My Boxer bitch has turned aggressive with other dogs.

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help, I have a Boxer bitch who is 2 yrs old. She is the most laid back fantastic dog and is wonderful with my 2 young girls. However, since her last 'season' she has developed an aggressive streak with other dogs. She recently ran out of my front door and pinned our next doors dog the the floor growling and barking for no reason. It is starting to frighten me and I now am not happy taking her for walks on my own without my husband. I hope someone has the answeres. Thanks.

Have you had her fully checked out by a vet? (looking for any joint issues or imbalances that could have caused this)

Also checking that she is not displaying signs of a phantom pregnancy?

If she is physically fit and well and has fully recovered from her season I would suggest you look at getting a behaviourist in. There are several different reasons a dog displays aggression and without seeing the dog first hand it is difficult to say why the dog is displaying this behaviour. You could look at the APBC or you may find your Vet has someone they use. Also worth checing out your insurance policy as some will cover for behaviour therapy (if you see the right people (APBC reg'd or similar).

Hi, I have had very similar problems with my Gsdx Molly. Did she hurt the other dog? Do you take her training? I have worked really hard with Molly and last weekend she went for a walk with another Dogsey dog and got on famously with him.(I never thought this would be possible) So don't despair it can be sorted. The more stressed you get the more she will get!

Hi - do you train her at all around other dogs? Your local training club might be able to help.

Hi, is this the only aggressive scene she's showed?

Reason I ask is that depending on certain factors, she may have simply been showing territorial behaviour. I've known dogs who will do this if the garden gate or back door is open but are absolutely fine with dogs in other circumstances.

Our first dog, a lab x whippet, did this once when I was a child (she did not pin, just ran out and barked threateningly and danced around this dog and owner) but her behaviour around dogs in general was always the same.

Worth thinking about, but also worth considering a vet check etc definitely if she seems altered in her behaviour...

Wys
x

Why do you ask this? Is aggression something that can occur with a phantom pregnancy?

A friend of mine has a Beagle that developed aggressive tendencies at a similar age. In her case it started at the same time as a phantom pregnancy. She started attacking puppies for some reason. Yet when another friends dog had two pups she mothered them - so only older puppies seemed to get attacked.

We all used to meet up together in the park and the dogs all got along brilliantly. But this little dog started pinning down young dogs for no reason. They'd be minding their own business and she'd run up and attack them. She'd draw blood occasionally and one dog actually needed stitches. Although mostly she'd just pin them down and growl.

She really seemed to like my dog who was probably 10 months old or so at the time. Yet she'd still attack her out of the blue for no apparent reason.

She went to a behaviorist that blamed it on other factors (She claimed that the dog had been allowed to spend too much time playing with other dogs - doggy daycare, play dates etc.). But it always seemed strange to me that the problem should occur out of the blue at exactly the time the phantom pregnancy started. The little dog virtually doubled in weight overnight and was definitely severely affected. I think this dog had had two seasons and had phantom pregnancies after each. The second was more severe than the first.

It can sometimes make the bitch more possesive or territorial.

Often you get changes in behaviour around seasons....Tassle loved other dogs during and after her saeson - but hated them before and soon went back to hating them!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all your advice. I am sure this behaviour is linked to her being in season recently. She has never drawn blood or bitten, but purely barking, growling, pusing out of the way etc. She has shown signs of being territorial recently i.e racing to door barking when door bell goes etc. We moved house in April this year so have only been in this new house for a relatively short period of time and maybe she has just had alot to deal with. I will take her to the vets to double check everything is ok but hopefully in time things will get better. I will do some obedience work with her and make her wait when the door opens etc. She is not so bad outside the house, i.e when we are walking her on our local beach, however, she has displayed similar behavious a few times on the beach to other dogs but not all the time. She seems worse with Dogs than bitches. Thank you again for all your advise, fingers crossed I will sort it soon.