds very dramatic now ...it most likely isn't ...just make sure she cannot build on that one "success" and get that professional help. A few pointers in the right direction (specific to your circumstances) should have the problem sorted in no time at all ...just don't leave it to fester.

Oh ..and yes ...12 - 18 months old is exactly the age where one would expect that kind of behaviour ...so don't worry too much ...your dog is not very likely to turn into a man eating monster ...she's just testing her boundaries. A good trainer will help you define and set those boundaries and all will be well.

Our man in Havana

You need to show your dog that you are top dog - a professional will be able to tell you how to do this - you should ALWAYS be able to take food from your dog & should have done this with her as a much younger puppy. Can you take away her dinner?? Do you make her sit before she gets her meal? You have to take back control.

Jip

I don't think you need professional help with this. Almost every dog I've owned has showed this behaviour when they've been given bones at first, from boxers like yourself to small dogs. Like others have said you need to be assertive and dominant.
When it happens immediately take the bone from her and if she doesn't let you give her a little slap, not a hard thump or anything just a tap on the head or nose. It's more to give her a fright than anything else and send her to her bed.
After a while you can try give the bone to her again and after a few minutes try take it from her again. If she gets aggresive again repeat this and it should work eventually, you just have to be persistant and not feel bad towards her afterwards.

peasant

JIP,

Normally I'd agree with you. But in this situation:

I'm slightly concerned as we've a baby hopefully arriving in 6 weeks or so

It probably would be a good idea to get good, solid (professional) advice that works first time round rather than experiment around on your own.

Within a few weeks this dog needs to be settled and sure of its place and its owners need to be able to to judge and anticipate its behaviour.

Add to this the fact that the dog is an adolescent and a lot of things are going to change around the house with the new baby, and situation-specific advice and easy to follow rules handed out by a professional don't sound too bad ....

AlanD

Thanks for the great advice.

Yes, I knew she was testing me alright for the house leadership and she does it every now and then, but I'm aware of it and she never gets away with it. We've been to quite a few classes and have learned all about that sort of behaviour. The trainer singled out our dog as being particularly dominant, but for the most part we've that trained out of her. Well, up until the bone incident. She is actually a very good dog and pretty much always does what she is told. She sits, stays, waits for doors to be opened and will wait until I say it's ok to go through and she will sit before getting food, etc. She knows I'm the boss alright!

I was thinking about it last night and realised that I didn't see it through and that yes, she won that confrontation. Luckily I have a second bone!! So I will work with her on a lead with treats and the other bone. I will need to stamp my authority on the situation which I had started but just didn't finish. The bone just disappearing on her concluding nothing really.

I'm keen to nip this in the bud soon, because in a few weeks there will be a new household member and the dog will need to see that the baby is ranked higher than her.

I'll work with her and see how I get on.

AlanD

peasant wrote:

situation-specific advice and easy to follow rules handed out by a professional don't sound too bad ....

I agree too and in a few weeks, I'll be bringing her back to class anyway for a refresher course and will run things by the dog trainer who is very good. I've been doing research on how to prepare the dog for the new arrival, so I'll be starting that training soon aswell.

peasant

Sounds like she is in good hands !

Our man in Havana

Also your wife also has to be able to take stuff from the dog too - The dog needs to know that she is lower than all of you.

We have 11 dogs here & they all know that they rank lower than the humans - I can take food from ALL of my dogs from westie to rottweiller.

AlanD

oh of course, the dog treats both myself and my wife equally. We made sure of that from the start, so both of us took turns training her. Although she does more for me that for my wife....so in the chain of command, I'm probably top, then my wife and then the dog.......

luckat

For a start, I'd do some training - loving kind of training, clicker-training. Check out http://www.clickertraining.com for books, instructions, mailing lists, etc. Read Karen Pryor's book Don't Shoot the Dog. (You'll probably have to get it from amazon.com.)

Second, I actually wouldn't give your dog bones if this is the behaviour they elicit. It may very well be a learned behaviour - maybe that was the custom of her mother when she was a pup - but it's not a behaviour you want, especially when you'll have young children around.