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my dogs keep on attacking my neighbor dog

19 15:54:55

Question

my boxers
I have a 2yr old male boxer and a 4 yr old female boxer that attack my Neighbor dog.She the only dog my dogs attack. Every time my neighbor dog see my dogs she fits the ground and shake.I know my dogs are attacking her because they smell the fear on her. what can i do to help them get along?

Answer
Hi Anna. First of all, I have to say, what a pretty crew you have there. The first thing that you need to do is, every time your dogs are outside to where they can get to this other dog, they need to be on leashes. Every single time. They can not be allowed to attack this dog anymore, and I'm not saying that you are letting them. You need to work with each dog by itself, and when you get this behavior under control, then work with both at the same time. You put one dog on a leash and take it outside. Every single time that he acts like he's wanting to attack, tensed body, barking, lunging, straining at the leash, you give the command to "leave it", and quicly walk in the other direction. When the dog calms down, praise him. Then bring him back to where he can see the other dog. You have to be consistant. Every time he acts up, tell him to leave it, and walk away. Praise him when he quits. Eventually, he'll get it. When you take him back to the starting point, praise him a lot when he see this other dog, but doesn't make a move for it. Do this with each dog until they are calm when around the neighbor's dog. Then, you can try them together. You also have to realize that when a Boxer gets it in their head that they don't like another dog, you can rarely change their mind. This is something that you may always have to be on the look out for. I'd also suggest obedience classes, or a trainer. They can see in person exactly what your dogs are doing, and know what needs to be done. I'd suggest a trainer who uses positive methods. Good luck! P.S. There are some really good dog trainers on this web site if you don't feel that my answer has helped any. Go to the dog menu, and click on dog trainer or behavior.