New Puppy. A couple questions.

[smoothmann]

Hey guys and girls. Im a newbie here on the boxerworld forums. Glad to see there are people out there like me that just loves boxers. Anyways...to get to the point.

I just received my boxer this Friday 11.18.05. He was then 6 weeks and 1 day old. I had to drive 6 hours to get him, so, you can tell how anxious I was to get him. If you can see my avatar good enough, thats him. I named him Jaxon-Ali. "Jax" for short. Ali only because of the greatest boxer in the world who's hometown is only an hour away from mine. Got off track again....


#1 He sleeps ALL the time. Is this normal for this young of a puppy? He was given an "8-in-one" shot the day I picked him up, and also has a big knot on the back of his neck that the vet says is probably from the shot, and should go away soon. I'm serious...he sleeps about 15 hours out of 24 a day, and he LOVES to cuddle..hehe..I love that part.

#2 I looked on the forums and didnt see this answer, but, is there an age frame where he needs to get his ears clipped? Should I do it as soon as possible, or wait until he gets bigger? The vet I take him to, refuses to do it, I don't blame them really, and I'm still deciding on whether to do it or not. I'm partial to the big floppy ears myself.

#3 He only has one testical! The vet said the other one may drop, does this happen? Has anyone else encountered this?

#4 Small heart murmur. Vet said this shouldnt be a problem. Heck..I had a big one when I was born...so..I know how we can heal from those.

#5 Earmites. Vet states we cannot treat for those until he's 12 weeks old. Will these be a problem until then, other than causing wax buildup, and bugging the crap out of him? He gave me a solution to clean his ears out with once weekly.


Ok...I think thats enough. I apologize for making everyone read my long post. Im not completely new to boxer owning. I had one in my early teen years, and didnt encounter any of these problems. His name was Zeke, and he died of cancer. I was absolutely in love with him, and I thought it was about time to fill that void....I mean....seriously...how do people live without having a baby boxer in their life?

Thanks Guys...nice meeting everyone! I uploaded 2 photos of baby Jax in my gallery for you all to see whenever they get approved.

 

[courtney323]

Hi smoothmann -

Welcome to Boxerworld. Please take a minute to post your Introduction (in the "Introductions" Forum). This is something required of all new members, and should have been your first post, before participating in the other Forums.
www.boxerworld.com/rules

 

[leeshie45]

Hi there!
Congrats on Jax! I can't see him all that well, but I'm sure he's adorable.
I don't have too many answers to your questions, as Champ is my first boxer, and I don't know what's normal and what's not. :confused:

He seems a little young - 6 weeks! I thought that most pups go home at 8 weeks - minimum seven. I got Champ at 7 weeks and yes, he slept ALL of the time. That was especially when I first got him - he didn't know me yet, very shy, etc. As he got older, he of course woke up to play more and more as each day went on. I didn't time it though, so not sure if 15 hours is excessive.

IMO - Keep the floppy ears!!! I don't know how old they have to be, because I never really considered doing it.

Earmites - Champ had them since before I got him, i would assume. I didn't even know he had them because he never shook his head or scratched his ears. His ears were jsut stinky. He seems fine until we got the treatment.

That's all I know for now!! :D

 

[Boxerworld]

I uploaded 2 photos of baby Jax in my gallery for you all to see whenever they get approved.

They were deleted because you uploaded in the members category which is forbidden. From the rules at http://boxerworld.com/rules:

Please post photos of boxers in the appropriate categories and never in "members". Any photo uploaded to the members gallery or wrong category will be deleted.

Olly

 

[mmichaelson]

Hey guys and girls. Im a newbie here on the boxerworld forums. Glad to see there are people out there like me that just loves boxers. Anyways...to get to the point.

Welcome to BW!

I just received my boxer this Friday 11.18.05. He was then 6 weeks and 1 day old. I had to drive 6 hours to get him, so, you can tell how anxious I was to get him. If you can see my avatar good enough, thats him. I named him Jaxon-Ali. "Jax" for short. Ali only because of the greatest boxer in the world who's hometown is only an hour away from mine. Got off track again....

That's all right - we all get off track. Sounds cute

#1 He sleeps ALL the time. Is this normal for this young of a puppy? He was given an "8-in-one" shot the day I picked him up, and also has a big knot on the back of his neck that the vet says is probably from the shot, and should go away soon. I'm serious...he sleeps about 15 hours out of 24 a day, and he LOVES to cuddle..hehe..I love that part.

Yes, this is normal - most people won't get their pups any earlier than 10 weeks, since they learn valuable developmental things during those weeks (ie bite inhibition) He will sleep A LOT for quite some time

#2 I looked on the forums and didnt see this answer, but, is there an age frame where he needs to get his ears clipped? Should I do it as soon as possible, or wait until he gets bigger? The vet I take him to, refuses to do it, I don't blame them really, and I'm still deciding on whether to do it or not. I'm partial to the big floppy ears myself.

My vet would do it no later than 12 weeks, but we opted not to. We're not showing Sam and it seemed too painful for us to put him through just for cropped ears.

#3 He only has one testical! The vet said the other one may drop, does this happen? Has anyone else encountered this?

His other testicle may never drop. We had Sam neutered at 10 weeks and neither of his testicles were very viewable at that time.

#4 Small heart murmur. Vet said this shouldnt be a problem. Heck..I had a big one when I was born...so..I know how we can heal from those.

Did your vet grade the heart murmur to know how severe it is? It could still be a problem if the vet is not familiar with this type of thing.

[quopte=smoothmann]#5 Earmites. Vet states we cannot treat for those until he's 12 weeks old. Will these be a problem until then, other than causing wax buildup, and bugging the crap out of him? He gave me a solution to clean his ears out with once weekly.[/quote] Sam never had earmites - no help there.


I hope to see pics of baby Jax soon. As soon as he's had all of his puppy shots, I'd enroll him in a puppy kindergarten class to help with socialization, since he was removed from his siblings at a very young age. Good luck!

 

[StormKatz]

Six Weeks old?
Ear mites?
Heartmurmer?
Eight in one shot???
One Testical?

Boy did the person you bought this pup from have a big sign in front of their house that said "Irresponsible breeder"???

Sheesh... Well first & four most no responsible breeder would have let you bring that pup home at 6 weeks old. Puppies need to be with their dams & littermates until at least 8 weeks, that time is detrimental for their emotional development, bite inhibition, etc.

I've never even heard of an 8 in one shot, & considering the Ear mites, Heart murmur, etc, I would say it's VERY safe to assume that this breeder didn't keep a responsible veterinary routine if any.

As far as the testical, since he's still so young I wouldn't worry yet.. they will often drop as the pup ages. However you do need to keep a close eye on it, & work with your vet, because if it doesn't drop he will need surgery to remove it. A retained testical can cause all sorts of problems & be very dangerous.

It is normal for a puppy that age to sleep quite a bit, of course as I understand it murmurs will often cause them to require more sleep.

Ear cropping is normally done before 12 weeks, your pup is much too young (& has too many concerns right now for it to even be considered). Furthermore putting an animal with a heart murmur under for any surgery is like playing Russian Roulette, you'd be lucky if he made it threw surgery.

Personally I think you may be sitting yourself up for a lot of heartbreak with this puppy, situations such as this are one of the big things BW tries to help new owners avoid.

All in all this is a bad situation you've walked into.... sadly it may be you & that puppy that pay dearly for it. If it were me I'd take the puppy to get a second opinion simply because there is so much going on, & in the future please do your research & work with a reputable breeder when you get a pet.

Good luck to you & your new baby.

 

[smoothmann]

Wow. Thanks for all the good info! Man...I didnt expect so many replies that quickly.

in the future please do your research & work with a reputable breeder when you get a pet.

Youre right...I should have...the excitement got the best of me I guess. I havent been to this site until friday when I got him. Sorry to disappoint you guys.

Did your vet grade the heart murmur to know how severe it is? It could still be a problem if the vet is not familiar with this type of thing.

He told me it was very minor. He was a real nice guy, and I think if it were something to worry about, he would have made a bigger deal about it. We go back for more shots in a little over a week or so...I'll look more into that, and the testical problem


You guys are awesome!

 

[mmichaelson]

Don't feel too badly. Many of us made the mistake of buying from 'bad' breeders before we knew better. I got Sam at six weeks from a back yard breeder here in tx. and thank God we haven't had any major problems. We do have nipping problems, since he didn't learn bite inhibition, but be prepared for that.

Also, like I said, as soon as Jax is up to date on all puppy shots, I'd enroll him right away in obedience training to socialize and get help with his obedience.

Boxers need to be busy, and training him will help that.

Other than that - take lots of pics, and have fun. Keep an eye on that heart murmur - sometimes they actually outgrow it - but when you take him in for shots, etc have them listen again just to be safe.

 

[smoothmann]

Also, like I said, as soon as Jax is up to date on all puppy shots, I'd enroll him right away in obedience training to socialize and get help with his obedience.

Yeah I forgot to say, that, the Animal Hospital, where I take baby Jax, hosts their own obedience training once or twice a year. They're next class is in the springtime, he will be there with bells and whistles on. Thats the only place around here that has that. Unless I wanted to drive an hour.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[KonaKoffe]

Personally I think you may be sitting yourself up for a lot of heartbreak with this puppy, situations such as this are one of the big things BW tries to help new owners avoid.

All in all this is a bad situation you've walked into.... sadly it may be you & that puppy that pay dearly for it. If it were me I'd take the puppy to get a second opinion simply because there is so much going on, & in the future please do your research & work with a reputable breeder when you get a pet.

SMOOTHMAN:

First of all congrats on your new baby. I would not worry about heartbreak at this time. Just enjoy your new baby. You have made your decision - just worry about things when they need worrying.

The ear mites is easily addressed with medication.
Many puppies have heart murmers that they grow out of.
Talk to your vet about getting the pup on a proper vaccination and deworming schedule.
Due to his young age the testicle may drop (and probably will) as he gets older - this is not an uncommon situation.
6 weeks is young to be removed from the litter but not detrimental - what is done is done. Typically, a responsible breeder keeps them with the rest of the litter until a minimum of 8 weeks so they develop mental and social skills.

Just love you new baby and don't worry about your quick decision.