Expert: Renee Cox - 1/2/2008

Question
QUESTION: i have a 7 year old boxer dog how often shold he be walked every day, and when dthey actually calm down, our dog is still as hyper as the day we bought him??

ANSWER: Hi Donna. He needs to be walked atleast once a day, more if you can. The more exercise that he gets, the calmer he'll be. The good thing about Boxers is that they are still puppy like even in older age. Give your boy plenty of exercise, let him wear himself out. I'd say without a doubt that will help. I have a 12 year old male, and he still gets bouncy at times. I don't think that they ever truly calm down. :-)

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QUESTION: hi thanks for your help i also have another question, when we walk oscar he trips quite alot is this normal? we did take him to the vets about this but they were not sure and said it could be a muscle problem, personally i didn't agree.  It happens some days more than others?? thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Donna. Some dogs are clumsy, no matter what the age. Especially if on a walk he pays more attention to what's going on around him rather than where's he's going. You can try to grab his attention and make him watch where he's going. You can also take your vet up on his suggestion of a muscle problem, and have some tests run just to make sure that he doesn't have some underlying condition that's causing this. Get his ears checked as well. Good luck!

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QUESTION: hi once again, just another query.  when we take our boxer out some days, well most days he will jump at cars going by even other people, i must stress he is not a vicious dog but people that dont know him think otherwise and it is quite embarrassing. From being a puppy we took him to all sorts of training classes but he does not do as he is told when we are out walking at all, and we love taking him out but actually dread taking him as we cannot go places where there are other dogs or people, the are lots of nice walks where we live but just do not enjoy taking him anywhere so usually its early in the mornings and later at night, this seems to be getting worsas he gets older, i truely hope this has not come about by the way we have brought him up as we have spoilt him a little as he was a very poorly dog and we have to give him an injectiion every month. can you help us with this.

Answer
Hi. You have to seriously get his attention when he tries this. When you know that he's going to jump, or whatever he does, turn around quickly and walk the other way. This will get his mind focused on what you are doing, and keeping his mind on you, where it should be. You will have to do this quite often, but it will work. He will eventually get the idea. You have to be consistant with this if you want to break the habit. When he starts his behavior, immediately turn around and keep on walking. I'm telling you, you'll have to do this a lot. But it will sink in. What you are doing is redirecting his attention to what he should be focused on, and taking his mind off of the bad behavior. When he doesn't jump, praise him. Also, during the walk, make him sit/stay. Again, that makes him more focused on you. The biggest mistake that people make is putting human emotions on our pets. They want to be treated like a dog, and it confuses them when we treat them like a human. That's when you come up with behavioral problems. Not all dogs, but most. No more spoiling, treat him like a dog. Make him focused on you guys. You'll see a huge difference. And yes, you can teach old dogs new tricks. :-) Good luck!