Once you learn some simple dog body language basics, you can easily tell when your Boxer is stressed, afraid or anxious about something. But what then? How you react to your dog’s distress will have a major impact on how she deals with the situation. If you want your Boxer to relax, you need to help her. Here are four things to do when your Boxer is stressed.
#1 – Find The Trigger
First and foremost, you must figure out what is causing your Boxer to be anxious, afraid, or stressed. Sometimes it’s obvious – he’s lunging and barking on his lead at the dog across the street – it’s a good bet it’s the dog. But other times, it may not be as obvious. Pay attention to your dog’s body language to give you clues. Is your Boxer staring at anything? Running or cowering in the opposite direction of someone or thing? Acting hyper-vigilant (looking everywhere frantically – this may indicate it’s the environment that has him stressed), etc. If you can’t figure it out, have a professional dog trainer help you.
#2 – Remove the Trigger
At the beginning, you need to just remove the trigger for the well-being of your dog. The more your Boxer is exposed to it, the more stressed he will become. So once you know what the trigger is, avoid it as much as possible until you have a plan to get him over his fears the correct way.
#3 – Don’t Force Your Boxer To Confront Her Fears
Many times, people think, “If I force her to the object she fears, she will see it’s fine and not be afraid anymore.” Dogs don’t work this way. If you force your Boxer into a situation that stresses her, it can escalate to the point where she becomes fear aggressive. She may redirect on you, or attack the object/person/dog that is causing the response.
#4 – Train Him
The only way to help your Boxer is to use training to overcome his fears. There are many ways of doing of this and what technique you use will depend on the trigger, your dog and you – choose the method that works best for the situation. Definitely get the help of a professional trainer that has experience overcoming fear using positive methods. Correction will only make your dog fear the situation or thing more.
