[holajune]

Hi, I am the owner of a 2year old white boxer. She is very sweet and gentle but extremly hyperactive. She has not been socialized much with other dogs, but when around them she does not seem to act aggressive. Today however, i took her to a large dog park where there were about 30-40 other dogs. It seemed to me that she was behaving abnormaly well, staying in my general area, returning to me frequently, and not jumping on other dogs which as a boxer she usually tends to do. She did get in to a few 3-4 second scuffles most of which she would stop when i called her or told her to leave it. A few time myself and the other owners would have to jump in. I never heared her growl or bark the whole time she was in the park and for the most part she seemed to be behaving well. The trouble started when she stood over a smaller dog (what ive heard is a familiar boxer trait), and they lady whose dos it was screamed oh my god, get the f*** off of my dog! A few minutes later there was another short scuffle after which the owner approached me saying that perhaps my dog was having a bad day and that i should leave and that many other people in the park were saying that i should leave as well. I was sort of confused because i had seen this same man jump in to pull his dog out of 4 or 5 large scuffles, none of which my dog was even the slightest bit interested in. My dog is often mistaken for a pitt bull and i was left wondering if that had been the reason for peoples seeming unwarranted mistrust of my dog. Or, perhaps i was just oblivious to the fact that my dog was indeed starting fights despite no growling or barking. So my question is, has anyone else experienced seemingly unjustified exclusion of your white boxer at a dog park or around other dogs? And also, how can i tell if my dog is indeed the one starting the fights?? PLease help, im so confused.

 

[beanie]

I would have asked that guy what the problem was seeing his dog was also causeing trouble. Im sure you would not have gotten the truth but it was worth while to try. I belive you were asked to leave because of the "pit look" regardless of what he would have told you. I had my white boxers ears cut in a short cut and had that problem all the time.

 

[holajune]

Yea, i mentioned that to the guy, that i had seen him jump into a bunch of fights and he just said, thats not true... Anyway thanks for replying, its just been killing me ever since i left. I feel so bad for my poor dog.

 

[samsonsmom]

First of all, it's not just whites, it's all Boxers..There are tons of people that have had things like that happen to them at dog parks, myself I am not a big fan of them for that very reason..Too many times the owners do not watch their dogs and also bring unsocialized or aggressive dogs..In order to understand if it's yours that is starting anything you need to know her  body language, there is a great topic in the General Boxer Section regarding that. Also watch her like a hawk, see how she interacts...Sadly people that are unfamiliar with the breed tend to think that Boxers are just these extremely hyper aggressive animals.Yes they are hyper, they also play hard and loudly, people do not understand that...At 2 yrs, she is still a puppy as well and they do get a bit wild at times, but it sounds like she responds to you, which is awesome....I do like having mine interact with other dogs, it's good socialization, but my venue of choice is a Boxer Meetup, read about those also in the General Boxer Section....Hope this was some help and welcome to the forum  

 

[GabysDaddy]

ya I tend to stay away from dog parks as well...I find alot of owners are just to busy doing other things instead of looking after their dogs...I also had quite a few people think that my boxers are pits....if they only knew :roll:

 

[holajune]

Thanks so much for the comments, i feel much better already. I did read the body language posts, and i was wondering if maybe because my dog isnt very used to being around other dogs (she is much more socialized with people) she is not accustomed to reading other dog's heirarchical signals, which causes fights to begin. Perhaps i should train her by bringing her around smaller groups of dogs at first like you all suggested..

 

[samsonsmom]

A large group of dogs can be very intimidating for some..Samson is that way, so he stays home for meetups..You may find that it works better doing just a one on one and then work up from there....Sadly, those little ankle biters are the worst!! I used to have a pack of them that chased me when I was walking and they are relentless...

 

[nano]

I don't do dog parks.  I have personally heard of too many horror stories from people who've went to them.  You know the kids in the backseat of a car?  It's all fun and games till someone looks at someone wrong and the fight begins.  Same with dogs.  I don't like everyone I meet and certainly wouldn't appreciate it if someone I didn't know rushed up to me and jumped on me or stuck their face right up in mine.  People have a notion that dogs should just get together and have parties.  Dogs in the real world never lived that way they had territories.  Find a playmate potential and set up a play date and introduce your dog slowly practicing good behaviors for both dogs.  Keep the greetings short and sweet and extend the time together as the situation warrants.  You probably didn't want to hear my advice on this subject but I just want to keep everyone from having a very bad experience.

Nano

 

[samsonsmom]

I agree with Nano...If you are interested in finding a play buddy, ask your vet if he has other Boxers in his practice, ask at your pet store as well....Also check out Boxer meetups on Meetup.com    My meetup has a few members that go to a dog park and everyone has been telling tales of how awful it was, bad dogs, etc, yet they are really pushing for us to move our meetups to the park! Huh? I can't understand that rationale....I love my meetups, we have a terrific group, we all watch everyone's dogs and all will step in if there is a tiff, but if they get moved to the park, we will quit going So, I would definitely look for one dog that you can set up regular playdates and stick with that....

 

[Barbs2Ks]

We have a great dog park here and after hearing some horror stories about others I feel very lucky.  You might want to check into daycare (be very careful and check out thoroughly, they do have bad ones also) and see if that is an option.  Our daycare here, has a socialization test before they allow dogs to sign up for daycare.  They give out a report card and if the dog is not good with other dogs they recommend a class for socialization.  My sisters english springer just went through it and got very good on his report card (which we expected) and will be allowed to come to daycare.

 

[sully]

30 to 40 dogs....that sounds like a nightmare.  I'm with just about everybody else, I have no use for dog parks.  The dogs are probably ok but I just don't trust the owners.  And I agree, they probably thought your dog was a pit or an aggressive breed.  And btw, even if your dog was growling I wouldn't be concerned.  Boxers can get very vocal when they play and most people just don't understand it.