Miz J

I had Henry (boxer) desexed when he was 11 months old. I honeslty havn't noticed a difference in him behaviourly. Hes now 15 months and will try it on if he can, more to do with just being a young dog I think. If he thinks he can get away with something it's game on so despite desexing. More to do with behaviour than hormones. Best part is that he doesn't pee everywhere so I am hoping that continues. Have you thought about a behaviourist who can teach you about managing this robust behaviour. I agree with persephone, it's likely leadership issues

Glad to hear Pockets. He will be more comfortable in his own home with his family around him. He sounds like a tough pup!!

Any news on how Tyson is doing Pockets ?

Agree with you Mita, rawhide scares me. Both of my boxers have had problems with pigs ears, probably because they are piglets, scary when it gets stuck. I ahave been lucky. One of them vomited it up and the other I was fortunate enough to be able to reach. Go for the turkey neck or bones, much better for the dog.

I agree with getting the X rays done. My last dobe had some symptoms not unlike the ones you mention and he was diagnosed with Wobblers ( spondolithothesis I think). Best getting films done to diagnose correctly then start appropriate treatment, wish you all the best

grated cheese can sometimes work

I am just so sad that poor Tyson has gone through this horror. I look at my boxers who are not aggressive in any way and can't imagine having something like that happen to either. I wish Tyson as best a recovery that is possible for him and it sounds like he has a family who adore him and put his needs first and thats the way it should be. As far as the neighbours go, they are accountable , they are responsible for keeping their dogs safely contained and if in the past they have had issues with DA they need to step up to the plate. If they cannot provide a safe environment for their own dogs and protect the neighbouring dogs from them they have no right to have those animals. I am sure Tyson's family will do what they need to when Tyson is well enough. Not only do we wish Tyson well but also his family.

Well done, Banshee has certainly found herself the right place to be. Yellowgirl, I too would be a failed foster mother Nice bunch of "furkids" you have. Happy to pop into the shop if you need more people who are calm around her.

Wow no need to be rude about it. I've have/had 4 boxers in the last 17 years and had 3 at one time (one was my ex's) and known a number of people with boxers. Yes they can be an energetic dog but none have them have had any major crater digging obsessions etc or behavioural issues borne from not getting 1 - 2 hours energetic exercise a day. I agree, no need to get snippy. We were sharing our experiences with the boxers that we own and live with every day! I think it is definitely important to realise that Boxers are by no means couch potato's (and to think that, indicates that maybe your friends didn't do enough breed research before getting their Boxer ) but to say that they need 1-2 hours exercise a day maybe a little bit of an exaggeration! I have found that mental stimulation is just as good if not better for tiring Bomber and it's also good to remember that Boxers like to be with people. If they are not inside dogs or seperated from their family regularly then i can absolutely see that they might find their own fun. Heck Bomber isn't an angel and he has definitely on a few occasion gotten his 'revenge' on me by destroying something but each time i have realised why, that it was because of something i hadn't provided him that he thought he needed. I am also of the opinion that if you start out by walking your dog (whether it be a Boxer or any other breed) for an hour or 2 hours or whatever every day than that is the way you will need to continue. JMO. Sorry OP for highjacking your thread! Hopefully i'm forgiven. Mel, how can you say that about Bomber, he was a perfect angel and gentleman when we met him !!!!

He ari q and Mel, my boxers are broken too!!! One of them won't do anything unless she has to or wants to. I do believe Gab has the ass of the wonderful lab!!! Henry did some low level agility in an obedience program a little while ago and he's awesome, in fact he loved it so much he would just takes off on his own around the course. He still uses the house as an agility course on the odd occasion and Gabby is an obstacle Your right Mel, it depends on the dog and what motivates them. Some boxers will be great at it Henry might have a go at agility when I have my knee sorted out. Perhaps I could just get a chair and a drink, plonk myself in the middle of the course and let him go his hardest

Thanks everyone, I will be really nice and offer more help. I am sooo pissed off, they can't even be bothered with this poor girl and then look what has happened to Jed who adores her dogs so much. Honestly it's just not fair is it!!

virtual candle lit and another will be lit here

Our thoughts go out to Jed, her family and her precious animals. I too am in Adelaide and happy to help if I can as well as donating financially. Joyce

I have had the pleasure of 2 dobes in my life. My beautiful red boy, Angus. He was an absolute charmer, never saw aggression in any form he was a darling. I lost him to a mediastinal cancer at 9 years. My next boy was Bronson, my black beauty. A truly empathetic dog who just made me melt. Could teach him to do absolutely anything. I lost him due to Wobblers and it was horrible. My advice is research the breed, get to know some breeders who produce healthy dogs, losing a dog to something like Wobblers is terrible. Can't comment on GSD's and now am owned by a couple of boxers, now theres a contrast in breeds !!! Good luck

This might not help you much but my male boxer Henry got a contact allergy. I was a bit naughty and thought I might have a go at finding the cause before I took him to the vet. It started out with the tiny lumps under his neck then the belly and then the scratching started. This was over a week. No change in food at all so it was unlikely to be systemic and the rash was localised to his belly and chest, he did get red ears though. I started him on antihistamines, bathed every 2 to 3 days with aloveen, he went on fish oil. Then the hunt in the yard began. I scoured through this website to see if we had any plants that commonly caused issues and we didnt. We got down to one plant near the fence where he frequently goes to annoy the teeny dogs over the back. It was like a thorny asparagus fern thing ( plant knowledge is not too good!!). we removed it and continued with the antihistamines for 7 days after that and its all settled down so I havn't taken him to the vet. I guess if he reacts to something else I should get him assesed. He did get a nasty oedema when he was playing with a bee and it left the sting in his mouth thats when I learned about antihistamines from other DOLers!!

I would be looking for another breeder, sounds dodgy

Next door have a gorgeous dog, malamute X kelpie apparently. Shes young, about a year old, has broken through our fence a few times and plays with our boxers. Shes a delight. Here is the thing I am struggling with. She gets little to no attention and hasn't since they got her. She was bought for the "kids" and now shes not a cute furball the novelty has worn off. We paid more attention to her through the gap in the fence She has a great temperament, good with children, no food aggression, good with other dogs. No obedience training at all. Shes been getting out of their backyard, not surprising as she would be going mad with no stimulation. As she is chipped she gets returned to them once council get hold of her. For the last 2 weeks she has been tethered by a chain to the verandah post. First few nights were awful, she was really distressed. It got so bad we called the poilice at 2.30 in the morning who couldnt do anything, called the RSPCA the next morning and I was informed that it is not in breach of any act so long as the dog is released for 1 hour per day. They cant do anything, they recognise that while the dog isn't physically harmed any act or legislation does not account for the psychological well being of the animal. So OH went to talk to them and offered to help fix the fences and supply the material so she couldnt get out and I am thinking of offering to have her here for a couple of hours at a time to exercise. However is that just going to distress her more when she is tethered again. Shes fed, physically well looking but she must be going mad. In my opinion cruelty isn't just physical. You know if she wasn't chipped ...... anyway, I really needed to vent to people who love dogs as much as I do and don't know really if there is anything I can do to help her but I just think of that poor wee soul tied up with no contact from people or other animals. No wonder she was running away from home. If you have any constructive suggestions I am all ears.

My boxers have coats on at night when its cooler. They are the polar fleece ones and I don't think that they stop heat transfer between the dogs. They sleep inside on big pillow beds in the family room. I am with you percyk, I want my furkids warm and comfy at night.

HI Nik, my boxer got a dose of kennel cough when he was 5 months old. He was vaccinated. It wasn't severe so I just watched him over a few days, made sure he was drinking and eating etc. I did take him to the vet because after a couple of days the amount of snot was disgusting and it had changed colour and became blood stained so I was worried about secondary infection. He did have to go on antibiotics but it was because the risk of a nasty sinusitus. Imagine a white boxer with green snot pouring out of his nose and wiping it on furniture, curtains, bed spreads, the back of your legs YUCK!!!!

Hi Teal, I have a 14 month old boxer who was really lean up till the last 6 weeks. I was really worried because you could see his ribs etc. I even was embarassed to take his coat off at one stage in case anyone thought I was starving him. I was reassured that he was fine, he had no parasites, he was and still is really healthy and active. I used to notice it more just after a growth spurt. I talked to the breeder and she said something interesting " we are used to seeing chunky pups" and I guess I was. Its probably better for his long term joint health to be leaner as some of the other DOLers have said. As long as hes wormed, healthy and is on good quality food he will catch up. I have Henry mainly on raw but I did introduce a premium kibble. Lamb flaps are fantastic, canned sardines, chicken and turkey necks. I have had to stop the brisket bones because both of my gluttons chew off chunks and swallow them then hurl them up everywhere!! Don't forget to add in veg and offal. There is some good advice on this thread and some recipes for making your own stuff. I make their treats and snacks now so I know whats in them, its quite easy and not to time consuming. Henry will eat anything now, I caught him in the vegie patch snacking on the tomatoes and strawberries ( sod!!) he's still looks lean but hes weighing in at 35kg. About the fussiness, don't worry, he won't starve. Henry isn't food motivated and like yours he will leave food sometimes, I remove it and he gets no more till the next feed time, they eat what they need. Good luck

My boxers are on call blood donors for our vet, they havn't donated yet. Your quite correct JS they have to be over 20kg, healthy and currently on heartworm prevention. It's mainly for the dogs on chemo who do need transfusions. Only too happy to help other dogs who need blood. I don't believe there is a blood bank for dogs in SA so thats why they are "on call"

Will happily buy a couple

I initially separated my 2 boxers because my older female is a hoover and she would eat the younger males food. Once he got to about the 9 month mark I started to feed them together, I didn't make a fuss about it but I did make sure he got enough. Never had a problem with food and resource guarding. They will even eat out of the same bowl. Bones, chicken frames etc took a bit more work. My female clearly has a higher value for these things and he thinks its all a big game. It has taken about 3 months to get her not to guard them ( never fighting, just rushing and telling him whose bone it is). I started out completely supervising and not allowing her to rush and him not to play ( hours outside with a book!). It didnt matter if I gave them 6 bones early on, she would have them all! I slowly reduced the amount of time I stayed and now can comfortably just leave the bones or what ever for them, they pick them up and stay about 2 metres from each other. its been great for training, particularly my young looney. I wont give them bones if we have visitors or kids around. Although I am confident and can remove anything from the dogs I just wont take that risk, not fair to people or the dogs.

Well done

You are completely justified. I honestly think that trying to explaing nicely would make no difference at all, a complete waste of time. Sounds like they just don't get it. I say dog nap the golden oldy and try to rehome him. If circumstances for me were a little different I would have him but unfortunately its not possible, I hope someone else can help the poor old thing