First Time Boxer Parents

[Bojerpup]

Hello Everyone,
This is a great website, I am happy to have become a member. My Fiancee and me have a 13 week old boxer named Bojer. He's the greatest but we are learning as we go and we need some general advice. So many people and websites tell us different things. Here are some basic questions and problems:

Are Boxers grazers? Do they pick at their food and should have access to it throughout the day or should they be given meals only at certain times? Latley he seems to not be eating as much as he used to during meals, is that normal?

Bojer dosen't like to walk that much, taking him down the street can sometimes be a adventure. Any advice?

Sour Apple, Tabassco sause both don't work to get him stop chewing certain things, any other things that might work?

Is it common for puppies to have loose stool some of the time. he has been to the vet and gotten dewormed twice already.

Is Health Science Diet decent Boxer chow?

Bojer always looks so depressed when we don't pay attention to them all the time. He gets disinterested in his toys often, and the woman and i need some alone time. Any advice of ways to keep him occupied when we want so alnoe time?

Thanks a lot for listening. I have lots more hopefully I get some good feedback. Lots more questions to come. Thanks.

 

[laila's_mom]

Hey there! Puppies can definitely be a challenge. Laila, who is now 8 1/2 months old, went through some of the same things. Laila is definitely a grazer. It seems like whenever she walks past her bowl, she'll grab a mouthful and keeping on walking. It usually takes her the whole day to eat a bowl full.

Laila wouldn't walk well on a leash. She had a bad habit of jumping around and biting the leash and she was very difficult to handle. I got a harness leash for her and she walks so much better on that. You might want to consider one when Bojer gets a little older.

As for your other questions, I can't be much help. I was blessed with Laila because she never chewed and potty-trained very easily.

Good luck with your new boxer baby!

-------------------
Laila Mae
Fawn, Tail docked, Ears cropped
11/8/03

 

[Angels Mama]

I had problems with Angel as well!! (she is now 3 yrs. old)
She always walks by her bowl and takes a mouthful...eats it, drops half on the floor and then walks away!! In time she will eat more thoroughly, smaller meals more frequently should work...I gave Angel access to her food all day for the first few months....

As for walking...I used a harness as well, it gives you more control...
Remember that they are soooo excited to see all of these new things and smells...it will be challenging for while....

Angel was a chewer too....I always made sure she had plenty of toys around and kept an eye on her!!!

Angel also had loose stools when she was younger....their stomachs are more sensititve when they are younger....so just be careful with what type of treats you are giving him...he will get better with time!

Well as far as alone time goes....good luck!!! LOL
Puppies need a lot of attention else they will get into mischief!! If you have a crate and put some toys in there for him to play with when you need some 'alone' time, that would probably work....he does need to get used to being on his own for short periods of time, you don't want him to suffer from Separation Anxiety....

That's all the suggestions I have for now!!!
Good luck with your Boxer puppy!!
Keep us updated!!!

Angels Mama

 

[marciafinn]

Congrats on the new family member and welcome! You are at the right place for answers on your baby.

There are different opinions on leaving their food all the time. It would help to establish the alpha status if Bojer didn't have access to it all of the time. He should get three meals a day and eat them when they are placed in front of him. Although I am not sure if you should take them away at 13 weeks...there may be more info in the puppy feeding forums on this. There is also a premium foods list in the food forums to help you determine what are the better foods to feed Bojer. I do not believe Science Diet is on that list.

Have you looked into puppy classes & training for him? You should look for a program that only uses positive reinforcement techniques.

The best method for teaching a puppy to not chew on the 'wrong' things is positive reinforcement. When Bojer is chewing on a shoe, take the shoe and give him one of his toys. This is the best way to teach him - make sure he always has plenty of safe chew toys at his disposal to avoid chewing your things. This method does work wonders.

The best way to get your puppy to give you alone time is to wear him out. At 13 weeks this is relatively easy to do. Try taking him in the yard and playing with his toys with him. Then when you bring him in he'll be tired & you guys can get some alone time. Just be careful not to over exert his little puppy body on long walks, etc.

Good Luck! See you around the boards!
Marcia & Mason

 

[meliss&kash]

Congrats on your baby boxer! My puppy is 14 weeks old now, so I can tell you what I've experienced:

1) We feed our puppy 3 times a day. I find this makes her bowel movements more predictable... she'll usually go after every meal.

2) My puppy also has a hard time walking outside. I've been told this is normal when they're young, and that you shouldn't force them to walk on leash for a long time at that age anyways. We just go for very short walks and I bring some of her food along so she has to walk to get it. Someone on the board also suggested putting peanut butter on a wooden spoon to lure the puppy along.

3) My puppy also has loose stools... I think they have sensitive tummies. Do you give your pup lots of different treats? If so, try cutting back to see if it gets better. That's what we're trying to do now. I've also heard that a bit of plain yogurt can help (add about 1 tbsp to his food daily).

4) Hide some of his toys. My puppy gets disinterested in her toys very quickly, but when I put some away and take them out a few days later, it's like she forgot they existed and the "new toy" excitement comes right back!

Good Luck!
Keep us posted!
Melissa

 

[tcarlisle]

Congrats!

1) I fed mine on a schedule, 3 meals a day. This will help in houstraining -- what goes in must come out, and if you can control when it goes in you know when it will come out. Your pup will probably do #2 about 5-15 mins after he eats, if he is fed on a schedule.

A feeding schedule will help you devise a corresponding bathroom schedule, and your life will be easier.

2) Walking on a leash is something that has to be trained, and develops over time. Keep the walks short, and only increase the duration if his attention span for walking propoerly also increases.

You may want to walk him on the leash in the house also to get him used to the leash and collar.

Don't expect much in terms of behaving while walking on leash at this point.

3) Nothing will keep him from chewing things except 100% supervision, and confinement to a crate when supervision is not possible. 100% supervision and crating also will help your housetraining effort.

4) Loose stool is a question for the vet. Mine had loose stool and it wasn't an issue. Changing foods might help.

5) Opinions vary on dietary recommendations. There is a whole boarrd on boxer world to discuss that. My boxer tends to have loose stool, and I find that Nutro Max Lamb & Rice is what he tolerates best. Of course, you would get the puppy version.

6) As far as depression and neediness for attention -- again, congratulations! You have a boxer, not a fish Boxer's are needy & affectionate, and they do demand a lot of attention.

As for the alone time, you will probably get some alone time in about 20 months.

I have mentioned crating in response to your question about chewing the house and also for housebreaking. Crating can also help you get some alone time. Don't get me wrong -- you bought a puppy and you need to play, excercise him, and give him attention -- not lock him up in a crate all the time. But, crate training is good becuase the dog also needs to have some alone time. So put him in the crate so he gets his alone time, and then you get yours. Just don't over-do the crate time.

I recommend this because if you give in to all the neediness and he never develops the ability to be comfortable alone, later in life he will probably go through seperation anxiety where he will go nuts when you leave him alone in the house. Yes, we want our dogs to be attached to us, but not so attached that they cannot be comfortable when we are not present. Putting the dog on a schedule to have some along time would help develop that.