Expert: Angela Donald - 6/4/2009

Question
my 8 month old female boxer has become aggresive with my 2 yr old male boxer, she was fine when I got her 2 months ago. Is this a sign that she is gettiing her first heat cycle. What else can be causing this. My male does not do anything to her other than pass by her and she starts barking at him or a quick snarl? any advive or suggestions


Answer
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your question about your boxer female.From your description it sounds as though the female is warning the male to give her her space, a territorial issue. The female being new in the environment will naturally do this to stand her ground.Boxer females are much more dominate than the males in my opinion. She seems too young to come into heat as the average heat cycle usually doesn't occur until around 11-12 months old depending on the lines she has descended from. Most show boxer lines don't come into heat until 18-24 months old for the first time. If your not going to breed your boxers then having her spayed can help reduce the territorial tendencies. Your female will need more time to adjust to her new environment so I'd advise to let the two work it out on their own for the next 6 weeks as long as no blood is drawn or others are put in danger. After this amount of time if you are still having this issue I will be glad to propose you a detailed plan of action.As for now you should stay as neutral as possible and not make a big deal out of it in front of the dogs or favor one over the other as this can make the situation worse. Also feed them separately.One other possibility is the female has had to fight in the past with another mature dominant dog and this could be a sign that she will need to have more behavior modification exercises to overcome her fear.The six week guideline I have suggested will give us more clues. A visit to the vet may also be helpful as some health issues can cause aggressive tendencies as well. I hope this information has been helpful to you.Good Luck and please let me know how things are going or if they get worse.
Sincerely,
Angela Donald
Canine Behavior Consultant
http://www.hitowerboxers.com