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two boxers

19 15:54:07

Question
I have a 8 month old female boxer who weighs 60 pounds and two weeks ago, I got a 6 week old male boxer who now weighs 12 pounds.  My female boxer will not leave the puppy alone...constantly wanting to play and I am scard she will hurt him because she weighs so much.  Also, now that the pup is used to the house, he will not leave the female alone...always wants to play but he seems to be very aggressive, growls and barks and bites when he plays (my female does not growl or bark).  How long will it take for these two pups to relax and settle down some? another problem with the older one is that she will not let the pup go anywhere.  The pup is trying to walk and the older one is standing on top of him and he can't go anywhere.  I can't show him where the door is to ask to go out to the bathroom because he can't get there simply because the older one is standing over him on all fours. Do you have any suggestions to my problem...they are driving me crazy because I can't take my eyes off of them.
thankx
Mary

Answer
This is pretty typical of two Boxer puppies; it's doubtful that the male puppy is truly being aggressive, that's just how puppies play.  However, since he left his dam and littermates so early, he will be missing out on vital dog-dog socialization issues, and your female is not old enough to properly teach him, so you'll need to do extra work on that front.  Ian Dunbar's book, "Before and After Getting Your Puppy", should be helpful for you.

You do want to give each puppy a safe place of their own (crates are good for this), and each puppy should have some one-on-one time with you so that you can teach them things like where the door is, etc., without interference from the other one.  Individual puppy kindergarten (and later, basic obedience) classes are also a good idea.  Another book that would be very helpful is Patricia McConnell & Karen London's "Feeling Outnumbered".  

Good luck!!