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What a gorgeous little face. Congratulations!

I saw a Vizsla, a Samoyd (so gorgeous and friendly) and a beagle this morning at the dog park, as well as a few crosses. Yesterday at our first agility class there was a border collie and a cocker spaniel, the cocker was so good! I often see interesting purebreds around, like the Dogue we saw last week and a Lagotto at the beach. Plus a toy poodle and a beautiful Standard puppy last week.

Thank you! We had tried some LAT but need to do that more. I find it hard to coordinate, keeping him far enough away to be under threshold etc. Plus he tends to snap his head up to me and then snap right back to the distraction, I'm not quite sure where to go theee. I'm working on building his attention but it's a frustratingly slow process

Hi DOL brains trust! I'm back with more questions. Sebastian, my nearly 12 month old boxer is going really well. He knows lots of commands and is a dream around the house. He goes to training once a week and is generally pretty good, He's excellent off lead with other dogs But, when we leave the house on lead we have a few problems ????. Basically he's still super excitable and although he's not a constant puller, he definitely lunges towards stuff he's interested in. And he's *reallly* strong. The worst time is between the car and the dog park, he will wait politely in the car until given the ok, but when he hits the ground it's a different story. Ive been generally trying to do the "be a tree" when he pulls or reverse and go the other way. This has kind of worked, but it's not really decreasing the amount he pulls, just correcting it in the moment. I've always just wanted him to walk on a loose leash, not right next to me or anything. I'm now wondering if what I need to do is train a more intensive heel so that I'm training an alternative behaviour to lunging. Today, after we got home from his off leash running with dog friends, I took him out the front and did some heeling work with him for ten minutes. Basically two steps, halt and he sits - mark and treat. We also did some turning. I let him sniff around a bit too, telling him "go free" and then getting his attention again to heel. He did well, but did need multiple reminders to come back and not surge ahead. Each time he did I marked with "uh uh" and brought him back to the heel position, luring with a treat. We finished on a good note, he ended up sticking close and giving lots of eye contact. Does this sound ok? Should I avoid leash walks until he's really got this down? How much should I increase the time he's expected to heel? I'm worried he'll get bored and stop enjoying his walks. I can try practicing near the dog park when he's ready for more distraction. I don't know, I'd love any advice!

I am curious about the possibility of entire males being targets for aggression. My 11 month old boxer is very well-socialised and excellent at varying his play style for other dogs. He backs off cheerfully (not in a scared way) when other dogs challenge him, as happened around the water bowl at the dog park the other day. He shows no signs of aggression at all, no dominant behaviour, no humping. He is not mature yet obviously, but if he continues as he is, I might be tempted to leave him entire. I worry about him being a target though. I would need to check with his breeder though, especially as he is white she would probably prefer him to be desexed. She recommends waiting until 18 months at least, so that's what we are doing at this stage.

A fawn or grey/silver Pekingese that I will name Tyrion - Little Lion But actually I could never deal with the coat. Also a Pointer, a Dalmatian, a Finnish Laphund, a Swedish Valhund. A reverse brindle flashy girl boxer I will name either Clover or Coco. A rough coat Griffon Bruxellois.

I'm so sorry for the loss of Fleming. He's at peace now

I have tears in my eyes reading all these. What a lucky dog he is having someone love him so much. I agree with those who said he's looking at you with love and to say goodbye. When I helped my little dog fall asleep for the last time in my arms, it was so peaceful. He just relaxed and was gone.

I think Quinn is more common as a girls name now - my daughter's friend has it as a middle name and there's a character on the show Unreal named Quinn. But I think it works for both! I love that song story. Awww.

White boxer = American bulldog to most people. I was also confidently told that he couldn't have come from a registered breeder because they have to euthanise all white puppies. I know the rules on registering whites have only recently changed but even before that, they weren't ALL euthanised. Oh and people ask me if he can hear and/or see a lot

You dont mean the Mighty Quinn by Manfred Mann do you? Well, Bob Dylan wrote it and has released a recording of it, so that's the one I think of even though I know it was also released by Manfred Man. My dad is a big Dylan fan

My 9-year-plans to have two pugs when she grows up who she will name Gnocchi and Babaganoush. Names I love for my future Boxer or Dalmatian girl are Delilah, Clover or Coco. I also idly dream about a husky named Quinn so I could sing the Bob Dylan song to him.

My house has someone home in it a lot of the time too, so my dog has pretty constant interaction for most of the day. I think that helps keep him stimulated and his mind engaged because he gets a lot of people talking to him, having to wait at the door if someone comes by, leaving the cat alone, my 6 year old doting on him, playing in the front yard while the kids have a tea party etc. If we were more of a full time working household I think he'd need more dedicated exercise time and maybe a buddy, as he's very social.

Sebastian (9 month Boxer) goes to the dog park two or three times a week in the mornings when it's quiet and I know the other dogs. Sometimes we're there alone and we do training, ball chasing and tug as well as zooming around sniffing. We do leash walks the other days, once or twice a day, 30-45 minutes. He can do what ever he wants as long as the leash stays loose. He sniffs whatever he likes but I move him on after 5 seconds if necessary. Right now we are working hard on being calm around new people or dogs, so we do lots of LAT. on the weekends we walk to the beach and sit and practice ignoring people. Or we go to the nearby outdoor sculpture park for the same thing. One day I'd like to take him to markets and things, but we are not there yet. At home we do fetch and tug in the backyard and we do nosework inside once or twice a week. Plus training for commands and tricks. He's happy and healthy and I love our routines but I think there are lots of ways to be a good dog owner. I wouldnt do what is described in the op, but if it works for them, great.

My boxer is a brilliant family dog. He is so patient with kids and loves everyone. I am working very hard with his training, so one day they will be able to walk him, but not yet (he's 8 months). Boxerd generally are good family dogs, but they need training and they are puppyish for a long time. In my street there is a Lab, a Rottie, a Standard Poodle and a bull Arab type. They're the ones I see walking, I think there are some smaller dogs but I've only heard them behind the fences. At our training there are tonnes of bigger dogs. Rotties, Vizlas, Border Collies, a gorgeous Dogue, heaps of Labs and Goldies, an Irish Setter, a Weimerana, a Giant Schnauzer and two St Bernards. Oh and about three other Boxers.I live in a suburban area but we are surrounded by more rural spaces (Mornington Peninsuls)