Hi everyone! Would like some advice?

[Steve0]

Finally after three years, 2 and half in an apartment, and now 6 in my new home i have my first boxer which i have wanted for a long time. Her name is Penny and she is 8 weeks old and a fawn. My wife surprised me at the airport when i came home from a seminar(work related) and it was love at first sight. A few questions tho, and I am sure yall r tired of seeing threads posted over and over, sorry. Mid day friday my wife found her after 3 months of researching breeders, and come saturday she seemed quite lethargic. We also noticed blood in her stool(as well as diarhea), although there was no foul smell. I rushed to a vet saturday and had a fecal and parvo done, in releif, it was negative. He told me the blood can be caused by stress of moving/ being pulled from the litter. I read that parvo can go undetected for 7 to 10 days so i wasn't very re assured. The breeder had her strongid and vanguard shots up to date, and she isn't due for her next vanguard for another 2 to 3 weeks. He also gave me some medicine, a back up dewormer and an assisstant for her digestive track. By sunday, her stool was less diarhea like with no traces of blood, and she was alot more energetic and playful(also after eating, and making sure she had plenty of water). Has anyone had this problem before, and if so what was the outcome? Also, we started her crate training immediately. When she is out of her crate she cannot stay away from my lap =). BUT we have cats, and have had a flea problem which we r addressing, and I am in the process of removing all the carpet in the house. So i must leave her in the crate more than usual because of excess debri on the floors, when i cannot watch her. She has some fleas, and I had gotten frontline for her, and it doesn't seem to be working well. Has anyone had mixed results with it? Also when i leave her alone in the crate, I'm pretty sure you all know the barking and howling that goes with it. I've heard stories of puppies(not just the Boxer) that have "twisted" their stomach when they get very "rawled" up/ upset and end up passing away. I mean when she isn't near me she goes CRAZY. And I know I'm not supposed to let her out when she cries out, but i can't help myself. I know I've only had her for a few days but if something were to happen to her I would be absolutely CRUSHED! I've been trying to make her sleep in her crate at night, but that never happens cuz by 1 o clock I end up letting her in the bed . Although we DO plan to let her on the furniture when she get's bigger. She is doing very well now, or so it seems. And I was wondering on some of you who work full time, and leaving your pup in the crate during the day. I worry about her, I mean I work 6 to 8+ hours a day, and my wife longer. At least till she gets older and I don't have to confine her to the crate(and install a doggie door =)


Steven
&
Penny


PS I haven't had much sleep since friday either

 

[Kerry Jane]

I can't speak to the 1st part of your email, but regarding leaving her alone in her crate for 6 to 8 hours a day, or longer - that is unfair for a puppy. It is simply too long for them not to go potty and for them to be in a crate. I would see whether you couldn't organize for someone to come around at lunch time and let her out for a bit. Maybe a petsitter, a friend or a neighbour?
If you take her out of the crate when she cries then she is never going to get used to staying in it - she will know that all she has to do is cry and you will take her out. Maybe you could try the crate next to your bed, if it is not their already, and see whether she does any better.

Good luck with the new pup!

 

[cody&duke]

I know the lack of sleep feeling! I can't wait to see pictures of Penny.

When we first got Duke he would sleep for several hours and wake up for 15 minutes. He slept the majority of the time. I don't know if this is what you mean by lethargic. Don't be too worried if she is sleeping more than she is awake.

As far as the crate, do you have the crate in your bedroom? It should be in the bedroom with you so you can put your hand in to quiet hown. I have also read that you can put a shirt with your scent in there for her. This is just what I have read because I was never strong enough to keep Duke in there when he whined. :o We started with intentions of having Duke sleep in his crate at night but the first night he was in the bed with us. We were up every 2 hours letting him out. He never had accidents in our bed so we were lucky.

Six to eight hours is long for a puppy. They can only hold it their age in months plus one. So she is two months old so she can only hold it for three hours. Maybe a neighbor can let her out or you can come home for lunch?

Good luck and enjoy the time while she is small. They grow fast! It will be worth all the hard work in the end. Just a couple more months! Keep us posted!

 

[Gus's Teah]

Try not to stress too much, you'll miss that puppy stage when it's gone (believe it or not ). She sounds like she's a normal boxer puppy to me!

What we did to get Gus to like his crate was:
1) We started out putting him in for short periods of time (5 min or so) and we hid treats in his blanket and toys for him to find; we also made sure that we talked in happy voices and said things like "it's time for happy crate time"
2) We put the crate in the center of our home with lots of activity and where he can see out the back sliding glass doors - if you want her to sleep in the crate, you should probably put it in your bedroom. We decided to let Gus sleep in our bed pretty quickly and he did much better there (not one accident) so he was happier with his crate around more activity.
3) We eventually started leaving Gus for longer periods of time: 1-2 hours and increased that time as he got older (months old + 1). Gus has never stayed in his crate for longer than 5 hours and he's 9 months old.
4) A word of encouragement: Gus used to whimper and howl when we left the room and he was in his crate, now he can tell when we are about to leave and he goes into his crate without even a command and eagerly awaits the treat that he knows in en route Penny will eventually love her's as well, just make sure it's always a safe, happy place - never use it for punishment!!!

I think it would be very good if you could find a trusted neighbor or relative (my sister helps when my husband is out of town) to let Penny have a break and a walk in the middle of the day, if possible. 6-8 hours is a bit long to leave a 2 month old puppy in a crate.

I can't wait to see pictures of Miss Penny in your gallery!!

 

[Dixie_Belle]

Just beware that Parvo has a 7-10 day gestation period. I'd retest if I were you, just to be safe. We did. We recently had a parvo puppy (Belle - not a boxer) and when we got Dixie we had her tested within a week. Blessings rained down when we found otu she was negative. So, just for your own peace of mind, I'd retest... that's just me though. Course, I'm now very petrified of Parvo because of what we went through with Belle.

 

[Steve0]

It's day 5 now and she is 100% better! I went back to work yesterday and today, but I had my mother come to the house to play with her for an hour or two around noonish, and make sure she had no accidents and such need cleaning as well as keeping her water bowl full, play with her and give her a little excercise =). My mother loves her to death(if u saw her u would too!) so she loves it, and plus she's alot cheaper than a petsitter. Last night I had put the crate next to the bed on my side and she was WONDERFUL all night. Not one sound. I actually got a full nights rest! I also put a mirror in the crate, she has a thing for her reflection, and I play some soft music for her. She really likes music it seems. In the mornings of course I gave her her medicine, and she has been drinking alot more water. YesterAfternoon I got the majority of the carpet out and flea treated the cats. I've looked her over a few minutes ago and I see hardly any fleas on her so I guess the Frontline does work pretty good. I bought some shampoo today called BioGuard for puppies and kittens and such. It says that it doesn't wash away flea treatments like advantage and frontline etc. Was wondering if anyone else has used it before, just in case. As far as the parvo issue, I think she is fine. I haven't seen ANY symptoms of it since sunday. I will get another test done when I get her vanguard booster for sure tho.

Thanks for the feedback guys and gals! I've been looking at your galleries and all i can say is GORGEOUS! =)

Steve, Veronika and Penny

 

[TiNaD]

That is great news to hear appicon

Our girl is 5 1/2 months, and we are faithfully driving home during the lunch hour to let her out of her crate. I also feel bad for her spending her day in her crate, but we have to work, and she doesn't seem to complain too much. But that lunchtime visit is important.

We also have a 4 year old rottie, and as a puppy, he slept in his crate in a seperate room with not too much fuss. We used to set our alarm for every few hours, and let him out to do his stuff. Kato (our boxer pup) on the other hand has been more of a complainer, so we moved her crate into our bedroom and it works great!

As for the daytimes, if she is in her crate when we are home and she fusses, I would not let her out until she settles down. Make sure you let her outside first and see her do her business before you put her in. If she fusses once in her crate, try giving her a strong 'No' then leave the room. If she continues, go into the room and give another firm 'No', then leave again. It worked for us, but all dogs are individuals

Enjoy the puppy times, they are great!!

T