Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Alan J Turner, SATS LL1

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K Carrillo wrote at 2006-12-12 00:24:04
Hi, I have a boxer who is about 1 1/5 yrs and 2 yr small lab and a little maltese.  



I am responding because I recognized the boxer problems - we adopted our girl when she was a baby but when she got big enough she started chewing on everything and pawing and jumping up, etc.  After doing some reading and talking to other dog owners it dawned on my that boxers (like most dogs) are pack animals plus having high energy, intelligence and a need to play.  Since my husband and I both work, we were not providing enough exercise or play or company.  I fenced in a small part of my yard and put in a dog door for her, played with her in the morning before work and walked her at night.  But she still seemed lonely and it was tough to walk her because she wanted to play with every dog she came across (and boxers play hard).  



At first I found other boxer owners with fenced-in yards and would arrange play dates - I also arranged to meet with them on the weekends to take the dogs out to the beach and let them run around for a couple of hours while the humans walked the beach.  However, I eventually went to the pound and adopted a small female lab - they get along famously - they play hard together in and out of the house, sleep and eat and sleep some more.  They love to go to the beach together and play in the water (the boxer has no idea she's not a lab now).  The maltese was adopted when she was about 5 months old - she has settled in with the two bigger dogs and gives as good as she gets - one of the boxer's favorite games in tug-of-war and the maltese will get in there with the other two, her little legs hanging in mid-air and pulling and growling for all she's worth.



Also, boxers are not only intelligent but need to find out they are not the pack leader.  Once we established who was the boss through consistent training at home and from dog training classes a lot of the testing behavior stopped.  Though, because they are pack oriented it is hard for them to understand why the pack does not sleep at least in the same room.  Also, from watching my girl and other boxers it does seem they can be imaginative dogs and freak themselves out.



So, what I discovered is dogs need a pack, play, a leader and exercise.  Two is no more trouble than one (in fact it's less 'cause you don't have to get into tug-of-war unless you want to) and it's fun to watch the silly things they do.  But boundaries, exercise, play, hugs, grooming and personal one-on-one interaction is really important.  The dog door and fence were a lifesaver, too.

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