Boxer owners your training advice please *pics added #40 & 61* - Page 2

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

One of the reasons it has taken me so long to decide on getting one other than the dh one is that I have cats and it would break my heart if as an adult the dog hurt or killed on of them. I only have the one inside cat she will be 16 in april and spends the majority of her time in her room she cannot run the house because she has little box issues.

[Oubliette8]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

We dont have pet stores anywhere near me they are hour away. According to what he wrote I cant take her out in public until all her shots are complete which wont happen until she is 12 weeks old and that if past the time when I was supposed to take her out. I will of course take her every where I possibly can but I want to keep her safe since the majority of dogs in my area are totally unvaxed.

Is it 100% required to do puppy classes? Because that will be a real problem for me. It would mean finding child care, then driving hour or more to them.

About the Vax vs Socialization thing, I find there are two schools of thought- the first that you should take them nowhere because they could potentially get a disease. The second is that more dogs die from behavior problems caused by lack of early socialization than die of vax preventable diseases, so its more beneficial to socialize than isolate.

The thing about puppy vaxes is that noone can tell when a puppy will lose its maternal immunity- its individual. We know roughly the time frame in which it happens. If you give the vax before maternal immunity wears off, its ineffective. So they vax several times to make sure they catch all puppies as close to possible as to when their individual maternal immunity wears out. There will probably only be a very small window of time when your puppy lacks either maternal immunity or vax immunity- however, nobody will know when that is.

There's no reason you cant take a middle of the road approach to the issue- it IS important that your puppy socializes with other dogs, but people are important too. You could, say, only let your puppy socialize with vaccinated dogs during that time frame, and avoid socializing in areas where there are likely to have been high numbers of dogs with unknown vax histories. Find a few dogs, but really focus on people. Also, are you in the country? I try to expose my dogs to a variety of animals, a dog that chases livestock is no good, and I'd hope that if, say, you can only find small dogs for him to socialize in that window, that exposure to other animals of different types will help prevent a basic fear of different types of animals that might translate to dogs too- ie, if he's not afraid of sheep, maybe large dogs or shaggy dogs will be accepted fairly easily at a later date as well. Its important that he understands that playing with livestock is not ok though if you do expose him to them- not only could he be hurt, but he could hurt them. The other thing to keep in mind is that the vet's office is not sterile- its precisely where people bring their dogs when they have things like parvo or distemper. I'd reckon there are MORE germs in the vets office where you are bringing him for his vax than in most of the places you would bring him to socialize.

Its a tricky issue, so you have to find exactly where your personal comfort level is.

[greenmagick]

I have always had dogs and cats together. In my experience, the cats usually rule the dogs. Just take it the same as you do the kids...lots of positive interactions and step in if things get too rough

[femalephish]

Don't worry about your cats- they'll train your dog.

Boxers are AMAZING with kids. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXu1UOeB0x0
The only thing is they might jump on your little ones, but they will be fine. That said, I HATE the puppy stage. (But I didn't like the little-tiny-infant stage either.) If your DH is unsure about a dog he'll prolly hate the puppy stage, too. But they grow fast and mine has been really easy to train. Hang in there, it's worth it to have a great dog.

Post pics when you get her! Oh, and get her spayed early! We waited and it was miserable! Good luck!

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by femalephish

Boxers are AMAZING with kids. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXu1UOeB0x0
The only thing is they might jump on your little ones, but they will be fine. That said, I HATE the puppy stage. (But I didn't like the little-tiny-infant stage either.) If your DH is unsure about a dog he'll prolly hate the puppy stage, too. But they grow fast and mine has been really easy to train. Hang in there, it's worth it to have a great dog.

OMG, that video made me cringe. That dog was throwing out calming signals left and right and the humans either didn't know how to read them or didn't care.

[SquishyKitty]

Do you have a local craigslist or anything? post an ad asking if anybody else would like to get together for a puppy play date. I've seen a few of those, and we've even had a few people to our house with our dogs to get them socialized. If you can set up a meet at a park or something, and then just let the dogs get together and meet each other, and the other owners, it's awesome. you can also get lots of tips from other people, too.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

We dont have anything like that near me. I will figure something out. The parks here you just dont see many people there at all and no dogs that I have ever seen.

The majority of people around here have dogs but they are outside only dogs that are either chained or penned you just dont see people walking dogs or interacting with them much.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Collars

For her to start with I am just going to get a regular cheap nylon collar because she will outgrow that fairly fast but for later on do I need to get a harness or stick with a regular collar or what?

I looked on the BoxerBoard but I didnt really find anything helpful there.

[Ola_]

I don't see a need for a harness. A flat collar is probably good, depending on how your pup does at walking nicely on a leash. I like Lupine collars http://www.lupinepet.com/ because they're cute and have guaranteed replacement (even if they're chewed!). I also like martingale collars (also sometimes called limited slip or combo collars) because they tighten but not all the way - it's a good way to prevent the dog from slipping out of it's collar when it gets spooked and tries to back up or sees something exciting and jumps around.

Depending on how training is going you may or may not need a training collar - but you can worry about it then. I also think that for training collars it's good to have a professional show you how to use them (this doesn't include pet store sales people ).

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

My vet sales them I just found them listed on the site at Lupine.

I want a pretty collar now then when she grows out of it I will want a pretty one again and those are pretty.

[ouesi]

Originally Posted by Ola_

OMG, that video made me cringe. That dog was throwing out calming signals left and right and the humans either didn't know how to read them or didn't care.

ITA - actually a really good video to show what calming signals look like!
That dog is very uncomfortable... Even at that age we were teaching our kiddos "gentle".


I loooove our martingale collars

[SquishyKitty]

Our trainer wants us to use a simple, strong, nylon collar.

We have harnesses for our dogs, but that's to buckle them into the car when we take them out.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I jumped the gun a bit today and bought a simple nylon collar that will last her probably until she is 6 months then I will buy a really nice one probably with her name embroidered on it and contact information. I got one like it for my brothers dog and it was so adorable. But I dont see investing a lot of $ on one that she will outgrow before she is a year old.

I will look into other types of collars if I need them.

I am trying to keep realistic expectations about it all. I know it will be a lot of work but I am willing to put the effort and time into it. I watched several video's on youtube and I was amazed at little 8 week old puppies who already knew how to sit, stay and fetch one could even roll over.

There are 2 females in the litter and I am going when they are 6 weeks old to pick out which one I want.

1) Not shy.
2) Not wild.
3) Pretty laid back.

I am going to work with them a bit with treats and see which one appears to learn the best. Can they learn to come when called for treats at 6 weeks or is that unrealistic? What all should I be able to tell about her personality at 6 weeks?

[greenmagick]

Are these rescues of from a breeder?

A good breeder can tell you a lot about their personalities. There are temperment tests to do etc. Often a good breeder doesnt let you pick your pup...they pick or help you pick based on your lifestyle and the pups personalities.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Rescue basically. The one I am getting her from isnt a breeder it was an accidental litter. So as far as getting the breeders help that wont really be possible. Though I will be talking to him about them his wife is the one who is doing the care giving for the most part since he works. (no he hasnt bred them before and no they where both obviously not fixed it isnt that common around here for people to spay/neuter because of the cost) I will be having Isis fixed though.

I know the general feeling here about buying from none breeders or from rescue groups and I hope you all dont judge me to harshly for that.

I am paying for her. The guy knows me and is a friend of my brothers so he is making it so that I can afford the price and I cant tell you how thankful I am for that.

Mom and dad are very healthy happy dogs well loved and cared for with great personalities. Yes the guy made a mistake and the result was pups but he didnt mean for it to happen and I am cool with that.

I request that no one tell me I am doing the wrong thing or put me down for this and hope that you all will still offer me advice and help when I need it.

[greenmagick]

Just a quick soapbox.....I would not give him money for an accidental litter unless he is using the money to spay and neuter his current dogs.

Its not about spending big money...its about either giving money to a responsible breeder who health tests, etc or about giving money to rescue. Yes, accidents do happen (though they really shouldnt if one spays and neuters) and those pups are of course deserving of good homes. The owner of the pups best course of action would be to give the litter to a rescue to properly screen the homes, require spay/neuter contracts, etc. and then to spay and neuter his current dogs.

Off soap box

I am not an expert on puppy picking.

There are a bunch of articles on it but in general its going to depend a bit on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a dog to do a lot of work, agility, flyball, etc its going to be different from looking for a family dog (though they both definitely overlap!!!)

Look how the pups react...will the come when you call (like clapping etc, not a true recall) are they wagging and friendly? how do they react with toys? dragging a string? How does the pup react when separated from the litter. Another thing is how the pup reacts to loud noises, touch, etc. those are some things to look at.

I wouldnt go for the pup that is crazily chasing and playing as for me, that may be too high drive and energy. I also would not go for any shy dog that hangs out in the back and has to be really coaxed to you. If they are barking is it happy bark or scared?

Those are just some things to look at. If you could swing it, it would be great to have a trainer or behaviorist...or a friend very experienced with dogs go with you.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

The money covers the cost of the tail docking (which I would have loved for it not to happen but by the time I learned of the litter it was already done) gas money for taking them to and from the vets office for shots which will start at 6 weeks and he plans to have the mom fixed as well. So he is not making any money on this.

$100 each for 6 of them and only $50 for me.

I am reading everything I can online and watching you tube video's of training. I have learned a lot so far. Most of it is a common sense kind of thing really but I am taking it all in.

This is going to be a family pet no agility or anything like that.

[greenmagick]

That is a good

My dane pup was temperment tested by her breeder and one of the reasons I got her was because she was a "hard" touch. For me, with kids that is important. It means she doesnt react much (if at all) to things like the kids falling on her, crawling over her etc. not that the kids are allowed to crawl all over or annoy her...but she doenst react to it if the do. My lab mix jumps and runs....now, that works because he is very good at leaving and is fine with it, but other dogs with his temperment may fear bite. Now, some of this can be modified with training etc but its much easier to start with a solid and matching foundation.

And also, just wanted to say thank you for doing all your research before brining your pup home!!! I think you are going to do great

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Research is something I like doing so it is has been fun I really do appreciate all the help everyone and I am sure in the months and years to come I will have more questions.

I am still looking for a puppy class and hopefully I can find one. I am going to ask at the pet store I go to occasionally. I dont get over there much since it is over an hour away but it is a nice one. I bet I can ask someone who works there and they could point me in the right direction.

He is supposed to send me some pictures of the girls and I am looking forward to it. I am thinking that maybe I should go see them at 4 weeks then again at 6 but not sure what I can tell about them at just 4 weeks other than getting to love all over them

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I begged my brother to beg the guy to send me pics of the girls. He sent me pics of one so I am going to assume that both are very similar in markings. They are 10 day old today and I cant believe how big they are already.

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...Isis/Isis1.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Isis210do.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Isis310do.jpg