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New Boxer(s) Mommy

1K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Beka 
#1 ·

Hi everyone! I'm new to this... just joined today.  
On Saturday my husband and I set out to go look at a Boxer puppy and ended up bringing home 2 (brother and sister).  They turned 8 weeks yesterday and are the most lovable puppies I've ever seen!
So a few questions I have for all you experienced Boxer parents is:
Crate training-
I just read the post about hanging a bell from the door (really good idea) I am def going to try that.  We got a huge crate and since they are still tiny (and used to sleeping together) we used the divider and put them in the same crate.  At night they are sleeping well and so far only a few accidents (mostly when they are playing in the house supervised and are just too darn quick).  We both work during the day, so they are going to be in the crate quite a bit  :(  Is there anything that we can do that will speed up the potty training? I'm worried that due to our work schedules we aren't going to be perfectly consistant with how often we take them out...
Adjusting to their feline sibling:
We also have a year old cat, Tika.  She's doing surprisingly well... she's very curious but is hissing a lot at them.  Is there anything that has worked for any of you in the past or do I just have to give them time to make friends?
Thanks in advance for any info - I look forward to sharing lots of stories with everyone :)
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the forum, can't wait to see pictures of the puppies.  There have been several posts on crate training, so I would check those out in the training section.  Also there was a post recently about introducing a boxer and a kitten, you might want to check that out too.
 
#3 ·
if you want to keep consistency , ask a neighbor ( that you trust  :D ) or family member to let them out to go potty at the same time everyday.if you don't have a neighbor or family member that can help , try a dog walker. your pups are probably still too young to really go on a  walk but they could be let out to potty and have a little playtime...and congrats on your babies, cannot wait to see pics!
 
#4 ·
Definitely I would try and get someone to come in during the day and let them out for a pee break and romp...At that age, they can't hold it for too long...As far as introducing the cat to them, take it slow, keep the pups on lead and always supervise. Given time, they will all start to get along... Like Barb said, we do have several posts on on crating, including a Sticky topic, read all those for some great information
 
#6 ·
Maverick is now almost 5 months and can hold his bladder through the night or while im at school but usually during the day he isnt left for more than 4 hours. He sleeps the full night so im thankful for that but since your pups are so young they will probably need to go out during the night. All i can say is be patient and realize that you may have set backs as most puppies can seem almost potty trained and then just regress. At 5 mo Maverick still isnt 100% trained and has regressed a bit lately but patience is the key i guess. Some people have said that around 6 mo puppies are mostly trained...i think every dog is different.

As for the cat...I have one too and I was worried he would hurt the puppy or vice versa but i simply let the cat approach the puppy when he was ready. Puppies may just want to chase and play with the cat but my cat is 4 yrs and he doesnt like that unless he initates it. I decided to keep the furniture as a safe zone for the cat so he can run on top of it and escape the pup and Mav knows he isnt allowed on the couch so he just sits and waits to see if the cat comes down to play with him. I think it made Baron (the cat) feel safer that he could get away whenever he needed to.

I may have rambled but i hope that helps.

good luck
 
#8 ·
We also have a cat, both of my girls play with the cat and the cat LOVES to play with them...BUT we recently added my brothers cat to the mix and lets just say both myself and the cat are less than thrilled.  I dont like my brothers cat-she hisses at everything and everyone. my daughter sat on the couch and he hissed at her!! the girls cant go anywhere near that dang cat without it going off hissing and hair raised. What i did for that is spritzed it with water from a bottle. The cat hated it, but it is slowly hissing less.

I think it will take time for the cat to get used to the dogs, she is used to having the entire home to herself and now she has these creatures stepping in that space... :) she will be fine...all in due time :)
 
#10 ·
Welcome,
  What I did with my cats getting to know Loki was I just sat in the floor with Loki until the cats got to know him. Do one pup at a time. If you do both they will be scared. So do one at a time. I can not stress that enough. The hissing will stop after awhile after the cat realizes the pups are there to stay.
 
#12 ·
Thank you everyone for the great advice!

Damien is sleeping through the night (approx 5-6 hours) with no accidents but Jasmine can't quite make it.  Tonight I am going to set my alarm and take them out half way through.  I'm at work now and I'm going stir crazy! I can't wait to go home!!
This morning was pretty tough.  I woke up... took them outside... fed them... played... and when they realized mommy was trying to coax them back into their crate... well let's just say it wasn't pretty.  I ended up taking them upstairs for some cuddle time with daddy. Hubby wasn't too happy with me due to the fact we had an agreement that the puppies wouldn't be allowed on the furniture :(
I'd like to think I'm pretty tough when it comes to training... but I think I'm turning into a softie! 8O

My question for today is... when do they begin to realize the house isn't the potty? I know it's only been 3 days but can I get a little silver lining  :lol:
They go outside to potty... come in / play... take a few steps and squat.  They are so fast! Don't get me wrong, I know it takes months to train them but dang they're pooping/peeing machines  :lol:  One of us has to keep a constant eye on them at all times-  :lol:  I'm laughing at myself as I'm reading what I type.  Duh what am I thinking!?!? They are babies  :D
Tika (our cat) is doing much better.  She is very curious about them (from a distance) up close she still hisses at them.  I sat on the floor last night holding the puppies and she came really close sniffing them until Jasmine barked at her wanting to play and Tika was outta there.
 
#13 ·
The bell thing on the door, I used this idea with my first boxer it worked REALLY well!  He would just "BOX" the heck out of it when he had to go out.  LOL,  I am getting a new pup also in a couple days and will continue this with the new one.  Also me and my husband both work during the day and my oldest son is in college and my youngest is in middle school, so the big part of the day he would be crated.  They say they dont "go" where they sleep, but when they are little that is just not so until they are old enough to hold it.  Just really work on it in the evening and the bell thing will also help.  I realized with my first boxer that I just could not leave him out of his crate at all when we were not home cause he got into everything when we did so he just got used to his crate and when we were getting ready to leave the house he would just automatically go in there on his own.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the reply! I went to Petsmart last night and got a few bells (the kind you put on a cat's collar but jumbo size) to hang on the door knob.  I am going to start using it this afternoon.  
They are such smart little pups! They've already realized that when they finish doing their business they sit in between my legs and that lets me know they are done and ready to go in (I'm sure it's also b/c it's starting to get chilly out)

My husband and I have pretty flexible work schedules in that we can go in early/leave early or go in a little later... etc.  I am hoping that the longest they will be 'holding it' (hopefully) will be no longer than 6 hours.  
I feel so bad when I have to put them in the crate  :cry: I hope someday mine will willingly go in on their own and get comfy...

Oh and I also bought those kong things for them for today to make their 1st day in the crate better... but had second thoughts this morning that they might choke or something on the inside stuff.  Do you leave water in their crates with them? I know you are not supposed to leave a puppy without water but I think if I leave water in there they will really not be able to hold it????
 
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