The spouse decided that two years was long enough to mourn the Perfect Dog, and so we went to the pound. There we found a even tempered, female Boxer mix, about a year old. (Might have some bull dog in her.)
I am not used to this type of dog, and have no idea how to train her.
Beautiful girl, and she meets all my requirements - young, short-haired, and female. She’s well-mannered and reasonably attentive and potentially affectionate, but she doesn’t seemed trained.
I am used to hunting and herding mixes; if you say ‘alphabet soup’ to a dog like that in the right tone of voice, she will do something (sit, or stand, or come, or go) because she recognizes a command and will keep trying till she gets it right.
But this dog doesn’t seem to even recognize the command voice; only clicks and whistles and leash tugs get her attention; she doesn’t respond to any hand signal I know.
She was probably a run-away; she was well-fed, bred, and has lived in a house; she might be leash-trained; she’s interested in other dogs, but not so much people; there are significant Cambodian & Vietnamese populations in the area and some Caribbean.
So, how do I train her?
How do I say ‘sit’ to a dog in Cambodian, Vietnamese, caribe Spanish, or caribe French? (She doesn’t respond to what I learned through Pimslers.)
Will I ever learn to control a year old Boxer by voice or hand signals? (I can’t let her run off-leash in the park unless I know she is voice trained.)
Yeah, sure you can. It just takes work, and you may need to hire a professional dog trainer. If she is already responding to clicks and whatnot, you may want to try clicker training (just the first google result), which is food/reward based and if done right is surprisingly effective. My understanding is that most of the serious obediance competators have moved to clicker training.
Also, pick up this book. The Other End of the Leash, which is written by an animal behavioralist and is very good. It won’t teach you how to train your dog, but it will help you undertand what is going on with the dog.
I’d say you have less of a breed problem and more of an individual animal issue. And, it sounds like it’s completely workable once you find the right tactic. She’s just going to be different from the other dogs you have had.
For the record: One of the best trained dogs I ever met was a deaf white boxer. The owner had trained it entirely to hand signals. It would come into our clinic periodically for boarding, carrying his little backpack of supplies in his mouth, walk right into the kennel and turn around so you could take the backpack, then settle in until it was dinner/walkies time. I <3 that dog.
I have Boxers, and have trained them successfully.
Boxers think with their stomachs, so use treats. They also bore easily, and will rebel if you repeatedly try to get them to do something. Overall as a breed, they are more clever than dogs in general, though I will admit to knowing exceptions to that statement from both sides.
Start with a behavior you want to develop, go slowly, and reward them each time they do waht you want. Five or six attempts at a shot is about their attention span. Repeat until they master.
I will also second the dog trainer recommendation.
You don’t need to. Say it in English. Hold the treat in your hand so that the dog knows it is there but cannot get it. Put your hand in front of her nose. Move it toward her and slightly up, forcing her to raise her head slightly back. Move it towards her more so that she has to look straight up, and say “SIT.” This should result in a natural sit. Give her the treat and say “Good Girl!” the *instant *her butt hits the ground (or click the clicker, if that’s what you are using.) Repeat as necessary.
Yeah on all the above – BUT – it will not be possible to train a young Boxer until you’ve tired her out a bit. Boxers are athletes and very, very high energy dogs when they’re young.
You’ll need to exercise her fairly hard for 30 minutes to an hour before the training sessions, IMHO.
For what it’s worth, one of the most dramatic examples of a focused, disciplined dog I’ve seen was a Boxer. Another dog tried to take his toy at the dog park, and the Boxer started rushing him and rowfing and snapping – the Boxer’s human companion said a sharp word, and the Boxer turned abruptly, ran to him, and sat down. The other dog began attacking the Boxer and biting him on the shoulder, but the Boxer sat quietly, facing his human, who turned his back on the dogs and ignored them ostentatiously. The other dog’s human dragged him away, and after a few minutes the Boxer’s companion quietly said “release,” at which point the Boxer began to move again.
I’d never seen an aroused dog sit quietly while being attacked by another dog, and was amazed. I asked the guy how he got such behavior and he said it was mostly the dog’s personality, he just “came that way.”
So I think it’s possible to have a very well-trained Boxer indeed, if you and the dog both make an effort.
It starts with exercise, and the next step is consistency on your part.
You have a Boxer :eek: Good Luck. I hope you like to cuddle :D.
We had a boxer, our friends had a boxer, and our neighbors had three of them. We all agreed that boxers are the snugglingest dogs ever. Damn good dogs, damn good foot warmers too, when they’re not laying right on top of you.
They seem to be a very active when young and settle down at about 2-3 years. And, like others have said, highly motivated by food.
I would have another one if we ever dwindle down our current brood.
‘Stay’ is a bit tricky, she has no concept of ‘stop’, and if I say ‘here’ in too firm a voice, she cowers and runs.
If I clap my hands, laugh too loud, move too fast, or, hell, breathe too heavily, she cowers and runs. She’s also not house-broken. She is crate-trained only; that means we have to crate her all day, so she gets bored (and isn’t really getting the whole inside/outside thing). I’m changing my schedule at work to help with that.
I don’t think she was abused, I think she was trained too aggressively & neglected. She likes people, but she’s afraid of everything.
I’m thinking about doggie daycare … has anyone tried that?
I have the same problem with my shepherd mix, who we believe was abused. It takes the longest time to teach her something new, because it takes forever for her to realize that I’m not chastising her, but simply asking her to do something. Heaven forbid I use a stern voice!
The most helpful thing for her is the fact that I have two other dogs, and she can see them respond to me and imitate what they do.
She may not have been socialized. (She sounds a bit like our last Boxer.) You may not be able to let her off leash in a public place until she is older than 2 years. Then she may have issues with people walking up on her. (Ours was a rescue who was not abused, but who was not socialized outside the family and she never quite got past that. OTOH, Deb never quite got around to the professional training that was supposed to have been part of the deal.)
As to the running: I am not sure that any Boxer can really be allowed off leash before the age of two. I’m about to find out as we get our next Boxer in a couple of months, but I have not met one who would not run at any opportunity until she turned two. (You also want to buy a Kong and move every chewable object well away from the floor. They want to chew on everything.)
Boxers are wonderful & intelligent dogs. They do have a mind of their own. Mine has several ‘tricks’ that he does not like to perform, but, if the treat looks to be tasty enough, he may!
I wouldn’t let her off the leash - at least not until she is older. Boxers do like to run, but they usually return home. Mine will occassionally take himself to the dog park.
Good Luck!! Boxers really are wonderful companions. They really insist on being ‘one of the family’
I have a 2-3 YO boxer that I adopted when he was a little under 1. I think he was abused - he does cower at any aggressive action, and does some fear biting, but despite all that he is a very trainable dog, and very cuddly.
He needed some fun but rough play before he would trust me, but then very quickly I got him past fear biting me. He still likes to play rough, but I can stop him by using the word “chill” and then he instantly changes from playful to cuddly. I am not the authoritarian that would be able to train this dog to a high level, but I am the firm but calm owner that he needs. He comes when I call, that is the important part to me.
I had to get a shock collar to get him to come when I call, because he used to come to about 6 feet from me and then cower. After that he is leash free when we go most places (I still use it when there are a lot of people, because I still need to control his foot fetish). I never fear him running off, because he is so attached to me.
House training - at first he made a few mistakes. When I would come home I would smell it, but then go to greet him somewhere away from the mess. So he got to do the “yay daddy’s home” dance for a minute, and then I would go find the poo-pile and look at him and say “What’s that” in a firm tone - he would cower, and I would shoo him outside for a while. It worked like a charm, in only a few days.
Over all, I am very happy to have him. They are strong headed, but smart and very trainable. In my case he is not food motivated, but he wants to make me happy. I will try to wear him out a bit and train him then, to see if I can get some improvement on the few remaining issues.
I agree that Boxers are very playful and therefore easily distracted. I noticed they would rather interact with people or other dogs than fetch a ball. They tend to be only in the moment.
I think it’s a great suggestion to tire the dog out by playing with it, then start training. Yes, Boxers love treats too, but they love snuggles more. Either will work, but as dogs go I think they got the shortest attention span of any breed. They is just fun lovin’ dogs, that don’t like to think about things
The dog has undergone some major conceptual shift in the last few days. She responds to specific (not situational) commands; she has learned our names; she has learned to manipulate us emotionally and play us off each other; she has even started dominance challenges (unsuccessfully, of course); and she shows signs of understanding ‘Stop’.
I no longer think she is dumber than a rock. My Swedish Ivy still snickers at her though.
Honestly, I have never had a dog so basically clueless about dog/human interaction. I love and feed and groom; she obeys - these are the rules, taught with maybe a week of nose raps and lots of responsive training (the dog sits, I say ‘Sit!’ and give her a treat).
My last dog was at this level before he left his mother (twelve weeks). She’s a real sweet-heart and she is trying, but …
“God bless her, her momma loves her, and that’s good enough for me”.
Yes, a class would do you all some good. If possible, bring BOTH humans to the class with the dog.
Also, expectations play a role – you’re just not going to see perfect discipline and concentration in a one-year-old Boxer. Of course it’s subjective whether what you’re seeing now is the best you can expect or short of the mark – another reason a trainer can help you, by helping you learn what the dog is and is not capable of and where she is on the line between “hellion” and “perfect dog.”
Usually “down” or “drop” is taught before “stay”. Since she is reliable on “sit,” try this. Give her the sit command, and when she sits, move the treat straight down to the floor. If she follows it with her nose but does not lay down, no treat. Once she gets into the down position, reward her as before.