New doggy. Any Boxer owners here?

[FooFighterDen]

I'm am soon to be a new owner of a 3 year old female Boxer which I am taking because the owners can't devote enough time to her due to work.

I have had only Rottie experience so I was wondering if anyone has any Boxer advice? She"s a bit nuts, needs alot of training, walked for about an hour each day (with a back pac I aim to buy) diet changed to a holistic diet and needs to settle asap to my routine.

No pics I'm afraid.

Any words?

Denise.

Slightly worried about the new addition too.

[Dappa D]

not had one fella so cant help but good work taking her in :-)

[gruntygiggles]

Don't be worried. Most people put too much pressure on dogs when they are taking them into their home. It's a very stressful and anxious time for dogs and that is shown usually through over excitement, lots of panting, drinking and an inability to rest.

The best thing anyone can do bringing any new dog into a home whether it be a puppy or mature dog, is to give it a few days to sniff around, get used to all the new smells, sounds and sights and build their own confidence in the new surroundings. If you make too much of a fuss of them you will become the safety net and that can cause the dog to become insecure, leading to potentially lots of behavioural problems.

Try not to do any training with her for the first few days either. Treat these days as the time to teach the dog the boundaries in this new environment. So, you need to let her know when she is doing something unwanted, but otherwise, try to leave her be. If you notice she constantly comes to sit by you, on your feet, leaning against your legs, just move your legs out of the way and ignore her. Even at this early time, she needs to know that she gets your attention on your terms, not hers. When you want to fuss her, call her over, fuss her for a while and then send her away.

I have a whole info pack on canine behaviour and techniques to use in ensuring that you give dogs what they need. If you want me to email this to you, just PM me with your email address and I'll get it straight to you.

If you're anxious, she'll be anxious, so just relax about it and look forward to it.

When are you getting her?

[gruntygiggles]

These are mine and Stretchies four trouble makers. Good as gold really but the Jack Russell and black Lab/Rottie cross are 10 months old this week and they are a right handful but every minute with them is fun!
We have been through quite a journey bringing them into a home with two collies. The red and white collie is a rescue dog that used to have really severe dog aggression, but all she does now is growl occasionally. The black and white collie developed an insecurity based aggression towards people....my fault because I babied him as a pup when I first got him but have learned A LOT since then and he's good as gold now!

There's no behaviour in a dog that can't be sorted out with good handling and training, so remember that and just feel good with yourself for giving your soon to be new dog a lovely new home!!!


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll318/gruntygiggles/Nickies%2030th/Camerapictures1121.jpg

[Magnum]

The most important thing about owning dogs is to put them in their place. They are the BOTTOM of your family (omega) and you, the owner are the top of the family (alpha). This is the pack mentality thats naturally built into the dogs.

You can do little things to show them their place, such as not allowing them in certain rooms of the house or upstairs (walking up stairs is bad for them anyway). Make sure they are the last into the house after a walk. Tell her to sit and stay whilst you get out uyour keys, letting everyone else in the family go in first.

Your voice must always be assertive when giving her instructions such as 'sit' and 'stay'.
Dont vary the diet with 'human food' such as real meats and vegetables. It will make them fat, and have nasty runny crap all over your garden. (that isnt to say they cant have the odd treat, just limit the treats)

There are always arguements about not leaving the dog in the garden, but these are flawed arguements. Dogs are best kept outside in a kennel because they will be healthier, their coat will thicken and this will help show them their place in the family. My dog has a kennel in the garden with a built in run where she sleeps overnight and in the daytime when no one is home.

Walking dogs off the lead is a great way to expell energy and socialise with other dogs. Just make sure the dog is ready and responsible to be let off the lead. One thing that really annoys me with other dog owners is the stupid ammount of protectiveness they have over their dog. My dog would run up to another happily waggin her tail, and the other dog owner will grab their own dog and shove it on the lead. This makes the dog feel restrained and is more likely to be violent because it has no where to go.

The two key things a dog needs is discipline and affection.

Be prepared for a lot of excitement and anxiety in the dog in the first week or so, and try to remember that the dog will read the way you act and can tell when youre anxious.

Try not to worry about it, because dogs are very rewarding pets with a little training :smt002

[missyburd]

Lots of good advice on here already so not much more to add from me. We took in our Alsatian as a 3 year old rescue too, he was an "ex police dog" so basically we think he got so far with the training and just wasn't perfect enough for the force (happens to many dogs :rolleyes:). He's an absolute darling but we noticed from the beginning his problem with men who smoke or carry large sticks (large brollies, snooker cues etc.). He can be a little dog aggressive but he's so much better than he was. When he first came to us he didn't care about other dogs, then he was attcked while on the lead by a mastiff whose owner let him off, now he thinks all dogs are out to get him...well I say all but he's fine with labs and retrievers lol. Must be all in the doggie body language!

Do you have any other pets? Riddick (our dog) settled in amazingly quickly from the start, adapted to our way of life wonderfully, couldn't have wished for a better hound. As long as you're not leaving the dog on its own for too many hours in the day, you should find the dog settles in fine, just let it get used to everything, the smells and sounds of the house (which I see GG has already covered so all is good :-))

Aaaaanyway, I'll stop rambling on. Hope she settles in ok. Most importantly, enjoy being a dog-owner, they really are the best pets in my most humble of opinions, you've got a great breed there too. All the boxers I've met are lovely natured, all will be fine! :-D

[Magnum]

Slightly worried about the new addition too.


A new baby?

I used to live next door to a boxer dog. The family had a baby, and found that the dog was brilliant with it. The baby is still part of the pack and the dog should protect it.
However, you don't know the dog and how it bahaves so still be cautious till you get to know it better. Breeds shouldnt be tarred with the same brush, but remember that it still does happen and ends up in the news like it does every year or so.
My german shephers is very good with small children, despite having little contact with them in my family. GSD's are known the be 'aggressive' but i have yet to see ANY aggressive behaviour from her! The same goes with every other breed, they are not all the same.

[gruntygiggles]

The most important thing about owning dogs is to put them in their place. They are the BOTTOM of your family (omega) and you, the owner are the top of the family (alpha). This is the pack mentality thats naturally built into the dogs.

You can do little things to show them their place, such as not allowing them in certain rooms of the house or upstairs (walking up stairs is bad for them anyway). Make sure they are the last into the house after a walk. Tell her to sit and stay whilst you get out uyour keys, letting everyone else in the family go in first.

Your voice must always be assertive when giving her instructions such as 'sit' and 'stay'.
Dont vary the diet with 'human food' such as real meats and vegetables. It will make them fat, and have nasty runny crap all over your garden. (that isnt to say they cant have the odd treat, just limit the treats)

There are always arguements about not leaving the dog in the garden, but these are flawed arguements. Dogs are best kept outside in a kennel because they will be healthier, their coat will thicken and this will help show them their place in the family. My dog has a kennel in the garden with a built in run where she sleeps overnight and in the daytime when no one is home.

Walking dogs off the lead is a great way to expell energy and socialise with other dogs. Just make sure the dog is ready and responsible to be let off the lead. One thing that really annoys me with other dog owners is the stupid ammount of protectiveness they have over their dog. My dog would run up to another happily waggin her tail, and the other dog owner will grab their own dog and shove it on the lead. This makes the dog feel restrained and is more likely to be violent because it has no where to go.

The two key things a dog needs is discipline and affection.

Be prepared for a lot of excitement and anxiety in the dog in the first week or so, and try to remember that the dog will read the way you act and can tell when youre anxious.

Try not to worry about it, because dogs are very rewarding pets with a little training :smt002

+1

Too many people do too much to try and train dogs and end up just giving confusing signals. Stay calm, be consistent in your discipline and only give affection when the dog is in the right, relaxed state to recieve it. Give affection at any other time and you'll just reinforce the wrong behaviour.

Not all of us keep our dogs outside (although it is their natural environment as Magnum says) but even when dogs do live in the house, they should never be given the free run of it. There should always be areas that are out of bounds and if you can have one room that the dog can stay in when you are out, that would be perfect.

It's all common sense really. You need to be the leader and the only way to truly achieve that is to stay in calm control and constantly remind the dog of her position in your house. I.e.....always at the bottom.

A very common misconception with pack animals is that the Alphas use force to assert their authority. They don't. Simple because they don't need to. Their body language and energy provide strong enough leadership. If you watch a pack of wolves about to go hunting, you will see them all going crazy going through the motions (similar to dogs about to go on a walk) but the Alpha male and female will stay perfectly calm and wait for the pack to calm down again, then leading away on the hunt.

If your dog gets excited when you get the lead......just stand and wait and totally ignore, after a few minutes, it will calm down and when you then put the lead on and go.....you'll be the one in control.

There's honestly so much to say though I couldn't possibly cover it all in posts.

[hovis]

im going to dognap squiral

[missyburd]

I forgot to say lovely pack of dogs you've got there Grunty :-D

[FooFighterDen]

Thank you all for the sound advice.

I did own a female Rottie who was very dominant and I know too well on how they can worm their way up the ladder if your not careful. But its good that you have reminded me.
My Rott was the bottom of the pack with me but she used to get away with a heck of a load of things with my ex as he was a numpty and didnt bother with helping me out with the training and disipline.
I think I'm worried that it will go the same way with my OH and it will split us up like it did with my ex. (plus other things)

Not that he wont help make sure he follows me with commands and rules, hes is a cleaver guy and knows how important it is.....Its just I worry that it may be too much for him.

My lovely OH has said that we need two crates for her as we live apart at the mo and that she will not be allowed to go upstairs. (a rule I have always stuck to) AND he likes watching the dog whisperer, so that a start.


I have read that Boxers are intelligent dogs and I have seen a little spark to her which makes me beleave that she has potential, its just that her owner who has her now, says she is as thick as two short ones. Not fair I guess.

gruntygiggles, your dogs are lovely. What am I worrying about when you have four dogs. I should stop worrying!

The only other pets I have are rats and tropical fish, so no problems at my house. My OH has two cats which are going to be a problem I feel. The dog has already shown far too much interest in them the last time I looked after her. But thats another hurdle to get over when she is a bit more settled in with us.

As to when I'm getting her, not sure the exact day but prob in the next two weeks. Got to take mums cat back to her and prepare both houses for her arrival. Plus food, toys and a ruck sac for doggy to get her working more on walks.

Fingers crossed, and more info needed on Boxers.

Denise:D

[gruntygiggles]

im going to dognap squiral

I'd like to see you try.....I'll get that whip out and NO.....it won't be pleasant!!!

[gruntygiggles]

I forgot to say lovely pack of dogs you've got there Grunty :-D

Cheers MYC.....they'll be at the AR this year!

[gruntygiggles]

Fingers crossed, and more info needed on Boxers.

Denise:D

Try not to get too hung up the breed. It only dictates the most likely reactions to certain triggers and energy levels, natural instincts to do a particular job.

They were bred in Germany and from English Mastiffs and a german mastiff type (can't remember name). Boxers are very loyal dogs as I said before, but due to their very versatile uses as working dogs, they have a huge need for mental stimulation. You need to devise lots of games in order to fulfill all of these. The stock that Boxers descend from were used to grab prey animals and hold them for the handler to come to retrieve. Boxers I think were bred to be a faster dog for the same purpose, but they have been used for everything from guarding to herding and retreiving and even being used as pack carrying messenger dogs and even attack dogs.

You have to be careful with Boxers in the sense that they can be very suspicious of strangers, so you need to make every person coming into your home superior to the dog and you can do that by controlling how the introductions are made. When someone comes to your house, you take the dog to the back of the room and she must stay there while the visitor enters, sits down and relaxes. You need all visitors to abide by the rule of totally ignoring her for the first 10 minutes, no talking, looking at or stroking her and you must step in any time the dog tries to approach the visitor. After a while, when you know her better, you can better judge how to handle this situation, but never ever let her decide how and when she greets strangers or visitors.

With a Boxer, I would be looking to try and give games of retrieving, hide and seek, carrying a back pack (as you've already mentioned) and specific obedience like staying in position while you walk away.

A lot of people think that Boxers are stupid......but that is not true.....they are just so versatile that they rarely get enough mental stimulation and so have too much pent up energy and frustration and have to find a way to release it.

[hovis]

what colour is she?

i have always wanted a white boxer, although i have heard they are more likely to have problems (deaf or blind) is this true?

[gruntygiggles]

what colour is she?

i have always wanted a white boxer, although i have heard they are more likely to have problems (deaf or blind) is this true?

Well, about 20-30% of all Boxers are born "white" it's just where the white in brindle coloured dogs is dominant and covers a larger area. To be a white Boxer, the dog only has to have white on more than a third of it's body I think. Same with a few other breeds.
As far as I know, the gene that is responsible for the higher amount of white hairs is linked to deafness in 20% of "white" Boxers and because of that, breed starndards do not allow the showing of white Boxers in breed competition. They are basically not promoting the breeding of Boxers with genes that pose a health risk.

EDIT:........The Boxer Dog Rescue centre in N. Ireland think that the %age of white Boxers with deafness is closer to 40%

To be honest, a dog that is deaf can do really well with good handling. The majot health concern in any dog (or animal for that matter) that has a large amount of white is skin cancers. Melanomas on white dogs are quite common and Dalmatians suffer this commonly.

If you ever get one Hovis, just make sure you cover it with high factor sunblock on all the white parts when the sun is out and keep it topped up. I have to do it to Stigs nose in the summer and he gets sunburned!

Also, any dog with a brachecephalic (hope I remembered the spelling) skull, a skull that is short and broad, can have wrinkles or fold in the skin on the head. You have to make sure that you keep these clean and dry to stop bacteria building up.

[FooFighterDen]

Brown colour, looks like tiger stripes going through the brown. Brindle I think.

I will have to get the clinique on her little folds then eh? or just a wet wipe:D

Thank you very much for the replies. I feel a tad better and not worrying too much now.

Denise

[gruntygiggles]

Brown colour, looks like tiger stripes going through the brown. Brindle I think.

I will have to get the clinique on her little folds then eh? or just a wet wipe:D

Thank you very much for the replies. I feel a tad better and not worrying too much now.

Denise


Hehe....clinique would be cool....I love the stuff, but for the dog, just a clean damp towel to wipe the fold and then a clean dry towel to dry them. More a problem in bulldogs really, but always worth being careful. You'll be cleaning up slobber much more often...lol.

[missyburd]

Pictures of my hound up by request :D

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1937/62/4/879760552/n879760552_5486103_7952.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v136/62/4/879760552/n879760552_1751406_4025.jpg

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1363/p9166245.jpg

[Bluewolf]

Oaoahahaauauaoooauaueeee, lookit da puppies! :D:D:D

Ah go on then, any excuse...

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g257/Bluewolf666/Kera/Schmokeandapancake1.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g257/Bluewolf666/Kera/DSC01387.jpg

[dizzyblonde]

ahhh go on then
from this

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb45/loubi650/babybob.jpg

to the staff giraffe

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb45/loubi650/cats%20and%20dogs/Image069_1.jpg

[missyburd]

Ooopsie I didn't mean to start a photo thread...

[busasean]

hello mate - I have a boxer dog called Caffrey - I've had him since he was about 8 weeks old - he's now just turned 10 yrs old. they are a superb dog, very very dappy but at the same time quite intellegent, they have such a range of expressions its brilliant - happy, sad, sulking you name it they do it!! if you pm me i'll pm you my phone no. cos i'll be typing all night. they are a great dog, you wont regret getting one.

[gruntygiggles]

hello mate - I have a boxer dog called Caffrey - I've had him since he was about 8 weeks old - he's now just turned 10 yrs old. they are a superb dog, very very dappy but at the same time quite intellegent, they have such a range of expressions its brilliant - happy, sad, sulking you name it they do it!! if you pm me i'll pm you my phone no. cos i'll be typing all night. they are a great dog, you wont regret getting one.

+1

[FooFighterDen]

Aww puppies. Really sweet.

Nice looking male Rottie, I miss my girl now.

busasean, thanks for the contact. you may regret giving me your number cos when I get stuck I tend to do it fantastically well.:rolleyes:

On a different note,
I'm waiting for the 3rd **** up for me this week. First it was my Ametyst (sp?) which I got from Brazil. That got knocked over by the cat on Sun (worth £300) shattered into 8 large bits and about one million smaller bits.
And now its my tooth, ate a kebab and it cracked off a hunk. Thats going to cost me now. What the heck will be the 3rd mess up, hope its not going to be the doggy....moan over.


Lovely photos, need to learn how to do that to post my own photos.

Denise

Off to find Dentist

[missyburd]

Aww no Denise, hope things look up for you! Teeth are horrid things, don't envy you the visit to the dentist whatsoever! :-(