Seven month old boxer, working very well on obedience - off leash down sit stay ect. Wanted to trian for protection training and I THOUGHT I had very good control of him. Socialized ALOT (mom's a vet tech) in new and interesting places (grocery store, vet, Home Depot) and does well with everyone but very protective (on his own, no training, of people at the door); however, heres where the problem started. We had a neighborhood little girl (age 6) at the house yesterday and he was fine with it, she was inside for about ten minutes then BAM totally unprovoked and quicker than cowsnot he had jumped in her standing face and was about to maul. Thank goodness I got the correction in quick enough. Alpha roll (extremely rough...i lost my cool...I honestly think he saw the angel of death in his eyes). Zues calmed down for alittle while and I thought I would try it again with her giving him a treat. She didnt even get the opportunity to put the treat in her hand before he was in her face again. I have ordered a Jaco muzzle, electronic collar and have thought of recruiting neighborhood kids to the house to desensitize Zues. Repetition. Am I thinking clearly on correcting this problem? It seems to only occur inside the house - we do not have children of our own at this time but plan to. If this continues the dog will have to go (I do not want this) HELP!!!!!!!!!!! before I actually do

I'd say find a good trainer, who can evaluate your dog in person and work with him or her pronto. In the meantime, work on obedience and avoid any situation where this is likely to occur. Even if it means putting him away when kids come by. This is not a do-it-yourself situation, nor is it one that can be resolved without the dog being seen in the flesh.

Also, seven months is way too young for a dog to be showing any protective behaviour. Alerting by barking, yes, but protecting, no. Aggression at this age is more likely a sign of insecurity.

Once again though, get thee hence to a trainer.

Dei.

You said it seams to only occur inside the house. Have you had the dog outside with kids around? I ask because if it's a teritorial issue, at least if the dog escapes out the front door, there want be dead kids up and down the block.

I have hired a very good training who has been called....waiting on a call back.....however; i triple check any information given with you guys on leerburg (filter and assimulate) . It occurs only inside - territorial of course. What got me stunned was it was sooo fast and out of the blue. That was the first time anything like this has happened. Of course he does run to all the windows growling at passerbys - no barking unless they come really close (at which time he acts like he wants to eat them). He doesnt know (I assume) what to do if he actually got to them (adults). He's such a friendly dog all other times but definetly territorial. FYI - he will wait at all doors and gates until I exit first - of course with this recent incident???. Been doing that since six weeks old <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for all your info - any more would be appreciated!!!! I take training seriously

I guess you meant '...won't be dead kids...,' ringsport. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I forgot to add this: in particular, do not attempt any desensitization work yourself. Unless you really, really know what you are doing, you will end up agitating the dog and making it more prone to attack kids. And don't get me started on what would happen if you conducted one of these 'exercises' and your dog bit or even knocked down one of the neighbourhood kids... you could get sued to your last penny.

I could speculate on what's going on here, but they'll boil down to one of two things: either you have an abnormal dog and/or you're missing danger signs. To what extent either or both are true, I can't say. It might even be that part of this is an unintended consequence of the way you're currently training or handling your dog, I can't say. But a proper evaluation will be able to give you those answers and what to do about it.

What are you looking for in a trainer? Absolutely someone who works with aggressive dogs, preferably someone with a good understanding of working dogs as well.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Dei.

Just out of curiosity, is this a working line or show line boxer?

WARNING!!! DO NOT put the Ecollar on the dog and hit the button when he shows aggression to the children.

One of two things (or both) may occur. He’ll associate the pain with the kids and learn that they can hurt him from a distance. This will result in even quicker aggression towards them.

The other is that he’ll learn to stop any display (you’re not seeing them already) and he’ll go right from calm and relaxed to murder.

I'v not thought about the problem what a e-collar can create but it makes sense. I think even if you have some success with corrections this dog will never be reliable around kids. I would have a hard time to trust him in the future. Better have him under control 100% of the time or you really have to look for another home for him when you're planning to have own children.