Periodic craziness...

Question
I have a 12 month old neutered male who is 70 lbs.  Most of the time he is a great dog, but periodically get's the crazies.  I would love your advice on ways to discourage the behavior.  Here is what he does...

Usually at least once or maybe twice during a walk I will notice him peering up at me.  When that happens I know it's about to start.  He will step in front of me and jump up.  Growling, mouthing (not hard biting, but biting none the less).  I try and correct him with the collar and get him to sit but it usually takes a few minutes to calm down.  After he is calm, we start walking again, and usually the process starts over a time or two more.  It is very annoying and would appear to anyone driving by that I am being mauled.

Is this normal behavior for a Boxer?  Is he just trying to get me to wrestle with him?  How do I get him to stop this behavior?

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Russell,

Normal?  Do Boxers do anything normally?  lol  It might not be a desired behavior but you're definitely not alone.  Mine tend to go off in the house.  One minute everything is peaceful, the next I have a racetrack in the house and up the furniture!

At this point, his crazies have become learned.  What that means is that he's displayed the behavior, gotten a reaction (good or bad...a reaction is a reaction) and now likes to do it.  It's not going to fix overnight.

Here are the mistakes I'm assuming your making from what you've written.

1.  The collar is not in the correct position for a correction.

2.  You aren't walking with a mission.

3.  You're over-correcting.  If you say 'sit' more than once, you sound like a babbling idiot to him...not like a leader.  If he had respect for you as a leader, one sit would do it.

Think back to your childhood (or a friend's).  Most of us had one parent we listened to without fail and one we snickered at.  When my dad said 'stop', we stopped.  When my mother said 'stop', we laughed.  Then came 'stop, I mean it'...still laughing.  Then 'when your father gets home...'.  Why?  Because we all knew he was more respected.  ;)  Make sense?  It's the same (in a way) with our dogs.  They listen to the leader, not the person that begs and pleads...sit, sit, sit, SIT...that's pleading.

How you start your walk is very important.  When you get the leash out, it doesn't get clipped to him until he's calm.  Period.  Decide how long you want to spend with this...seriously set a time limit in your head.  Let's say, 10 minutes.  If, when you get the leash out, he goes nuts...stand still, leash in hand, and ignore him.  No eye contact, talk or touch.  Puff yourself up, look important (body language is everything).  When he calms, put the leash on.

YOU go out the door first.  If he doesn't know the 'wait' command, now would be a good time to teach him (if you need to know how, let me know).  It doesn't matter if he sits at your right or left, what does matter is that you leave the house first.  Again, set a time limit.  Don't walk out the door until he's calm and don't let him lead you.

During your walk, make sure the collar is in the proper position.  Right behind the skull, underneath the collar should sit where the head and neck meet.  This is the most sensitive part of the neck and he'll be more responsive.  Many people make the mistake of using a harness or leaving the collar almost above the shoulders.

Again, your body language is important.  Stand tall, eyes ahead and shoulders back.  In your head, you're the king, the president, Brad Pitt...whomever you need to be.  Walk with a purpose.  A dog that's busy following can't be busy misbehaving.  Don't let him get ahead of you but don't keep the leash taught.  Relax, have fun.  

You seem to know when the crazies are coming...walk through them. Don't wait until he starts, as soon as you feel him peering, slowing, etc. give him a quick correction on the lead (a quick pop), an 'aht' noise and keep going. He's not out to sniff every blade of grass, he's out for exercise.  If you can't walk fast due to a disability, injury, etc., ride a bike, get on the rollerblades, whatever you can do.  

If any of this brings up more questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqHjq-cj97I

This is a good vid to watch.  I chose this one because it has various little clips and a lot of different dogs with collars in the correct position (the people, too)!  :)