u/rlpewpewpew

I need advice about our boxer. He’s 6 this June. We got him in 2020 and we’ve raised him from a puppy. He’s super smart and well trained. That being said, we had two older dogs, and one of them would bully and snap at the boxer, eventually they started fighting like for real. The problem was that this was after the boxer outweighed our older smaller dog that they he was king of the hill. We keep them separated most of the time and can tell for the most part when there is tension in the air. We have had to break the apart in the past because we missed it or something seemed to come out of nowhere and cause a fight.

Once when the boxer was maybe two, we were playing fetch with him and our other (non-aggressive) old dog. The non-aggressive one snapped at the boxer because he wanted the ball. The boxer ripped into him. I mean he really messed him up, there was blood and lots of it. That old gentle god healed and lived another couple years. He did pass on his own of plain old age. We just told ourselves that it was an issue between both dogs and that we shouldn’t have put them in that situation.

Now the old aggressive dog and the boxer have not been in a fight for a couple of years. Which is great, but we stay vigilant.

There is another layer to all of this. We have two small children F(4) and M(15mo). Our daughter loves, loves, loves both dogs but the boxer especially. She says that he is her dog all of that. That being said,  has lunged at her two different times within two years. Something or another triggered him both times to try to attack her. Both times either myself or my wife have been there to catch him and he hasn’t gotten a hold of her at all either time. We have been trying to teach her to be safe around him because we don’t want anything to trigger him. The second lunging incident took place this last Saturday (2.5.26).

My wife and I are concerned, but I feel guilty for putting both my daughter and the boxer in this situation. I don’t know what to do. I’ve already started contacting people who I know don’t have kids or other dogs who may be interested in taking him in as a rehomed dog. I feel guilty because I never wanted to do this to a dog and I love him, but I obviously do not want anything to happen to my daughter or son for that matter.

For now we’re keeping them all separated but I’m wavering on rehoming him even though I’m sure that’s the thing that needs done. I just worry that he’ll end up at a horrible place that mistreats him.

Any thoughts, advice, or resources are welcomed. I am specifically looking for any resources that work. with rehoming boxers.

Thanks

TLDR; Our boxer has had violent outburst towards other smaller dogs and our daughter. We've made excuses about the situation and training. We're worried that Something will happen to our kids and need advice.

*Edit - Context: This time when the dog lunged at my daughter, my wife and daughter were chasing each other around the living room playing and my daughter was screaming as children that age do. Our boxer was in the mix, he was playing and chasing them too. I was changing the 15mo old in the kitchen. I watched it all unfold. They were having a great time, and then my daughter tripped and fell, it looked like she was lunging at the boxer. So I understand the trigger was that it could have been perceived by the boxer that she was attacking or lunging at him. I get it, my concern is that it doesn't happen again. We don't want to get rid of him, but the safety of our children comes first. I've seen what his bites do when he attacked the older little dog, and our daughter would be scarred physically and emotionally for life.