Hi Mitch:
Wanna come over to my house and try that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />?
Better yet, go to my boy's mother's house.
I can guarantee you that my dog would not leave. Yes, they look scary, but so does any dog defending it's property. Any dog worth it's salt should defend it's Well known property. Not every dog in every breed is not good at certain tasks. I also believe that a dog has to believe in a threat, not a masquerade. It sounds as is this was your own boxer that you threatened? I am not surprized he left. I would leave you too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />- he probably thought he was in trouble and you were REALLY mad and went into protect thy butt mode. Since he is a Boxer and loyal to the end, I doubt he would want to bite you- so he did the intelligent thing and went to someone he trusted <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)
Julie

My dog will NOT defend himself against me, PERIOD. You should NEVER *EVER* test your own dog in defense! If I argue with a family member, my dog gets very skiddish thinking something bad's happening, if I argue wtih a stranger, he's on high alert ready to take em on.

If I run at him freaking out like you did, he either thinks I'm playing a game n runs around like a ferret trying to get me to chase him, or he runs straight at me n jumps on me, or he lays down thinking he did something wrong and totally submits.

I can sneak around the backside of the house and make all kindsa noise at the front door where my dog can't see me... yet, he never barks, because he still knows its me. I've been out of town for the weekend 4 times since I've had him, I have my parents watch him when I go out of town because I don't trust anyone else, every time I am about a mile away from getting home, they call my cell and ask me "Are you near the house? Because your dog's suddenly going nuts running around the house looking for you". I don't know how he does it, but he seems to know when I'm almost home. My parents didn't know my flight details or what time I'd be home, they just called and asked totally based on how my dog was acting. Maybe it's coincidence, but I don't think you can ever fool a dog into thinking his handler is someone he's not. So disguising yourself or taking your dog by surprise to test him is pointless and to me a totally worthless risk at ruining a good dog that trusted you.

Sorry, I hate it when people try to freak out their own dog for any reason, why risk ruining the bond?... *End of Rant*

Hey Manny,
I'm certainly no expert, but let me offer my point of view from what I gleaned from your post.

Your dog did exhibit prey drive from barking at the guy. You can build on this, use the Drive, Focus and Grip tape that Ed sells.

While the trainer did an honest evaluation, I don't condone the physical contact he made with the dog. He should have first done a frontal aggressive posture and gauged the dog's reaction from there.

Your dog may still be be immature even at 2 years of age, so work at developing his prey drive and confidence and avoid any type of defensive work at this time.

As stated, a barking dog (watch dog) is already an excellent deterent, so in the meantine while working with your dog, get your wife out to the range! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Manny I didn't realize that you conducted this test only a month after you got this dog or that the dog was just two. I assumed you'd had him for a while. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

In fairness of the trainer who did the testing, it sounds like when he couldn't get the dog to see him as a threat, he tried to do what he could to get a reaction from him. The test was just a courage test to see if the dog was suited for protection. The dog wasn't expected to knock down and restrain the trainer or show any major combat skills, just show that he had some courage, which he did not because he cowered. A more promising reaction would have been the dog just wagging his tail and looking at the trainer like, hey why did you smack me, I want to play! Not cowering and hiding behind you. But you didn't have the dog long and you didn't raise and bond with it. Cowering is never a good sign though. Consider getting a dog as a puppy (one of Ed's if you're up for the task and if he'll sell you one), bond with it, and buy all of Ed's applicable video's so you can raise the dog the right way.

Did the trainer know you only had the dog for a month, and how old exactly was it at the time of the test?

Even in a year if your boxer still is not the courageous type, adding a strong dog to your household could work wonders in making the boxer strong, at least when the stronger dog is around. I have a dog who is scared of things, and when I added another male to my house who was strong, it made the weaker dog stronger, at least when the stronger dog is around. Even the weaker dog serves a purpose in the pack. He's an alarm dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Good luck with whatever you do.