Separation Anxiety and Dog Agression with a Boxer Mix (long)

Re: Separation Anxiety and Dog Agression with a Boxer Mix (l

He sleeps outside our bedroom at night and has no problems at all.  He can also stay in another room while we shut the door and he is fine.  We have even tried to play a tape of our voices while he is closed in the upstairs hallway and we are downstairs, but the dog still knows when we are home and we are not.  There was no way he could hear us leave.

Before the first escape, Carter wasn't to "fond" of his crate (he was in his crate for 4 months before the first break out).  He would go in it, but only on command but he was also really happy to be in it.  After we brought the second crate, I started to feed him in it, making him sleep in it, and if we were at home, he was in the crate except to go potty and to play.  We did this for about a week.  He now goes in his crate to "get away" from it all.  He sleeps in it, lays in it and plays in it.  He actually ate his first Kong in it the other day (something he has NEVER done before).  He doesn't mind being in it at all as long as he can still hear us in the house (I think its more along the lines of footsteps over voices.

If he is left out of his cage (or off his chain) He goes through the whole house tearing up every blind he can find, any pillows he can get his teeth on are mutilated, and his dog bed is unstuffed.  Even a yummy Kong won't keep his attention.  When he is on his chain he goes nuts too, its just he can't do anything about it.  If there is something he can get his teeth on, it is gone.  He has even tore up 2 tiles in the basement where the chain is.  He has never harmed himself on the chain which is why he is on it right now.  It just seems safer then a crate.

His Paperwork says "Boxer/Lab"  We actually think one of his parents was a poorly bred boxer.  He has the personality of a boxer, from the walk, to the talk, to the jumping, to the play.  If there is pit in there we think it was from a line back or so.  If you actually place him next to a pitbull there is a big difference.  He photographs differently then what he looks like sitting at my feet.

Re: Separation Anxiety and Dog Agression with a Boxer Mix (l

Kongs do not work.  He doesn't care if its the best thing in the world.  One I leave his sight he stops eating and refuses to eat it again until I return.  Nothing is good enough to keep his mind off of his SA.

The one time he "attacked" me over food, I didn't have much of a choice but to hold him down until he calmed down.  He hasn't done that since.  But if you grab his collar if he knows you are upset, he will strike at you.  In that case its a Sharp yet firm "NO, BAD DOG" Followed by a "down, sit, down, sit, down sit" until he calms down then we try it again.  The second time you make him do it, he will do it no problems.  This happens when normally when you want him to go into the basement to tie him up.  Cheese usually will bypass all of this, but every once in a while even cheese won't tempt him into the basement.

Edit:  Usually the 15 mins on the treadmill is at a jogging speed to get the rest of that energy out.  Works great to make an tired dog.  I'm hoping to this spring when its light outside in the morning again, to start biking with him before I go to work in the morning.

Re: Separation Anxiety and Dog Agression with a Boxer Mix (l

Ky_IsisnOnyxsMama\";p=\"101801 said:

i think tying a dog only makes them more aggressive when its a dog tied outside never let in and has no socialization & not part of the family..thats not your case...you are protecting him from himself .. & i agree with good girl that sounds like your best bet right now

im sorry we all dont have better suggestions for you..whatever hes been through in his life has really traumatized him

any thought on calling where you adopted him from and asking that THEY pay for his rehab? or atleast HELP you since he should have been atleast semi aggression tested..its hard for them to know about the sa since msot any dog in that situation will be anxious...or does the have you sign the adoption papers stating that they dont know if he s aggressive etc etc?

worth a shot? just tryna help

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The shelter that I got him at is the worst shelter there is in town.  I didn't know that at the time though.  They just don't care about their dogs even though they are a no kill shelter.  All the paper work says is that the dog is given all of its shots and is healthy at the time they leave the shelter, they must be in door dogs, and can not be used as a protection dog.  I would hate to take money away from a shelter good or bad anyways.  Thats one less dog they can try to save or take in.

The funny thing is, he wasn't aggressive toward other dogs in the shelter.  He was kenneled with a JRT.  Outside they had a really dog aggressive dog near the pen they use to allow us to visit with the dogs.  Carter just walked over to the edge of the fence closest to where the dog was and marked.  and that was the end of it.  Both dogs walked away.  If I knew what I know about dogs now back then, I wouldn't have gotten this dog.  There was so many warning signs just from that visit.  *sighs*  Lessoned learned.