If your Boxer has a barking problem and you’re getting complaints from the neighbors about the noise, you have to do something about it. Remember that you don’t have to stop the dogs barking completely, you just have to teach him to keep it under control.

Cure Boxer Dog Barking

Before you try to punish or scold your Boxer for barking, try to figure out why he was barking in the first place. If you can find the real cause of the problem and solve it instead of punishing your dog, you will have much better success with eliminating annoying barking.

Barking at Neighbors

If your Boxer thinks there is something that should be brought to your attention, the only way he can do it is through barking. This is why dogs often bark when a stranger is near or on your property. I wouldn’t call this type of barking “excessive” because it has a purpose behind it. However if your Boxer is barking at your neighbors every morning they leave for work, it could become bothersome.

The best way to deal with this situation is to introduce your dog to your neighbors. Show the dog that they are friends and not strangers he should feel concerned about. I’m sure the neighbors that are annoyed with your dog wouldn’t mind it if it would help stop the barking.

Barking When Left Home Alone

This one is probably hard to notice, since the barking is taking place while you’re out. However if you’re neighbors are complaining about your dog barking all day when you’re gone then you know you have a problem on your hands.

Boxers that bark when left alone typically do so out of boredom. They have nothing to do so to pass the time so they start barking to keep themselves entertained. It helps relieve stress, keeps their minds busy and perhaps might get someone’s attention.

To prevent your Boxer from barking when you’re out, you have to give him something that will keep him busy. Chew toys are great way to keep a dog busy. Another thing you might want to try is leaving radio on while you’re gone. The voice from the radio will give your dog some company.

Barking While Playing

Boxer puppies are bigger offenders with this one than the adult ones. During an exciting game of keep away or chase, your dog might start barking which might seem cute at first, but it can get annoying if every time you try to play with your dog, he starts barking at you.

As soon as he starts barking, you have to stop the fun. Just turn around and ignore your dog for the next 10-15 minutes if he starts barking while playing. At first your dog might not realize why you’ve stopped playing but he will catch on if you do it every time he “breaks the rules” of the game by barking.

Train Your Boxer Like a Professional

What many people don’t realize is that Boxer dogs have natural “pack” instincts that can be used to quickly train them new tricks, solve behavior problems and train them into a dog that listens to you without any hesitation.

Tired of dealing with a stubborn Boxer dog that won’t listen to you no matter what? You should check out the Boxer Dog Owners Guide.

The extra weight can put pressure on their joints and spine. Dogs that carry around too much weight around their waist are also susceptible to back injury. So it’s important to keep your beloved dog at a healthy weight to avoid health risks associated with being overweight.

Fat Boxer – Common Reasons Why

There are different reasons behind why a Boxer would get overweight. Here are just a few that could contribute to a dogs weight problems:

• Instinct to always want more food – Have you ever seen your Boxer full? Have you had him refuse a nice treat? I doubt too many of you have. That is because it’s their instinct to always fill up on more food because tomorrow they might not be so lucky with treats.
• Lack of exercise – Boxers are large and powerful dogs with a lot of energy that they need to let out every now and then. If they don’t get to exercise as much as they need to, their body will start storing fat.
• Under-active thyroid – If the dog’s thyroid is not as active as it should be then your dog will start gain weight quite quickly. If you suspect that this is the case with your Boxer, speak with your vet about it.
• Food that lacks the proper nutritious - Cheap brand food that is poor in nutritious can cause weight issues as well as a number of other health problems.

Help Your Boxer Lose Weight

Luckily for you and your dog, there are a couple of things you can do to help your Boxer with losing the extra acquired weight.

Take him on more walks – he will love the extra time spent outdoors and his health overall will benefit from the activity. Exercise has always been one of the major factors when it comes to weight.

Use a measuring cup when feeding your Boxer - Measure exactly how much food your dog eats and add/remove food based on his weight loss/gain.

Feed your dog high quality food – For better health you will need better food. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should buy the more expensive food, since expensive food can be just as bad as the cheap stuff.

Add multivitamins to his diet – Multivitamins will help your Boxer get the vitamins he might be missing in his food. They will also improve his health and mood.

Remember that when you start training this command, you can’t rely on your boxer to always listen to you when you call him. It will take some practice before the dog listens to you without any hesitation. So don’t let him off the leash out in public unless you’re sure it’s safe.

What You Will Need

• Some open space
• Couple of small treats
• Boxer Dog

Training Steps

1. Find a moment when your puppy is not paying attention to you and then call out his name followed by “here” or “come”. If the puppy just looks at you, show him the treat which will surely get his attention.
2. Hold the treat out of his reach until the puppy gets really close to you and only then give him the treat followed with some praise.
3. Now the puppy is probably starring at you with big eyes waiting for more treats. You will have to wait until he loses his interest in you before you practice this command again.
4. Practice this command throughout the day until your puppy starts listening to you without the need for a treat.

Additional Training Tips

• If your boxer misbehaves and comes to you after you called him, do not yell or punish him! Next time he just won’t come to avoid the scolding he might receive for being “bad”.
• Practice the come command in different locations. It’s important that your dog knows “Come” means he should come to you no matter where he is or what he is doing.
• Every once in a while you should interrupt your boxer while he is playing and call him over to you. As soon as he does, give him a treat and send him back to whatever he was doing. This will teach him to drop whatever he is doing and come to you when you call him.
• Carry a small bag of treats with you whenever you’re spending time with your dog so you can practice this command along with others.
• Treats are a great way to motivate your dog to come to you, but you shouldn’t use them all the time. You don’t want your puppy to come to you only when you have a treat on you.

If you are also interested in adopting a Boxer then be sure to take a look at Boxer Adoption – Explained.

Where to Purchase a Puppy

Finding Boxer puppies for sale is not as hard as you might think. You just need to spend a little bit of time looking around before you decide on which breeder you will go with. Try checking out the following places:

• Animal Rescue Shelters – It’s not uncommon for such places to have purebred puppies that are available for adoption. Unfortunately due to high demand for young puppies, they are picked up for adoption quite quickly.
• Classified Ads – Often breeders will post notices in classified ads when they have puppies that are available for sale.
• Pet Store Bulletin Board – Pet stores that allow their customers to post on their bulletin boards often have notices from dog breeders that might have available puppies for sale.
• Online dog breeder directories – If the breeder has a website then they are likely to be listed in one of the many online breeder website directories.
• Boxer Dog Clubs – If there is a Boxer dog club or organization near you, you could ask them for recommendations. Usually they have breeders within their clubs as well.
• Word of Mouth – if you see a beautiful Boxer at the park or on the street, don’t feel scared to ask the owner where they purchased their puppy. If they are really happy with their dog, they will gladly give you the name of their breeder.

Why You Need a Reputable Breeder

If you want to purchase a healthy and well-tempered Boxer puppy then you have to find a reputable breeder. By reputable breeder I mean someone who will:

• Keeps their puppies at home (not in a kennel outside)
• Doesn’t breed their dogs more than twice per year
• Doesn’t breed dogs just for money
• Actually cares where their pups will end up
• Checks and makes sure their puppies are as healthy as they can be

Expect these breeders to ask you a lot of questions to make sure their puppies are going to a good home. They won’t give up their puppies as easily as some of the other guys, but that’s a really good sign that they care about their dogs.

Places to avoid

Greedy and sleazy people always find a way to profit off people’s emotion, and what could be more emotional than bringing home an adorable puppy. So you must be careful when buying a Boxer puppy to avoid puppy mills, backyard breeders and people who care just about the money and not the dogs.

Puppy mills will breed as many puppies in as short amount of time as possible just to make a quick buck. It’s not uncommon for them to breed several dog breeds multiple times per year. This allows them to operate their “business” all year long. The health and wellbeing of their dogs is often sacrificed to save on costs and increase profit.

Signs to look for

• Breeder has multiple dog breeds available for sale
• Have puppies for sale throughout most of the year
• Keeps dogs in a kennel or outside of the home
• Sells their puppies to pet stores
• Dog breeding is their primary source of income

Looking for these simple signs when choosing a Boxer dog breeder will help you separate the good apples from the bad.

Questions to Ask

Don’t be scared to ask the breeder any questions you might have about their puppies, the purchasing process or anything else that’s on your mind. A good breeder will probably end up asking you more questions anyway.

Here is a list of some questions you should ask a breeder before you purchase a Boxer puppy from them:

1. What are the parents temper/personality like?
2. How healthy are the parents?
3. Is it a pure Boxer or a mix?
4. How were the puppies raised?
5. Have they been socialized with humans?
6. Were they checked by the vet for heart murmurs parasites?
7. Do you belong to any dog clubs, if so can they vouch for you and your dogs?
8. Do you offer any health guarantee?

Of course there are more questions you could ask the breeder, but these should give you a general idea of what to look for.

The good thing about this “trick”/”game” is that your boxer already has the instincts wired in his brain to play. If you ever saw two pups play, you would notice that a lot of that playing consists of chasing after each other. This instinct to chase after something that’s moving is called “prey drive”.

The hardest part about training fetch is having your boxer bring the toy back to you and actually give it to you. Usually they will either chase it and drop it or bring it back and not give it to you. This however is not a “keep-away” game but fetch, so you have to get your dog to give you the toy back.

This article will show you how you can train the basic fetch game to a boxer dog. You can make the game as simple or as complicated as you want, but the steps below should help you get started.

 What You will Need

• Toy that your boxer can grab with his mouth and bring back
• Some delicious treats to encourage learning
• Quiet place with as little distractions as possible

 Steps for Teaching a Boxer to Fetch

1. Start off by building your boxers interest in the toy. Start playing with it and shaking it in front of the dog. Make him want to catch it and play with it too. Do this by being overly excited and the boxer will follow your lead.

2. 

   Now that your boxer is interested in the toy and is having the time of his life, take the toy and toss it only a couple of feet away from you. Now if he wants to keep playing, he will have to get the toy and bring it back into the “gaming circle”.

3. As soon as your puppy catches the toy you should say the fetch command (“Bring”, “Fetch”, “Get” or whichever you chose). Give your puppy a treat for bringing back a toy along with some praise.
4. Now do the whole processes again, keep playing with the puppy and get them excited. Then throw the toy again, but throw it just a bit further this time. Again, reward the boxer for bringing back the toy.
5. Keep working on the trick using the above methods until the boxer starts to associate the command with bringing back the toy.

Additional Training Tips

Here are additional training tips to help you train a boxer dog to fetch the ball.

• If your dog starts running from you with the toy, don’t chase him. Grab another toy and play with it instead. Don’t let him think that if he decided to play keep away, you will play along.
• If your boxer doesn’t go after the toy after you throw it then he probably is not interested in it enough. Either try again at another time or try a different toy which you know your dog will love much more.
• Throwing a toy, pointing at it and yelling “Fetch!” won’t teach your boxer anything. You have to get them to do the action and as they are bringing back the ball, reinforce their actions.

Important * – To learn how to train other cool tricks, how to use your boxer’s instincts to your advantage and learn the same exact training secrets that the professional dog trainers use, check out the Boxers Dog Owners Guide.

Why You Should Adopt

Rescuing a Boxer from an animal shelter is a lot more rewarding than most people think. Despite the myth that all shelter dogs are unwanted and picked up from the streets, most dogs usually end up in the shelter because their owners were simply unable to keep them anymore.

The owners of these dogs loved them very much, but couldn’t keep them anymore either due to money problems, landlords that don’t allow pets, family members that were allergic to dogs or some other personal reason.

Top Five Reasons to Adopt a Boxer:

• Majority of adopted dogs will have some prior training– Since these dogs already know how to live amongst their human friends, a lot of the Boxers you’ll meet at rescue shelters will be housetrained. Some of them will even know a couple of cool tricks, which I’m sure they would love to show you.
• You will have a better idea of their personality and temperament- Predicting puppy’s temperament once it gets older can be quite a challenge. When adopting a Boxer from a shelter, you’ll have a better idea of how the dog behaves around people and pets.
• You will save a dog and give it a home it needs - Animal rescue shelters are almost always crowded with dogs that are in need of a good home. So not only will you save a dog and give it a home, but you will also open up a spot for another dog that needs it.
• You will save hundreds of dollars- Well this reason not as noble as the one before it, but who doesn’t like to save some money, right? Purchasing a Boxer dog can cost anywhere from $600-$1,500 USD! When adopting a Boxer you will only have to play a small adoption fee (which will help support the shelter).
• You will have the best companion anyone could ask for- Boxers are very grateful dogs and will repay you with their loyalty and love. There is no better companion than a curious, funny and often silly Boxer dog.

Where to adopt a Boxer Puppy

Finding a rescue shelter near you is actually easier than it is to find a reputable breeder. Most dog rescue shelters operate similar to any other “business” despite being nonprofit. That means that they are likely to be listed in a phonebook or local business directories.

Remember that when looking for a shelter, you don’t have to search shelters that deal exclusively with the Boxer breed. Shelters that adopt all pets and animals can also have Boxer puppies available for adoption. So be sure to give them a call before you cross them off your list.

What You Will Need to Adopt a Dog

Dog rescue shelters will often have you fill out an application before you try to adopt a dog from them. They do this to weed out irresponsible owners from the responsible ones. This is to protect their dogs from going through the whole adoption process again if the owners change their mind.

The applications will probably have questions about your home, your income, experience with dogs, family size, questions about your current pets and any other information they think will help them find you a puppy that is the right match for you. So please answer honestly.

Be Prepared Before You Adopt

Be prepared before you go out looking for a dog that you can adopt. Make a list of everything you’ll need to keep your dog healthy, happy and obedient. Don’t forget to figure out things like…

• Monthly expenses
• How much time you’ll have for your dog
• Other pets that might not like a new addition to your family
• Space for the dog to run and play
• Unexpected veterinary expenses

If you want a good starting point for all of this information then I highly suggest you check out the Boxer Dog Owners Guide. It has everything you need to know about this particular breed, from adopting/buying a puppy to training a well behaved, happy and healthy adult dog.

The boxer’s diet is also responsible for his expected lifespan. Feeding your dog nutritious and healthy food will result in a long and healthy life so make sure you know exactly what goes into your boxer’s mouth.

It’s shocking what some dog food companies can get away with when it comes to packing dog food with complete junk.

I know this is gross and I’m sorry, but I want you to have an idea of what some companies put in dog food to save on the cost of the food:

Junk Found in Cheap Dog Food

• 1. Bodies of Dogs and Cats
• 2. Rancid Grain
• 3. Sheep Guts
• 4. Road Kill
• 5. Chicken Heads

Of course your boxer wouldn’t eat that junk if they knew what it is, but unfortunately big companies found a way around that as well. They know that a healthy dog would not eat any of those so called “ingredients”, so instead they just trick them.

Currently hey spray it with oils and grease to make the food (if you can call it that) smell and taste like normal food. This is also the main reason why it may seem like your boxer love the cheap garbage food and hates the nutritious and healthy dog food.

Why Do Companies Fill Dog Food With Junk?

I found myself asking the same question. Why do these companies fill our dogs food with such junk?

Well the answer to that question is money. Those companies are not in it for the benefit of our pets – they are in it for the profit.

If they can save money buying junk meat which can’t be sold for human consumption, stuff it in dog food and get away with it, they will!

If they can get away with buying road kill and euthanized animals for pennies, add it to the dog food and sell it to the public, they will!

They don’t care that your boxer’s healthy expectancy is half of what it should be. They don’t care that the food has almost no nutritional value, as long as they can get away with it and make some money in the process they will do it.

You should feed the boxer a balanced and nutritious diet filled with all the right vitamins that he needs. Don’t rely on the promises made by the dog food companies. Do your own research to find the best food which is both nutritious and is approved by the boxer’s taste buds.

Healthy Treats For Boxers

Before you try any of the treats listed below, make sure your dog is not allergic to any of them. If your boxer is on certain medication or is on a special diet, consult with your veterinarian to make sure it’s ok to feed your boxer with the treats.

Rice – Rice cakes come with a lot of healthy benefits for boxer dogs. The great thing about rice is that its inexpensive and boxers seem to like it.

Popcorn – I’m not talking about the greasy popcorn you find in movie theaters, but the soft and fluffy air popped popcorn. These treats are a great substitute for high fat treats you might find in pet stores.

Cottage Cheese – This is a good replacement for dairy treats such as ice-cream. You can also use yogurt too.

Cooked Veggies – We all know that veggies are filled with vitamins, so why not use some healthy cooked vegies as delicious treats? I personally give my boxer cooked carrots and he seems to love them!

Whether you want to give your dog some healthy treats while training him tricks or to spoil him a little bit, using the healthy ideas above will help keep your feel lean and stay healthy.

Obesity in Boxer Dogs

Obesity in boxers is not that rare, especially in dogs that sit home all day and get little to no exercise. All the extra fat they pick up from their food can’t be burned off if your boxer only gets to go out for short walks and has no time to run around and play.

Lack of exercise however is not the only cause for obesity in boxers; they can get the extra pounds from overfeeding as well.

Most owners actually overfeed their dogs without even know it. They just follow the instructions given by the dog food companies and a lot of times the recommended amount is nowhere close to what you should really feed to your boxer.

Some companies recommend a lot more than what your boxer needs so you end up buying more of their products (slimy I know, but things like this happen when money is involved).

Remember though that not all companies do it, so doesn’t start feeding your dog less food after reading this!

Want Your Boxer to Live a Long and Healthy Life?

The key to a long, happy and healthy life for your boxer dog is balance.

The most common problems for boxers are either improper diet, insufficient or lack of exercise and high stress level.

Countless studies have proven that people working in stressful environments suffer more illnesses and have a lower life expectancy and your boxer is no different.

This is why I always promote positive behavior training that doesn’t involve stressing, shouting or hitting your dog. Instead you tap into your boxer’s natural instinctive pattern.

This way not only will you have a healthy and stress free boxer, but also a dog that wants to obey to make you happy.

Remember that just because two dogs are in the same breed doesn’t mean they will act exactly the same. This is the overview of the breed in general and things can differ from dog to dog. It is best that you go see the particular dog that you want to adopt and introduce him to everyone in your family to see how well he gets along with them before you adopt him.

Use this information as a general guide and not a universal law to every single boxer dog.

Do Boxers Get Along With Kids?

Like previously said, not all boxers are the same and these questions greatly depend on the way the dog was raised since he was a puppy. Some boxers might have been raised in a household full of kids while others might have been in a different environment and shy away from kids.

In general however, boxers get along with kids due to their playful nature. Boxers are well known for their goofy behavior and child-like playfulness which kids love and they make perfect play mates.

Sometimes they can be a little clumsy and run into someone in the midst of playing, but that usually isn’t intentional and is accidental.

However their energetic personality is perfect for kids who love playing outdoors and even an adult boxer will love running around and playing outside all day with the kids.

Are Boxers Aggressive?

Aggressive behavior is learned and is usually caused due to improper training or complete lack of it. Boxers are not aggressive by nature but instead are very friendly and love making new human and dog friends.

They are not vicious attack dogs as portrayed in some movies; in fact they are playful and very loyal dogs that will stick by their owners no matter what happens.

If they feel threatened or don’t trust someone, they will growl and let the person know ahead of time before doing anything drastic. Even though they don’t like starting a fight or attack anyone, they are capable of defending themselves when feel threatened.

Requirements for Boxer Dogs

Just like with any other dog breed, boxer dogs have particular needs and wants. If you can’t match them or don’t think they go along with what you like then maybe the boxer dog breed isn’t right for you.

Exercise – These dogs were bred for their strength and stamina and even though your particular boxer doesn’t need to chase down wild animals or hunt down boars and other large creatures, your boxer still has a want and need for the same type of exercise to stay healthy.

Boxers don’t like sitting home all day waiting for their owners. They want to run around, play and explore new territory. Boxers who don’t get enough exercise throughout the day will turn to other ways to entertain themselves like destructive chewing or barking.

Social Interaction – Like previously said, boxers don’t like sitting home alone all day. They want to be around people or other dogs. A lot of owners get two boxers just for that reason alone. Two of them keep each other company and that keeps them busy while you’re away at work.

Grooming - When it comes to grooming boxer dogs, they don’t need as much attention as some other breeds, like German Shepherds or Labrador Retrievers. They still shed, but the fur is much shorter and much less noticeable.

They also don’t require frequent baths. You should wash your boxer dog no more than once every 3 months. Washing them any more than that will do more harm to their skin and fur.

Training - All dogs require some sort of training, including boxers. The problem with boxers however is that they extremely intelligent and quickly pick up on the best ways to get what they want.

You want your dog to respect and listen to you and the best way to do it is obedience training. Without boxer dog training, you will only have problems on your hands and will be running around with a mop from room to room cleaning up your dog’s mess.

Is a Boxer Right for My Family?

I will say this right off the bat, boxers are NOT for every family. If most of the time your home is empty because everyone in your family is either at work or at school, then boxers might not be the right choice for you.

If however you are looking for an additional companion to a family that loves to go hiking, going to the park and doing other outdoor activities, then a boxer might be just the perfect pet.

Take a moment to consider how much free time you will have to see if a boxer is good for your family. Also consider the price of a vet, food and other expenses. Larger breed dogs breed will cost a lot more to take care of than a smaller dog.

Each family is different so it’s up to you to judge for yourself if a boxer dog would make a good pet for you and your family.

A lot of people get frustrated with their dogs when they go potty inside the house and take their frustration out on their dogs. This is a big mistake because you can’t expect a puppy to know that going to the bathroom indoors your apartment is inappropriate.

The dog has never learned that going outside is the right thing to do and peeing indoors is wrong.

Don’t Give Him a Chance to Pee Indoors

This one can be a tough one considering the fact that young puppies can’t ‘hold it in’ for as long as an adult boxer can, but you have to make sure your puppy doesn’t get a chance to pee indoors.

You don’t want him getting used to going to the bathroom on your favorite carpet, instead you want him to think that the only place he can go potty is in your backyard (or on your neighbors front lawn if keeps parking his car in front of your driveway and blocking you off every morning)!!

If you catch your boxer peeing inside, don’t just stand and watch him go. If he notices that you are just watching him do it he will think you condone such behavior. That is the complete opposite of what you want him to think.

If your puppy is still young and you can pick him up, grab him and carry him outside to finish. I know it’s a bigger mess for you to clean up but at least your puppy will learn that going potty inside is NOT something you will let him do.

However if you have an adult boxer dog that likes to go potty inside, picking him up and carrying him outside is probably not a viable option. So you have to drag him outside.

Whatever you do, make sure you don’t just stand and watch. This will just reinforce the habit further and will make it more difficult to get rid of.

Never Punish Your Dog For an Accident

You should never punish your boxer pup for soiling your carpet, especially if you didn’t catch him in the act. Dogs don’t have the same recollection of past and present events as humans do and punishing the boxer for something he did hours ago will only confuse him.

Never “rub your dog’s nose in his own urine” or do anything ridicules like that. I can’t recall the exact name of the book that suggested that particular tactic for housebreaking dogs, but that is just plain abuse and I can’t believe people actually suggest doing that!

You should correct your dog when you catch him in the act by bringing him outside, but you should never hit, slap or do anything else as a way to “punish” your dog.

Crate Training Tips

A popular method to housetrain a boxer is to use a crate.

The idea behind crate training is that the puppy won’t want to pee in the same place where he sleeps so he will try to hold it out as long as he possibly can before he goes potty indoors.

This way whenever you need to leave your house, you can put them in the crate until you get back home.

Another positive to crate training a boxer puppy Is that your puppy won’t have the chance to pee on your furniture or carpet. If he does go potty indoors, it will be in the crate which will be much easier for you to clean up.

A problem with crate training is that puppies, especially boxer pups, hate staying still for more than five minutes. So when they are left in a crate for hours, they get bored quick and start barking or chewing on the cage.

A good idea is to leave them some chewable treats or toys in the crate so they have something to do while you are gone.