Let's say that the problem you are having with your boxer is overwhelming to you, but the thought of giving him up is unacceptable. You've tried more training, more exercise, and rewarding good behaviors, but nothing works. What should you do?

First of all, you can contact your vet, your local obedience club, and local trainers for help. If they cannot help, they will probably refer you to a behaviorist. While anyone can call himself a behaviorist, when you check his credentials, you might want to ask about his background and some other basic questions, such as the following:

The reason for asking these questions is that a lot of people with a behavioral background have little or no real dog-training experience, and they tend at times to overlook the practical value of training a dog. If the behaviorist you're interviewing has never worked with a boxer or other working breed, he is apt to overestimate the drives that an ordinary boxer might have and to underestimate the breed's intelligence.

These miscalculations lead some in behavioral circles to believe that boxers are superstitious because they frequently understand the cause/effect of a certain behavior almost too readily. However, there is nothing superstitious about this. Most boxers are simply smart enough to figure out how to step back in the course of events. Paradoxically, they are sometimes willing to be bad so that they can then be rewarded later for being good. Boxers are very smart, and they figure out causal events much more thoroughly than they get credit for. This is actually very good news when it comes to training.

If you are uncomfortable with what one behaviorist recommends for your boxer, keep searching until you find a professional whose methods don't make you uncomfortable. There are many good trainers and behaviorists out there who can help with a wide range of boxer behavioral problems.