i think with a boxer you need to have a very good sense of humour as they will play for england!

play and training will deepen the bond you want.

shaynlola sums JF up to a tee. its a load of balony!

ignore your dog at your peril!

I'm getting the impression that these individuals (CM, JF etc) are only in it for the money (hence the high charges for a consultancy).

A few have asked what my problems are with the dog, so here goes...

1) When we walk on the leash, he is very good. He pulls a bit, but hey, he's a young Boxer! However, when I let him off the leash, he starts jumping and spinning around. He then starts to jump up at me and nip at my clothes (accompanied by a deep but content growl/rumble type sound). If I chastise him with a firm 'NO', his tail wags and he barks like crazy, and still jumps and nips. I have learnt that folding my arms and turning my back on him until he stops the behaviour works best. But it doesn't work instantly, and all my coats have tears in the arms!!!

2) His recall is rubbish if there is even something as small as a bee moving past him! I have tried having pieces of cheese or cooked liver a reward for a good recall, but with no success.

3) When off the leash, and he sees another dog, he's off...no matter what. I may as well be the invisible, mute man for all he takes notice of me. He shows no aggression to the other dogs, he just wants to get there to play...come what May. Other dog owners don't like a charging Boxer bearing down on them and their little bundles of fluff. So I can't let him off the leash unless we're out in the country.

4) His energy levels seem limitless. As stated elsewhere, we walk for over 4 hours per day...through fields, streets and woodland. We play tug-of-war, football etc. Yet still he doesn't seem to relax during the day. I live on a school site and have a huge garden that he can access 24/7 via his dog flap. Even with all this, he's ready to play still at 11.00pm!!!

So there you go, those are my problems. That's why I've been considering going to a 'Dog Listener'. Will the dog listener help me? Is there another way? Benson (my Boxer) is a very intelligent dog. He learnt sit, down, wait and leave in his first week with me. But I can't stop the other issues. What can I do please that won't cost me a £150 consultation?

sounds like a typical boxer to me.

joedeeuk and patch will be the best to advise you.

good luck.

Someone may correct me please do, i did read her books and in one book i just threw it down it was about a dog that was over excited when visitors called so off JF went and preached her preachings to them...all went well..

She called back a few months later and the dog was back to its normal self and she said what happened and the owners said well he was so depressed etc etc so JF said well basically so what he was depressed but he had good manners....

Now to me thats taking 'ownership' of a dog way too far...

Hey, I live in a small East European country, and I let both our dogs go first through the door, shall I let you know when they take over the TV station and move into the presidential palace

Hes only a young puppy we are quite lucky mine have learned from a fabulous clique of dobermans at the beach the best way to approach this is to not expect too much..But when you get results praise and praise again..

There are many very experienced people on here and some of them have already given you some advice. I just have the following thoughts:-
1) Welcome to the shabbiest dressed man club. I use the same old, torn, and tatty coat for our walks
2) One of ours would do just that and still chases birds
3) Yep, same thing with ours (who are quite big also) I guess we are lucky in that when we go for walks we never see any other dogs, deer, foxes, rabbits oh yes but not dogs.
4) I have a theory that 11:00 pm is a dogs favorite playtime but at least our two do sleep a lot during the day

[QUOTE=Hammer;1190271]

A few have asked what my problems are with the dog, so here goes...

Sounds like a typical boisterous Boxer , how old is he???

This does not mean you have to except his behaviour, far from it, I don't think there is a Boxer owner who has not been there..... A dog behaviourist is not the answer to his problems.

All Boxers make that deep growly sound when they are playing,

Where do you let him of the lead, is it in a safe place, the jumping up at you . is him wanting to play, or him being bored, you need to stimulate his mind with some form of play....does he like balls, if you are throwing a ball for him he cant jump up and rip your clothes..... if turning your back on him works keep it up....if he still insists on jumping at you off lead put his lead back on and do some "mental " work" (training )

Again another Boxer trait ......... all Boxers can suffer selective deafness..... there is always something more interesting to investigate than you.

You have to work on "you" being the most important think in his life, if treats don't do it, what about toys, most boxers love to chase a ball..

If you know he is not going to obey a command, don't give him one...i.e you know he is not going to listen to you when you call him back , so don't waste your breath....it will just fall on deaf ears.......go right back to basics, buy a long training lead, and use this to teach him recall, don't allow him of lead at all till he has some recall...you can train the recall while he is on the lead....you should also practice recall at home, simply be calling him to you at feed times, in from the garden, all this will help set it in his mind..........I have found the best thing with my Boxers is a whistle, it breaks through their concentration a lot quicker than shouting names.

You can train to a whistle by using it at home, adding it on to your recall command.....when you want him to come in from the garden...call his name, add a toot or two to his name, till he gets the idea, that it means come here.

What food are you feeding him it may be to high in protein and additives..

Running for 4 hrs off lead, may seem a lot to you, and you may expect this to tire him out....it should 4 hrs is to much even for a Boxer..... they don't need that amount of exercise.....but if you incorporated mental training into his exercise it will tire him out so much quicker.....i.e while walking practice , sit, stay, down, wait, same when you are in the park /woods practice these things, putting him in a down stay, making his wait for a couple of mins, building it up, always bringing new things into the exercise.....this will tire him out far better than to much free running....

Don't take this the wrong way, but he sounds like a typical boisterous , bored young Boxer, you are experiencing many of the problems Boxer owners have, an out of control Boxer can turn into your worst nightmare... i have been there, chasing my boy in his younger days round and round a park, while he "played" with is friends.....he still lives his life with a "whats in it for me attitude" I have just learnt over the yrs, to know which buttons to press..I have him on what I call "my invisable apron strings" he is never allowed off them, or I know i have lost him , and he would say, "stuff you" I am off.

Teach him the "wait command" you can do this all through your walks, telling him to "wait" till you give an "ok " off you go....this will help with is recall also .


I think the only thing you need, is enrolling in a good training class, and going right back to basics with his training...

Just to add, don't use the excuse he is like this because he is a Boxer, or listen to people telling you that...Boxers are an intelligent breed, there is no reason they should be any less obedient /trained than any other breed....and as a Boxer owner, it is your/our duty to turn them into the best behaved canines we can.....there are to many people out there just waiting to have a go at you, for owning a badly behaved dog.

Good luck.

LMAOROF,,,hoy I won obed when she was judging,,,lol
she was very impressed I had only had royce weeks when I won it,,,got him at 18 months old,,,he went through the motions but I would hardly called it a polished round, not sure she has as much savvy as people assume,,,,the whold thing was a complete nightmare,,picture this,,,go into ring,,,do healwork, get sent out,,all the others do same,,,then back for ret,,out, in for recall, out, stays, I have never seen anything so not professional,,,thing I laughed my way to the first place that day,,,couldnt believe what was happening,,

The reason I joined these forums was to ask advice from experienced dog owners, vets, trainers etc.

One thing that was drummed into me with the fire service is that, if you ask advice on something, and somebody more experienced than you in that field gives you advice, accept it - without question.

So, looking back on this thread (again, thank you so much for the replies), all things considered, a 'Dog Listener' is not the way to go. I'm sure they know what they are doing, but it seems that the primary objective is to earn a lot of money!!

I have found a lovely lady in Milton Keynes who carries out 1-on-1 obedience training, agility and offers 'pack' walks with her dogs. She doesn't have a fancy website, catchy slogan nor published books...but she does love dogs. Also, at only £25 per hour for a 1-on-1 session and no charge at all for a pack walk, her services are what I can afford!

Thank you all again.