What Can I Do Daily To Keep My Boxer Dog Happy?

Some new Boxer dog owners may think that this is a silly question, but it is in fact a great one to ask! Why? Because the answer boils down to only three basic needs that if kept up properly - is all you need to keep your Boxer dog strong, healthy, and happy.

1. Food: Give excellent food in two measured feedings each day. Pick up the food bowl when he or she walks away from it. If you have more than one pet, feed them at the same time but in separate places, so they can’t see each other. This prevents competitive eating, which leads to obesity.

2. Water: Clean the bowl and refill with fresh water at least twice daily. Pets drink more when the water is fresh. This reduces wear on the kidneys and promotes strong immunity and long life. Rest room activities: Make it possible for your Boxer to get outside at least every few hours. If he or she can’t urinate often, the risk of bladder and kidney disease will escalate.

3. Walks: Add a good brisk walk or other regular exercise and life will be near perfect for your Boxer as well as give you fresh air too.

What Are The Signs Of Liver Failure In A Boxer Dog?

The liver does many important things. In one sense, it acts like a filter for the blood, to strain out harmful particles and bacteria. A major portion of the blood is carried through the liver. When it becomes swollen due to infection or cancer, it can’t filter the blood efficiently. That forces some of the fluid portion of the blood to seep out into the abdomen. Chronic (long term) scarring of the liver does the same thing. The fluid in your dog’s abdomen (called ascites) could be caused by other problems as well.

These are very grave symptoms. The yellow color of her gums (jaundice) is also a result of her liver getting behind in its work. The plumbing inside her liver is swollen internally, and the normal bile pigment (yellow color) isn’t being pumped into the intestines where it belongs, so it’s ending up in her blood instead. Hence, you see it in the tissues of her mouth.

It all sounds terrible, but a lot of boxers with abdominal fluid and jaundice can be helped. With special diets, medication, and possibly surgery, you may improve her quality of life for a while. Have her checked out soon, while there is still time.

Want To Make A Lot Of Money As Boxer Breeder? Consider This Worst-Case Scenario

Breeding Boxer dogs is a costly business, if done right. It is even more costly - to your reputation - if done poorly. Few make money in breeding, and none become rich. Most breeders are content to break even. Those who do make money usually sink their profits right back into the business. The following scenario happens more often than not, so be prepared for this possible downside if you decide to take the work of a breeder:

Your female Boxer dog whelps a normal healthy litter of five, and you see the dollar signs walking on their toddling legs. You sell the first pup, which pays for the lovely whelping box you built, the vet exam, and the first shots. The next sale goes for the food bill and advertising. The third pup covers the registration of the litter, pedigree forms, worming the pups, and the next shot.

You buy more food and more shots (seven for each pup in the first six months) while advertising for the last two prospective owners, wherever they may be. Finally, one more sells, which means you can reimburse your parents for the stud fee they loaned you. You cut the price to sell the last one (who by this point is out of his cute stage), and pocket the profit. That is, unless you have tail docking, dewclaw removal, ear cropping, or shipping expenses. Wait - Did you forget to deduct the expense of purchasing the dam? You’re in the hole.

Ah, but next time, you think. The females price was covered by the last enlightening experience. You’ll breed to a local stud and advertising won’t be necessary because the last group of buyers will refer their friends and relatives. So the pups come. Or rather pup, because it’s a litter of one. That one goes as the pick pup to the stud owner, since you worked such a clever deal. But you must still pay the food bill, give shots, register, repaint the whelping box, etc. etc.

Well, this can’t happen twice in a row, you think, so you breed the female dog on the next season. The vet said it’d be okay, since she only had one pup. You go back to the first stud, thinking it was likely the second stud’s fault your dog only had one pup. So you pay the fee, paint the box, buy food, and take reservations on the litter. The pups are born, everyone suddenly changes his mind, and the pups hang around for six months. You buy a ton of food, give thirty-five shots, buy a large pen for the pups, and advertise, advertise, advertise. Then you must buy another pen to separate them because the girls are starting to come into season.

You finally manage to give the last two Boxer puppies away, take a breather for a year and breed the dam again, figuring something good has to come of all this. After all, your female dog has three champions in her six-generation pedigree! She whelps eight pups. You have reservations for six of them at one hundred fifty dollars each. At last, you relax. However, they contract a virus for which there is no vaccine when they’re six weeks old, before they can go to their new homes, and you lose all but three. Of course, you’ve already sunk a fortune into food, shots, and so on. You have to keep the surviving three for another month since they might be contagious to other dogs, and it’s cost you eighty-five dollars per pup for intravenous feeding to keep them alive. The six people cancel their reservations because (1) the pups aren’t as cute at three months as they were at two, (2) they don’t want a Boxer puppy that’s been sick, and (3) they already found one from their neighbor. That’s it, your wiped out! Are you prepared for this to possibly happen? Do you have the money?

Understanding A Boxer Dog’s Sense Of Pain & It’s Connection To Events

Pain thresholds appear to vary between Boxer dogs and often depend on the emotional state of the dog as well as the context in which pain is experienced. For instance, most dogs, even active aggressive and flight types, inhibit overt defensive reflexes while undergoing veterinary examination, inoculations and treatment. The clinical context and its routine are generally established early in life, as are the dog’s inhibited behavioral responses. The same holds true for grooming procedures, nail clipping, and painful coat stripping.

On the other hand, owners who inflict pain on the pet are not so lucky. Their home context and relationship with the dog are mainly affectionate and sensually pleasant. So, when a family member creates pain by accident or design, the dog’s unconditioned defense reflexes may be expressed because it has not “learned” to inhibit them. Therefore, it is always advisable to pet owners to leave any pain-producing treatments to veterinarians and groomers and to create an upbeat, happy atmosphere for the dog during treatment. We also recommend avoiding painful physical punishment, as such punishment can lead to frustration, anxiety, and problems that often seem totally unrelated to the punishment.

For example, even though a Boxer puppy may submit to being spanked or hit on the snout the first time its owner comes home to find a fecal mess or a chewed-up item, the trauma is associated with the owner’s homecoming. In addition to inducing defensive responses to the owner, as the next homecoming approaches, the pup may become anxious because of what is called the “Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.” That is, which owner is going to walk in: the affectionate Dr. Jekyll or the nasty Mr. Hyde? This conflict in perceptions and the resultant anxiety can produce further anxiety-relieving behavior, such as more destructive chewing. Involuntary elimination may also be stimulated, producing off-schedule defecation and/or urination, the very reason the puppy may have been punished previously. Submissive urination can occur as the puppy is approached. Instead of applying aversion conditioning, the owner’s punishment is actually reinforcing the unwanted behavior by inducing more anxiety. This cycle of events is also is seen in adult dogs.

Problems also arise because dogs tend to associate internal pain with an object or person occupying their attention at the moment, or shortly before, it occurs. Many cases involving hip dysplasia, neck and spinal injuries and aggression toward owners have erupted when the owners were handling the dog or telling it to move, and the dog growled or bit at them. This has also been noted when dogs with painful arthritis have moved spontaneously while their attention was fixed on an owner or visitor. Many of these boxers have been obedient, even markedly submissive, to their owners. In most cases, veterinary-dispensed pain relievers and upbeat, encouraging behavior by the owners, timed to start as the dogs started to move, has produced remarkable successes.

Understanding & Respecting Your Boxer Dog’s Natural Instincts

One thing that all Boxer dogs have in common is a desire to please their owners. Unfortunately, an interspecies language barrier makes it difficult to get the point across. Training lets you overcome this barrier. It establishes a means of communication between you and your dog that’s bound to brighten your relationship. After all, training shows your dog how to earn exactly what it craves - your approval.

Before you start actively training your Boxer, you might want to invest a little time learning a touch of the dog’s language. We don’t just mean barking. Body language is an extremely important communication tool between dogs and other creatures. If you spend just a few moments watching your dog, you may come away with the ability to understand, even “connect” with your dog, much to its delight.

For instance, dogs often show they want to romp by making a “play bow.” You’ll recognize a play bow when your dog stretches out his forelegs before him and directs his rear end straight up in the air. dogs instantly understand what this posture means, whether it is performed by another dog or a human being. Try imitating the play bow in front of your Boxer dog when it seems to be in the mood for fun. Chances are, your pet will reward you with an intriguing and exuberant response.

Other forms of canine body language worth understanding are signs of submission and aggression. dogs who are submissive will often crouch down when you approach them, tuck their tail between their legs or roll over to expose the belly. They may urinate on the floor. This is a dog who doesn’t want to assert itself. This dog may need a lot of reassurance. Training may help the submissive dog “find itself.”

An aggressive dog, besides showing teeth or letting out a low growl, may indicate aggression by raising the hair on the back, putting the ears forward and holding the tail high. You can usually catch a glimpse of the dog’s mood by the ugly look in its eyes. In fact, reading the expression in a dog’s eyes is a powerful way to gauge its feelings, both good and bad. Most dogs do not like to maintain eye contact with a human being or more dominant dog for long; they will shift their gaze sideways before looking back again. In the wild, animals often interpret direct staring as a challenge. Once you build a trusting relationship with a dog, however, you will probably find your dog sending long, loving looks your way without fear of reprisal.

Another thing to remember is that your Boxer puppy naturally begins to learn the moment it sets foot in your house, even if you do not know it. dogs are creatures of habit. They soon establish routines and expectations based on what patterns are set by their owners. Consider the dog who perks up every time it hears a can opener pierce a can lid. Or the one who whines when it sees its owner pick up car keys, because it has learned that soon enough it will be alone for the day. And surely you’ve seen many a dog surge into action by the sight or sound of a leash being picked up.

Boxer Dogs Owners…

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