bought a boxer pup, tell me everything!

[AngryBeaver]

We get him in about 6 weeks.
We have never had a puppy before, but feel it's time.
I have 4 children between 1-9.

Any and all advice very welcome!

[KiwiJude]

We had a crate for Cooper, well three actually as he grew in size, but weaned him out of it when summer came and we wanted him to be on his hammock bed. We only used it for nighttime - it was great for knowing where he was at night and he was always very happy to hop into bed. We also had a crate in the car for him until we could trust him not to chew anything and the next size crate was too big to fit in the car.

All our crates we bought second hand on TM and they all sold quickly when we were finished with them for what we paid for them :)

As for raw - it depends on who you talk to haha. With our first boxer we would be walking along Victoria St in Cambridge heading for coffee before we opened the shop and people would stop us to say they had boxers and how beautiful he was, then always the next question would be what do you feed him. No matter what we said it was always wrong!!

[AngryBeaver]

Can I ask, what do we think about crate training?
Do you just have a big crate in your house for the next 10-12 years?! Not keen on that idea.

Also, raw feeding. Is that a contentious issue?

[AngryBeaver]

Nope, all advice is much appreciated. I love him already, so obviously want to keep him safe.
We have no fencing at all as we have a large section of land that merges with a bush reserve.
Harley anyone in the is
And has fencing as most people either have large/rugged sections or find it just too expensive to fence (everything costs x3 the price of uk here...at least)

The dogs are just trained to stay on the properties.

[JoffreyBaratheon]

Didn't mean that as negative as it looks!

Just my knee-jerk reaction when I hear the word "boxer" I always see her lovely face in my mind's eye and feel that frustration I felt for those months, knowing something would happen if the owners didn't make their fence higher! And it was so easily preventable.

The fact she had no recall didn't help either, so I would invest as much time as possible into training. Get the kids involved, as well.

Like all bull breeds, they are beautiful, friendly, gorgeous dogs. Happy for you - so exciting to get a pup! Enjoy your pup and work hard on the training to keep her safe so you can enjoy her for many years to come.

[JoffreyBaratheon]

And check your fences are secure and high. Really high. Woman over the road had a boxer and I was constantly re-capturing it as it bounded down the road. Their garden fences weren't high enough.

I said it would get run over and get run over it did. Worse still, in front of a school bus of children (not run over by bus - by a car on t'other side). Which her daughter was in. She told me afterwards it didn't die straight away - they rushed her to the vet's but she had massive internal bleeding. She was a lovely, friendly, sweet, beautiful dog. And dead before she was even one.

The man who ran it over tried to sue her as well, to add injury to insult.

[NotMeNotYouNotAnyone]

My best friend has had boxers for years, their current one is naughty but a total wuss. She's calmed down around age four but is still excitable and full of beans.

Make sure the puppy will obey all your DC, they need to be able to at least tell it to leave them alone (sit or down if it's jumping). Set rules for the DC on what the dog is allowed to do. If one person lets the dog on the sofa and one doesn't its very confusing for puppy. Don't let it jump up on anyone, it's cute when your tiny puppy jumps at your knee but you don't want your "teenage" dog to jump on your small children.

Socialise socialise socialise. People,dogs, cats, horses, bikes, children, buggies, as many people and situatuons as possible, just be careful until it's vaccinated.

[hackedoffnow]

I love Boxers and wish I had the time, strength and energy for one. They are fantastic dogs. The only problem with them is recall make sure you get this sorted early. No one wants 30kg dog coming hurtling towards them.

[TrionicLettuce]

You may well find that when they're really small they won't want to venture out very far (if at all) on their own, especially if it's cold or the weather is unpleasant. All our pups have required some level of moral support when they first start going out in the garden, plus it's much easier to praise them for going outside if you're standing right next to them. You also need to keep a close eye on them to make sure they're not eating anything inappropriate like plants, stones, slugs, etc.

If you do want to use an extending lead you only attach it to a harness and not his collar.

[AngryBeaver]

Can't I stand in the doorway if the dog can mooch in the garden on long extendable lead ...and shine a torch?

[ChairRider4]

Waterproof coat and a warm dressing gown as your going be out in garden in all weathers not in doorway

[AngryBeaver]

I'll look that up tonight when the kids are in bed. Thanks for that. Any other pointers welcome.

[ThatsNotMyRabbit]

The original author of the toilet trainng piece above is Sally Bradbury. She is an admin on a behaviour/training page on Facebook.

[weaselwords]

My sister says that you have to get really on top of training them and that the first year is especially hard, but since she's never had any other breed and frankly all puppies are hard work, I take it with a pinch of salt. You won't know any different lol.

[AngryBeaver]

I love to hear the positives after all the negative stories! I mean, he is already paid for. It's not like we are going to send him back!
So, he is going to be part of our family and I need to learn how to handle him.
Started buying bits and bobs today. I thought an extendable lead would be good for the garden, so he can have a mooch about and decide where his poop place will be...and I can stay inside the doorway if it's raining or dark (and I get scared!)
And I've been looking for those wooden water and food bowl ho,dear, the ones that are a bit off the ground, but I'm not sure they have them here.

[SurlyCue]

Oh i absolutely LOVE boxers! They are the most adorable bouncy soppy things ever. We had a nutter of a girl when i was a child, she lived til she was 13. When current hairydog crosses over the rainbow bridge or maybe before i will be getting a box of frogs a boxer. I miss her nuttiness so much.

Good luck OP. You most definitely have your work cut out for you.

My advice, train as early as possible, day 1! The whole family knowing the rules. ESPECIALLY about lifting everything off the floor. And putting it where she/he cannot possibly get it. That is so important.

[weaselwords]

Boxers are wonderful dogs! My sister has just got her fourth after losing her old boy a few months ago. She got boxers as her first dogs and would never have another breed. I hope you have a lifetime of happiness with your pup.

[AngryBeaver]

Thanks so much for that kiwi, it's a great read.

We've had a chaotic week and the thht of adding a puppy to the mix is scary.
But I'm totally ready for the hard work. I think I just need to find the time to read up.

I love seeing pics of your boxers, I just love their jowls :)

I'm trying to work out how to post a pic of ours, but can't!

[KiwiJude]

Okay, found the post, it's about toilet training. I'd love to be able to credit whoever the original poster is but I can't remember who it was. It is long but great advice.

^Toilet training is all about creating good habits. Young pups have very small bladders and very little bladder control so they need to be in the right place when nature calls.

To toilet train successfully in as short a time as possible you must take your puppy to the garden:

When they wake

After eating

After taking a drink

Before, during and after a period of activity

When you come in

Before you go out

Before bedtime

During the adverts

And every twenty to thirty minutes in between unless they are asleep. During periods of activity change that to every ten to twenty minutes.

Stay outside with your pup. Do not nag or distract him just mooch about and he will do the same and eventually eliminate. Quiet praise is sufficient. Once pup has eliminated you can either stay out and play or go back indoors. If you stay out for a game then he will often need to go again before you go back indoors so stop the game and stay out for a while longer to give him a chance to go again.

If you have to take him back in and he hasn’t eliminated outside then either confine him to his crate, sit him on your lap or tuck him under your arm (small breeds only) as you go about your chores and try again in five minutes.

It is imperative that you do this, especially if you have started off with newspaper down or puppy pads because your puppy may prefer to pee indoors and he could simply be waiting to be taken back in. Give him zero opportunity to go wrong.

If your puppy toilets in the house it is because you haven’t toilet trained him yet and didn’t take him outside when he needed to go. When this happens take a rolled up newspaper and hit yourself over the head whilst repeating the words “I forgot to watch my puppy. I forgot to watch my puppy” If your puppy laughs at you when you do this – praise him.

Common mistakes during toilet training.

Using newspaper or puppy training pads. Whilst it may aid the clearing up process it can be very confusing for the pup that is taught or permitted to toilet in the house to make the transition to going outside and will often result in a pup that when playing in the garden will simply hold on until they are back indoors because that is where the toilet is.

Leaving the door open. This does nothing to teach the pup to toilet outside only.

Reprimands for toileting in the house will result in a dog that believes you disapprove of what he did not where he did it and is damaging to your relationship with your pup.

Giving treats for toileting in the garden, again the dog is being rewarded for what he did not where he did it. Whilst this is not going to be as big a problem as the reprimand, the clever dog will learn to do lots of little wees and never fully empty their bladder. The insecure dog may wee indoors to appease you if you get cross about something else because they know that this is something that pleases you and gets rewarded. NB using both reprimands and rewards is very confusing for your pup.

Expecting your pup to tell you when he needs to go out. Once a pup understands that outside is where the toilet is then he may start to let you know he needs out. However if you are not there to ask or you fail to notice him asking then the housetraining will break down. Far better to have a dog go out to the toilet on your schedule once they are house trained.

Giving your pup an ensuite in his crate. Do not encourage your pup to toilet in his crate by putting puppy pads in there. If you have to leave puppy for a while and he is going to need to go then best to have the crate inside a larger pen or blocked off area and leave the crate door open so that he can get away from his bed to toilet.


N.B. Areas indoors where pup has had an accident are best cleaned with a dilute of biological washing powder. Avoid using disinfectant as this contains ammonia and can encourage pup to pee there again.

Overnight.

Young pups will need to go to the toilet once or twice in the night for anything from a few days to a few weeks.

If your pup is sleeping in a crate in the bedroom with you then they will wake and should let you know they need to go out. Carry pup to the garden to eliminate and then straight back to bed again. A few nights of this and it will take you longer to find your slippers because of sleep deprivation and consequently pup is learning to hold on and will soon be sleeping all night.

If you choose to leave puppy in the kitchen or utility room to sleep then do not shut them in a crate and simply clean up in the morning without comment.

Why punishment does not work for house training.

A typical morning in the life of an 8 week old pup.

7:00am Puppy pees in the garden – Owner present. Gets praised

7.30am Puppy pees in the kitchen – Owner present. Gets a reprimand

8:15am Puppy pees in the lounge – Owner not present. Nothing happens except relief

9:00am Puppy pees in the lounge – Owner present. Gets a reprimand

9:30 am Puppy pees in the kitchen – Owner not present. Nothing, just relief

11:00am Puppy pees in the garden – Owner doesn’t notice Just relief again

11:30am Puppy pees under the dining room table – Owner not present. Nothing happens

12:15pm Puppy pees in the garden – Owner present – gets praise

What we think we are teaching puppy is that it is good to pee in the garden and wrong to pee in the house but what the pup is actually learning is that sometimes it is rewarding to pee when the owner is present and sometimes it is dangerous. However it is always safe to go when the owner is not present and that so far the safest place is under the dining room table.

NOTE. - Never deny your dog water in the mistaken belief that this will aid toilet training. It won't. It will make the urine stronger, it may impact on your dog's health, i.e. cause kidney problems or urinary tract infections. If the dog drinks greedily and excessively when it is available knowing it will be taken away. Dogs must have clean fresh water available all of the time.^

[KiwiJude]

Hiya AngryBeaver, we're just out of Hamilton. Re training, I have somewhere on my PC a great post that someone on here put up about a year ago. When I find it I'll post it here as it is very good. Have put up a pic of our boy Cooper.

Will go look for that article now.

[pud1]

my boxer is a lazy git. as long as he has had his exercise he is normally asleep. he is now 11 but this has always been the case.

he is brilliant with kids. my dds adore him and he has always been very gentle. his current biggest fan is my neighbours 2 yo dd

[ChairRider4]

My dog walker has a boxer he is gorgeours very gentle with people and other dogs .She looks after a mini daschund who follows her Boxer everywhere
He is very well trained and socialised plays with tiny dogs to big dogs can take anywhere

[JoeMommuh]

Just to go against the grain....

Our 4yr old boxer bitch is quiet, lazy and most resembles a cat. If she's had her walks for the day she won't budge from sleeping on the sofa.

She's indifferent to the children, ignores them and has never ever been boisterous or chewed anything even as a puppy.

Yes she's definitely a boxer - the breeder sent loads to crufts!

[beetrootpickle]

cunnyfunt - i said to spray onto some newspaper, - not just randomly round inside your house!

[TheCunnyFunt]

Beetroot forgive me if I'm being dim, but why on earth would you spray wee smell on something inside your house!?! Surely you would just spray it outside...?

[Mermaid36]

Cleaning up dog wee/poo - bio washing powder and hot water - the enzymes in the "bio" bit get rid of the smell of ammonia