Need some expert advice on my possible new dog

[Vela]

I'm so glad things seem to be gong well for you. As far as the jumping, Ginger only does that when we first let her out of her crate or first get home. After a few corrections in teh begginig though she jumps around but not onto us just around in happy circles. She was 2 1/2 when we got her so not much difference. Cracker is the one who has the bigger jumping problem so that aspect would probably be worse with a puppy than with Kaylee. He's learning though=) Does better all the time.

She will pace a bit for the first few days because she doesn't know what's gong on. Ginger did too then settled in.

Everything will be just fine!

 

[Joan I.]

Hi again:

Kaylee is doing well, seeming to respect the children, and seems to want to please. Couple of wee rug accidents today. She gets very perturbed if one of us leaves the house for an errand. I know it's all a lot for her to adjust to, from the breeder's house with probably quite a bit of time spent in her kennel, to a big house, and noisy kids.

She sure is cuddly though, loves to snuggle! Very very soft fur, and soft face. Both my dogs had lots of white on their faces; Kaylee is dark, so she really looks different to me, sometimes I have a hard time seeing her face when she's in shadow!

Both Mark and I are feeling pretty positive this is going to work out for all of us, after how good she has been today. I can only imagine what is going through her mind, being in such a strange new environment. She's gettin' spoiled tho!

I hope she doesn't come into heat for awhile, as I would like a time for her to bond with us before she has to go. The breeder does want to breed her on her next heat. Maybe I could talk her into waiting a heat?.....The contract has not been issued yet.

I need to get some pictures of her and get them posted, although I have no idea how to get them into the system, haven't tried that yet.

She sure is pretty and sweet, and I have to say my heart feels better having a boxer to snuggle with, one to come home to. In a strange kind of way, it does make me really miss Buster and Baylee too...

Thanks everyone for the phenomenal support! I love this website and have a feeling I will be on here a lot asking advice, and sharing stories!

P.S. Kaylee is on the B.A.R.F diet. Any of you out there doing that? What do you think about it? Any advice? I am considering getting myself set up to do it.

Thanks again all, and I'll get pics in as soon as I can!

Joni

 

[harley03]

You are in the right place.
There is a whole forum dedicated to BARF. Check it out.

Congradulations on your girl, I have been following this thread since the beginning.

Welcome home Kaylee .

 

[SammynDqtz]

Hope to see the pics soon!
Be sure to check out the Barf forum... and maybe do a search on there for any questions you may have, as there is a ton of helpful info to be found there.

 

[Rowdy Boys]

Yeah!! Welcome Home Kaylee!! lovicon

Brenda

 

[Linda/NJ]

Congratulations on your new Boxer Kaylee

Linda & Ginger

 

[Joan I.]

Hi everyone:

Just thought I'd give you an update on Kaylee!

She has spent the week-end with us, and things are going well. She has been good with the kids, no real problems at all. She has been very loving with me, and that is helping me with my pain over losing Buster. Today we discovered she is a "toy" and ball lover! Buster loved toys too, and balls; Baylee was not a toy or ball dog at all.

We took her for her first walk today, and she suprised me by doing quite well on the leash, pretty good at sticking by my side. HOWEVER, the first dog we encountered, a big long haired mix of some kind, I unfortunately found out that Kaylee seems pretty aggressive, at last she was with that dog. Good thing I had her on leash, cause the other dog did not like her one bit either. We did encounter a smaller dog later on the walk, and although I was too nervous to let her get to close to it, she was wagging her tail at that one. And pulling like mad to get close to it! Baylee was quite dominant at the off leash park, and we really had to watch her, and it was such a drag.

So, I am not sure if it's just because she hasn't been around a lot of other dogs, or whether she's a scrapper. I am thinking about taking her to an obedience class; maybe that's a place I can safely find out, or is that bad, to take a potentially aggressive dog to an obedience class? I don't think she's downright nasty or anything; Baylee was a bit of scrapper, but we really worked with her on it, and she was controllable.

Anyway, overall we are encouraged, and I am enjoying her lots. I know she's in heaven: dog beds everywhere, beef chews, toys, balls, lovin', bed sleeps, and me who is all over her!

PS. My breeder is of the opinion that off leash parks are unsafe for dogs, and would prefer we always keep her on leash. I was so surprised to hear this. We took Buster and Baylee off leash constantly. I was under the impression that dogs needed to run off leash to get their full exercise. What is your opinion on this? Maybe I will post this question on a dog behaviour forum or something.

Thanks everyone!

Joni

 

[boxerborn]

I am so glad to hear that Kaylee is doing well in your home. I have been keeping track of your post and hoping for the best for you and your family.
We used to always take ours to off leash parks where we used to live in Georgia. I think it really helped socialize them with the other dogs, because of thier freedom to just walk up to them and join in on a group runs. There was occasionally a dog that had problems, but normally the owner was very aware and would be right there with thier dog at all times.
Where we live now there is no such think as a dog park. We have a new puppy and I feel bad that he has never had the experience of running free other than the back yard. I know that my other 2 really miss it. They still recognize the word park and run to the door all excited.
I am in the military, so the next time I start looking for orders, a big factor in where I decide to go will depend on if there is an off leash park around.

Angela
Rocky, ZayDee, and Cooper

 

[Debbie Magon]

New Zealand has no such thing as off leash dog parks.
All dogs must remain on leashes while at parks that allow dogs.

I think dog parks are just a scrap waiting to happen.
Many people have posted here about dog fights in parks.
The only fights my dogs have ever been invoved in was when they were off leash and so were a few others.
Its all very well expecting dogs to play together but this is actually contrary to a dogs true nature.
Only young pups would be expected to play in groups without domination causing aggression.
It takes just 1 dog to start an allout fight involving many dogs.

The safest place for off leash play, is open spaces such as reserves or beaches.
If you own a back yard, dogs can get plenty of exercise playing football etc.

 

[JulieM]

I'm with Debbie on this. Dog parks are really very unnatural things for dogs. Wolves and wild dogs do not have bashes where strange packs come together for a play date. I know a lot of people take their dogs to parks without any problems, and if the dog is OK with it that's fine, but some dogs aren't.

As for the aggression - Boxers as a rule don't like hairy dogs. Go to any dog show and you'll see Boxer handlers keeping a close eye out for fluffy hairy beasts running by - the little ones usually out at the end of the lead. :rolleyes: It's just a "thing" they have. That may be different in other countries, because it's quite possibly a thing that could have been passed on from one of North America's popular sires. You can generally work through this, she may never really like hairy dogs but you should be able to get her to at least stop lunging at them. Obedience class may work if you let the trainer know ahead of time that she has that tendency - some trainers are well set up to allow dogs to work on the sidelines as they get used to being around other dogs.