boxer puupies and a outsider

Question
hi i have a boxer that had puppies 6 weeks ago.
we recently sold all of them but 2 which we are going to give 1 to my sister in law and we were going to keep 1 male. our puppies were:
2 white females, 4 boran and white males
and 3 brown and white females. i always have wanted a black boxer and my wife knows so yesterday my wife sold the one i was going to keep and bought me a black one from a friend.
the little guy looks early 5 weeks which is a little early but i know we can take care of the little guy. my biggest problem is that i have the mother boxer and 1 of my puppies and my mother boxer tries to attack the other puppy my wife bought. i really like the one my wife bought and he sleeps with the pupy we still have. is there anything i can do so my mother boxer doesnt kill ot attack the puppy? she tries to paw at it when i put her on her leash to let her sniff him but am afraid if i let her go she will kill him. i really want it all to work out please help me. thank you very much for your time

Answer
In all honesty, you should have kept the puppies together until they were 8 weeks old. It is during the period between 5 and 8 weeks when they learn extremely important lessons in how to behave properly around other dogs, and bite inhibition. When puppies are removed from their littermates before 8 weeks, they often end up being very mouthy or nippy, and can even develop problems like aggression towards other dogs as they mature, for lack of understanding how to properly interact with other dogs.

If this new puppy is younger than 8 weeks, I HIGHLY recommend taking him back to wherever you got him so that he can remain with his littermates until he is 8 weeks old. Then you can bring him back home for good. At that time, your female may also be more accepting of him as well. That would be the best thing for both you and him.

If all your female is doing is pawing at the puppy, I doubt she would actually hurt him. You may want to try giving all three of them a bath in a puppy shampoo that is safe for the youngest puppy. That way they will all smell the same and perhaps she will start to accept him. I would not leave her loose and unsupervised around him until you know for a fact that she is okay with him. Keep a leash attached to her flat collar (she should not be wearing anything but a flat cloth or leather collar around the house - chain collars are not meant to be worn all the time and can be dangerous) at all times when you're home and have her and the puppies out. That way, IF she does actually try to attack the puppy, you will be able to verbally correct her and use the leash to get her away from him. When you're not home, and at night, I would recommend crating her or the puppies separately.


I hope you are planning on having the mother and puppies spayed and neutered soon so that this doesn't happen again. I am very strongly against backyard and indiscriminate breeding, because it is because of these types of breedings that our dogs have developed so many health problems and concerns. Hip displasia in German shepherds is one example. If all the people breeding German shepherds just because they have a male and a female would stop, and leave the breeding to the professionals, who ONLY breed prime examples of the breed, free of hip and elbow displasia and temperament flaws, then I feel certain that displasia could be almost completely wiped out in the breed. That is just one example, but I do not feel that just anyone should be breeding their dogs - I feel that breeding should be left to the people who are not interested in making money at it, who don't just want to let their dog have one litter before spaying her (which is actually detrimental because it increases her risk of developing breast cancer by almost 50%), who don't think that their children need to witness the miracle of birth firsthand, and who have devoted many years into researching their particular breed and learning how, when, and which dogs should be bred. If a person is not actively showing their dogs, or participating in dog sports like Schutzhund or hunting/tracking competitions, then there is absolutely no reason for that person to even consider breeding them.

Another important issue is the fact that spaying and neutering makes a healthier, happier pet. They no longer go through mood swings as their hormones fluctuate. The risks of developing reproductive system related disorders (like pyometra, for example) is completely eliminated; and the risks of breast or prostate cancer is significantly reduced. This means fewer vet bills. The dog also no longer feels compelled to run off in search of a mate, and you don't have to worry about keeping your female inside during a heat cycle because she will not be having one. A study shows that spayed/neutered animals eat a little less, so you might even save a little money on dog food as well! The myths about neutering making a dog fat and lazy are untrue, as well as the myths that say a neutered dog is not as protective as an intact dog. That's complete and utter hogwash, and I'm speaking from first hand experience with both neutered and intact dogs. Did you know that there are even many police dogs that have been fixed?


Good luck with your babies, and please let me know if there's anything else I can help with!

Kristen