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Get the Facts on Boxer Care & Boxer Dog Health
"Caring for our boxer puppy was one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives..."
Giving the right boxer care is essential for your boxer dog health.
It is essential that you understand what you need to know about caring for your boxer dogs. This is worth repeating. Your boxer should not be allowed to run loose outdoors. He has a short attention span and runs faster than you.
Though extremely tolerant of children by nature, a boxer's effusive greeting could scare a small child. He could also run into not so pleasant encounters with other dogs from the neighborhood or worse mishaps like road accident and poison.
So, exercise or play with your boxer in a fenced area or keep him or her on a leash. If yours likes to pull or stray while going on walks, opt for a body harness. A harness is the answer to the boxer slipping out of the collar.
A properly protected screen door is the answer to a boxer that is adept at escaping from the house.
Using a Dog Crate
At home, a dog crate for your boxer puppy can be his safe haven, a place where he retreats to for rest. Don't think of it—or treat it—as a prison, and hopefully your boxer dog won't think of it that way either. Place it in a warm corner, away from the draft, cold or summer heat, as boxers are sensitive to extremes in temperature. Leave the crate door open and your puppy will usually enter when he wants to rest.
The crate is particularly useful when you are going out and leaving him alone for a while. Then you don't have to worry so much about your boxer chewing up the furniture or electrical cords in the house. The dog crate is also an excellent housetraining aid, as most puppies don't like to soil their crates.
For an array of quality supplies and products for dogs owners who like to pamper their pets with the very best, including beds, grooming aids, collars and leashes, feeders and bowls, dog crates and carriers, treats, and toys, check out the Pampered Pet.
Potty-Training Your Boxer Puppy
Make sure you feed your dog at regular times every day as this makes bathroom breaks regular as well. Feed your puppy 2 to 3 times a day.
As soon as he is finished eating, take him to a grassy "potty area." Speak the words "go potty" or "go in the grass" before and while he is eliminating. Be sure to praise him when he is done. What you are doing is building word associations with the dog that will allow you to encourage his potty activity on command.
This comes in handy when you and your boxer are at unusual locations and at pit stops during long haul travel. It also saves you from cleaning unwanted fecal material off the carpet at home.
It is a good idea to train your puppy to use a place where you can easily clean up and dispose of the droppings into the sewer. This is because worms that infect dogs and make them sick are spread through the eggs or larvae found in the feces. Some, like the roundworm, can also infect children.