new boxer small teething problems

woody1

not really problems yet anyway
we bought a year old boxer from a friend of a friend who couldnt give him enough exercise due to work commitments
brought him home and the first night was a disaster as i thought it would be up all night with him
second night fine had basket in the living area all day put it in utility when we were eating back to living later etc.. like i say second night he was fine into utility door closed not a peep all night
third night
pulled coats down of hooks..scratched door and generally made a nuisance of himself until i took all the distractions out of the room ( lead left hanging on coat hooks was probably the culprit ) and then settled til the morning
fourth night
reasonably okay until about 4 in the morning when he was bouncing on the door again ..let it go for about ten minutes and then went down to see / let him out.. had burst the cushion he was sitting on... didnt take much the ****e zip broke and sure then he pulled out all the padding
let him out .. chilled for rest of nite
last nite
settled quick enough in the utility with the door open and stair gate up ( chanced his arm at hopping the gate once or twice ) but settled quick .. again was quiet until about 6 banging door again again i let it go for 10 minutes but he wasnt stopping went down let him out and he relaxed until i got up

so questions

should i bother getting up when hes bouncing on the door, is he associating this with me getting up to him..so should i just leave him for a few nights until he settles


should i leave a chew toy or something in with him or will this just be a distraction

should i leave water with him overnight 1. i dont want to have him drink loads so he wants to go out more at night 2. he played with the bowl one of the nites metal on tiles is annoying when your trying to sleep but he was trying to drink out of the puddles this morning

we are improving daily and we dont have him a week yet but i want to settle him as quickly as possible

hes getting walked twice a day morning and evening about a kilometre in the mornings ( im having trouble getting my arse up early enough ) and about 3 or 4k in the evenings i hope to increase this bit by bit and get him out into the garden soon ( i have gates to hang before i can do this ) and i dont want to put him out on a long rope...

from anyone elses experience what kind of distance should he be getting walked my parents have a boxer and had one before and they didnt get walked as much as this guy..but they had the run of the garden so that probably made it up even though they never seemed to do a lot in it


hes very good on the lead obviously previous owner did a good job with him but hes pulling a bit every now and then whats the best way to stop this turn and go the other way make him sit every time he does it treats for when hes good

..again based on my knowledge of my familys boxers i wouldnt say theyd be into jogging but ive read elswhere that boxers are good dogs to run with and i do a lot of running and my wife does a bit has anyone out there with a boxer any experience of this it would free up my schedule a lot to be able to get the running and dog excercising done at the same time

lastly... hes in the house and i want him in the house but there will be days / nights where he has to go outside i know their not fond of the cold i have a steel pen onto the side of a garage with a hole knocked thru and a massive kennel inside plywood lined with insulation that i had left over from house build its on the most sheltered side of the garage so there shouldnt be much wind and the actual kennel section is well away from the hole in the wall so it shoudnt be breezy anyway i presume this is alright does anyone bother with heat lamps or anything else during the winter

jesus thats a long post sorry
ive had dogs all my life as a kid / teenager at home but its not until your the boss that you realise all the things you have to think of

mymo

Sounds like he's needing to go out to the loo, does he go out before bed?
Also what time are you feeding him in the evenings? I have found feeding my two after 6.30 or 7 can mean a wake up call at 5am for loo brake.
You need a routine at bedtime, short walk even 5 or 10mins, come home and settle down for 30mins or so, put his bed in utility, bring him out in garden, then in to bed. Once the dog knows the routine he'll be calmer and more likely to sleep through, try to get up same time in mornings and keep bedtimes regular.
Remember a boxer is slow to mature, a year is still a pup. Also the exercise depends on the dog, I know one boxer that walks for 15mins and sleeps all day, another that would go for hours, you just need to find his right amount.

As for lead walking, if he's pretty good just bring some dog nuts in your pocket, when you're walking and he's doing well tell him and give a treat now and then, if he pulls just suddenly change direction and say heal, it works very quickly. Often they walk watching your pocket can be useful for recall and off lead walking too.

Boxers love the heat and comfort so not sure about getting him to sleep out, might work in summer the odd night but for now I'd concentrate on settling him in.

woody1

feeding him at 9 cos thats what his previous owners did
doing pretty much exactly what your saying otherwise

he wont be sleeping out too often maybe 3/4/5 times a year but hel have to be out during the day more often that that so just want to get the set up right

will try that with the walking... and il try lengthening his walks for a bit to see if it makes any difference yeah i appreciate that hes a pup and thats why i want to get him into good habits before he gets bad ones that we cant do anything about

portgirl123

id say feeding him at 9 pm is your problem. poor dog needs a toilet break and is telling you. i would as previous owner said not feed after 6-7 pm. i actually dont feed mine after 5. they get fed at 7.30am and again at 5pm. i find then been put out for 10 mins before bed around 10 is fine they then sleep through till i get up.
Pics please.

woody1

yeah im beginning to agree with ye to be honest it seemed strange to me to be feeding a dog that late but the people i got him off were doing it and i didnt want to change his schedule too much mite bring it back by an hour every day for a couple of days to get it to a more normal time

il get photos up later on, dont have any on this computer

Discodog

mymo wrote: »

Remember a boxer is slow to mature, a year is still a pup.

I have had 4 & none of them ever grew up .

I would always feed, wait a couple of hours & walk. So mine get fed about 5pm & walked, off lead, at 7pm. They then go out for a pee just before I go to bed.

Honey-ec

You've had excellent advice here so the only thing I'll add is that boxers' growth plates don't fuse until they're about 18 months old, so it's not a good idea to exercise them too much before that. About 5 minutes per month of age is the guideline.

I have three boxers at home, one practically has to be dragged out for a walk, the other two think they're greyhounds.

Bog Bunny

Would you consider crate training him for his night session? It would help with the destructive behaviour. I've had two boxers in the past; one an absolute dote and gentleman (neutered) and easy-going and highly trainable as a pup, but the next one was hell on four legs - a shredder, chewer, puller-down of clothes from the line, a regular tsunami when in play mode, only began to settle (somewhat) when he was middle age. They can be high maintenance at times but you just have to love them, don't ya?

luvdogs

Great advice given already, i just wanted to say he sounds like a very lucky boy...best of luck with him!

woody1

cheers for the advice
fed him earlier last nite round 7.30 had already walked him at 6 ish for half an hour
moved him out to the utility with the door open and the stair gate up and he was the most unsettled yet constantly trying to jump it and get back in to us... eventually settled and i brought him out round 11 back in closed the door and went to bed and didnt hear much for the nite
got down this morning and discovered hes done a poo on the floor he may have had a wee as well hard to know its on a dark door matt
its a bit dissapointing cos he is so good generally and i can see that hes trainable hes picking up what we want him to do very quickly sitting before putting lead on waiting at the door etc

but most of this is as much our fault in adjusting to him as it is his more so ours hes only a dog he cant open the door if he wants to go out and thats the first time hes done that since we got him so he mustve been in a bad way but im more worried that i didnt hear him banging or whining hopefully he was cos i dont want him to think its okay to poo in the hall
so my own conclusion is to bring him out for longer before putting him to bed hopefully that works

other people here are saying to feed then walk later on but id have to change when he eats a lot to do that and im out in the sticks its pitch dark any later than 6.30

as for putting him in a crate yeah it makes our life easier not sure how hed take to it though mentioned it to the wife after the second or third nite and she wasnt keen on having the crate in the way around the place and if you lock him into a box will he not just cry all nite

so back to the original point seeing as hes gone to the loo on the floor should i be going down and letting him out during the nite ( im getting up for baby bottles anyway ) but then if we get into the habit of that will we ever break it

as for the pulling on the lead i turned 180 a few times this morning and i can see even at this stage that thats gonna work with him so thats progress at least

hes getting about 40 to 60 mins walking so thats about right for his age would you jog with him then or is he too young

[IMG]http://\\SERVER1\Users\GillianHeverin\My Documents\My Pictures\oscar1.jpg[/IMG]

woody1

i know ive put up pictures before but my brain wont switch on today and tell me how
any help please

andreac

Personally i dont think its fair to expect a young pup to hold it in all night, their bladders arent strong enough yet and they will just go when they feel the need to.
I really would suggest a crate, but you will have to get up at some stage in the night for a toilet break for a while yet until hes a bit older.

Yes you can break the habit, by gradually stretching out the time that you go down to him so he will eventually be holding on until the morning.

If you dont want to use a crate you are going to have accidents for a while yet im afraid.
Either way, the pup needs to be let out at some stage during the night as 7-8 hours is too long for the pup to try and hold it in.

Ok, just realised this dog is a year old so should be able to hold it for the night, but as hes having accidents at the mo, you need to break the habit, so maybe treat him as young pup for the moment until you get a routine going.

deadlast

andreac wrote: »

Personally i dont think its fair to expect a young pup to hold it in all night, their bladders arent strong enough yet and they will just go when they feel the need to.

Unless i read it wrong, the OP's dog is 1yr. Have you brought him to the vet to see if there's something wrong?

Try getting him used to the utility room for short amounts of time during the day. Leave lots of toys and maybe a radio on with him. Hopefully he'll get settled with you soon!

portgirl123

how long have you had the boxer? if its not long he is still prob stressed at leaving his original owners, he had prob a dif routine. Are you feeding him dif food? If so, his tummy might be ajusting to the dif food. Where did he spend his nights before? if outside he would just used to go when/where he felt like it. would never of had to learn to hold it.

I would do what Andrea suggested and start at the begining as if he is a pup. Im sure once he settles he will soon get the hang.

funnygirl2009

ave 2, male is 10 and female is 6 and they are both still bananas, they have never grown up, only got the male when he was 4yrs old, rescued dog and he is the best. someone put good effort and work into him

yours is still a puppy, would def feed earlier in the evening.

my brother in law, runs every day with his 2 boxers, 9 and 5 yrs old they are, he has them trained great, when they get to pitch off the leads but the run along side him.

u'll have great fun with this dog, every house should have a boxer

woody1

have him 6 days today so yeah still adjusting would expect him to be for a while yet my queries are more to make sure im not doing anything wrong than complaining about the dog..
he was inside in previous house
have started to adjust his food mixing it with what he was having bit by bit
going to vet tomorrow for general check up and booster vaccination but i dont think theres anything up with him
i dont mind getting up im getting up anyway i just dont want to get him into the habit
personally i dont mind the crate idea and itd be handy for when all of us have to leave the house at any stage if i dont want to put him out

portgirl123

woody1 wrote: »

have him 6 days today so yeah still adjusting would expect him to be for a while yet my queries are more to make sure im not doing anything wrong than complaining about the dog..
he was inside in previous house
have started to adjust his food mixing it with what he was having bit by bit
going to vet tomorrow for general check up and booster vaccination but i dont think theres anything up with him
i dont mind getting up im getting up anyway i just dont want to get him into the habit
personally i dont mind the crate idea and itd be handy for when all of us have to leave the house at any stage if i dont want to put him out

his a lucky dog to have you

woody1

okay so following on from this morning my missus had to go out a couple of times during the day half hour and hour ish first time grand no bother
second time hes swiped a towel and kitchen roll and had a good lash at those but il put that down as our fault for leaving them there
but hes chewed the ****e out of the architrave of the door which cant be good for him.....
so crate
how do we train him to go into in and be happy staying in it given that hes not a puppy and probably isnt going to go into it anyway handy i dont just want to put him into it tonite straight away but i dont want him eating the door either so im probably going to have to and i dont want to give him negative ideas of it but i dont see any way around it

im semi hopeful that the utility door being left open will be a big help....

woody1

so its more than a week since the last update
oscar is now in a crate has been for about a week or so and he took to it quite easily so no more eating door frames or nite time accidents
walking has improved a lot but he wasnt bad to start with thanks for all advice there
brought him to the vet for shots as original owner had forgotten to get booster shots so we had to start again got general check up and it appears he has some kind of allergy or infection the vet advised to take his cushion off him and put him on paper / cardboard ( which hes loving ! ) for a while to see if hes allergic to bedding hes been on it a week and hes still pink on his legs and underneath vet put spot on on him so it shouldnt be fleas but i washed him on saturday in flea shampoo just to be sure and there appears to be somewhat of an improvement
vet took a few slides to see what else it could be hoping to get results today and make some progress on getting him sorted
there have been occasional accidents in the house but there few and far between so im not overly worried i have him stretched out to 6 hours at night now and il keep stretching that to be honest i think hed be fine if i left him the night but id be so annoyed if there was an accident that its worth getting up for another couple of weeks to make sure that there isnt

one day i wasnt in the house and he peed on the floor / curtains now thats not annoying in itself but my wife caught him and she says he cocked his leg now that doesnt sound like an accident it hasnt happened since i presume the only way to deal with it is to scold him if hes caught in the act he had been brought out not long before

but in general things are heading in the right directions we have a pen and a kennel inside the garage now so we can leave him out if we all have to go for a while still working on getting gates up but as soon as they are we'll experiment with letting him out without the lead a bit more i have a tie out and a ground anchor so he can come with me when im doing site work

thinking about getting him neutered curious as to how much it costs boy did i get a shock in the vets last week ! wouldlnt like to imagine how much a procedure will cost

orchidsrpretty

woody1 wrote: »

thinking about getting him neutered curious as to how much it costs boy did i get a shock in the vets last week ! wouldlnt like to imagine how much a procedure will cost

Sounds like you are doing a great job. Neutering is a good idea, the cost can vary greatly between vets. Not sure about males but when I was getting my female boxer done I was quoted 300E from one vet but ended up paying only 130E from another so do a bit of research before you book him in.

woody1

so we have a result on the itchiness skin redness feckin mange ! demodectic mange to be exact which at least means it doesnt affect humans plus a bacterial infection which doesnt help with fighting the mange
safe to say im fairly annoyed with original owner for not giving me a heads up ( buyer beware i suppose ) and also for not looking after the dog properly when he had him apparently this could take a fair while to clear
anyone have any experience of it

Zapperzy

orchidsrpretty wrote: »

Sounds like you are doing a great job. Neutering is a good idea, the cost can vary greatly between vets. Not sure about males but when I was getting my female boxer done I was quoted 300E from one vet but ended up paying only 130E from another so do a bit of research before you book him in.

Did you enquire about why there was such a price difference? Depending on what anaesthetic they used the price can vary a lot. Obviously the better the anaesthetic they use the higher the price but the quicker the recovery time and less complications, so as with everything the cheaper option isin't always the better option.
OP when enquiring about prices ask them what this includes and why it is that price.

Starlights

Hiya OP,

I have four boxers, youngest is 15 months. I started cani-cross with her when she turned a year old as she used to pull like a train when walking!
Cani-cross is brilliant for her and myself! We go running every evening and slowly building up both our fitness!
Some of mine just like trotting along beside you and the others are mad for running!:)
Boxers are great fun right til the end! Mad hatters!
Would love to see photos of Oscar

woody1

picture attached

Starlights

Oh he is beautiful! Deff couldn't stay mad at a ickle face like that!
Love his bat ears :cool:

Bog Bunny

woody1 wrote: »

so we have a result on the itchiness skin redness feckin mange ! demodectic mange to be exact which at least means it doesnt affect humans plus a bacterial infection which doesnt help with fighting the mange
safe to say im fairly annoyed with original owner for not giving me a heads up ( buyer beware i suppose ) and also for not looking after the dog properly when he had him apparently this could take a fair while to clear
anyone have any experience of it

Bacterial infection is secondary to the itching. It needs to be treated with antibiotics that work spciefically for skin and feet. Ask your vet, there are loads on the market so won't recommend one (besides, I am not a vet).
There are also topical dips to clear up demodectic mange. What are you using to fight it?

taim

He really is such a beautiful boxer, and he is so lucky to have you, I know I have more questions than answers where my two boxers are concerned!! I have a one year old male and a 5 month old female; he is the calmest dog you would ever meet, she is absolutely hyper!!! Before getting them (and I must admit I didn't want any dogs in the house, it was always spotless, but my daughter convinced me, on the promise that they would move outside once we had a house built for them, but they moving outside will never even be an option now:rolleyes:) I liked dogs but would never have envisaged they living in the house with us...oh how things change when you get a boxer. Someone here said every family should have a boxer and it is definitely true, the house may not be as clean but its definitely happier:p Reading your questions is reassuring, as I've so many myself...sorry for rambling on, I haven't really been any help other than to say we are all in it together and need to share what we learn about these lovely pets!!!

orchidsrpretty

Zapperzy wrote: »

Did you enquire about why there was such a price difference? Depending on what anaesthetic they used the price can vary a lot. Obviously the better the anaesthetic they use the higher the price but the quicker the recovery time and less complications, so as with everything the cheaper option isin't always the better option.
OP when enquiring about prices ask them what this includes and why it is that price.

No, have to say I didn't. The vet that was the most expensive was the one we had used since she was a pup, they are generally quite expensive but just couldn't afford the extra at the time. We got her done closer to home(outside of Dublin) so I presumed that was why there was a difference in the price.

woody1

sorry havent gotten back to here in a while
vet tried a couple of blasts of spot on for the mange along with antibiotics and that didnt really make much of a dent
so now were on to an off licence treatment and the antibiotics been on it for a week now and the redness seems to have gone down a shade but hes likely to be on this for a couple of months at least

going backwards progress wise on the walking not sure why maybe its cos both myself and the wife are walking him and were not on the same page either that or as hes getting healthier hes getting stronger im going to look for a halti or something similar soon cos its off putting being pulled up and down the road whenever you walk him

other wise were not doing too bad... few accidents this week after not having any in a long time... although i think his medication may be the cause and if so its easy fixed...

woody1

okay so were six months along now and all is going fairly well apart from some small things that the dog ( and prob all dogs do ) that drive me mental but its prob more down to me than him,
dealing with 2 small children all day and adding a dog into the mix probably wasnt my most intelligent move but like i say in general were all getting on okay...
as usual i have questions

1. there are drops of discharge / sperm ( i dunno ) from his penis on the floor ... is it normal for him to be dripping to this ( or any ) degree.. its a pain to clean as well once it dries..

i mentioned it to the vet before and she kinda shrugged as if to say it was normal but ive never seen it , at least not to this degree, before..maybe the vet didnt hear me properly.. he has to go to the vet for a final check on the mange , which thankfully has cleared , anyway, so i can ask again, just wondering if anyone here had come across it..

2. way less of an issue but something that drives me nuts anyway.. is there any way to stop him eating off the floor, going round the floor and looking for anything thats fallen onto it, i increased his food lately and that helped to a degree but hes still at it and dont ask me why but it drives me soft.. would love to be able to stop it..

cocker5

1. there are drops of discharge / sperm ( i dunno ) from his penis on the floor ... is it normal for him to be dripping to this ( or any ) degree.. its a pain to clean as well once it dries..

Is he nuetered?? this may stop or help prevent this issue??

Personally i have never heard of this at all... I have a male dog and this has never happened. :rolleyes: I would double check woth your vet ... or a different vet to make sure he doesnt have an under lying problems etc..

2. way less of an issue but something that drives me nuts anyway.. is there any way to stop him eating off the floor, going round the floor and looking for anything thats fallen onto it, i increased his food lately and that helped to a degree but hes still at it and dont ask me why but it drives me soft.. would love to be able to stop it..[/QUOTE]

ok... one the food thing.... nope I dont think there is any way to stop this... My cocker is VERY food driven and he would be the same.... anything thats not nailed down or that fall on the floor ....he will eat....
Some dogs are just obsessed by food

What are you feeding him??