Peeing in crate & aggression problems

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jannie!

My husband and I have two boxers, one female and one male.  The female is 7 years old and the male is 2 years old.  Our first problem is our male keeps peeing in his crate at night.  He doesn't seem to be bothered by sleeping in a soiled crate.  We let him out right before, and he still will.  I have tried not leaving a blanket in there, and he still does it!  Our next and more pressing problem is aggression.  Our dogs keep fighting and we need to figure out how to stop it.  They don't fight all the time...usually about every two months they will get into two or three fights and then they are fine.  Now, they are both starting to really do damage to each other.  We have tried keeping toys away (which started fights) we feed them in their crates (another big cause), but now they fight for no reason.  Any suggestions?  THe female was the only dog in the house for 5 years, and did not seem to take well to another dog.  We were hoping this would improve, but it hasn't.  Our biggest concern is our 7 month old son, who we are afraid will get caught in the middle of a fight. At this point, we don't know what to do other than getting rid of our male.  I really don't want to do this!!!  Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,
Michelle

ANSWER: Females Boxers are even more territorial than males.

She is the boss of the house.

Feeding them in their crates is wrong and not helping.

Buy a loud obnoxious whistle, each time they are aggressive, growl, anything, blow the whistle and verbally reprimand them; take the aggressor out of the picture, and put him or her in their crate for 5-8 minutes.

Be consistent.

As far as his peeing in his crate, this is rebellion. That, or he has a bladder infection and can not hold it. But it is also a sign of rebellious behavior due to not liking the crate and problems and anxieties with her.

Have your vet check him to rule out a bladder infection first.

Then, every night before putting him in his crate, take him out to pee, and I would suggest for awhile, setting your alarm clock and getting up and letting him outside at least once a night for a few weeks.

You haven't had him as a puppy have you? He was already of some age?

No one has helped him train his bladder to hold, and he knows no better.

You will need to let him out to pee, and help him adjust to the 8 hours gradually.

Then, see how long (how many hours he can hold it) it takes: maybe he hasn't gotten his bladder trained to hold it 8 hours yet. I don't know the history leading up to it.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your response!  I just had a few more questions...should we feed them separately, but not in their crates?  Our male has become very aggressive with his food around our female, and that has led to many fights.  Once they get started, the only way to stop the fight is to physically pull them apart, so I would be worried blowing a whistle wouln't help at that point.  Should we help to establish that our female is the boss??? She used to be the "dominant" one but now she is taking the brunt of the attacks just because our male is now bigger and stronger.  Or, should we really try to keep them on even ground in terms of who is the boss?  Sorry for the extra questions, but we just don't know what to do!  THank you again!

Michelle

Answer
Hi Michelle,

Place his food and water in one corner of the kitchen, and hers in another far corner away from each other.

Don't feed them in the crate unless there has been a bad altercation in which you've had to separate them. Generally the crate used for when you leave the house and not to eat or anything else.

I don't know if you are at home and not working, or work, but have you thought about "dog proofing" a room to place one in? Much like baby-proofing.

If the male is aggressive, have you thought about having him neutered to help discontinue his testosterone?

I would still use the whistle, and catch the situation on its onset; the minute a growl or look starts...

It doesn't matter "who" is the boss/alpha, as long as the other agrees. If both want to be alpha, then the fight is on.

You'll need to watch them closely, stop the fight before it begins, isolate them-- using the whistle as well.

P.S. His peeing in the crate does sound like aggression and rebelliousness.