[puppysmasher]

Hi everyone, new user here. I'm having some problems with my boxer. He's an all white boxer with a patch on his left eye, hence the name Petey. We're having some problems housebreaking him. We can take him out when he wakes up, after he eats, and when he starts to sniff, but then he'll come back in and in 15 minutes he'll have an accident. He also seems to have some trouble learning his name, even though we use it often with him. Leash training isn't going so well either, but it's getting better as we use a toy to just get him to start moving and let him get used to the leash. He's not at all deaf or blind, but could he be slow or not the coldest beer in the fridge? This Friday we will have had him 2 weeks and Sunday he'll be nine weeks old. Is this normal for boxers? I know they're smart dogs and can be stubborn at times, but if I need to return him because he's retarded or anything I should probably do it soon so I can get my money back from the breeder. We also have 2 bassett hounds that he plays well with, other than seeming to terrorize them, but I know that puppies go through a stage where it's always A#@-kick-o'clock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated-Rich and Juanita

 

[Diesel-and-Kira]

Those aren't problems, those are all typical with a puppy. You have to remember he's still a baby, and still learning. It takes a long time for them to understand that outside is the place to go potty. If you keep a very close eye on him, you can tell when he's sniffing around to go. Run him outside as fast as you can. The more accidents you prevent, the easier it is for him to learn to go outside.

With the leash training, you just have to practice, and be patient. Have him wear his leash around the house, and pull it behind him for a while to adjust to it. Just make sure you're watching him closely, or he could get caught on something. Give him a walk around the yard a few times a day so he can learn to follow you, and not tug against the leash.


My Diesel is 11 weeks old, and can sit, shake and lay down. But he'll still resist the leash at times, and is in no way reliable in potty training. It all comes in time with practice. He'll learn.

 

[Honeyec]

Hi Rich and Juanita - I also have a white boxer with a left eye-patch.

I have to say, your Petey sounds absolutely normal to me.  You just have to remember that he's very, very young and he's not going to pick everything up at once, or even within a set time frame.  I would also say that if he's only turning 9 weeks and you've already had him a fortnight, then he may have been separated from his mother & littermates a bit too early.  I know a lot of breeders will tell buyers that puppies can be brought home from 6 weeks onwards, but I definitely think they should be left with their dams for a bit longer than that.

As you said, Boxers are very smart dogs and also can be stubborn, but they are also known for never doing anything "just for the sake of it".  When training, they won't do anything without first asking "Well what's in it for me???" and because of that, they can seem hard to train sometimes.

All I would say to you is please have patience, patience, patience!  We recently got another Boxer, Hector.  He was 11 weeks when we got him and we've had him 3.5 weeks now, and he's still peeing and pooping all over the place!  The thing you have to remember about house training is that while he may have grasped the concept of it, he still doesn't have complete control over his bladder and bowels, so you have to help him along by watching out for his warning signs, as DieselsMom said.  Hector's sign is that he gets up from whatever he's doing and starts walking in a circle, sniffing the floor.  As soon as I see that, I know it's time to get him outside!

Oh, and as for not always responding to his name???  You'll find that Boxers have VERY selective hearing!  Tink hears us calling her without fail if she knows there's food or a walk involved, but if it's time to go to bed or something like that, she suddenly turns completely deaf!

Please, please, please stick with Petey and give him a chance to show you what a great little guy he can be.  Yes, it is hard to train a puppy and there'll be times (even when he's "mature") that he'll make you want to tear your hair out (or give him a kick up the arse!) but believe me, the absolutely fantastic moments outnumber those times by about a zillion to one!

 

[elwood]

OMG please dont return him because of those reasons. Thats like taking a newborn child home and expecting him to go to the bathroom, read books, and have long meaningful conversations. 9 weeks is so very young to be expecting no potty mishaps  and to recognize their name. Boxers are very bright but like any newborn living thing it is going to take time actually a  lot of time, energy and consistancy. Taking them out every hour and large praise when they do potty, anytime when he gets done playing or just wake up you should also take him out.  Dont expect name recognization for at least another month or two and slowy he will make the connection. There is absolutly nothing wrong with your dog it will just take time and consistincy which you should be prepaired with when getting a 7 week old puppy. Hope everything works out well.

 

[boxer2crazy]

he is a puppy. i crate trained mine. try that it works. my puppy is 14 weeks old.

 

[beckhamboxer]

Wow.  Sorry, I think calling your puppy "retarded" is...a bit much.

Your puppy is BARELY 9 weeks old.  It is going to take a significant amount of time for him to be completely housebroken, to understand his name, and to walk well on a leash.  As the others said, he is a BABY.  

You have to remember that patience is a virtue.  It's a long process, and you're going to get frustrated, so calm yourself.  Your puppy is fine.

 

[tootsie]

Geez...he's only 9 weeks old..Very, very young. I think you are expecting way too much, way too soon. He was separated from his mother and littermates too soon. They should be kept with them for at least 8 full weeks.
This post really upsets me, I kind of get the feeling you just expect this pup to know that you want him to go to the door when he has to go to the bathroom, how to walk on a leash, how to play nice with the other dogs, etc...
Boxers are extremely smart, joyful, silly, fun-loving, affectionate and occasionally a stubborn breed of dog.
We've had an abundance of newbies with new puppies on this forum lately. Please read through the "training a new puppy" forum. There is a wealth of information in there. A lot of good crate training posts as well as housebreaking and other topics.
Your puppy is not "retarded". He is simply being a puppy. However, if you do decide that he is too much for you, please bring him back to the breeder. If they are reputable at all, they will take him back and return your money.

 

[tootsie]

BTW... I would really consider changing your username on this forum.

Puppysmasher????? or should it be Troll???????

 

[beckhamboxer]

I was wondering about the Troll thing myself.

My girlfriend and I always say we wanna smash things when they're too cute (in a joking way), but considering that post, I doubt that's what the username means.  :?

 

[southerngirls]

Oh dear! this is an upsetting post. My Reese is 16 wks old and she doesnt answer to her name, nor is she potty trained. She hates her leash and hates it when i try to walk her. These are not abnormal issue with a puppy. A puppy is a big responsibility that takes a lot of patience, time and love. Not to sound rude or mean, but if you are willing to return the puppy just because he isnt perfect by  9 WEEKS! 8O then maybe you just dont need a puppy and he may be better with another family that understands that it will take time for him to be trained.

 

[beckhamboxer]

Well said, Andrea.  This post upset me, too.

 

[southerngirls]

i could never give my baby up because she didnt listen-it would be like giving my daughter up for adoption because she didnt clean her room when she was told! just not a concept i can grasp....

 

[caillou]

I had Voltaire at 12 weeks - so quite old compared to some - and it took a month to potty train him. And like Honeyec says :

Oh, and as for not always responding to his name???  You'll find that Boxers have VERY selective hearing!  Tink hears us calling her without fail if she knows there's food or a walk involved, but if it's time to go to bed or something like that, she suddenly turns completely deaf!

Voltaire is adorable and wants to do right but he only makes really big efforts at anything when there are treats involved.
A boxer might be a bit slower at obedience than certain other breeds but their other qualities are far beyond what you can imagine. Be patient, stick with it and you won't regret a thing. He definitely doesn't sound abnormal so far !

 

[JessiesMom]

OMG...

i want to say so many things right now...  but i will restrain myself.

 

[Mastray]

Odin's almost 12 wks old and we've had him since 8wks of age. He's not potty trained yet... he won't go on a leash and I don't have a fence so taking him outside and getting him to go without running off into the neighbors yards is a challenge.

Your puppy sounds completely normal. I forgot what PUPPIES were like when we got Odin I thought to myself... "wow... what did I get myself into..." But I love him and would never think about returning him to the breeder because he got into my trash and ate something he shouldn't... and we had to pay $300 to fix the situation or runs off around the house instead of going potty. He's just a puppy... and even when he's 6 months old... he's STILL just a puppy. I think BOXERS are stubborn because they are SO SMART they have to have a reason for doing something... they ask "Why??" when some other dogs would just do it.

My husband doesn't like taking Odin outside to go potty because he says he doesn't go for him. I told him don't just stand there and wait... take a stroll around the house. When I do that he goes. If you just stand there... he looks at you like "WHAT???" Maybe you should try that.

Like I said I love this forum because posts don't get out of hand and people don't get mean... Everyone here is really nice... I think you just may have worded some things wrong and people might be taking them the wrong way. ALL IN ALL... your puppy is not retarted... your puppy is being a puppy. If a puppy is too much work maybe you should look at adopting an older dog. We would never have gotten Odin if I hadn't stopped working. They are a lot of work... but more than worth it!

Good luck!

 

[samsonsmom]

Wow one of the first posts I read when I come back is this one....Oh please, please, please give that little sweetie more time...Puppies need time and boxers especially....I have to question whether you did enuf research before hand to know this? I don't mean to be critical but a puppy is NO different than a human baby, would you expect your child to be potty trained in that period of time?
Everyone has given you some excellent advice and suggestions, so use em and you will adore that sweetie so much you will wonder how you managed without him....

 

[ReekosMom]

Guys Id say this guy is either a troll or a complete ass ok there i said it i have no information to add seeing how everyine else hit it roght on the nose!!!!! HES FREAGIN 9 WEEKS OLD!!!!!!!!

 

[Honeyec]

What's a troll?

 

[ReekosMom]

Yes honeyec thats a troll lol And it probably is him! loser

 

[puppysmasher]

Man, some of you aren't nice at all. To those that were, thank you very much. It's just been a really long time since I had a puppy to train. The last ones were our bassett hounds (5 & 6 years old) and they were kinda difficult, but they still have accidents from time to time too. We have plenty of time to spend training him, and I suppose that my expectations weren't realistic. I come home for lunch everyday and walk him and feed him a little and during the whole time, his leash is on him so he'll get used to it and eventually stop fighting it. It doesn't seem to slow him down any when he's showing off how fast he can run. Also, when, or at all, should we cut off his water at night? Does anyone else do this? We let him drink right before we take him out for the last time each night, I just don't want him to be thirsty. I sure would appreciate any advice on that. I'm probably going to have a lot more questions in the future. One thing I forgot to mention about Petey though is that he has already learned to sit really well. And for the people that think I was trolling, get over it. Some of us say what's on our mind without beating around the bush. People get "offended" so easily just because that's not what they want to hear. I hate that word now, but that's another story. And as for the name, got your attention didn't it? he he. I used to work at a slaughterhouse and from that I've seen enough cruelty. The last thing I want is to hurt any animal. Thanks again--Rich