Post by bobbenson on Apr 14, 2007 13:37:22 GMT -5
My boxer puppy is now almost 8 months old. I spend at least an hour walking the dog daily and am home all day long most days. He heels pretty well, sits, drops (items in mouth), down. If I am walking him and another dog is coming by, I will tell him to sit. I want him to be under control and calm with distractions such as other dogs. Sometimes he will need a correction for this, but usually not. Everything is easier when he is tired such as just waking up first thing in the morning. If he is in a playful mode, he is more difficult but still quite good. If I say release during a walk, he knows he can look around and do the potty thing.
My problem is this. My wife is unwilling to take part in any training of the dog. She won't even take a 5 minute walk with the dog. We are in a small 1 bedroom apartment at the moment. I'm currently househunting which may help the problem. She knew my last boxer, but he was 10 plus years old and no longer very active.
I am doing two things for this at the moment. One, she gets home from work at about 4pm. This is about the time of day he wakes up and becomes very playful. When she walks in the door, this really triggers playful mischievous behavior. I try to have him in his crate when she comes home. This slows down the initial "I want to greet you" reaction from the dog. I will then either leave him in the crate or stand up and correct him for any errors such as jumping up. They are a playful, excited breed, however, and we are in small quarters.
From my perspective, he is doing well. His worst behavior is he is still a puppy. My wife claims he should have grown out of puppy antics such as sneaking into the bedroom where he is not allowed when I'm distracted doing something like brushing my teeth. He knows what is right and wrong, he just pushes the limit. I don't know how long this usually lasts in boxers, but I suspect that with corrections it slowly tapers off, but can occur up to a year and a half or two years.
Unless my wife comes around a bit (which doesn't seem likely at the moment) my question is, what problems will I have when the dog is two or three years old? Most people do little or no dog training, so I suppose it can't be any worse than that. She likes dogs, just not the high energy puppy, and is not willing to put any effort into training. Will a 70 pound adult dog drag her down the street when she tries to walk him?
So certainly I am the alfa for the dog. With zero participation (good or bad) on her part, what should I be doing to be sure she is also the alpha in the dogs mind? As you might imagine, this is placing some strains on our relationship as well.
My problem is this. My wife is unwilling to take part in any training of the dog. She won't even take a 5 minute walk with the dog. We are in a small 1 bedroom apartment at the moment. I'm currently househunting which may help the problem. She knew my last boxer, but he was 10 plus years old and no longer very active.
I am doing two things for this at the moment. One, she gets home from work at about 4pm. This is about the time of day he wakes up and becomes very playful. When she walks in the door, this really triggers playful mischievous behavior. I try to have him in his crate when she comes home. This slows down the initial "I want to greet you" reaction from the dog. I will then either leave him in the crate or stand up and correct him for any errors such as jumping up. They are a playful, excited breed, however, and we are in small quarters.
From my perspective, he is doing well. His worst behavior is he is still a puppy. My wife claims he should have grown out of puppy antics such as sneaking into the bedroom where he is not allowed when I'm distracted doing something like brushing my teeth. He knows what is right and wrong, he just pushes the limit. I don't know how long this usually lasts in boxers, but I suspect that with corrections it slowly tapers off, but can occur up to a year and a half or two years.
Unless my wife comes around a bit (which doesn't seem likely at the moment) my question is, what problems will I have when the dog is two or three years old? Most people do little or no dog training, so I suppose it can't be any worse than that. She likes dogs, just not the high energy puppy, and is not willing to put any effort into training. Will a 70 pound adult dog drag her down the street when she tries to walk him?
So certainly I am the alfa for the dog. With zero participation (good or bad) on her part, what should I be doing to be sure she is also the alpha in the dogs mind? As you might imagine, this is placing some strains on our relationship as well.