Help we have a 1 yr male Rottie and two 9yr Boxers he is terrified of female boxer but attacks the male Boxer if he so much as looks at his toys or food. He is a big softie with us and we can take food or toys of him at anytime. He is also aggressive with some other dogs.

rotts are very possesive and territorial dogs, esspecially when there is a female and another male around. your rott is trying to tell the boxer that that is his girl and house even though the boxer has been there longer. rotties will come in a take over if they are allowed to do this and pretty soon you will have no control. the best advise i can give you is every time he acts this way put him outside or where ever he considers in trouble place. use a sharp no, bad dog, command each and every time he does this. you have to be extreamly consistant with rotts cause they can be sneaky devils. if YOU think they can outsmart they will every time. try to catch him before he does his and use the bad dog command very forcefully so that he knows you are on his game level. once you do this enough he will assume that you are always watching him and the attiude will soon fade away. if this does not work, i would consider obediance schooling.

Thank-you for your advice. Our male Boxer has become very quiet and subdued and we are now afraid to leave them alone together but dont really want to split them up in case this makes things worse. Our rottie is also aggressive towards other dogs when out walking on the lead. We dont know if this is because he is on the lead but darent risk letting him off.

I would suggest that you do not leave the rottie & the Boxer alone together. The Boxer is getting old and, should a fight break out, would probably come off much the worst. He seems very stressed and intimidated by the younger dog. Always make sure that he has a place where he can get away from him and feel secure. It is sad that your Boxer is so stressed at this time of his life.

I strongly suggest that you take the Rottweiler to obedience training classes. This may help with his aggressive tendencies. Until he learns good manners do not let him off lead when out.

My take on this would be to contact first your vet to get him checked out for possible medical causese for his aggression. Next, if given all clear, get the vet to refer you to a reputable and experienced behaviourist to come to your home and assess the dog/s.

It may be that with management, behavioural modification advice, back up from the behaviourist and commitment from yourself, the problem can be solved and the person you see should give you an honest prognosis :)

I would also ask myself whether the situation is fair to the male Boxer; I would definitely NEVER leave them alone. Even if the Boxer wasn't hurt, he could feel very frightened.I personally would never have one of my dogs feeling very very intimidated by another and if it could not be solved tomy satisfaction, would have to rehome the dog.

Best wishes
Lindsay
X