I need good advise on boxer dogs

donna1000

I bought a boxer dog 2 weeks ago, from a breeder she is six months old, she was living in a dog run quite small with her mother father 2 brothers and sister, we purchased the dog as a family pet to live inside but we are having reel problems, leaving her on her own she gets very distressed, when i say leaving her on her own i only mean 2 hours, yesterday i left her in the kitchen for 1 hour when i got home she had chewed the door now she wont even go into the room help please.

beth-lou

Maybe try leaving her for very short periods, 5 minutes to start with and then come back into the room. Stay a while, sit with her and after a while leave her again. She will learn that when you go away you always come back. Sounds like she's suffering seperation anxiety.

Have you left some chewy toys for her aswell. She is still a puppy and all pups love to chew. They are teething just like babies do and need something to knaw on. There are these rubber toys called kongs that you can get in the pet shop in which you can place a treat inside. They keep the dog distracted for a good while trying to get the treat from inside and she is also chewing something other than you furniture!

She is probably missing her buddies too, and it's only been two weeks, so bear with her. Eventually she will chill out but deffo invest in some chewy toys and treats.

Morganna

Boxers are terrible for chewing .

donna1000

;)thanks a mill beth, at the moment she is sleeping on the floor in my bedroom, as i cant leave her on her own, i will definitely try the kong thanks a mill

donna1000

chew ther is nothing left of my door

AngelicRaindrop

donna1000@eirco wrote: »

chew ther is nothing left of my door

thats how i got my boxer, his old owner of 2yrs was sick of him eating everything insight

we still have a few bad days, last week he ate chocolates brought home to me from holland:mad:. but on a whole once you give him toys to chew and occupy her with it should settle down a little... as above, just try leaving for short periods of time to begin with

donna1000

thanks its not really the chewing well it is really but just leaving her alone she howls and crys then gets very distructive i have had dogs in the past and never come across this problem

Sigma Force

Talk to the breeder if the breeder is responsible and knows what they are doing they should know everything there is to know about boxers.

Sashy

"Maybe try leaving her for very short periods, 5 minutes to start with and then come back into the room. Stay a while, sit with her and after a while leave her again. She will learn that when you go away you always come back. Sounds like she's suffering seperation anxiety."

As quoted by beth, this is true.

Can I just give you another piece of advice here will I am nearly 100% sure will help. Anytime you come back into the room ignore her for about 5 or 10 minutes,(i know this can be very hard if they are excited to see you, and you are happy to see them. Sometimes I am nearly more excited to see my dogs), it makes them think that it is not a big deal that you were away in the first place if you dont make a big deal out of things. Also if you are away for a long time, again ignore her for about 5/10 mins then go and say hello to her (hugs, kisses, baby talk however you show affection to your dog), this shows that you make you the rules andyou decide when to give affection.

Try this the next time you have a day off or a few hours to spend around the house.

- Leave the room, close the door and wait for about 5 mins, walk back in, ignore her, be very calm and casual when ignoring her for 5 mins (as if she really wasnt there). She will prob stand still for a few mins looking at you as if to say what is going on! Then go over to her, give her praise for being calm and say the words "good girl" in a happy tone, she will soon get to know your tone and know when she is being good. You may also give a treat here if you wish. I used ordinary dog nuts with my jack russel (he didnt even eat them all the time, just loved the praise!)

- Leave her again, this time for ten minutes, do the same again. Next time 20 mins, half an hour etc... build it up as much as you can. She will soon get to realise that your always coming back and get more comfortable awaiting your return.

- Even after a long time, never pet them straight away when you come in through the door, (this can be very hard, esp from a dog lover) but it works.

-Leave some chew toys around. There is also a spray that you can get to spray on legs of tables and chairs, I found this spray to be very effective myself. You can get this in most petshops.

-If you ever see her chewing when your there, say "no" firmly and loud and direct her away from the area. If this doesnt work get an empty clean spray bottle and fill it with water, give them a quick squirt with water if you see her chewing, she will soon even know when she has done wrong just even by seeing you hold the bottle, this does not hurt them in anyway whatsoever and can be very effective.

- Praise is by far the best method of training a dog when they do things right, always give plenty of praise when a dog is good.

- Excercise is also very important for any dog, especially in your case, boxers are very energetic and she will need to burn off some energy so that she can relax when you are away.

I have a jack russell cross breed who showed bad signs of dominance and chewing when he was a pup and the above methods worked wonders for him in all aspects. He even went for a couple of people, he didnt bite but was very scary for some people, I was told by an animal behaviourist to keep him locked in a cage when I wasnt here, (i was disgusted by this, this would be no life for a dog) this women does work in dublin!! So i did a lot of research on dogs and behaviour and did my own thing with him in the end, he is a brilliant little dog now, taught him how to sit, lie down, give the paw by these methods, (i know this isnt a big deal to some) but i am dlighted with him.

I also have a boxer girl, who is nearly 6 now and who has turned into the most graceful lady...out of 5 dogs we have, she is the biggest and the best mannered, they are a fantastic dog and very smart regardless of what some people say. They can be a bit of a handful as a pup as they really have so much energy, but bear with her and she will come good for you, all the best of luck with her

donna1000

Thanks sashy, i will keep you posted molly {the dog} is such fun loving she is very good with the children she loves her exercise 2 mile walk a day, thanks for the good advise wish me luck.

Sashy

They are an absolutely fantastic dog around kids, very protective over them aswell, my friends childs first word was the name of my boxer!!

You will be grand with her Donna, they can test you sometimes when they are puppies but all the work pays off in the end. They are such a gracious, affectionate, friendly, and the most lovable dog I have ever in my life came across.

Mine is suffering with arthritus now at present but she is in good form and not in any pain much with medication from the vet. She does seem a lot older for a dog from her age, a bit hobbly at times, but apart from this she is a healthy and very happy dog. They are prone to a lot of health problems, which is so unfortunate. I just hope that I have loads of more happy years with her..

Let us know how you get on with Molly, and how you are getting on with trying some of the things posted. All the best of luck

donna1000

Thanks sashy, i tried her today in the room spent 5 hours taking her for walks, trying her out in the utility room, she is not very happy going into the room i sit with her for a while then go out the room close the door wait as advised and then return closing the door when i go in waiting a while then praise her but she waits anxiously at the door i get the feeling she does not like the room, her food is in there her toys her bed but i have to trick her to get in there does this sound right.

Sashy

She needs to learn that this room is a good place to be when you are not there, basically at the minute she does not like this as she is alone and becomes anxious.
The thing here is as she was so used to being with other dogs for her whole life already, basically for the most important first months in her life, this is going to take some time. I dont agree with the breeder for keeping the dog with her parents for so long and with so many others dogs in a small dog run. Can I ask a question, why did the breeder only sell the pups at six months old and why was there still other pups left at this stage? Do you know are they a well recognised breeder?

Regardless of that, you have her now and want to sort the problem out. One other important thing that I will say for you to do is dont let her sleep in your bedroom. She will get too comfortable with this and will cause more trouble as she will always want to be there. Any of the things that I have researed into animal behaviour, every one of them has said never ever let a dog sleep in your room. This is to do with them thinking that they are on the same level as you and you need her to know that you are always the boss.

Thats good what you are doing with the walks..

As for the room: When you go out of the room, dont stand behind the door when you leave, go upstairs or somewhere else that she wont hear you.She will sense that you are there. When you go into the room and ignoring her, do some things in the room when you are ignoring her, ie(wash clothes, clean the worktop etc), she needs to see this room is a normal calm place, she needs to sense this from you aswell. When ignoring her for the them few mins, dont look at her.

Is your kitchen beside the utility room? And is she allowed in here?

If she is, when you are there leave the utility door open. Spend some time with her in the kitchen, learn her how to sit. When she sits and does it right, make her follow you into the utility room and then give her the treat and the praise. This would be a good excercise for her and she will soon associate the room as a good room. Also when you come back after a while let her into the kitchen and ignore her until she goes into the room so that you can say hello. If this works good she will associate this room as her room and her bed and she should even go to bed there and sleep if the door is open. If you have any sofas or chairs in the kitchen, never let her up on them.

Be patient with her and if things dont work out straight away dont panic, keep doing it. If you get annoyed or angry she will sense it aswell. Dont give in because if you do she will always remember this, dogs have an unbelievable attention to detail and will end up training you so that they can get their own way.

See how it goes for a while, give it another week or two and then see how things are getting on. In the mean time I will try and research a bit more on this.

playtara

if u get a teddy and leave it wit her,thats wat i done wit my new pup and my last one they both loved it! and there is spray u can get in pet shops u spray on stuff to stop them from chewing things. but do get toys for her 2 chew!!

donna1000

Thanks sashy, what a night, molly woke us at 6am, only to find she had gone into the daughters bedroom and had a number 2, today i will continue with the utility room, we bought her a kong she seems to like it? today i have placed a radio, a teddy toys and the kong in the room, but she is still getting very distressed in reply to your question {leaving door open kitchen} we live in a bungalow it is open plan she has access to the kitchen and living room which i do not mind she does not jump up on furniture or us only outside when she gets excited, in answer to your other question re; breeder we thought we did our homework made a few phone calls ispca etc, when we went to see molly she was the only female pup i think maybe she was the runt? the others seem to dominate her i guess really my heart took over not my brain, god she is so gorgeous i m really dreading tomorrow i have to make a few house calls in the morning so she will be left for 3 hours, is this cruel? sashy your knowledge and sympathy is so touching,i and my family really do appreciate your help.

Sashy

Thanks donna, I wouldn say I am expert or anything, far from it, but just have done a lot of research and suppose I learned a lot from owning different breeds all my life and my jack russel, he really tested my limits. Well I had to do the research with him as he was that domineering I was afraid of him biting someone, he jumped up into someones face one day! So it was a decision I had to make or he was gonna have to be put to sleep if he did bite. Turned out the basis for him being so domineering as he was the last pup to leave his mother at 4 and a half months old so that is why I was saying about the breeder leaving them with their mum until then, tbh I dont know the exact reason for this.
I like to give advice or help if I can, (i know my story is different than yours) but I was distraught about it, so I know how it feels. And tbh I loved reading about and researching it, I mite even take it further some day (see how it goes).
I also got a lot of advice from watching the dog whisperer, I had everyone in the house glued to it, I think caeser is absolutely fantastic with all the work he has done.
As for leaving her for 3 hours, I personnally do not think this is at all cruel, the reality is not everyone can spend all the time with their pets. Your excercising her plenty and feeding her and giving her water. She will soon get used to this if you need to go away on a regurlar basis for this time and she will soon know when you are due home.
Dont feel bad about going for the runt, my previous boxer was the smallest and she turned out grand, my heart rules over my head as well! Try not to dread what the next day comes (i know this can be hard). Molly will settle in yet, it is early days for you. I have a friend who has a boxer aswell, who is a real handful, he jumps up on top of you even though he is a year old and quite a big dog, he lifts things and runs about like a mad thing, but tbh its her own fault because she has let her dog to this and doesnt give him any training whatsoever. It is all down to the owner I am afraid to say. But from what I can from you, I think you will be okay, you want to do something about it and are trying hard. Bear with it.

I also think you have made a good choice in getting a boxer as I believe they are one of the best breeds to have with children.

When I find some more information I will let you know, keep us updated.

Honey-ec

Donna, Sashy has given you some fantastic advice on the separation anxiety, so the only thing I'll add is that you are over-exercising her a bit.

A Boxer's growth plates don't close until around 18 months of age and until then, it is absolutely vital not to over-exercise them as doing so can cause permanent damage to their joints.

The rule of thumb is 5 minutes of exercise per month of age, so at 6 months, she should only be walked for 30 minutes per day, so I would maybe cut down on the two-mile treks for the time being.

Good luck with the SA.

Sashy

Honey, didnt actually know that about the excercise for the boxers, though I prob should have especially with my own boxer having trouble her joints.. There you go you learn something new everyday, thanks for that Honey!!