Dog Community

STOP THE FIGHTING

Posted : 3/18/2011 11:44:06 AM

I HAVE TWO BOXERS..MOTHER AND DOUGHTIER .. THE MOTHER (PEACHES) IS VARY DOMINATING! TO THE POINT THAT SHE LIFT HER LEG LIKE A MALE DOG !! SHE AND HER PUP (NILIA) THE BOTH DOGS CAME FROM AN ABUSIVE HOME WARE THE DOGS HAD TO FIGHT TO EAT..MY PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THE PUPPY GOT OLD ENOUGH TO COME INTO HEAT THE STARTED TO FIGHT THE FIGHTING IS BAD I HAVE TO CAGE THEM ALL THERE LIFE THEY HAD TO LIVE IN CAGE I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS NOW I FEEL GUILTY Sad BESIDES GETTING THEM FIXED ( I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT TO GET THEM FIXED ) BUT I HEARD THAT DOES NOT SALVE THE PROBLEM IF THIS IS TRUE PLEASE HELP ME.. Huh?

glenmar

Posted : 3/18/2011 1:01:36 PM

Hi and welcome to the forum. Using all caps is shouting, and I'm sure you didn't mean to yell.

Females are the worst for fighting. The boys tend to be more bluster, while the girls will fight to the death if they are given the chance. Basically, what you have are two bitches in EVERY sense of the word. Spaying *might* help, but you might need to consider rehoming one of the two for their own happiness and sakes.

JackieG

Posted : 3/18/2011 2:01:27 PM

I don't know if this is an option for you but you might try to get a certified behaviorist to make a home visit to observe these dogs and give you an opinion and advice. There may not be much you can do though other than to keep them separated or try to find a home for one of them. If you rehome one of them be sure to tell any potential adopter about the fighting. I'm not sure where you are located but you could try contacting a Boxer rescue group. They are generally very capable of finding the best homes. How do the boxers get along with your other dog?

Good luck and please keep us posted. Welcome to the forum. :)

This is a link to a site that provides a list of certified behaviorists. http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

AgileGSD

Posted : 3/18/2011 2:12:07 PM

Boxers as a breed are extremely prone to same sex aggression, both males with other males and females with other females. This sounds like classic same sex aggression being that the youngest one coming into season triggered it. There is a very strong genetic predisposition to this behavior and it is not really a fixable problem. Dogs displaying this trait are not fighting for dominance, they are fighting to eliminate the competition. The best solution is management (check out Crate and Rotate info here: http://www.pbrc.net/rotate.html). If management is not feasible for your household, you will need to rehome one of the dogs. No matter what some trainers will try to tell you, same sex aggressive dogs can never be "cured". Once two dogs begin seriously fighting with each other, you can never really go back to what it was like when the dogs were fine.