Bringing her home tomorrow!!-What in the World am I suppose to expect!!!

[LILYLARUE]

Start reading books by Dr. Ian Dunbar. He has some amazing videos for puppies! He doesn't mince words or try to make puppies seem perfect. He will prepare you for anything and everything the pup may do. He also has a good sense of humor and speaks in Laymen's terms and analogies so he's very easy to comprehend. He has good videos too. He's one I always suggest for first time owners because he is very good at teaching you to read your pups signals.

There are several other's that you can start to read that are by awesome behaviorists and trainers......Gish Stewart (Started the clicker training and ideal for inexperienced training methods), Patricia McConnell, easy to read and very informative in canine behaviors. Of course there is the famous one who plays a dog trainer on TV, Cesar Milan - not so good training methods as these are very old school and often create other behaviors that you don't want. He also uses hands'on methods that are not ideal for bonding or trust building. Some swear by his teaching because they get instant results......but that doesn't mean that retribution won't follow in time where more severe punishments can cause a dog to get into trouble.

As with any training classes you take remember this........that pup is your baby! He relies on you to protect him. If ever a trainer does something that you feel is not appropriate, makes you uncomfortable, scares your pup - go with what your gut tells you and put an immediate stop to it. There is not one thing wrong with you stepping in an protecting your dog from a person that is treating him in any negative way or makes you or your pup uncomfortable. Training should always be a positive, fun and energetic experience. If your pup isn't having fun or willing, or avoiding, he either doesn't like the training method or he is trying to tell you he doesn't feel comfortable doing it. There are great trainers out there! But there are more that aren't really patient, experienced, or passionate enough about their training and put owners and the dogs at risk of failure. So just go with your gut, stick to positive reinforcement training and treat your baby like he is totally reliant on you to show him how to be a great companion. After all, thats all they really want - make you happy and have fun while doing it.

 

[Oanhis]

Start reading books by Dr. Ian Dunbar. He has some amazing videos for puppies! He doesn't mince words or try to make puppies seem perfect. He will prepare you for anything and everything the pup may do. He also has a good sense of humor and speaks in Laymen's terms and analogies so he's very easy to comprehend. He has good videos too. He's one I always suggest for first time owners because he is very good at teaching you to read your pups signals.

There are several other's that you can start to read that are by awesome behaviorists and trainers......Gish Stewart (Started the clicker training and ideal for inexperienced training methods), Patricia McConnell, easy to read and very informative in canine behaviors. Of course there is the famous one who plays a dog trainer on TV, Cesar Milan - not so good training methods as these are very old school and often create other behaviors that you don't want. He also uses hands'on methods that are not ideal for bonding or trust building. Some swear by his teaching because they get instant results......but that doesn't mean that retribution won't follow in time where more severe punishments can cause a dog to get into trouble.

As with any training classes you take remember this........that pup is your baby! He relies on you to protect him. If ever a trainer does something that you feel is not appropriate, makes you uncomfortable, scares your pup - go with what your gut tells you and put an immediate stop to it. There is not one thing wrong with you stepping in an protecting your dog from a person that is treating him in any negative way or makes you or your pup uncomfortable. Training should always be a positive, fun and energetic experience. If your pup isn't having fun or willing, or avoiding, he either doesn't like the training method or he is trying to tell you he doesn't feel comfortable doing it. There are great trainers out there! But there are more that aren't really patient, experienced, or passionate enough about their training and put owners and the dogs at risk of failure. So just go with your gut, stick to positive reinforcement training and treat your baby like he is totally reliant on you to show him how to be a great companion. After all, thats all they really want - make you happy and have fun while doing it.

Thanks a bunch. I'll go look for some of those books!
I need to get educated for her safety. Oh, I've seen Caesar's methods on tv and I wouldn't want to make my pup fearful of me. Positive reinforcement is the way to go IMO.
I'm definitely worried about puppy obedience school but I think once I find the right trainer for us then it should all end up slightly smoothly.

We brought her home yesterday and she's been a a whirlwind around the house. She had a few accidents when we brought her home but she got acclimated to the potty breaks during the night fast. Oh my gosh, she definitely keeps me up on my toes at night and it definitely breaks my heart hearing her whine after I put her back to bed.
She definitely has a pair of chompers on her too. Any chew toys that last and good for her? I have a edible nylabone that we gave her yesterday and she's tearing right through it :/
I'm going to try a frozen carrot today and see how she feels with that and I have a backup brisket sternum raw.

 

[Jan]

The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson is a really good book too. It will help you learn how your dog thinks.

Good luck with your pup!

 

[furrykidmom]

We have had our bundle of joy for a couple of weeks. We just adore him. I love holding him and squeezing him. he is going to grow up so fast. I cherish every puppy day.

He is so much fun and so smart. Too smart.

I have never had a Boxer that was as orally fixated as this one. He learned absolutely no bite inhibition in 9 weeks with the litter. His teeth are little razors. His nickname is Kraken from Clash of the Titans.

Best advice I can give you is be prepared for the unprepared. We have never had a dog try to chew on wires. He is constantly after all wires. If it can be unplugged and rolled up out of reach we do. For things that can't we have the cord protectors around them but it sounds like you thought of that. There is nothing that he has not tried to eat. Even the deck outside.

As for toys we also have tons. Nothing really stands out.

Treat are our saviour. We use Honest Kitchen Fish skins but only supervised to make sure he is chewing it and not trying to swallow it. He does better with them than my adults.

Our saving grace on the airplane and at bedtime are dried sweet potato chunks that have been soaked in Chamomille (sp?) We put one in his crate at bed time and he chews on it until he falls asleep. He is a great sleeper. We lucked out. He will fuss for several minutes and then settle down and chew awhile. Sometimes he will fuss again but if we ignore him he realizes that his pleas for attention are not working and he goes to sleep. He sleeps thru the night. None of our other Boxers ever did that. They all were up every two to three hours.

He still hates his collar.

Potty training has been great. He now goes out and watches me as he pees and poops and then comes running to me for his treat. I have videos that I have shown people. LOL

We play a game in the house to teach recall. I have little cups in every room of the house that have small treats in them. One of us will stand in a room and call his name. When he gets there we sing Good Boy, Good baby and give him a treat. Then the other person will call him from another room of the house and do the same thing. For him it is a game of hide and seek and get a treat when I find you. For us it is teaching him his name and some recall. It is fun for us too.

I mentioned that outside when he pees and poops he watches me. I have taken to pointing to my nose and saying Watch me. When he comes running to me I am chanting Good boy. When he gets to me he automatically drops into a sit. As his butt hits the ground I say sit and good boy. Now he is focused on my face. I am holding the treat in front of my nose saying watch me and then i bring the treat down to where he can reach it and say good boy again. I know it seems like a lot but this boy is like a sponge and he seems to be absorbing everything. We start puppy class next week. I am hoping he is ahead of the class already. We have used this trainer for three of our Boxers already so we know his techniques. But it has been eight years since we had a puppy in class.

We are just having so much fun with him. I look forward to hearing your stories and adventures.

 

[Eddiej]

I hope you are ready for repetition Whether it being on correcting bad behaviors or accidents in the house. Thankfully, my Bubba and Rocky sleep through the night and have not had an accident in bed once. If they have to go, they let me know. I, too can relate to not being able to pick up the puppy after it cries. That's how bubba and rocky got to sleeping on the bed Good thing our bed is big enough for the girlfriend, me, rocky ( 18 months old ) and bubba (4 months ). They will bring happiness to your life for sure. Remember, patience is a virtue

 

[Oanhis]

Puppy- Survived the first weekend

We survived the first weekend! haha

I don't think I've ever seen so many emotions pass through a pup in so little time. She was a bit miffed/depressed the first few nights then she gradually acclimated to her new home over the weekend.

Oh my gosh! Our pup is a shark disguised as a pup......We can't even pet her without her biting. I was wondering if she is was going through a teething stage but it's just too early for her I thought. I'm going to start doing trainings with her in the evenings with no bite inhibition sessions. She has tons of toys but goes through her edible chews as if she's shredding paper. Also she is the only dog I know to be so picky when it comes to eating. We feed her TOTW Venison and Bison; sometimes she'll just turn her nose up at it.
Reading bits and pieces of these books help but I think I need to read faster. It seems as if she's growing at a rapid rate Seems like this girl is trying to outsmart me or has devious plans as soon as I turn my head hahah!

At first she was doing so well with potty training in the middle of the night/day but the last two days she's been like of regressing. She'll run back in after 20 mins of being outside and stare us down while she's urinating/pooing inside. :( Maybe she's getting too much freedom or she does it for attention? I'm going to try the umbilical cord option while we're in the house together and hopefully that helps.

Patience is definitely a virtue...... Whhoosha! I love her to pieces but she's tearing up my patience for her haha.

I have a towel that I have tied in knots in the freezer that I'm going to see if it will sooth her teeth maybe.... I tried the frozen carrot and she did not want to have anything to do with that at all. lord help me!

She's figured out where my Darling puts his dirty socks -_- and if left alone she drags every one of those socks all over the bedroom .......

She's the best cuddlebug though! As soon as we get comfortable anywhere with blankets, she passes out cold! Amazing! I've never had a pup that could do that anywhere.

Oh and her toots are the worse on TOTW food ....we're thinking of switching to Blue after this 15 bag is done so hopefully those subside.

She's the joy of our lives but I think we need to work harder with her or work smarter for that matter repetition is the key right?!

 

[Jan]

It sounds like you have a puppy! :D The best thing is having two boxers, as Allie uses Dante as he chew toy. She rarely bites me.

Good luck surviving puppyhood!

 

[Oanhis]

Puppy- Survived the first weekend

I'm going to need a whole lot of luck and an extra set of patience to survive puppyhood.... I'm dreading what happens as soon as she hits her adolescent age.....EKkk!

 

[furrykidmom]

We survived the first weekend! haha

Oh my gosh! Our pup is a shark disguised as a pup......We can't even pet her without her biting.

It seems as if she's growing at a rapid rate Seems like this girl is trying to outsmart me or has devious plans as soon as I turn my head hahah!

Patience is definitely a virtue...... Whhoosha! I love her to pieces but she's tearing up my patience for her haha.

She's figured out where my Darling puts his dirty socks -_- and if left alone she drags every one of those socks all over the bedroom .......

She's the best cuddlebug though! As soon as we get comfortable anywhere with blankets, she passes out cold! Amazing! I've never had a pup that could do that anywhere.

She's the joy of our lives but I think we need to work harder with her or work smarter for that matter repetition is the key right?!

I am laughing so hard. I can totally relate to this. Our boy just turned 12 weeks old this past Saturday. We call him the Kraken from the movie Clash of the Titans. His teeth are like razors. I look like my husband abuses me. My arms have small cuts and black and blue marks. He will not let me pet him either without biting. I am constantly trying to put an appropriate toy in his mouth. He will take it, shake it, drop it and bite me. My husband keeps yelling at me not to wrestle with him. I am not trying to. I am trying to play with toys but he thinks I am a life size animated toy. He is not biting quite as hard as he did when we first got him. Today is his first day at daycare. I am hoping that the other dogs will teach him without traumatizing him.

the only time I can pet him is when he is exhausted and he climbs up on my chest or in the pit of my arm and falls asleep. He is the light of my life. He is bringing me so much joy like you said. He already knows his name and he comes bouncing to me when I call him. It is so adorable. We start obedience class next Tuesday and he is doing great with recall, watch me and sit. I hope that he does well with this in class with all the distractions. We are going to have three German Shepherds in the class and I want him to be smarted than them. Or at least as smart. I have had a shephed before and I know that I am setting the bar high but I have never had a Boxer as smart as he is. He reminds me of our Shepherd girl. He is so willing to please.

All of our other dogs have always gone after my shoes. This one is carrying my husbands shoes around the house. I keep telling him to put them up on my new rack but he will not. He will learn when he eats an expensive pair. Been there, done that.

And he is growing like a weed too. We have had him for three weeks now. He came home at around 13#. He is now 18.7# as of yesterday. I try to take pictures everyday and videos. I want to remember every moment.

It is difficult, exhausting and frustrating but I love every moment. He makes me laugh constantly even though he is trying my patience. he is a baby and he will learn.

Please keep the updates coming.

 

[Oanhis]

It's amazing to watch her grow up I didn't notice when choosing our pup, but now that I look closer, her paws are ginormous ...... I was hoping for a dainty little boxer but I have a feeling she's about to sprout in a few months into a not so small pup.
It's been a week of biting and redirecting to chew toys for us and she's let up a little bit too. Not as bad as she was but I think she's maybe getting the hint. maybe I'm hoping too hard

We are starting her obedience class in a few weeks at the end of September but for now we are trying to socialize her safely. Oh! I had two GSD's growing up but our little boxer girl throws me for a curb ball. :D I don't know how to explain it....she has a more explosive personality than German Shepard's haha.

Oh dear.... he's definitely won't enjoy it when he finds his shoes in pieces all over the house ha! I love her but I also love my heels and I make darn sure to tuck them high up in our closet.

We're starting to find our schedule between the midnight potty breaks and evening schedule wheew I thought for sure that I would never sleep again!

You're definitely right! It is very frustrating and exhausting but I love being greeted like the next best thing to bacon when I come home :D

haha Yep, plenty of updates because I love hear what other furrparents have to say about their little ones in comparison to mine. Also I never thought I'd talk about her poop and her funny expressions this much but we're head over heels in love.