Case study for Cora: 14 week boxer x rotweiler

Cora is a lovely 14 week old Boxer x Rottweiler that I visited in Swindon, Wiltshire after her owners had concerns about her being overly aggressive. Many people would dismiss a dog so young being aggressive, but unfortunately it is something that is becoming more and more common.

It was until recently, assumed that dogs were not born aggressive but rather made that way by humans with regards to how we treated and raised them, which is absolutely the case with some dogs. Another factor that is becoming quite a regular occurrence is down to a stress hormone called cortisol.

Cortisol is something that also affects humans, but studies into cortisol with dogs has uncovered some interesting facts. The presence of cortisol in dogs is what dictates their flight or fight response and the presence of it spiking within the body can have different outcomes. If a dog is displaying aggressive, or reactive behaviour it is possible that it may have a cortisol imbalance.

Studies have discovered that if a bitch is exposed to stress throughout her pregnancy, she is likely to have raised cortisol levels, when she gives birth, the puppies are born with raised cortisol levels which can pre-dispose them to being aggressive, or develop fear based behavioural issues. If a dog that is displaying aggressive behaviour is nonresponsive to food distractions which is more often than not what every dog trainer will advise be used, they are not taking into account is that the presence of a cortisol spike in the dogs body changes the blood flow to the digestive system, effectively killing appetite. The same thing happens in humans when we are anxious or nervous.

The other significant thing that happens within a dog is that it can also impede the signals from the nose to the brain affecting a dogs natural curiosity, basically meaning that there is no rational process of curiosity occurring at that time and everything becomes all sight and no scent.

After visiting Cora with her owners, within a few days they were ready to throw in the towel and asked if I could rehome her. Instead, I agreed to have her come and live with me for a couple of weeks to determine 100% if she is just a very lively puppy or does in fact have a problem with her breeding as unfortunately, she did not come from a responsible breeder to begin with. These weeks will not be about obedience training but rather to provide basic rules and boundaries to help her owners understand more about her and her needs as she gets older.