Tunsafun Boxers

Thats a great idea!!!!!! Any suggestions? Might just save them from being roughed up !

Hi Guys, As you know, i've got two young boxers. my white bitch is 11 months old, my red and white bitch is 9 months old and they LOVE to play. The problem is, they are playing far too rough and there's lots of biting involved. they hang of each others necks which is starting to cause some problems. Poppy doesn't have too many marks on her, but pippa is scratched up and has small punctures under her ears, along her neck and even some on her legs. I dont want to keep them separated constantly, but have found this is the only way to ensure that this doesn't happen. Its such a shame because they love to play, and being of similar age, they can keep up with each other. I've been lucky to date as no wounds inflicted have become infected, but i know its only a matter of time. and as both of them are getting stronger and bigger, the wounds are getting deeper and more serious. Im doing supervised play with them, but after about 3 minutes i have to put a stop to it because the biting starts. Any suggestions on what i can do? Ive included a couple of photo's, sorry they aren't the best. the first is the bites on her neck. there's LOTS of them, the second was done by a tooth and would have really hurt! these wounds are about 4 days old now, and are clearing up well. any advice would be greatly appreciated. i really dont want to have to separate them constantly if i can at all avoid it.

Hi, Im not sure if this helps, but my mother's chihuahua started having seizures when she was 9 months old. It was never diagnosed properly, or confirmed but they believed it to be epilepsy brought on by stress. usually a new environment would set her off, a trip in the car, or even us packing up to go to a dog show. On hot days it was worse. sometimes she'd have one fit and then not have another for weeks and months, other times (especially summer) she'd have a couple a week. she'd have a fit where she would try to pull her back legs up over her head, we'd just sit with her and gently restrain her until it stopped. often the poor darling would wet herself. afterwards she was very quiet, a little groggy and would sleep for hours. we took her to the vets many times but they all said the same thing. she isn't in any pain, and when she wasn't fitting or recovering, her life was pretty fantastic. she lived to the ripe old age of 22 ! and she lived through being desexed at 7 years old and then another operation for cancerous polups (sp?) when she was 16, against all the odds. so sorry to hear about your baby. its not always a horrible outcome though, as mums little Jessica has shown me. good luck with him, and hopefully the fits will stop real soon ! Jenna PS. Jessica was bought as a show dog, and her only claim to fame was a reserve challenge. at the end of this show she had a fit and was retired from the show ring.

Im not sure that they ever lose interest. almost 7 years ago my boxer (we rescued from the rspca) was desexed, and yet we HAVE to keep him separated from any bitches that are in season. He has mated and tied with a bitch (2 years ago). This totally freaked me out because i have never seen a desexed male do this before, and really gave me a start until i realised that he didn't have any testicles. my opinion, they dont lose it, or at least some dont. maybe if they are desexed as puppies it is different. Jenna PS. Sorry i couldn't be of more help

are there any lure coursing events in melbourne? as in, around my area? South eastern suburbs. Also, how can i get my dog ready to do this? im sure he'd love it as he LOVES to chase. The only thing that worries me is that he'll want to visit the other dogs instead of chasing the lure. is this ever a problem? Hope someone can help Jenna

our dogs dont get walked very often (not because of them, but because our neighbors dont contain their dogs in their own yards!). i exercise our dogs in the front yard playing with balls etc. our puppies (8 and 10 months) have only just started going to the oval for a little exercise, but as they are big dogs, we keep the exercise to a minimum. as a rule, i dont take my puppies out for a walk (away from home) until they are at least 6 months old, and then only for about 5 minutes twice a week. i'd stick to working in your back yard until he is getting the hang of it and then off to puppy school!

I find petnetwork to be good. www.petnetwork.com.au but i've also used the RSPCA online shop as well, reasonably priced and good quality.

I might try the side on, if he see's me move, he'll watch rather than just bolt hopefully. i'll give it a shot today. update on the bites, a little red dot where he was stung and thats it!!!!! gotta continue with the cream for another 2 days according to my vet, but he's doing really well! Jenna

I tried that today, and now i must say i've never had such a sore butt before lmao he came in straight and fast, i said sit when he was about 15 feet away, his bottom sank and then he crashed into me. i'd braced myself just in case, but obviously not enough ! lmao we're still working on it though. on another note, same dog, his swelling has gone and the bites are almost impossible to find! hence the training!

Does anyone know how to slow a dog down doing recalls? my boxer comes in so fast that often he is skidding by the time he gets to me, i usually jump out of the way so he doens't knock me over. ive tried saying 'slow', telling him to sit before he gets to me and even tried drop mid recall (he isn't trained that well yet) but he doesn't seem to slow down. one day the ground was wet and if i hadn't opened my legs, he would have crashed into me. as it was he had a very surprised look on his face when he realised that he was behind me lol any suggestions guys? thanks in advance Jenna

Silverdog, i've never considered percentages when weighing my puppies, i go by how much they have gained from the previous day. i think i'll use your method as well from now on as well. it should provide a better overall picture. thanks again Jenna

You mentioned that the pup watches your hands. Have you had his hearing tested? I had a puppy do this a lot and didn't seem to respond well to my voice when being corrected etc. i got him tested and we found that at 10 weeks old he was stone deaf. might we worth a look, otherwise im in agreement with the other members, i'd take it at his pace, let him be a puppy, teach him the basics. Good luck regards Jenna

With my last litter i had to bottle feed and the puppies gained anywhere from 10 grams to 60 grams overnight, (i weighed them at around the same time every night until 3 weeks old and then every second day). as long as your puppy is feeding well, is active and going to the toilet regularly, i dont see it being a problem. i feed babies every 3 - 4 hours (depending on age) and they take anywhere between 20mls and 60mls. i stop them half way through each meal and burp them (just like a baby) and then start again. also, i toilet them before each feed. i use divetelac too, its great for babies, isn't it? in short, if he is gaining, active and toileting i cant see there being a problem. can anyone add to this?