How does your Boxer greet a pup?

[BeckyNC]

It's always been my understanding that an adult Boxer would be quite calm and gentle with a Boxer puppy. Since I have only exposed Tae to a Boxer pup, once (last night), I do not know if this is accurate or not, especially after Tae's reaction.

I had told another BW member I would puppy sit her 9 week old girl last night for a couple hours. When they arrived, Tae was very excited. We all sat down in the living room and Tae immediately went into her Boxer play mode--the growl, the crazy noises, etc. She tried to box the pup twice. I was somewhat surprised b/c the pup was so small. She was noticeably a bit scared and her little nubbie was tucked against her butt.

Tae and I retreated across the room and I hoped she'd calm down a little, but each time we approached, she'd start with her play growl. The growl sounds so fierce and almost scary. I know from posts here on BW and from speaking with a behaviorist that this is normal Boxer behavior...but with a puppy?

Anywho, I'm just curious to know how your Boxers have reacted when meeting a new pup.

I should also mention Tae is 2 and is extremely vocal and a bit high-strung (as opposed to being laid back).

Oh, and the pup did not stay. Her mommy was probably not too comfortable with Tae's growling. I think it's disconcerting to most people who haven't seen Boxers in full play mode. I wasn't too comfortable with the idea she would play gently with the pup...

 

[Super Boo]

My female can get rough with puppies--she is dominant and I wouldn't trust her, she can get jealous. My male likes to play pretty roughly too. I really don't think they understand that a baby is just a baby. We will usually keep them on leashes until a puppy gets bigger and more outgoing (and can understand how to play). Boxers can be very overwhelming.

 

[Rlr.Giraffe]

I am so glad you posted this! Our neighbor brought his 8 week old wheaten over to meet Willis last night, and Willis boxed Mack into oblivion. Mack's owner was not too distressed as he realized Willis was being friendly, but Mack was none to appreciative. Willis was not being aggressive, he just wasn't being very gentle either. The funniest part was that he kept laying down on Mack to pin him... at first we thought he was trying to be dominant, but then we figured out that he was just trying to get Mack to hold still to give him kisses!!!! Mack was SOAKED by the time he left. We had to hold Willis back a few times to give Mack a breather... It was really weird, because he's very gentle with kids. I think Willis is just too much of a puppy himself still and doesn't know his own strength. :rolleyes:

Curious how other dogs react to pups too!

 

[Jade010103]

Jade hasn't seen a puppy since this last summer but she is also kinda rough (in my eyes anyways) she likes to bounce so much and try to box with the pup and just doesn't understand that the puppy just isn't big enough to play like that. After awhile she will calm down alittle but I had to watch her so closely so she wouldn't accidently hurt the pup, they just think all dogs should play like they do whether they're a little pup or a full grown dog.

 

[SoleilBxrs]

I think it just depends on the dog. Cassius is very gentle w/ small pups.. he too is a licker.. but doesn't really box the tiny pup. He will play bow, and make noises at it to try to get it to play w/ him though.. Nikki is fairly gentle too (she can get a little too excited). She has played w/ a 4mo old shitzu, and was very gentle.. she did pin him, but only do lick/groom him! Our friend's boxer boy, would bounce and try to box little pups (he was kind of all over the place, w/ huge paws.. never meaning to hurt a pup, just very excited and playful, wanting the pup to play back). but it can be very scary for a little puppy when a big boxer feet are pouncing around you! but in anycase, i would supervise closely, playtime w/ a pup and an older boxer.. the puppy may need a break, or vice versa!

-Kat

 

[Jan]

Markus has always been very gentle with puppies. He seemed to understand that they were fragile.

 

[haleyandmark]

Asia is really gentle and motherly with puppies. When my friend Erica's Shar-pei was a puppy and my friend Jacky's Pug was a puppy, Asia would stand over both of them (if they weren't together she'd try and 'herd' them up) and sometimes the Shar-pei would try to nip on her stomach area like he was trying to get some food or something! She was a little protective over both of them (no growling or anything), just standing near, or on top of them licking them or something ... if she couldn't find them, she would look around until she saw them then she'd do whatever she was doing...

We saw a tinny puppy (can't remember what kind) at Petsmart once and she just licked it to death! That dog was sooakkkked!

She got this thing from Mark's dog, Max, too...when Asia was a baby, Max loved her and would play with her on his back I guess to show that he was friendly and wanted to be down at her level. So, if Asia is playing with any of the puppies (like my friends' pups), she would get down on her back with her legs in the air or just flopped down, and play like that.

It was really sweet but she had already been spayed at this time so it confused me a little (I dont even know if that had anything to do with it, but still...)! She hasn't really been around any other small puppies than that.

 

[Scrapper's Mom]

When we first introduce Scrapper to puppies, we hold him on the leash because he is excited to have someone new. But after he calms down, he is very gentle with them, he treats them with very much care, even letting them take his toys and eat out of his dish. Even still, he defers to Holly. She can take his holey roller or other toy, away from him and he just goes and gets it back without getting aggressive. I have puppy-sat for Christina a couple of times and now with Holly, it's the same. He is very good with them, even after they have their ear crop and need to be treated carefully. We just have to monitor the initial meeting until the first excitement passes and then everything is fine. Of course, now I am very careful to give them both the exact same treat at the exact same time :rolleyes: