Boxer Training Questions

[Tammy C]

Hi, I just adopted a neglected boxer puppy that is approximately 7 months old. She doesn't know her name or the basic commmands ie sit, stay, come, heel

Any help as to how I can get her to do any of these commands would be greatly appreciated. She is a tad bit stubborn and thinks everything is a game.

Also, what treats or bones should I be giving her?

Any other advise on boxers would be appreciated.

Thank you,

[Eremda]

Good luck with the boxer. Stubborness is part of the breed. You will have to work with it. I myself adopted a neglected and abused boxer at a year and half. We have had him now a little over a year and he is still a work in progress.

I believe through experience that lots of exercise is the key. A boxer is a needy dog. They require lots of attention and are not the kind of dog to go lay down quietly in a corner when you are home. They can be very destructive if not entertained. We have not used a crate in his training as he was older and had never been put in one before, although I am sure that using a crate would have save my couch, carpets and other things ruined during our adjustment period. A boxer will follow you from room to room just to be with you and see what you are doing.

My dog is alone while I am at work and the kids are at school, but gets a good hour or more walk at night. He can be quite pesky and persistant if you try to sit and watch TV or use your computer. My dog tries to sit in the computer chair with me and at 90 lbs that is quite a feat. He has since stopped destroying the furniture but the kids stuffed animals are still fair games.

In the fall sign up for an obedience class, and in the meantime work with your dog on the sit, down and stay. Also walking on a leash nicely. I use a haltie on mine as he is large and was somewhat agressive when we brought him home.

Boxers are great clowns and very expressive dogs. You will hardly ever have to wonder what this dog wants. They will let you know one way or another.

The dog park is a great place to let the dog run and tire themselves out completely. It is also great for the socialization of your puppy. This is my first experience with a boxer and I now have a great love for the breed. You will find all boxer owners share a bond and are very willing to help and to stop and talk about their dogs.

You must be firm and consistance with this breed, they like to be in charge. They will be very pushy for your time and attention and due to their size need to be taught obedience.

My dog does not like the cold or rain and will not go out for any reason. He sleeps under the covers by my feet at night. Boxers should not be left out in the elements for any reason. We use baby sunscreen on our dog around the nose and ears.

We also feed him Purina One Large Breed Formula, which was recommended by our vet and is relatively inexpensive and readily available at the grocery store and Walmart, Zellers, etc.

We also buy the soup bones at Sobeys for him. This is a great way to occupy him if there is something you want to watch on TV and need a few minutes of rest.

Please if you have any more questions feel free to ask. I will try to help and maybe there are more experienced boxer owners here.

[T4]

Call Anne Savoy she will be able to let you know when her next training classes are available, and she even does private lessons in your home as well. She is very helpful, her number is in the book.

[Atchbe]

I too highly recommend Ann Savoy, she is wonderful. Start out with puppy classes to learn all the basic's.

Boxers are a high energy dog as previously mentioned, and require mental and physical activities. Agility is another thing to look into, fun for you and fun for your Boxer and uses up tons of energy.

Also, impliment the NILIF policy
http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm (http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm) this is a wonderful training tool for dogs no matter if they are shy or bold.
Dogs need rules, without them they get confused. Be consistent, do not allow a bad behavior one day then decide it's off limits the next. Dogs learn by repetition and from things that bring them pleasure. If the dog jumps on you and you laugh and pat the dog and half heartedly say, down boy down...hee hee...the dog does not understand English and only takes your behavior as consent that jumping up is a good thing because it makes good things like pats and happy laughter happen. Always keep that in mind;) use only positive training and redirect your dog to the behavior you want repeated. For example you come home your Boxer comes rushing at you and jumps up licking your face...cross your arms, turn away and give the command to sit (once learned of course<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shape id=_x0000_i1026 style="WIDTH: 11.25pt; HEIGHT: 11.25pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/ctrento/Local%20Settings/Temp/msoclip1/04/clip_image002.gif" o:href="http://www.isaintjohn.com/classifieds/images/smilies/bigsmile.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape>) once the Boxer sits, then give praise and belly rubs.
Also, to avoid separation anxiety make good things happen when you leave the house, perhaps this is the only time she gets her Kong filled with dog treats and perhaps cream cheese. Put on some music and make your departure very uneventful. A good crate may be a good idea to ensure she doesn't get into any trouble while your out. Do not use the crate for punishment or time out's. You don't want the crate being looked at as a bad thing.

Be sure to socialize your new Boxer, dogs go through an imprint process up to 16 wks. They also have a window of social opportunity during adolescent years...make sure you take advantage and make all experiences positive.

I personally am not thrilled about the ingredient list in the Pro Plan dog foods. I would go with a nice food like Canidae, Solid Gold, Go Natural, Nature's Variety or another quality pet food, which you can find at global pet store. The only grocery store brand of dog food I would ever buy is Holistic blend sold in the natural food section of the Superstore.

The best food you can get around here and very reasonably priced is Natura sold at Barley, Malt & VIne Co. Ltd. She did a lot of research on dog food and found the best you can get.

I also recommend adding half canned to half kibble. Also, once a week I add tripe to my dogs food,stinky but very good for them this can be found at Global. Even better if you can do the research feed a home prepared raw diet. Dr Tompkins a homeopathic vet can help you with a feeding guideline. also, contrary to belief canned food does not cause dental problems or tarter. A poor quality dog food with poor quality grains, too high Carb's and sugar can cause dental problems. Kibble does not clean teeth.
<O:p
As for chew toys, a nice kong bone is great to occupy a mind. You can fill with treats etc. For recreational chewing I recommend Raw Meaty Bones, I give my dogs raw turkey necks every so often as well . I would make sure the dog is supervised when chewing RMB's as sometimes you can get an aggressive chewer. </O:p
For treats, sometimes I pick up beef liver and steam it, cut it up and use as treats...sometimes beef heart which is high in co enzyme Q-10. If you want pre made treats, Canidae, Wellness, Natura...the good quality dog foods make good quality snacks.

Good luck and have fun.:D Be sure to go to obedience so you and your new Boxer can learn together and form a nice bonding relationship. <O:p

[Eremda]

A toy that I have found very useful in addition to the Kong filled with Peanut butter is an orange ball I bought at Global. It has a hole that you fill with small treats and they are dispensed with the dog throwing the ball and rolling it around. In fact that is how I am able to type this without interruption and also watch the hockey game tonight. It costs about $15 dollars . My dog likes fruit loops in his. I know, I know that is not very healthy, but gee I feed them to my kids. I have also bought small dog treats at the Pet Corral and the Bulk Barn that work just as well.

[mouse]

i have a boxer mix and she is jsut like u described needs to be under the blankets and loves to sit on our laps lol and she also like to sit on the back of the couch and the cats
boxers are a very affectionate breed and i have really grown to love them, she is my first but most definitally not my last. and does anyone know the # to anne savoy i would like to try her obedience classes.

[adorabull]

i have a boxer mix and she is jsut like u described needs to be under the blankets and loves to sit on our laps lol and she also like to sit on the back of the couch and the cats
boxers are a very affectionate breed and i have really grown to love them, she is my first but most definitally not my last. and does anyone know the # to anne savoy i would like to try her obedience classes.

I beleive her claases are over until fall now, isnt a huge demand for classes over summer, shame really, her number is in the book.

[adorabull]

A toy that I have found very useful in addition to the Kong filled with Peanut butter is an orange ball I bought at Global. It has a hole that you fill with small treats and they are dispensed with the dog throwing the ball and rolling it around. In fact that is how I am able to type this without interruption and also watch the hockey game tonight. It costs about $15 dollars . My dog likes fruit loops in his. I know, I know that is not very healthy, but gee I feed them to my kids. I have also bought small dog treats at the Pet Corral and the Bulk Barn that work just as well.

If you freeze the king and pnut butter it lasts twice as long:)

[deedledee]

I too took the obedience classes up in Grand Bay for my boxer about 8 years ago now. Ann Savoie is very highly recommended. I found her so knowledgeable, and of course she breeds and shows dogs and I think has her own kennel/boarding. Ann taught us a lot of hand signals for the dogs as well so if you are far away from your pet or in a noisy setting the dog can still see you . Very clever.
My recommendation would be to set aside an hour with your dog , with a leash and a nylon choker, and some nice smelly treats. Try to make her understand that you are the dominant and when she does as she is told reward her with a treat and TONS of praise.
Always try to use one syllable words, like SIT, STAY, HEEL, DOWN, COME.
When you say things like sit down, lay down, you confuse her. both have down and she may not follow you.
Simple things like sit, you may need to guide her butt down to that position. To make her lay put the treat in your hand in front of her nose and bring it to the floor as you say DOWN, and show her where your hand is going, she will follow the treat. Then give praise. Once se gets the hang of it, you will not have to use the treat just show her the hand gesture of the open hand waving down to the floor as you say DOWN, and she should understand what you are doing.
To make her stay try using your open palm hand up in front of her nose , like a stop, or a high five, and tell her to stay.
to sit use your fist (wrist down, like you were playing a game of "knuckles") in front of her nose as you say SIT. She will learn this command and eventually you will just have to make the fist, and not say anything, and she will sit.
I snap my fingers for heel and point to my feet. That usually works too, but she definatly needs to be leash trained first for this to work.

We crate trained as a puppy, and he now loves his crate. We usually keep the top off it and that is "his space" although he doesn't mind sharing when our son wants in to play .
Our dog LOVES our children and is so super friendly with all the neighbourhood kids. This was a learning process for him as he used to be our baby and go everywhere with us, and did go through quite a bit of seperation anxiety when we first had children. It was an awful time for him. 9 years later, he still thinks he is part human part lap dog, he is a big silly goof, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. Not much of a guard dog though, although he does apparantly look "vicious" to other people. To me he just looks like a drooling goof. And I love the way he looks at you and tips his head from side to side as you speak to him like he completly understands what you are saying!
I totally agree that other boxer owners are so friendly and always want to talk to you about you dog and share about their own dog. I would recommend this breed to anyone, and it will definatly not be my last one!

[Tammy C]

Thank you for all of the informative information. I am going to try most of the advise and I must say that she won't listen to me but when I let her loose in the backyard, my neighbor's children have taught her to chase a ball, bring it back and sit. So she won't listen to me but she will listen to a 5 year old. Pretty sad Eh

[SRC]

Waiting until the fall for an obediance class is way too long to wait with a 7 month old misbehaving dog(not that your dog is bad, it's just untrained). I don't want to put anyone's advice down because it's all very good, I also am not going to say don't go to an obediance class because they are worth it(or so I assume). I've grown up training dogs and have never gone to a trainer, I've also had very VERY minimal problems with my dogs, and those problems don't strike me as the kind that obediance classes touch. The last pup I got I thought I would do some research first, I went to the library and picked up a few books on the subject and by far the best one was 'The Art of Raising a Puppy' by The Monks of New Skete; they run an obediance school and have written an excellent book on the subject, covering every aspect from raising pups from birth right through into adulthood, and they really know their stuff. At the very least it's worth borrowing from the library just once to check it out, but it's sold at Coles. If you're familier with dogs, with some dedication and patience that book can replace every aspect of obediance class except the social aspect. Again I won't recommend not taking an obediance class, but you need to start training your dog immediately because it's already too late, the sooner you start the better it will be for you, your new friend and your bank account.

[puppyluv]

Updates on the progress with your puppy?

[Misty589]

sent pm

[Atchbe]

Tammy C
The reason your dog is coming for children and not you is children are initiating play time. If you do the same thing then your dog will learn that a recall to you is fun and exciting as well. :)

Try to make yourself approachable to your dog. For teaching recalls you can either use a long leash and call the dogs name once and gently pull in to you and reward and praise. This marks the come to you as a positive behavior. Never call your dog over and over again, they just learn to ignore you and never really understand a recall. Only call a dog once, if they do not come then show them in a positive manner what you expect.

Another thing I've done with some dogs to teach a good recall is to have them in a huge enclosed area. Let them run around, then I call their name "Sally, come!" and run the opposite direction. This triggers the chase motor pattern in most dogs. Once they catch up to you slightly bend and greet them at a side position and praise. Be sure that you pet your dog and praise and do not put back on a leash. If every time a dog does a recall they are put back on a leash or taken in the house it will be looked at in a negetive way. Do recalls to initiate play time, treats etc make them fun like children do. The children you mentioned are calling the dog to play, this is pretty exciting for the dog and of course wants to join in.

Good luck