Being the Leader
In any canine pack there is a leader. This is the highest-ranking member of the pack, known as the alpha, who basically runs things, whether that leadership appears obvious or not. In many canine packs, it sometimes seems like the alpha is not doing anything. In fact, he doesn't have to. He is the leader, so the other members of the pack do everything for him, or appear to, and that's because the other members of the pack are well-trained in their roles.
Many people find the notion of having power over their dogs a difficult or even offensive concept. There are movements afoot today to make canine ownership a guardianship. But guardianship really has no place in a canine pack structure. Dogs are hardwired in the wild and in your house to respect the leader and to understand that not everyone has equal power. Canine behaviorists domestic and wild dogs behaved because of the changes introduced by selective breeding by humans. In 2002, however, a study of wild versus domestic canines discovered that only 2 percent of their genetic material was different. That's not a lot, and to many trainers and behaviorists, this discovery suggested that appropriate training is that in which the leader decides and enforces the rules. The more clearly they are defined and enforced, the better the pack functions, and the less inappropriate behavior develops.
Some people struggle with the notion of leadership, perhaps finding the idea that they have control over the dog or any living being repugnant. It is also those people who won't exert their leadership who produce the most dogs with the most and biggest problems in behavior. But clear rules clearly enforced are what make for the happiest and safest boxer.
Dogs don't think like people. For instance, if you were able to talk to your boxer puppy, you would probably find that he is a great studier of life, and an almost unerring statistician (as are puppies of other breeds). He studies you and your family to understand how the pack is run and who is really in charge in just the same way a little wolf cub observes the other wolves in his pack.
Dogs are fundamentally opportunists who will take advantage of a situation when they can. If you fail to enforce clear, consistent rules of dominant behavior, your boxer will decide to rise in the pack structure, intimidating the lesser members in what ways he can. This is how problem dogs are created and why it is so important to train your boxer. Further, since dogs crave a pack order, they will feel compelled to enforce their order if no one else is doing the job.
How Problems Develop
Very few problems that you will run into are the result of there being something fundamentally wrong with your boxer's temperament. Most problem dogs are normal dogs doing normal things at the wrong time or place for the owner's lifestyle. Problems come about because dogs learn undesirable behavior through cause and effect.
In the early 1900s, a branch of behavioral science researched the principles of learning and behavior. What they found was that if an action is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, it is likely that that action will be repeated. The more often that action gets a satisfying response, the more likely that action or behavior is to be repeated. This concept came to be known as operant conditioning, and many of the more modern training techniques are based upon its principles.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning takes place all the time, even when we don't intend it. A good example is dogs that love to raid the trash. While you are gone, your boxer smells something good in the trash, gets into the trash can, and finds last night's leftovers. The leftovers are a very potent positive reinforcer or reward for your boxer, virtually guaranteeing that he will try raiding the trash again. He still has enough of the wild hunter in him to think that scavenging is a good thing, and the trash provides the perfect opportunity and reinforcer for him to do so.
Let's say, however, that he tries the trash at a later time. This time, he accidentally tips the can over or something near to it in his efforts to get the trash can lid off. The result is a loud crash and bang, which scares him, and he runs off without the reward of the leftovers from last night's dinner. In this case, he's had a negative reinforcement and will be less likely to try the trash again soon. This time he learned that trash, no matter how good it smells, can be scary.
The main theme to present in training basic manners is to give negative reinforcements to those behaviors that you don't want to see continue, and positive ones to those behaviors that you do want to see continue. Keeping that in mind, you can address or approach any potential problems in owning your boxer.
You will face a myriad of good and bad advice in training, so you need to keep the most salient information in mind. All dogs learn by cause and effect, so you will need to understand what causes are getting which effects. You then direct your knowledge so that you get the effects you want out of your boxers.
