Your dog sounds like a perfectly normal puppy. Give him some time! I think despite your feeling that you researched the breed, it sounds like you didn't research the training that goes into having a boxer in your life. I would recommend getting him enrolled in puppy obedience at your local petsmart right away. This is really more so that YOU can learn what you need to do to teach your pup what he has to do. Your expectations sound too high to be frank. He is still a baby. Just like with human babies, their development and coordination will increase with time.
Remember that a dog is after all an animal, they have no morals, in order for them to live with us in our homes, we must teach them what we expect of them and they will reward us with a lifetime of love, unquestioning devotion and delight. We must teach them in a way that they understand what we are asking of them.
A great book for starters is "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete.
I can't imagine expecting a pup to be house broken in the amount of time you've had your little fella. As far as biting goes, he may not be getting the right signals from you about what he's supposed to do. Everyone in the house has to use the same method, when Sumi was a pup, we gave her a sharp no and took our hand away. I would immediately re-offer her my hand and if she went to nip it again - another sharp NO. I would repeat the process until she ignored, or licked my hand. She was broken of the habit quickly, but she's a fast learner. With jumping up on the kids, try keeping him on a leash when they are having a supervised play session that way you can control the pup and gently tug him away before he jumps up onto the kids. This way he'll learn and the kids won't be overwhelmed by him.
You are right that boxers are great family and kid dogs, but they take a lot of consistency and patience when it comes to training. They need a strong Alpha figure in their lives, I've yet to come across a boxer book that fails to mention these boxer traits.
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mama to:
-Sumi, lab mix "pound puppy"
-Casper, white boxer rescued from the Dade County Animal shelter
Remember that a dog is after all an animal, they have no morals, in order for them to live with us in our homes, we must teach them what we expect of them and they will reward us with a lifetime of love, unquestioning devotion and delight. We must teach them in a way that they understand what we are asking of them.
A great book for starters is "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete.
I can't imagine expecting a pup to be house broken in the amount of time you've had your little fella. As far as biting goes, he may not be getting the right signals from you about what he's supposed to do. Everyone in the house has to use the same method, when Sumi was a pup, we gave her a sharp no and took our hand away. I would immediately re-offer her my hand and if she went to nip it again - another sharp NO. I would repeat the process until she ignored, or licked my hand. She was broken of the habit quickly, but she's a fast learner. With jumping up on the kids, try keeping him on a leash when they are having a supervised play session that way you can control the pup and gently tug him away before he jumps up onto the kids. This way he'll learn and the kids won't be overwhelmed by him.
You are right that boxers are great family and kid dogs, but they take a lot of consistency and patience when it comes to training. They need a strong Alpha figure in their lives, I've yet to come across a boxer book that fails to mention these boxer traits.
------------------
mama to:
-Sumi, lab mix "pound puppy"
-Casper, white boxer rescued from the Dade County Animal shelter