Our new baby is home!

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Guitarzan

Boxer Pal
Dexter made his first appearance in our home on Friday afternoon. He was very good.

Since he has been with us he has not had one single accident (other than falling off the couch). He even holds his pee and poo until morning! He is only 7 weeks old. What smart dogs!

The only problems we have are:

a) He is a bit rough with our 4 year old, nipping etc.
b) He doesn't like to be ANYWHERE except by your feet, and being a big guy I'm nervous I will step on him. We have a crate but only use it with the door open so he can go in and out. We keep it in the kitchen and gate the kitchen entrance. Worst thing that has happened is that he took all the magnets off the refrigerator and pulled the dish towells off the oven handle. He does cry like there is no tommorow when he is in there. Last night (his third night with us) was his best but he still cried for about 1 hour but didn't cry in the morning.

How can I keep him from jumping up and nipping at my four year old? I know he is just playing but it hurts my son (I think more emotionally than physically). A stern "NO" only deters him for about 3 seconds. Should I spank (lightly), Hold his mouth shut and say no, grab him by the loose skin on his neck and say no? I've heard so many different things I just don't know what to do!!!

HELP!

He is better than I'd EVER expected though.

I'll post a pic soon.
 

Krikkit

Boxer Insane
Dexter sounds like a great puppy :) These articles should be of great help in working on Dexter's bite inhibitation and relating to your 4 year old - http://boxerworld.com/links/Training_and_Behavior/Puppy_Biting_and_Chewing/

A forum search on biting will bring up many previous threads as well. To search go to http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/search.php?

The book 'Culture Clash' is an excellent resource to help with raising a puppy http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=11533

Looking forward to hearing a lot more about Dexter :)

Sharon
 

JSE1

Boxer Pal
CONGRATS ON THE NEW PUPPY, MY JESSI S THE SAME WAY, SHE HELD EVERY DROP NEVER WENT IN THE HOUSE, THE CRATE THING ONLY WORKS FOR JESSI WHILE WE ARE AT WORK THATS FROM ABOUT 800AM TILL 430PM ALTHOUGH MY HUSBAND COMES HOME AT LUNCH TIME AND AT NIGHT AROUND 100 TILL 600AM SHES IN THERE HOWEVER THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO GET IT TO WORK AND NOT FOR HER TO CRY IS THE CRATE IS IN OUR ROOM WHEN WE GET UP SHE GETS UP WHEN WE GO TO BED SHE GOES TO BED AND DURING THE DAY I LEAVE THE RADIO ON FOR HER. AS FOR YOUR SON I HAVE A 2 YR OLD AND JESSI NIPPS AND PULLS ALL DAY. SHE EVEN PULLED MY SON AROUND THE YARD ON HIS TRICYCLE BACKWARDS. ON THAT SUBJECT IM STILL LEARNING MYSELF,THE ONLY THING IVE FOUND IS THAT I DISCPILNE BOTH WHEN I SEE IT HAPPEN FOR MYSELF, THEY BOTH GET A TIME OUT KYLE IN HIS ROOM AND JESSI IN HER CRATE. HOPE IT HELPS. GOOD LUCK TO YOU. CANT WAIT TO SEE SOME PICTURES!!:)
 

Julie Davis

Boxer Insane
Congratulations on you new puppy, Dexter (love the name, by the way). You'll have many happy years with that rascal. :)
 

RyNTysMom

Boxer Booster
Congratulations on your new addition. It's nice to hear the potty training seems to be going well so far. You are quite lucky in that respect.
I may be able to help you with the nipping problem. We were lucky with Marlee in that she rarely nips us, and if she does, a stern "NO" will usually work. However, I've been taking her to kindergarten classes and nipping is a very common problem with the other puppies, and this is what our teacher recommends:

Make sure they are wearing a collar most of the time to make this effective. When they start to nip, firmly take a hold of there snout with one hand using your thumb and forefinger and make sure their lips aren't caught in the their mouth (the object isn't to hurt them in any way), with the other hand grab a hold of their collar and firmly hold them until they stop squirming. When you first grab their snout, say "No Bite" in a firm tone. ONLY release them once they stop resisting you (squirming to get away). Once they stop resisting, let them go and praise them. If you have to do it one hundred times a day to get the point across, then so be it. But usually, unless a puppy is REALLY stubborn, they will get the message after a few days.

My teacher recommends you do this ANYTIME the puppy's teeth come in contact with skin, even if it's an accident, so that they learn that they must control their mouths around humans.

I hope this helps you.

Take care and good luck with Dexter. :)
 

uno

Boxer Pal
Congrats on the new puppy. I love the name. My son sometimes calls Dempsey, Dexter. He loves to watch the Cartoon Network show Dexter's Laboratory. Is that where you got the name?
 

Guitarzan

Boxer Pal
Origin of Dexter

Yep, it's from the Cartoon Network. My four year old loves that show.

We couldn't decide between Zeus, Dexter and something else. We put the names in a bowl and let the 4 year old pick one. Luckily he picked his!
 
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