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Boxer-Chow behavior?
I have two dogs, one if an 11yr old female boxer-chow mix and the other is a 3 yr old cockerspannel male. The two dogs are best friends. One thing I have noticed about my boxer-show is that she will often walk up to the cockerspannel and start to give him nibbles. Sometimes these nibbles will turn into them wrestling, sometimes he just relaxes as she is doing this. I am curious at to what she is trying to do. Is this some kind of dominance issue? Is she grooming him? Is she trying to pick a friendly fight?
With her temperment, she is more boxer than chow. She is very friendly and playful, but not as freindly and playful as a pure bred. She is also a long time pound puppy, 5+ years in a no-kill shelter. With that, she became very friendly to other dogs. She does not try to show dominance to other dogs, but she also never tries to dominate other dogs. I am curious if this nibbling is a sign of respect, dominance, playfulness, grooming, love, or what.
2 Answers
- joanie mLv 51 decade agoFavorite Answer
These are what I call "Love Bites". It is a sign from one dog to another that they really 'feel' for the other dog. It is a little bit of grooming, it is pack affirmation, it is slightly playful. It is like a human friend coming up behind another friend and rubbing their shoulders. Why do we do that? A little because we love them, a little because we know that person can not rub their own shoulders and a little because we want to touch the ones we love, and finally we all KNOW it feels good if done right. If done hard, we may turn around and smack the person in play. Same with the dogs. My dobermans do it to each other and a friend of mine's Lab does it to her Scotties. Nothing to worry about and not a domination thing at all. Just Love Bites!
Source(s): 40 years of dogs - Anonymous1 decade ago
I think it's because she is schizophrenic, or suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Boxer-Chow mix? Boxers are known for sweet, even temperaments and Chows are not the most even-tempered breed----in fact, I'd say they are the antithesis of Boxers!
