Demon puppy or normal?

[My Karsen]

Hi All!

My first boxer ever is now 7 months old. I have had other dogs/puppies. Last one is 2 year old Rottweiler. So I'd like to think I know what I'm doing...I hope.

Karsen is his name and he is a reverse brindle male. He is a very sweet boy and happy boy. I feel like I should have called him Mister Wiggles. The tail and body wiggling is hysterical.

Two of my problems...

Potty training. We let him out with the Rottie in the back yard. Also let him out on a lease before bedtime and before I leave for work. And he goes and I praise him and he wiggles like the little cutie he is. But then he almost always urinates in his crate. At night and during the day if he's in there. He does not poop in his cage though.

Also if he is running around in the house, if he has to go. He will. And that can be both?

Any suggestions?

The second thing is eating. As in he is a horrible eater. I've tried cheese and canned food supplementing his dry? He is tall and skinny. You can see his rib cage. Vet assures me he is fine and that she's seen this before with boxers. Vet wants him to eat 4 times a day but I am lucky is he eats twice! Is he going to grow out of this? I've never had such a bad eater.

Thanks for any help & advice.

 

[Althea]

It's the DEMON PUPPY!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!

LOL -- I had to tease. That's cute. They do seem like the demon dogs at times.

Ruling out any medical issues (have you had him checked for UTI?), it could be that your crate is too big. If he has enough room to pee in one area and lay in another, it's too big. He's learned that he can pee in the house and in his crate, so that has to be unlearned. Do you give him treats and lots of praise when he goes outside? Have you tried teaching him to ring a bell when he needs to go? That was a big turning point for Suki, who saw absolutely no reason to go outside in the cold when she could pee in the nice warm house (not that I could blame her.) Of course, now she rings the bell all the time so she can go outside, but hey, it beats cleaning up messes. So that is my thought there.

What kind of food are you feeding him? I feed Natural Balance Limited Ingredient, which Suki LOVES, with a little yogurt on top. She eats it up so fast, I'm going to have to get her a bloat bowl to slow her down. She loves it. So maybe try some different foods with him...preferably something high in stars from the Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble website. But I will say, some boxers are funny eaters. My Cairo was, and so is Lulu, my friends' boxer.

 

[Cami]

Boxer pups go through a tall, skinny, seemingly all legs stage. Seems what you are describing. You SHOULD be able to spot a few ribs...more of them when they are moving (during play for example).
They are an athletic breed and should remain fit and trim.
It is quite easy to create a picky eater. Adding various items to their food is a good way to achieve this!
A healthy dog will NOT starve with food available. What they will do is try and hold out if they think something else might be added to the mix. Cheese....canned food....you get the picture.
At 7 months of age you would certainly be able to back down to 3 meals a day, eventually going to two (if this is what you want to do).
How much are you feeding at each meal? Are they timed meals? If he won't eat in say 20-30 minutes, pick the bowl up and wait till the next feeding time. Offer it again at the next scheduled meal.
Could also be getting enough treats due to training that it is supplementing his caloric intake thus he isn't as hungry as you might expect him to be.
Pups go through all sorts of growing phases. What he needs to eat today might not be the same next week. Keep consistent and don't let him pull a fast one on you. Feed him his food and he will eat it eventually!

 

[My Karsen]

Thanks Althea and Cami!

I use Eukanuba large breed adult dry dog food. Switched him around 6 months from Max puppy food.

Three weeks ago he weighed 44lbs. The vet suggested feeding him 4 times until he fattens up a little bit. I feed him in a normal bowl which probably holds a cup and a half of food. He gets his food in his crate where I usually leave it until he eats it. If he's going to eat he usually does it right away otherwise the bowl gets dumped.

I was afraid he was manipulating me. He is a smart one But he is awfully skinny and I don't think he's ever been chunky. My brother asked me if I fed him and I was horrified.

My rottie goes in his crate and will clean up any left overs. He is getting chunky - LOL.

The urinating. He knows what he is doing is bad. You can see it on his face. I just think pure and simple he's being lazy.

I'm intrigued with the bell idea. Although I wonder if the bell will end up the same as the singing bear? My rottie "disabled" the singing part of Karsen's bear because he was sick of it. And I can see hours of fun for him with constant bell ringing.

Thanks!

 

[HokieGirl]

Bell training works well. You have to physically make your dog ring the bell every time you take him out the first few times (say bell when you do and he will get the picture). Take him out the same door every time. Then tell him to ring the bell when you think he wants to go out. Eventually he will get it. Rocki loves to ring the bell - she slaps the snot out of it with her south-paw when she wants to go out. In fact, she will now ring it and then come find you to let her out sometimes too if your aren't quick enough. She is six months old now and picked up the bell ringing in a matter of a few days. Good luck.

 

[Mykids]

I too had issues with both my dogs putting on weight! I had them on Eukanuba large breed because this is what my vet wanted them on. After becoming a member on BW I got on the Dog Food Analysis website and seen just how wrong this food is for them. I was so angry that my VET, the person I trust to tell me what’s best, suggested such a crappy food. (I think it's only a 1 star food)
I did some research and found the best food I could afford on DFA witch was Taste Of The Wild (a 6/5 star food) and it was actually cheaper than the Eukanuba! After switching both my babies have been gaining weight, their coat is so soft and shinny and they have way less poo to pick up. TOTW is not the best food by far but it is a way better choice the Eukanuba.
I'm not saying this is what you need to do but it helped out a lot in my situation. I'm sure other members can give way more information than I can!
I have no suggestions about the potty satiation! Sorry : (
As far a demon puppy goes...... I think we all thought we had a little demon puppy at one point! ha-ha
Good luck with your little demon! ; )~

 

[My Karsen]

Thanks I will have to check out the bell and the food.

He's not dumb. Like I said before I think he is just lazy. :S He knows when he does something bad. He doesn't like it when I say NO!

He loves to be praised and gets to do his little wiggle butt dance.

He's a pretty good boy aside from the potty training issues. He's a little lover, snuggly boy.

 

[larrygs]

LOL, many of us have had demon pups, ya got to love them!

We also learned about food because of BW. Definitely change food! Even with the 5 and 6 star rated foods there are differences that may affect your dog digestion. Find what works best for him. We are now on TOTW.

BTW, I question: " He knows what he is doing is bad. You can see it on his face. I just think pure and simple he's being lazy." Perhaps you are correct. However, unless you catch him in the act, he may not get it. Dogs have a very short attention span, and don't connect cause and effect the same as people. His look could simply be, ... >>oh no, I know that look, this is when they go crazy and yell for no apparent reason. I better lay low for awhile.<<

I am not sure about how to correct the urination. You need to build a new habit. Althea's advice makes much sense. We also have bell trained. I assume you use the special cleaners that get rid of pet odors people might not detect yet a dog will. Other than that, try to get a feel for his patterns and get him outside to do his business before he asks. Perhaps take him on a leash to his favorite place and wait until he goes, then reward.

Have fun with you wiggle butt!

 

[Wigglebutzzz]

Demon cutie

I switched to Royal Canine Boxer formula and they can't stop eating it. Just a thought.














Heather
Chloe Floppy Fawn
Gracie Floppy Fawn

 

[Althea]

Keep this in mind: He doesn't know what he's doing is bad, and he's not lazy. He knows that when he does something he HAS TO do, you get mad at him. But he doesn't understand why. His body says, "I have to pee." So he does. The idea is to help him connect, "I have to pee" with "I need to go to the green, spindly stuff." Or at least, "I need to follow this path outside this swinging thing to the other kind of ground...because mommy gives me treats if I do it there." Keep in mind, this is not necessarily a thought process for them. Eventually, it is habit, and then that is what they do.

I know it seems tough, but he's not lazy. YOU just haven't made the connection for him yet. What he is doing is normal and natural to dogs. YOU have to show him why your way is better. And it will come. The bell really helps, make his crate small enough that he has no room to piddle, and let him out every hour. If he doesn't go, into the crate he goes until he does. THEN he earns time out. And watch him like a hawk. You will get it down. He has a typical pattern and schedule that he'll rarely deviate from. You need to learn it, and he'll learn what you need and what schedule you want...and then everything gets a lot easier. Sometimes we just think it looks so easy in books and on tv. HA!