boxer nipping & jumping

Question
I have a 8 month old male boxer who is somewhat trained. I am with him all day and he knows I am the dominant one in the house. However, when I walk him he tends to jump, nip, and pull on the leash. I walk into him to stop him from jumping and give him a sharp yell (which is embarrassing)but doesn't always work. In the house he's starting to nip and growl when he corrected on jumping on the couch. I have to grab his collar and pull him off and say "NO" but he still jumps back. He just doesn't seem to listen anymore like he used to. I know this is his testing age but I am running out of patience. Am I doing something wrong? Can you give any additional advice? Also, am I wrong for keeping him separate from my "toy yorkie" (6 years old-female)who wants no part of him? When I attempt to put them together, she shakes, nips and "screams" at him. I know he just wants to play, but I'm afraid he will hurt her. So I keep them separate.  HELP!!!!!

Answer
Hi Debbie,

Thanks so much for your questions. First let me say you may think your the dominant one but your actions aren't projecting that to the dog. In the canine world the leaders are always calm cool and collected so speak, they exude self confidence. They very rarely show aggression or frustration( yelling or anger by humans ). You should start by thinking about what it is you want the dog to do and make it happen, in other words if you don't want the dog on the couch and see him there , think about the dog moving off the couch, walk up to the couch calmly and point to the ground and use the command "Off" in a firm voice. Don't keep saying the command either just point to the ground.Don't physically remove him by the collar as the dog sees this as a challenge. When the dog gets down, claim the couch,sit down and do not let the dog back up there by using body blocking if you have to. If this fails there is a great product called a "scat mat" which can aid you or help keep him off the couch when your not supervising him, you can find one at amazon.com. If you don't want the dog on the couch never ever let him up there not even once if you do then you are confusing him. With boxers you have to be firm but fair never harsh. No canine will listen to an unstable pack leader, remember calm and cool. Take a deep breath if you have to before correcting the dog and relax then proceed with your commands. One other way of looking at this mental state is how police officers act, authoritive and in control.Speak like you mean it but do not yell.   

The age he is now is one of the best times to neuter in my opinion because the testosterone levels are flooding in and neutering will alleviate his desires to be dominate.

To help with pulling, jumping and nipping on the leash. The product that I like best is the "Illusion Collar" it works much the same way a show lead works ( the ones we use on our dogs in the show ring) but can be used by an inexperienced person (non-show person) attaining greater control over the dog. This collar and lead can be found at amazon.com as well. Read the instructions that come with it. No more walking into him or sharp yelling, once you try the collar and lead you should see an improvement the first time he wears it. The trick is to have the collar as far up on the neck as possible making the dog keep his head up, if his head goes down he can jump ,nip and pull.This collar will do this for you. Try adding treats to this routine making it a positive experience for the dog instead of a wrestling match. Ask the dog to sit and give him a treat,put the collar on as he chews the treat, give another treat, praise him. Do this every time you are going to put the lead and collar on for several weeks. He should now associate the collar and lead with something positive. Boxers are notorious for not wanting to do something unless it benefits them in some way so use that against him to train him.

When you separate the dogs you are essentially creating two packs, try supervising them together with the illusion collar and lead on your boxer and with a helper, have the boxer lie down and let the yorkie walk all over him, place the boxer in a down position and keep him there if you have to and let the helper place the yorkie on him. Do not allow the boxer to get up until he is calm.Treats will work here as well for both dogs. If he starts being to much do the exercise again.Do this exercise daily for six weeks. It will take a minimum of six weeks to change the behaviors of both dogs. Remember you can not be thinking he's going to hurt the yorkie when they are together, you are feeding that energy to the dogs. Dogs are very keen and pick up on that unstable behavior. When your unstable the dogs will be too,they will not listen to you or you will find that one of them will try to take over as leader as this is what I see happening in your situation. Frustration and anger by humans is unstable behavior to a dog. They will not follow your commands if your not patient either.

I hope these methods and techniques will help you and your pack. Good luck and feel free to contact me again if needed.

Angela Donald
Canine Behavior Consultant
http://www.hitowerboxers.com