Why train your Boxer? Training your new Boxer pup is not something you can choose to do, but something that you must do, along with feeding him, looking after him and loving him. You needn’t be an expert dog handler to train a dog correctly, either. All it takes is know how, the desire to train your dog yourself and lots of patience.
Does a dog need training?
The simple answer is yes. An undisciplined dog is an unhappy dog. They will bite, break things, run away at every inopportune moment and drive away visitors. Not because they enjoy these things, but because they are unhappy, insecure and don’t know their place in the household. Unlike cats, which are solitary animals, dogs are social animals. They need to be with other people or dogs. What you call a family is in fact a pack to the dog. In every pack there is a leader and second in command, then each other person or dog takes its place in this social ‘tree’. To a dog this tree is an absolute must, as having a leader provides security. This is fundamental to a dog. Without training a dog will try to usurp command of this tree, but because they don’t know how, it often leads to disaster.
Before you start.
Before we begin with when to start teaching your dog, pay special attention to how old he was when you bought him. Research has noted that if a puppy is taken from his mother and siblings before the age of seven weeks, he will be more prone to biting. This is because he didn’t have time to learn bite inhibition and other important skills from his mother and brothers. Likewise, if a dog is over twelve weeks old when taken he might well have already established his ‘pack’ mentally. If he was the dominant sibling, training will be more difficult as his place in the pecking other has been deeply etched into his brain. Another very good idea is to see how his parents behave. If they are very friendly towards other people and dogs there is a good chance their offspring will be too, as these traits can be passed on in their genes. Buying a dog from a shop isn’t a very good idea for the simple reason that you can’t get to observe the parents.
When to start
Training starts as soon as you get the dog home. From day one a link has to be established between you and the Boxer. You are the pack leader, he is at the bottom of the tree. Contrary to what you might think, this is exactly what the dog wants and needs as this brings its own security.
Training checklist
- Educating your dog can be broken down into the following parts:
- Housebreaking
Respect Training - Socializing
- Housebreaking
I still remember the first day we got our two pups. Babies are easier, at least they wear d
iapers! New pups should be confined to a specific area of the house, and remain there until they know where and when to do their business. If you let him roam the house by himself he will soon want to christen it, and then the bad habit will be very difficult to correct. At the beginning take your pup out to the same place and show him where he can go. Have patience! When he does give him lots of praise. Dogs love and need routines, and once they are established they will be engraved in his mind all his life. Remember also that his organs won’t be completely developed until he is around seven months old, so there will be some ‘accidents’ along the way.
Respect training
This is basically all the bad habits a dog can learn if he doesn’t know where he stands in the pecking order of the family. Skills which need to be taught include responding to his name, coming when called, knowing what ‘no’ means and how to be handled. All these take time, effort and again, lots of patience.
Socializing
There is nothing worse than having to put the dog away when a visitor comes round to the house. Or having to constantly on the look out for other dogs when in the street. Socializing your dog can begin as soon as possible, but remember that some dogs have their own particular likes and dislikes which are probably handed down in their genes.
It is not easy task to educate a dog, but with lots of love, determination and patience anyone can succeed.
Training Solutions
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