Emergency Boxer Rescue

[j'adoreboxer]

I have a 911

I need some much needed advice. If anyone could help it would be much needed.

Ok here's Malcolms Story:

Friendly fawn boxer, was someone my family knew....anyway when that person passed away, he was kinda pushed to the side...he was totally negelated, i'm talking about he was put in a crate a small crate at that...he was given no attention, hardly any food, and never taken out...

Malcolm i knew him when he was a year old, he was a healthy friendly boxer baby, that ran and played all the time. Now he's scarde of people, he's a "dirty boxer", extreamly hungry, and probably food aggressive.

Anway the person down in FL, called my dad and asked if we would be interested in taking him in. I told dad before we left FL to move to TN that i wanted him. It has only taken this long to get him, he is now 5 years old. Dad has agreed to adopt him, and he will be in my care. My family will help me with the financial burden, but resocilization will be up to me.

My question is, i have never had a rescue. What all do i need to do before he gets here (that's in 2 weeks). Is there anything special that i'm going to need to get???? Anyhelp will be good.

 

[dasota2]

My daughter has a rescue and we have fostered several of her boxers as we had some of our own. The biggest issue is do you have other pets where he may feel threatened? If so the need to be introduce slowly. I would suggest a full vet check,shots, heartworm test maybe even a blood profile to look for any unseen problems. If not he will need all the items any new pet owner need to get toys, food bedding. If he is food aggressive this may go away when he know that food is available to him at all times(Maggie always has food down). We had one that was that way but after a few months she was able to be around people and eat. We have kept her as she had heartworms and after treatment we and she became very attached, she now can also be around the other dogs while eating most of the time but we still watch her. You could also try contacting rescues the deal with this type of issue all the time and would be very helpful. Petfinder is a great sorce. My daughters rescue is Tender Heart K-9 and she is listed and we are also in TN.

 

[courtney323]

dasota2 -

Please post your Introduction. This is something required of all new members, and is clearly stated in the Rules (in addition to the email you received upon registration)

www.boxerworld.com/rules

 

[j'adoreboxer]

Thank you, everyone here in my house is very excited that we are getting him. I am going to have him check out by a vet ASAP. We do have other animals, there is my boxer, my sisters chow chow mix, and then we have 4 cats. It's a big happy family. We do plan on taking things slowly since i do not know 100% the total enviroment that he came from. I'm going to have my parents get him setteled in since i'll be in Washington DC that weekend. Malcolm is still an intacked male, and i do plan on having him altered. I'll posted pic's when he arrives.

 

[TYS0NSM0MMA]

I would suggest investing in a baby gate or 2, they work great for keeping your new addition separate from the others until they get used to each other, it is great for separating them during feeding especially if he is perhaps a bit food aggressive. I use my gates all the time they set up really easily and are down in jiffy.

I would think that crating him will be a bit of an issue, if he was crated for so long he will definately associate the crate with badness. You could always work on that later, I would suggest getting him comfortable with you first. Spending lots of time together and introducing him to your household slowly. If it was me I would keep the other dogs gated away from him for the first couple of hours or atleast until they get used to being in the same house, then let them outside together to play if everything is going well, I would also suggest not letting the chow chow and your boxer out with him all at once he may get overwhelmed and go into panic mode.

Definately contact a local rescue group, many of them will be more than happy to help you introduce him to your house, they may even come over to help 4 hands are better than 2 after all!

I suggest some good ol' TLC, lots of healthy treats and praise, possibly re-naming him, some mild grooming (depending on how he is acting with you, go slowly and gain his trust), new dishes all his own (I suggest ceramic or stainless steel), and a brand new bed and blanket.

He will have issues trusting people and probably fear of being abandoned, my Tyson had this when I got him from the SPCA it took almost a year to get him over it. Peanut Butter stuffed Kongs got to his heart straight away!

Best of luck, keep us posted and get some pics up soon!
Colly and Gang!

 

[j'adoreboxer]

Thank you, i would of never thought about the baby gates, do they leave marks on the walls? We are also in the process of selling our house :( I dont know about letting Malcolm out to run our yard is not fenced in, Jakin I can trust becuase he has a strong recall and no's the boundries of the land.

After we get him used to being around Jakin and my sissters chow chow mix and the cats, i think dad is going to take Malcolm with him to work (he's a contractor) that way Malcolm will not think that we are abandoning him. When he was in the FL house there was another dog (golden) and alot of cats. They have since been removed, and we are getting Malcolm.

When he arrives I will have his feeding dishes, blanket, toys, bed....all ready to go for him, we will get ID tags, leash, collar...the works...I know it's going to take a lot of work. This is my first resuce. I do not want to mess up and make things worse. Monday i'm going to call my vet and give them a heads up, and go ahead and set up a date for him to be brought in.

I hope to eventually (i know this is thinking way in the future) get him in the rally/obedience ring. But i'm not going to push the issue. I think all Malcolm needs is alot of TLC. Which being here he'll get whole bunches. As we thinking of our animals as family members.

I guess i'll need to get another seat belt for my explorer for Malcolm as well I do not let the dogs go if they are not wearing one You never know when you'll have to slam on your breaks.

I'll keep everyone posted, as more news comes my way

 

[marciafinn]

I am glad that Malcolm is getting a new home with your family. The poor little guy has had it rough lately. The baby gates are a great idea since crating will probably be an issue. If you can crate, several members here feed their dogs in their crates and it works out well. I think obedience classes will be a good thing and will also help you bond with him. It may take a while to get him in the ring but it will give you a goal to work toward. Good luck! I can't wait to see the pictures.

 

[adeinert]

Socializing

Most of the rescues I have fostered were pretty well socialized but I attended a class yesterday for my own rescue boy who is lacking some manners. A key point that carries over to many areas of training- treat and condition the dog to the new things you want him to do or like.

Example: bringing a new cat, puppy, dog home... click and treat (if you do clicker training) for all occasions around the new family member. I would do this for all family members. After repeated reward for the new situations the dog will equate the situations or other dogs with being rewarded. Be careful of our natural reaction to reprimand, etc bad behavior. To a dog that sticks in his mind that when I see that (dog, cat, child) I get bad things, hence dog, cat, or child is bad. This is based on the non-reward style training that I follow.

I buy most of my doggy training books off sit-stay.com. I think you will find you can do a lot with the right techniques and patience.

I am so happy for this boxer boy!!!!!