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Hello from SC - allow me to introduce our rescue Boxer

2K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Katielovesleo 
#1 ·
Good morning and hello,
I am so glad that I found this forum. I have an old dog, Pepper, who is half chow and half catahoula. My husband has an old dog, Ginger, who is a miniature beagle. We just recently were acquired by a boxer pup (just under 6 months) named George. He belonged to a neighbor who is not home much and George was not doing well at all. Long story, but he decided to come and live with us. Since we have 2 old dogs, who are cranky and don't have much of a sense of humor, we were not interested in bringing a pup to our house, but George won each of us over (he is still working on the old dogs).
He is a full energy pup and I know very little about boxers and don't remember much about pups so I was searching around the internet for info and found this forum. It has already been very helpful.
We've had issues house training him since he was trained, then due to the previous owners neglect, had to be retrained. And he has a major fear of crates so we are having to do his train without being able to use a crate. We are adjusting and he is coming along very nicely.
Our biggest current dilemas is how to get him to leave my clothes and shoes alone. He has picked me to be his human so he doesn't mess with my husband stuff, just mine. We have finally figured out how to secure the doors to my closet so he cannot get to my clothes. This took several attempts and we almost changed his name to Houdini. But anything I don't have locked down or completely out of his reach is in danger, like my slippers that stay in the bathroom when not in use or beside the couch when I am relaxing and my boots that stay by the back door for when I take him outside. Oh well, that's what washing machines are for. He doesn't chew them, gust gets them all slobbery.
This is my first post on here and I think I have attached a pic of George and me - I hope it worked.
:hithere:
Sue Ellen
 

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#2 ·
Welcome.. and he is adorable! Good for you for rescuing him like that! :) I would suggest trying to crate train him.. If you are unable to have eyes on him that is the safest place for him, and for your belonging's ;) YOU could have a crate that is open all the time at first. Place his fav. toys JUST inside the door to start.. also YUMMY jackpot treats... He will reach his head in enough to snatch it up.. then you slowly move them in farther and farther. I have had great success with this method. Crate training really does help. What you don't want to do is place him in it and close the doors. Everything is a process.

:)

Hope this helps a little :)
 
#3 ·
Yes, most definitely try to crate train him. From what I've read on here Boxers generally can't be trusted alone until they're about 18-24 months old! They mature much later than some other breeds. We've always had mixed breeds or German Shepherds so at times I feel like a newbie dog owner with Duke. lol They can definitely be headstrong and downright stubborn so persistence and patience is the key. But their goofy and general snuggliness will win over your heart. :)

Breezygirl has some great suggestions on getting him in the crate. Try to make it a game at first - lots of treats and praise for stepping into the crate and stay in there (with the door open). Until he is comfortable going in and out and sleeping in it I wouldn't try leaving him locked in there. It may take some time but it really is the safest place for him.

Crating bothered me at first because we never had to crate any of our other dogs. But none of our other dogs were as spirited as a boxer pup! lol So really I do now see that this is the best thing for my baby until he's old enough to be trusted alone :D
 
#4 ·
Hi & Welcome from TX. George is just adorable. I whole heartedly agree with kennel training. Breezy gave really good suggestions with treating & putting in favorite toys for him. I did the treat process with my youngest boxer. It will take some time but eventually you won't have a problem. I agree that the kennel is the safest place for your pup when you are not home or can't be in the same room with him for long. You can also try giving him something that smells like you so it would help calm him. Also don't ever open the kennel when he's whining/crying to get out. Once you do, he'll figure that is the way to get out. They are just like real kids when it comes to figuring things out. I'm glad you & your husband took George. I now have 2 boxers & I am so loving this breed.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the suggestions! I have never used a crate before as it always looked like doggie jail to me and was not necessary with my other dog. My husband's dog, our little beagle, is crate trained and that is her little home where the big doggies can't go, so I do see the benefit of it. From what I've read crates are a great help with boxers. When we first got him he had been crate trained by the breeder, but then left in it for over 20 hours at a time by his last owner and he absolutely went nuts when we tried to get him in it at our house, so we returned the crate to his previous owner. We can get it back and try again, but he is doing so well at night, it isn't needed then. He has a bed which is on the floor at the foot of our bed and when I tell him to go to bed he does. We keep our bedroom door closed so if he gets up during the night and needs to go out he will pace by the door, or if I don't hear him, he will stratch at the door and then I'll get up and take him outside.
During the day when I am at work he stays in the "dog room" which is a small extra bedroom. So he is contained and has now learned to not potty in that room since it is just a really big crate for him. We did have problems with him getting in the closet, which is where I keep my clothes, but we have figured out how to lock the closet doors so that he cannot get in the closet anymore so there is really nothing for him to get in trouble with in that room.
Considering all of this, do you see any benefit to trying to re-train him with a crate? I am afraid he will totally freak out if he sees that crate again and don't know that going to all that effort will really provide us with much benefit since he is now doing so well without it.
 
#6 ·
If crates really freak him out, I would just focus on redirect and the "leave it" command. (You could still work on the crate thing at a really slow pace and see if he comes around at all.)

Scatter some of your clothes/boots/shoes around a room. Start with him on a leash and walk him around. When he goes for something he shouldn't, say "leave it," pull him away and treat. Do this over time until you can say "leave it" and he redirects without you pulling him. Once you get to that point, do it without a leash. Also, have a few high value toys handy. When he gets into your things, redirect his attention to a toy he really likes. It can be a long process, but he will eventually get that some things are okay and others are off limits.
 
#7 ·
Thank you so much Cait. I am going to talk to my husband tonight and see if he will bring the crate back over and set it on the deck just to see how George reacts to it out there and see if we can slowly re-introduce him to it without freeking him out.
Thank you for the idea about training him to leave my clothes alone. We will certainly do that. This morning when I set my clothes out before getting in the shower I set my boots on the chest of drawers so that I knew they would still be there when I got out of the shower. My husband laughed his butt off, but it worked, I actually got to put my shoes on without searching the house and cleaning the slober off of them. :clap:
 
#9 ·
Thank you Nikki! He is an adorable dog - and a complete lover and ladies' man. He loves women!! and is a great snuggler!!
The breeder gave him the name George because he is extremely curious about absolutely everything. The name definately fits him.
 
#10 ·
aww George is such a cutie; welcome to the forum. some of the advice above regarding crating is very good. I have two boys who are 21 months old now. I am very thankful to have my 85 yr old Mom living with me as she takes care of them while we are at work. Tthe boys are contained to the kitchen when hubby and I are at work and their crates are there as well. My boys go to their crates to take their naps, chew their bones and toys. I can trust the one boy (Titan) but cannot trust the other (Kailer) the ninjas like to entice him I think. Your 'dog' room is a good idea as well but if you can do the slow process of crate training it may be a helpful tool in the future. Cait also gave good tips on leave it - We have done the take it and leave it with our boys. treats work great when they are learning this . It is also good when out walking as you don't want them picking up garbage etc and we say leave it and they just carry on. Obedience school is also another way of bonding with your new baby. Good luck and keep posting updates
 
#11 ·
Welcome to the forum. You will find loads of great and helpful information on here. George is a cutie. We have 2 boys- 8months and 4months. We don't use crates for either of them, as both my husband and I work from home so we are here majority of the time, also we live in a small town so pretty much take them everywhere, they also sleep at the bottom of our bed (or occasionally jump in with us)- not ideal- but they are too cute to say no to. Having said that, I did crate train my old boxer (she now lives with my mum in the states). It was very very helpful and i would recommend it especially for boxers. Try introducing the crate to him slowly, but don't force anything. Boxers go through phases where they get scared of things very easily (obviously it does not help if the poor pup was left in a crate for 20hours at a time) but hopefully with time he will get over his fear. When we got buddha he was petrified of his lead.. he would not walk anywhere!! Now he is fine.. but it did take a month or so to get him walking!! He is still scared of very odd things- like opening the fridge door, plastic water bottles or anything that is out of place- like my new fluff slippers.. he is a bit weird lol, but is it just a phase. Anyways, give it time. Congratulations on your new addition :)
 
#12 ·
lol.. I have to giggle when people say crates remind them of a prison. I tell all my clients.. if you had a baby/toddler ... would they be in a crib, highchair, or playpen when you couldn't attend to them?? Absolutely!! So please dont feel bad about crates.. its a safe place :)
 
#14 ·
BreezyGirl - you have a good point there. But I never had kids, so I can't really answer that. LOL.

BuddhaBoss - we haven't noticed that he is afraid of anything yet except for rain. He encountered rain for the first time today since he's been with us and I'll just say that lunch was interesting today. Can't wait to get home and see how this evening goes since its raining even harder now.

Zeus - Thank you! Our little beagle has cancer and won't be with us for a lot longer and my old dog is 16, so I know she doesn't have a ton of time left yet either. My husband and I had discussed getting a puppy and completely decided against it so that we could concentrate all off of our love, attention, and spoiling on our old girls. But George picked us and wouldn't take no for an answer, and I think that having the puppy around is actually good for our old girls - they are both somewhat fiesty-er since he's been with us which has to be good for them. He may not lengthen the number of days they have, but he is certainly making their last days more playful. So I think we are the lucky ones that he picked us.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like George is in great hands! You'll just have to retrain yourself to not leave desirable items where George can reach them, until you can get him better trained. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for failure - sort of like baby proofing a house - a PITA!

I've had success in getting dogs to like their crates by starting off feeding them in the crate with the door open. I did this for at least a month. Eventually, push the door shut, but don't latch it, so if he panics, he can get out. Work your way towards latching the crate during feeding time. You want the crate to be a positive place to be.

Even now, all three of our dogs get a treat every time they're told, "crate", and they go in. If we're going out for a short time (to the store, etc.), they get a few pieces of their kibble (all of mine are very food driven, which is helpful). Dempsey runs to his crate and drools, waiting for 3 stinkin' pieces of kibble - lol!!

If they have to be crated all day for work, or a longer shopping trip lasted several hours, they get a Kong smeared thickly with peanut butter around the inside - frozen, to make it last longer. My dogs actually get excited now when they see me getting my coffee to go, putting on my coat, getting ready to leave. They go RUNNING to their crates, even whining with excitement, wanting their Kongs. Once they have them, I cease to exist - lol!
 
#18 ·
Thank you Beth. I talked to my husband last night about getting the crate and putting it on the back deck and then we will just have to take it a step at a time to get him comfortable with it again.

I have read a few posts on here about Kong toys. I am not familiar with them. I am planning to get stocking stuffers for the dogs today after work and will look for these. I see on the internet that they have several different toys. Do you recommend any particular one(s) to start out with? And then my other concern is that with 3 dogs will they fight over them or is it possible to teach them that they each have their own. You will probably not be able to answer that about my specific dogs. The beagle generally doesn't care about toys or bones or anything like that much at all, so don't think she'll be an issue. But my chow mix is a cranky old dog who believes that all bones are hers and growls at George when he comes within a few feet of her when she is enjoying a bone; she doesn't care about toys at all. George loves everything he can get in his mouth; I have several stuffed animals and balls for him and loves them all and he loves all of the bones too. I wonder if they have different Kongs that will peak the interest of my 3 very different doggies.
 
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