boxer pup

Question
Hi i have a boxer male boxer pup who is 14weeks. He is a very active pup and sometimes very loving but since we have had him when we try to move him or get him to stop doing something he's doing he turns in to NASTY pup really snarling and biting very aggressive i have tryed a few stuff and with a 7 year old son this is very hard as he really goes for him. Please help as i don't want to find a new home for him.

Answer
I don't know exactly what age he was when you got him, but he has not been properly socialized.

Boxer mothers teach their pups to be "big, bad Boxers" by rough-housing with them, nipping them, chasing them, etc. Really rough play.

They interlock mouths biting, boxing, nippling legs and ears; all in play.

It sounds like your boy hasn't been stopped from rough play early enough. Most breeders (ones that know Boxers and what they are doing, (not the typical "back yard breeder" who doesn't know) will stop the rough play when handling the pups.

What you will need to do is become the "alpha" and be the new parent right now.

Buy a loud and obnoxious sounding whistle and blow it loudly when he does this. Verbally reprimand him with a "no." And get his attention so he will stop.

I suggest that you then leash him, and remove him from the spot where the aggression began. Do this each and every time. Be consistent.

Instruct your 7 year old son to refrain from playing with the puppy until you get a handle on his behavior. Modifying behavior is best now at this age than later when he becomes set in his ways and bigger.

He is only playing like he was taught, and is all he knows. Some pups vie for the alpha position within the litter of siblings and your pup must be one that did. He had to be dominate to establish an alpha position. Some personalities are more dominate than others, and some are very docile.

If you have a large crate that is not being used for his sleeping and while you are away, use it. And if you do use it for sleeping and while you are away from the house, buy a second crate that is located in a different room than the sleeping crate. You want the two crates to be totally different and represent two different environments and reasons.

If you do this, you can leash him, verbally reprimand him (in a calm and assertive voice; no shouting, no yelling, no "explaining" just simple calm and assertive) and place him in the behavior modification crate for 10-15 minutes (which will seem like an eternity to the pup).

After the allotted time has passed, let him out and try again. If he becomes aggressive again-- repeat.

I do recommend buying Cesar Millan's (The Dog Whisper on The National Geographic channel) book(s) on raising puppies. All his books are worth the money spent to have a happy, healthy dog and family relationship.

Let me know if he has improved in a week.