My Boxer dog is too friendly and excitable, any advice?

Question

My Baby boxer Blaze is 10 months old. He loves people and children and is the happiest soul you will ever meet, its like he has a permanent smile on his face. The problem is that he is 32kgs and when people visit, he is so bouncy and wiggly that he whips them with his long waggly tail and gets so excited he ends up unintentionally hurting them. How do I calm down a happy, wiggly huge boxer effectively?

Answer 1

I have also had this problem with my female boxer.  It's very difficult.  Know that boxers are very strong and very stubborn.  If they want to do something, they will do it.  You need to be a strong leader for your boxer, very assertive.  You may have to hurt his feelings to get him to get the picture. You need to take control of him, maybe before you let someone in your house put a harness on him, better because he maybe pulling, better for you to be able to control him.

Answer 2

Short answer - TRAIN HIM.  Teach him to sit.  Sit still means sit even though there is a new person entering your house.

Answer 3

I would put a drag lead on him when people come to visit. Use a light lead, and clip off the loop at the end so it doesn't catch on anything. Make sure to use a flat collar and not a training collar.

1. When your boxer starts getting excited and jumps about, non-mark him (ack, ack) and stop him with the lead. Ask him for an alternative command, e.g. sit. If he does this, praise him and treat him; then let him go up an smell the person.

2. If he starts jumping again, non-mark him again (ack, ack), and repeat 1.

3. Make sure to tell your guests no-talk, no touch, and no eye-contact. The no-eye-contact is especially important. Ask them to fold their hands and just turn away from your dog when he jumps on them. For now, use the lead to keep him away from small children. Practice greetings only with adults first. By doing the ignoring thing, you keep things more calm and low key.

4. Once he really settles down your guests can give him attention but make sure that if he starts up again, they should ignore him right away.

5. If he just will not settle down, and will not listen to you, say "time-out" and remove him to a time-out area (a safe but boring room, e.g. laundry room). Leave him in there for a couple of minutes and let him out. If he starts up again, non-mark him (ack, ack), and say time-out and put him back in time-out. This time lengthen the duration to about 10-15 minutes. Note that if your dog stops the bad behavior, make sure to praise him a lot and give him good treats. Keep this up and your dog will learn that certain behaviors get him rewards while others get him into a boring room with nothing to do.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

MORE EXERCISE!!!!

Boxers are athletes and NEED a way to drain all that energy. Before you have company, take him out for a long brisk walk to drain some of that energy. It works wonders.

Also, some basic training will help quite a bit. Tell guests to turn their bodies when coming into the home so that Wiggles McGee can't plant his paws. Then instruct them to ignore the dog completely until he's calm. You must do the same coming and going from the house....and do not make a fuss over him when you come home.

It's typical puppy behavior. He'll learn if you're consistant.

Answer 5

Boxers are an extremely high energy breed.  Training is crucial asap, 8-12 weeks.  Your boxer will most likely always get excited around people, children, other animals, etc., being 10 months old it may be more difficult to break certain habits he's already developed but consistency is key.  It's important to teach them not to jump as boxers and big time jumpers, they love their hugs!  They are one of the greatest family dogs and are such a great breed, you just have to be patient because they are harder to train than most dogs.

Also - has he been neutered?  This would also make a big difference.

Answer 6

I used to raise Boxer's and have always thought they were the greatest dogs in the world. But it is their nature to be happy, wiggly, bouncy and all the things you describe. All you need to do is some simple training. Take him to an obedience class and work with him like they will instruct you to do. Practice, practice, practice. They are an intelligent breed and learn quickly. I had several of mine in shows, so they had to behave. Except one time I had a male in the ring and a little piece of something came by blowing in the wind. It caught his attention, and he bolted out of the ring with me in hot pursuit. Not one of my proudesst moments. but I lived. We got second place, I think the judges were lauging so hard they thought they hurt my feelings. He will be fine when you get him fine tuned.