December 14, 2009: Boxer Goes Bananas
The dogs are gone! The house is quiet! I am queen of everything once again! Huzzah huzzah huzzah! :-) Boy, that's a relief. I was afraid maybe they were planning to stay forever and always. Now I have Tui's lap allllllllllll to myself, which is how it should be! :-)
ANNOUNCEMENT! Tui is doing a last-minute Barnes & Noble bookstore event THIS WEDNESDAY! December 16!!! This could be your last chance to see her for MONTHS!
She'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, Massachusetts on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 4:30pm. There'll be reading and signing and answering questions (and possibly cookies), and she'd LOVE to see you! Please come if you can! It's so last-minute that possibly no one will come, but we're hoping at least a few of you will be there! :-) :-) :-)
All right, on to our question of the week:
Hello! My name is Hannah and I am nine years old. I love your books!!!! They are so coooooool! On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give your books a 10 plus. I wanted to know if you have any advice on how to train my boxer. She is a girl and her name is Jasmine. She is a big dog and fat but very friendly. She is very very aggressive around other dogs. She is not trained well so we hardly take her on walks because she is so strong and aggressive. She knows the basic commands like sit, stay, come, and shake, but she's not fully trained. If you could give me some facts about boxers and training tips that would be great! Thank you!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Hannah!
Yay! We're so glad you like the books! That's awesome! :-) You know what's funny? Tui just finished a Pet Trouble manuscript all about a boxer! It's going to be book seven of the series, entitled Bad to the Bone Boxer, and the boxer's name in the book is Tombo. He's also quite a handful (like Jasmine!), although Tombo's big problem is that he likes to chew on things whenever he's alone or nervous.
Dealing with a dog who's aggressive toward other dogs is a lot harder. I know it makes me nervous when big dogs start barking at me! I mean, sometimes it's my own fault because I start barking at them first, but once they get close enough for me to realize how big they are, I get VERY polite very fast!
But I know it can be scary when your dog is the aggressive one, especially when it's a big dog like a boxer, who can be difficult to hold back because they're so strong. One thing you could try (if you haven't already) is walking Jasmine with a harness -- there are "easy-walk" harnesses that you can get at the pet store, which snap around the dog's chest and shoulders, and you attach the leash to that instead of to her collar. These make it easier to control the dog because you're steering her whole torso, and not just pulling on her neck (which can be bad for her neck, too! I've seen some dogs who are so crazy I'm afraid they're practically strangling themselves straining at the end of their leash -- poor dogs!).
That will only help you guide her away from other dogs, though (but at least that's a good start!). If you want her to be able to interact with the other dogs, you'll probably need a professional to help train her. You can search online for classes near you; just make sure you tell the instructor ahead of time about what Jasmine is like, because she might need private training instead of being in a whole class of other dogs.
We've also seen episodes of It's Me or the Dog where Victoria Stilwell deals with exactly this kind of problem...have you ever watched the show? You might be able to pick up some good training tips from it! Check out these videos of Victoria's Top Ten Most Difficult Dogs -- especially #2, Cooper, who is a boxer like Jasmine and has a very similar problem! As far as I can tell, the key things to do are distract her and make her feel secure; try to get her to associate those other dogs with something she likes (like really good treats!). But since aggressive dogs can be dangerous if anything goes wrong, getting a professional to help is probably the best idea, if you can.
It sounds like Jasmine is sweet and smart, though, if she already knows those other commands! So hopefully you'll be able to get her to the point where you can walk her, because every dog loves walks (which also help to tire them out, so they'll be less hyper and anxious). :-) And even if you can't take her to a class, keep working with her on the commands she does know -- we love feeling like you're in charge (OK, and we love the treats we get for doing the tricks, too!).
Tui and I wish you lots of luck! And tell Jasmine I'm sending her lots of tail wags and friendly face licks!
Happy tails,
Sunshine! :-)
