My Boxer sneezes AT me. On purpose.

[Scout1071]

Anyone ever experienced something like this with the Boxer breed? I would get mad when he sneezed on me, but now I realize that it's on purpose and it really makes me mad. I vaguely remember reading something about this trait being a form of aggression but now I cannot find any info.

How do I stop this behavior?

[Heidi]

1. Why does it make you mad?

I don't understand. Dog spit, I've heard, is cleaner than human spit. :shrug:

Heidi, whose cat puts his butt in her face in a regular basis

[Scout1071]

2. Because we'll be having a lovely moment and then he will spray

dog spit out his nose all over me and/or my computer or anything else that might be around. If someone was spitting in your face, would you be pleased?

[Heidi]

4. If someone who didn't know it was considered "spitting"

was doing it, I'd do what you're doing: trying to find ways to redmediate the behavior. Any chance it's affectionate behavior? (I wasn't yankin' your chain, Scout, just makin' the point that "they" don't think like we do. Sorry.)

[Scout1071]

7. Sorry, my joking meter is a little off this morning.

It's just that I finally realized he's doing it on purpose and I don't know how to stop it! I feel like I need a version of "super nanny" for dogs.

Thanks for bearing with me!

[zanne]

3. How can you get mad at that face?

He's adorable. He just wants to put you in your place--what's wrong with that?

[Scout1071]

6. Ah, but he cannot be the king of this castle. It's important

to be dominant over your dogs, especially with agressive breeds like Boxers. You have to be the boss. And his "spitting" is a form of dominance over me. I cannot allow it. And oh yea....it's gross!

Other than that, he is a wonderful dog. A little needy, but really wonderful. We are getting ready to go on a long walk on the nearby trails. It's a freakish 65 degrees here today. Normal high is probably around 30.

[zanne]

19. I'm just used to being abused...

I have four cats.

[hfojvt]

5. I would wrestle him to the ground

and put my weight on him, all in good fun of course. I understand from the "Hidden Life of Dogs" that they decide who is boss based on weight, and I know I've got more, despite being the owner of a dog that is always called fatso.
My dogs know what "no" means too, although I tend to spoil them.
Maybe he's looking for a wrestling match. Get some old winter gloves and mix it up with him. It's great fun, at least with beagles.

[Taverner]

8. Bite his ear ;)

Short of that make sure you establish that you are Alpha here....

[Scout1071]

9. I do try to make sure that I'm alpha 100% of the time.

But the sneezing is part of a larger pattern. He tries to stand on me. Even if he's not standing, he still tries to put a paw on me. I'm really battling this behavior too. He also whines a great deal. Based on advice over at "Boxer World", I'm trying to ignore the whining and some of the other needy behavior. The trainers on that board believe that acknowledging and rewarding the behavior by giving him what he wants only encourages the behavior. Which makes sense. But they also believe that punishing him for the behavior also gives him what he wants.....attention. So they suggest ignoring the behavior until he stops whining. As you can imagine, this is difficult. But we are making strides.

We are going to head out for a long walk in about 10 minutes. Obviously, exercise is the number one factor in his behavior!

[Beausoir]

10. What a beaut! I have a gorgeous Boxer too!

She is the most sweetly disposed and patient little gal. I adore her. She doesn't sneeze on me but she does sometimes try and stand on my husband. He just firmly pushes her off and tells her NO! She does it less and less now..she is almost 2 years old.

She is the most amazing dog with my children. Always kind and gentle yet protective.

My only complaint was that is took her so terribly long to potty train. Other than that...she is a wonderful fit for our family.

BoxerWorld is great!
(I guess I didn't give you the help you were looking for. Sorry. I just get carried away when talking about these incredible Boxers!)

[Mutley]

11. Snarl at him. Teeth and all.

When my dog starts to try and dominate me I actually snarl at her like a dog and she'll put her ears back and look away. Sometimes I'll bite her cheek or her ear -- not hard enough to do damage but hard enough to make my point. All this may seem weird, but it's communication your dog will understand.

[texanwitch]

12. You are right, with any dog you need to be the boss.

My dog would be hard to live with if I didn't let her know I am in charge. She is a sweet dog but she is a bossy type, she is mix of collie, german shepherd and something else on her father's side.

[Scout1071]

15. He knows I'm in charge, but he is testing me all the time.

I'm learning some new ways to deal with it, but it's a slow process modifying this behavior. We are working on it!

I just want to know how to get him to stop sneak attack blowing his nose spit at me!

[henslee]

13. Put him to sleep. Sneezing is a gateway sympom to more agressive behavior

This could only get worse. Look at that face. He has murder on his mind.

[Scout1071]

14. That is so wrong. But it did make me laugh out loud.

He is just an ass sometimes when it comes to him trying to dominate.

[barb162]

24. be quiet!

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

16. Is he protective of you, too?

I've experienced that with a friend's boxer.

You're back from the Keys already? That was a quick trip.

[Scout1071]

17. Yes, he's protective of me. I'm trying to teach him to trust me in all

situations.

And yes, I just got back. It was a short trip this year. My work schedule only allowed me four days this time. I've vowed that next year I will definitely go for the full 7 days. Made a big difference in my level of enjoyment and relaxation.

All in all it was a great trip...just not long enough. And I was surprised at the amount of hurricane damage. Everyone made it sound like it was up and running for the most part, but a couple of my favorite spots were still hurtin'.

[GOPisEvil]

18. I knew a person whose boxer would try to wiggle between us.

He really didn't like someone sitting next to his best friend. :)

Short vacations almost add to stress. I still took them, but longer vacations are nice. You're ready to come back once you're gone long enough.

[Scout1071]

20. Actually, he mainly just tries to have 100% full attention from my guests

He's not as protective of me so much as he super needy. And he does try to dominate my guests as well. I have to in turn dominate him while they are here. I also encourage them to show their dominance and disapproval of his behavior. Like I said, it's a slow process. I'm trying to be patient.

And on a vacation note, I once took 3 weeks to go to Asia. Single greatest vacation of my life. I found out that you don't even really hit full relaxation mode until the 2nd week. By the end of the 3rd week, I was a new woman. Relaxed, tanned, and amazed by Asia.

[GOPisEvil]

21. A 3 week vacation...how nice...

Of course I've been "on vacation" since October, so...:nopity:

Training dogs is so interesting. I never knew it was quite so involved.

[qnr]

22. The time to get really upset is when he runs in the house from outside,

searches for you in four rooms, jumps on your lap, putting his posterior on your keyboard, stares at you with those soulful eyes and then releases the sneeze he has kept pent up for three minutes.

[Scout1071]

26. That is basically what happens! He sneezes on my and/or computer

point blank. Mere inches from my face. It happens so fast. Bah-stad!

We just went for a long walk on the nearby jogging trails. He is a happy camper. Sitting outside, smelling the air and soaking up the sun with his favorite squeaky stuffed animal sitting next to him....which he dragged outside with him.

He'll be down for the post walk/jog nap shortly. Ooops....he curled up in the sun as I was typing that last sentence. Nap time!

[barb162]

23. One of my cats did that; I think it was just attention-getting

rather than aggression

[yewberry]

25. Sneezing?

If it's a huffing chuffing kind of thing, it's an aggressive thing, but I don't know about sneezing.

The trainers on the boxer board are right: negative reinforcement is no good. Please don't try to establish dominance by snarling or posturing. Developing leadership doesn't come from confrontation and you may create problems that weren't there before.

You want your buddy to do what you say out of habit. It's better for both of you and he'll feel comfortable knowing his place in the world. Dogs want fair and friendly leadership, and if they don't get enough of it, they'll screw with you in order to try to make you be the leader, and ultimately decide to take over the role themselves. They really prefer not to be the boss and they're not great decision-makers.

Work on friendly cooperation. You can create your own authority by having your buddy obey commands. If you feed him, have him shake first. If you're going to take him outside, have him sit first. Practice "come" a lot. Give him lots of opportunities to succeed and praise him when he does. Expect him to do what you say.

If he doesn't respond, try a class. If he snarls at you, please find professional help.

Good luck!

(Lucky me--my husband is a dog trainer!)

[Scout1071]

28. Thanks for the sound advice.

We have been to obedience classes. I'm thinking of signing up again. I actually discussed it with my trainer at our last session over the late spring or summer. Boxers are particularly stubborn to train. They are very strong willed. My trainer is actually a long time Boxer owner and her boxer does the demonstrations with her. When he's not actively involved in teaching, he just chills on a platform behind her. As completely disciplined as her Boxer is, she is constantly warning not to let our dogs approach her boxer's face. Mine is the same way. He's fine with the majority of dogs, but when one comes along that displays some dominance and has the audacity to look him in the eye.....it's on.

She's expressed that while a lot of these things are correctable, they are a result of his breed and background. He lived in two bad homes before he found me. It just takes time and positive reinforcement. I've long been a lab owner (mine passed away one year ago this week). Boxers are much different to train.

Having said all that, I love him. He's a great dog and I'm up for the challenge. My trainer recognized that Senator "Spike" Boxer has a lot of work to do, but she has seen great progress in his training. It takes time and consistency.

Thanks again for the advice. Let me know if your hubby has any thoughts about the obnoxious sneezing. He never snarls at me. He's only snarled at humans three times. All three involved a strange man being in my yard or house. All three times his bad-ass nature was appreciated by me, a single woman who lives alone and freaked out to see a strange man standing in my yard at 10 PM at night!

[yewberry]

30. Yay!

I'm so glad that you have sought support to help you and that you have such a great attitude!

Yeah, boxers can be tough, and him having come from a shaky background presents even more challenges. We had a rottie (*sigh* my forever dog) from an abusive background, and it took a long time for her to overcome some of her challenges. There were some things that she was never able to recover from, but we knew what they were and managed accordingly.

When does the sneezing happen? What are you doing and what is your attitude? Is it when you're already interacting, or is it how he initiates an interaction? One strange idea--is he trying to imitate you? You know how some dogs will try to imitate a human smile and end up looking like they're snarling--is he trying to laugh? (Yep, odd, but it happens!)

[Scout1071]

31. The sneezing happens when he's trying to get my attention.

It's usually accompanied with him trying to stand on my lap and most often while I'm on my computer. I know it's all about getting attention. My question is how do I get him to stop? I'm starting to think that the only solution is a complete ban from being on the couch. I do let him cuddle with me sometimes on the couch and he is allowed to lay in a blanketed corner on one couch so he can look out the window. But he'll lean over or try to stand on me and then do his "sneeze" - most of the time more than once. Bah-stad.

[yewberry]

32. Ah, okay.

If he's doing it to get you attention, give him the opposite reaction. If he sneezes at you, make a vaguely disapproving noise or look mildly digusted and physically turn away. Better yet, leave the room and go into another room and close the door for a minute or two. If you're pretty consistent, he'll learn that the sneeze isn't a good way to get your attention and will lead to what he sees as a negative response.

Gotta say, it sounds pretty funny. Pretty clever of him.

[Radical Activist]

27. Disgusting

I bet there's lots and lots of slobber and snot involved. Why the hell would anyone want one of these ugly things? ugh

[Scout1071]

29. OMG.

There isn't a lot of slobber or snot. Other than some of his obnoxious dominating characteristics, he's a great feckin' dog and I'm proud to have him. Very smart and loving.

And I think he's rather cute! But to each their own...

[Beausoir]

34. Gad, he's fabulous looking!

He doesn't look too big. Mine is a smallish female.

I MUST get her a red collar.

Here's my Diva....

..she was mad at me for yelling at her.

[Scout1071]

35. Thank you! Yours is beautiful as well.

And she would look so sassy with a red collar. I'm trying to find just the right red leather collar. For now, he just has a good old fashioned collar.

And he is 65 lbs of solid muscle. Heaviest 65 lb dog on the planet.

[El Fuego]

33. What a little SNOT.

[Dangerously Amused]

36. I'm no pro.

But I usually have very good success training my dogs. Here's what I would do: Keep a squirt bottle full of water and turned to "mist" handy at the computer. When he sneezes on you, "sneeze" back; give him a mist in the face, a firm "NO!", and no further attention.

I'll bet he gets the idea pretty quickly.