New doggy. Any Boxer owners here?

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.

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!!!

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

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 ). 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!

Originally Posted by FooFighterDen

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]

Originally Posted by 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

+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.

im going to dognap squiral

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