Boxers are hyper!

[rolltide]

I've heard a number of people comment to other people that Boxers are hyper. Uh, really? Out of all of the Boxers that I've met (my Bama included of course) they've been playful, yes, but hyper...no. Hyper to me is a dog that never calms down. Bama isn't like that at all! Sure, he has his crazy spells where he'll pick up one of his toys and run around the house like mad. But he'll poop out pretty quick, plop down on the floor, and chew on the toy for a while. When he sees other dogs he does get a little crazy, but it's only because he wants to play so badly! But I wouldn't consider that hyper.
So, where do people get the notion from that Boxers are hyper????

 

[Tucker's Mom]

I think it's because boxers get excited when they see new people. I hear it all the time, "Tucker would be a great dog if he wasn't so hyper." I always tell them that he IS a great dog and if they came around more often, they would see it too.

 

[HLS0303]

Tyson is one of the "hyper" boxers, he's 5 1/2 and only recently has he started to calm down. Mind you Ty has been around a lot of people, a lot of dogs, and he still has his man hood, so that explains his energy. We also have a very active cat that is his best friend, MJ is 1 1/2 and when Ty was finally starting to mature, we got a 6 week old kitten, for the first 2 months he wanted to play, but she didn’t care, when she decided she could bite his nose and chase him, that’s when their friendship bloomed. Every other boxer I have met is excitable for the first 10 minutes, then they calm down, Tyson takes a good 20 minutes now, which is great, were down from the never calming down stage. But I love him and would never change a thing, but my next boxer (waiting till after my honeymoon to get) will come into our home with an older dog and cat. With any luck they will all be calm by then.

 

[KonaKoffe]

I've raised 3 boxers from pups and they have all been what could be considered as "hyper" (very excited) when they are around outside people - when they were/are young.

 

[BeckyNC]

Mind you Ty has been around a lot of people, a lot of dogs, and he still has his man hood, so that explains his energy

HLS0303--I'm not so sure being intact has any correlation with energy level (it's one of those "myths"). It does, however, put a dog at risk for health problems as he ages.

 

[CondoPup]

rolltide, I am totally with you on the misunderstanding of the "hyper" thing. Aside from the fact that we have a very laid-back boxer (doesn't jump, etc.) what I've found is they are really excited/wiggly/attentive when people first arrive - then usually calm down and behave after that. My best friend's lab retriever is totally jumping and in my face from the moment I walk in, throughout most of the time I'm at her place - including paws on the table, jumping and barking to get attention if we try to watch a movie or etc. Some of this is training, but some of it is also the breed - he needs to run/retrieve/run/retrieve all the time and is just obnoxious if he doesn't get enough of it each day. Guinness and other boxers I've known were never this hyper, at least not hyper in an exhausting/obnoxious "I gotta get outa here" way, at ALL. Glad you posted on this topic, I'm curious to hear others' experiences also!!

 

[Luvnmyboxer]

I dont know if it's a case of being hyper (other than at play time of course) but boxers seem to be generally very friendly. Especially if there is a new person around they are so eager to make a friend they just love to show off--to get more attention probably. I wouldn't worry about your dog being called hyper, at least yours doesn't sleep in it's recliner snoring the day away like mine. Sometimes i wish Titan was "hyper", he doesn't get his burst of energy until 11 pm usually. Like a baby he has his days/nights mixed up sometimes.

 

[Coco'smommy]

I think it just depends on people and what their definition of the word is. I call it excited and VERY friendly. Coco is usually real excited to see new people and visitors. She is generally made to sit on her bed until everyone gets in the house & settled down. After a few minutes she is released to go say her hello's. She must say hello and be touched by any visitors in our house. Once she is able to greet and gets a few pets, she will go sit or lay down and is very calm the rest of the time. We had to work with her on that however. She used to go berserk the whole time someone was there & was touching her. We had to take an active roll in teaching her what was appropriate for our house. She's doing great and we now feel like we have a well behaved boxer for company

 

[Bail's mommy]

My friends call Bailey the 'Prozac Dog' because of his lack of hyper-ness....He's so laid back. I love it though - just like his mommie :D

 

[rolltide]

I think it just depends on people and what their definition of the word is. I call it excited and VERY friendly. Coco is usually real excited to see new people and visitors. She is generally made to sit on her bed until everyone gets in the house & settled down. After a few minutes she is released to go say her hello's. She must say hello and be touched by any visitors in our house. Once she is able to greet and gets a few pets, she will go sit or lay down and is very calm the rest of the time. We had to work with her on that however. She used to go berserk the whole time someone was there & was touching her. We had to take an active roll in teaching her what was appropriate for our house. She's doing great and we now feel like we have a well behaved boxer for company

That is great training right there! And I think that has a LOT to do with it. Some (and I say some) dogs just aren't disciplined, so they can be jumpy, hyper, overly-excited, whatever.

Bama also gets very excited when people come to the house; he wants to greet them, check them out (and sniff them for food!)
After a little bit he'll settle down. When we take him to someone else's house, he has to go all over the house and investigate before he can relax.