Malady you really need to start to grow up, and read a little more...

People who arent members can read these posts and i do worry about people taking the 'dominance' theory as you are too far..

It certainly isnt dominance in many cases and at an age of 7months its pure stupid teenage behaviour, a little guidance is all that needed.. yes it can esculate if its not nipped in the bud but we are talking about a puppy here not a fully grown adult..

And I worry about people not taking the dominance issue seriously enough. Trust me I know of enough dogs WITH dominance that are rehomed for this reason, because the owners did not take the dog seriously and it took over their lives. If people stopped mammy pamming dogs and treated them like the animals that they are with instincts, I don't think as many of these issues would arise.

So, you think dominance doesn't show until they are adults ?

So dominance is impossible in puppies ?

How can YOU be "certain" that it isn't dominance ?

The behaviour described does not sound like 'normal' puppy behaviour for any dog, let alone a Boxer.

A for the "grow up" comment and read a little more.........I'm very well read thank you and mature enough not to make comments like that :smt001

Its a cocky puppy for gods sake have you never had one of those? behave at 7 months your having a laugh....its going through the teenage stage thats easy to see..

Its not dominance at that age as such there are many factors to take into account like fear! each behaviour has to be treated differently..

A puppy that lacks confidence is going to do the cocky i am what i am routine and he will push it if hes got no boundaries

But what do i know i mammy pammy my dogs

I know teenage stages in a breed which can have severe dominance, and STILL this dog's behaviour does not sound normal, from what the owner described.

The dog is outwardly aggressive towards it's owners, that's not fear aggression.

You mention age again. Do you not think that young dogs are capable of dominance ?

This puppy does not sound like he is suffering lack of confidence and it does have boundaries, but is ignoring them.

Anyway, I replied to this thread to help the owner, they can take the help or leave it, I'm not going to needlessly enter an argument about whether or not dominance exists in this dog, the owners obviously know their dog better than you, and it seems that if they are being firm with this dog, it clearly isn't a case of 'being a puppy' !!

This is where I bow out and let the 'expert' take over :smt001

Have to agree with Malady on this one. It sounds like a dominance issue to me. Jonrock has said, they were told she was the boss of the pack, and I think she is still trying to be that within the family. He needs help to sort the problem as it must be very distressing for them. Jonrok must also be very worried about his children. I have no answers but hope that someone can come along soon and help.

Personally I think you are going through what every owner of a 7 month pup goes through.

Firstly how much exercise do you give her, because at that age she should be getting as much free run as you can give her to knacker her out. You see at that age they are hyperactive the same as your children were when they were 2-5 years old.

So I would suggest that when you take her over the park or fields you start by doing some form of training for a few minutes, then let her off to run free for 15-minutes, then call her back and do another 15-minutes training and then let her off again. Not only will you see her become a more obedient dog, but she will also have a better quality of life.

Concerning the mouthing part of her behaviour. When we got our youngest Dobe Jess, she was also doing that. The way we got her to stop was by getting her to sit each time she did it, and if she refused to sit, we put her in the garden for 5 minutes, but before she was allowed back in the house again we made her sit and stay. Believe me it didn't take long for her to realise that if she didn't sit when told to she would be put in the garden regardless if it was raining or not. What she is doing to trying to get you into playing her games as opposed to her playing yours and what you are calling aggression is her just throwing her toys out of the pram because she is not getting her own way.

Believe me I know that sometimes these sort of things can get you down, but you must stand your ground and let her realise that you are the boss and not her.

I must admit that I have never owner a boxer, but if they are anything like Dobes do not give in.

The other thing is I'm not a believer in giving treats for good behaviour, but would rather give praise instead. So every time Mollie does as you ask give her loads of kisses and cuddles, but when she doesn't do as you ask she gets nothing and you turn your back on her. Believe there is nothing she wants more than your affection so she will soon get the message.

That said zoeybeau1 is the one to talk to as she has got loads of boxers.

Good luck

I do the same sort of thing as Colin, Zak tends to get over excited when the family call in so if he starts jumping up its time out in the utility room for 15 mins and then he is allowed back in if he still does it, out he goes again and we repeat it until he stops jumping up on them. It is taking a time but we are getting there as sometimes I only have to say you will go out in a minute and he stops. But whatever you try you have to be consistent. I wish you all the luck.

Is it definitely aggression rather than just stroppy behaviour. Our dog boils over sometimes and mouths but it is more overexcitement. Time out can work. We found a water pistol helped or have you thought of a spray collar. It does sound like a bad teenage stage and her trying it on. It is just finding the thing that works to let her know it isn't acceptable. I would get a behaviourist to have a look at it in person. If she still needs to chew a lot rawhide bones might give her something to get her teeth into. Good luck. Is she like this with other dogs and people?

I agree with Malady on this one dominant dogs do exist at this age I had one and she had to go back to the breeder after pinning me against a door and stopping me from leaving the house.
I had a large dog before and had never encountered the problems I had with Zanta the nipping especially on my tummy because at 8 months that is how high she stood.
she is now rehomed with experienced people and she is very happy.
My previous dog was naughty as was and sometimes still is with Ollie 17 months old BMD from same breeder as Zanta but I had never experienced the behaviour before or since that I did with Zanta even the breeder told me she had problems with her and had to rethink her strategy on how to treat her while she was still there and about how to rehome her.
If she couldn't of been rehomed she would of stayed with breeder.
I also think this has gone past naughty puppy behaviour.
Good luck JonRock.
Might be worth looking into a good Behaviourist to help you.

Well I have owned a Boxer and while no one can say for certain whether it is dominance or not as we haven't personally met the pup. I think it sounds more like over excitement and while you may be trying to set rules and boundaries it isn't working. You say she ignores you, but if you're trying to follow Cesar's ways then you know that isn't an option. Dogs don't get to ignore you.
She sounds like a bold puppy and boxers are naturally boisterous anyway, if she knows the basic commands of sit, leave, down and wait etc. start using them and enforcing them every single time she starts to mouth or jump. I do agree with Colin that the exercise is of paramount importance and also should come before the training. Just make sure she has good recall before letting her run free or get a long line and get running. I exercised my Boxer in that way for all 13 years of his life. Perhaps part of the problem is that there does seem to be a whole variety of different training methods going on, and the rattle bottle is greatly over used and does become pointless, it really should just be used to get their attention . I understand you are probably willing to try anything to get her to behave but go right back to basics and do not give her the option of ignoring you. You say she is on a house line so you or your OH should be able to keep her under close supervision. Also try to keep her mind occupied by teaching her more commands and keep practising in 5-10 minute sessions throughout the day. Also should add Boxers do have a habit of using their feet quite a lot, so the jumping at the lead etc. is probably boisterous boxerness.
I have a Dobermann bitch who was extremely bold as a pup and still needs to be reminded to "calm it" at nearly 2, I can't change her personality but I can control it and teach her to do the same.