Looking for a dog

Question
Wow, thank you so much for the wonderful response. I am so excited about making a dog a part of our new family and your e-mail only made me all the more ready to spoil it. I can't wait to develop a bond like you have with your babies. I think my husband and I have changed our minds again and are pretty sure we want a boxer and after researching I think a boxer would work great for us. Do you have any advice on house breaking? We are hoping we can train it to let us know when it needs to go out but we don't have much experience with training dogs. Also, thank you so much for letting me know about the obedience schools that they offer at petsmart and petco, I think that would be a great idea and like you said I'm sure it would be a ton of fun. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and advice I feel very confident no matter what we dog we choose. Thank You!

Answer
Hi Melanie;
Good choice!
Boxers are pretty, strong, loyal, protective, and keep their puppy behavior( the clown part) for a long time. They make great companions.
If you are planning to have children, talk to the dog about "OUR" baby. The dog will knpow you are pregnant before you do.
The first time you correct the baby, you may have to correcvt the dog too.
My German shepherd I told you about? When the kids started walking, and making messes,LOL, and I fussed at them, Lady would wrap herself around them like, I'll protect you from the men old lady honey, and the litle rats would run to Yaddie (what they called her) when they got into trouble.LOL
There are a ton of Boxer rescue groups around the country. Go to this address, and find one in your area.
They will be happy for you to come and see the dogs they have. as often as you want.

http://www.petnets.com/dogs/dogresc/dogboxr.html

That lists a lot of sites with info. Click on Breed Description, and that takes you to the AKC site, with a description of the breed's traits, standards for judging, and lots of good info, but remember, take the info with it in mind that your's will also have it's own personality that may vary from the standard traits.
Not everybody carries their dog care to the extreme I do.LOL
I let my dogs sleep with me.
Because of mattress difference needs, my husband and I have separate bedrooms, and we both have Queen sixed beds, so we have room for us, after the dogs and cat get settled down. They switch beds too, so we never know which one is sleeping with us. When we shared the same bedroom, we had a king sized bed, and we still had a little room for us. When we had one pet, it wasn't so crowded, but as we got more, LOL, it got pretty crowded on that bed.
When I get a new puppy, it sleeps right beside me. I keep it in the back of my mind to wake when that puppy stirs, because when it wakes, and needs to pee, it starts moving around looking for a place. I grab it and run outside. When it finishes, I make a big deal of what a good baby it is, how proud I am of it etc.
You let them know by praise, in a sweet, loving voice, when it peases you. when it displeases, you say "NO!" in a stern voice. This is the way they know when they do right and when they do wrong.
They want to always please (until they get a little older, and decide to test mom and dad, to see what they can get away with, just like kids do)If you say "no no no, in a kindly voice, they think you like what they did. Until you have talked to them for awhile, they go only by the tone of voice. Use the same words eaxh time, so they leartn the words that go with the tone of voice.
Just like when you live in another country, you don't speak the labguage, but after hearing it for a period of time, you learn what the words mean, and you learn the language.
My dogs know the language very well, and when Max starts showing signs he is about to be mean to Rowdy, I say "MAX! don't even think about it" He slinks off and behaves.LOL
When one of us mentions a bath for the dogs, all of a sudden, after the word "bath" is spoken, there are no dogs in sight.They like to play in the water hose in the yard, and mud puddles, but they hate to get a bath. Go figure!
I started spelling it. Now when I spell it, they know what it means. You can't win for losing.LOL
Everytime a puppy has to go potty, they look for a place, usually going around in a bit of a circle, and then they squat. A male baby will also squat for a few months. They are too unsteady to lift a leg and pee. They will have to pee immediately after they wake up, and after they get a drink of water, they will need to pee soon. Start watching for them to start finding a place, or squatting. When they need to poop, they will squat.
Wjen they atart looking for a place, or they squat, grab them up and take them to where you want them to go. They will usually hold themselves till you set them down(unless they are too far gone, then hold them a bit away from you.LOL)
Watch until they finish, and praise them like the dickens.
When you grab them up, you can say "NO!", then run to get them to their place.
If you don't miss a time to get them outside, you will get the message across in a few days.
When I worked outside the home (notice I always qualify the outside the home. If you don't have a job that gives a paycheck, and just stay home, you STILL work!)
I liked to get a pup on Friday after work, or I would take a few days off.
When both are at work all day, it takes a little longer to housebreak a baby.Some people get a crate, and put the puppy in the crate while they are at work.
I don't care for the idea of a crate. Just don't like penning them up in such a small area. I pick a room, a large bathroom, or some room with NO CARPET, where if they have an accident, it won't be a major cleanup, just pick up and mop with disinfectant cleaner.
If you don't have a suitable room, you can get something to make a barrier to keep them in one area of a larger room, put down newsp[apers, and when you are housebreaking, make the newspapers a place that it is allowed to go. o run to the newspapers at nightly wake ups would be a good way to teach them it is ok, but when it is daytime, go outside.
If you have a fenced in yard, a doggy door is great. You can put it in, and start them getting used to it when they are really little.
I don't allow my dogs in the back yard by themselves. Because we have four dogs, I let them go and come as they please, but too many dogs are stolen out of back yards. There are freaks that steal pets out of back yards (because they are easier to catch and take than strays) and sell them to laboratories, or the purebreds they can sell to puppy mills.
If you have not heard of these, they are scum-of-the-earth people who keep dogs and cats in underfed, unclean, awful cages, and breed then as fast as they can breed, until the females are just worn down until they can hardly walk, much less carry a little, then they club them to death, or kill them in some other inhumane way.
That is where the dogs and cats in pet stores come from, and the pet stores sell the puppies for more than legitimate breeders sell championship quality dogs and cats.
Don't get me on my soapbox.
Petsmart and Petco do not sell dogs and cats. they sell birds, lizards, hamsters etc from licensed breeders, but they sell no cats and dogs.
Responsible breeders will not sell to pet shops. They want to know for sure their dogs and cats get to good homes, so they sell the little ones themselves, and they don't breed any dogs they have that have any generic problems.
Don't get a dog from a back yard breeder or petshop. You just don't know what you are geting. Some breeders do not have large kennels, but they have only one dog they breed, for instance. When you go to see their puppies, they have the regisration poapers for both dam and sire, they have the papers to sign for you to register your dog. I would not buy a registerable dog, unless it is registerable with the American Kennel Club. If the dam and sire are AKC registered, you KNOW there is no impure breeding in the bloodline. Not so with the other kennel clubs.
The AKC keeps meticulous records of the bloodlines, and they NEVER take just a breeders word that the pups are purebred. They have to submit the dam and sire's name, registration number etc, and records are checked.
If you are not wanting to show your dog, you may not be concerned with it being a championship quality bloodline, but you want to know it is healthy.
Larger breeds are very suseptible to Hip Dysplasia, some small breeds can be too now. This is generic, and passed on by the dam or sire.
You may get a championship bloodline from a person who just has one dog, and let her have one littler a year (they usually let her have one litter per year, and every few litters will rest her for a year with no litter, to protect her health.
All these registration papers should be made available to you.
If you get a dog from a rescue group, none of these records are available to them, as they may take the dog from an abusive home, or they may rescue it from a city pound, or it may be a stray. You do kind of get a pig in a poke there, as far as health. They always have vets that see all the dogs, and deermine there is nothing wrong with it as a pup, but they may develope health problems later on. It is like getting a child from an orphanage, and you never know about the family line, you just do it to save a li8fe and give it a good loving home.
Some of the rescue dogs we have taken and kept have had health problems, and we have paid some pretty good medical bills, but we feel like if it is out children we provide the health care, no matter what it costs, and out dofs are like our children.
I have also gotten some healthy dogs. Rowdy is disgustingly healthy. He has his shots and physicals kept up to date, and he has never had any medical bills, except regular maintenance. His booster shoyts for all the stuff they can get, rabies, Prvo etc, and heartworm shots.Max has an allergy to fleas, so he gets one flea bite, and we have to put him back on antihystamines. Silky has arthritis, Hip Dysplasia and gosh awful allergies. She is about to start Accupuncture for her arthritis, because the meds are doing enough by themselves.
Laddie is also healthy. He and Rowdy were both rescues, although Laddie is a purebred Sheltie.
Parvo is the biggest buggaboo. It is airborne, and can also be caught by an unvaccinated dog being next to an infected one for just a few minutes. Until the puppy has had all the Parvo shots, I would not take it around other dogs unless I knew for sure they are up to date on their Parvo shots. Parvo can kill in just a few hours.
After the vet says it is protected enough for you to take it around other dogs, you can take it with you to Petsmart and Petco. It is fun to take it shopping for collars, toys etc, and they have a ton of neat things.
Puppies teeth, so they chew on things. You can get Kong Toys at pet stores. They cost a bit, but they are a hard rubber that the dog can't bite off pieces it could choke on, and they provide good chewing for gum relief. You can also put cheese or peabut butter in them, and the dog can dig with it's tounge. It keeps them occupied for some time, and dogs lo9ve to play with them.
When they are several months old, usually about 6 to 8 months, or just a litle older, they will lose the puppy teeth and get their permanent teeth, just like human kids. The chewing will start again, so provide the chew toys and you will save your furniture etc.
Dogs like leather, so a word of warning, keep your leather shoes up where the dog can't get them. Or, if you are forgetful, like me, be prepared to replace shoes often.LOL
As soon as you get your dog, wherever you get it, or whatever it's age, take it to your own vet, and get it established with it's doctor.
If the vet you see doesn't seem to want to answer questions, or explain things to you, or doesn't seem to have a good deal of concen for the ani8mal. Get another one. There are quack vets just like there are quack MDs.
If you know someone who has a vet the swear by, it is a good idea to try their vet first.
Anything you are training it to fo, use a stern "NO!" for something you don't want them to do. SHOW them where you allow them to dig, or where and what they are allowed to do. They are smart, they will catch on quickly.
If they don't know what you ant, they can't do what you want.
Handle it like you would with a young child.
DON'T HIT!
People say hit with a rolled up newspaper. BAD! The pop of the newspaper scares them, so they don't remember what it was they were doing. They just think you are beating them.
They can tell when mom and dad don't like what they did, by the tone of voice.
They can tell when they please, by the tone of voice, and the reward of petting and praise. I never use a treat for a reward to train an animal.
Dog foods.
Some are pricier, but,,,,,,,, they have no fillers.
Purina is a good brand, but they also put fillers in their food. These are non-nutritious hings that fill up the bag, so it looks like you are getting more for your money.
I like Science Diet, Walthams, Iams. Although these foods cost more, you feed less, because of the no fillers. No fillers also make less poop.
Read the bag. there are formulas for all agea of dog. There is a lo9t of information about the right food for the right age, for proper nutrition for the different stages of growth.
I read the ingredients labels on treats too. You don't want treats that will add too much fat to the dog. A fat dog is as u7nhealthy as a skinny dog.
Do some research on what they can and cat's eat. There are some things we eat that can kill your dog or cat.
Chocolate, for instance. Some dogs can eat a tiny bit, but one bite can possibly kill. Chemicals in chocolate that don't affect us, are deadly to dogs and cats.
Raisins , so also grapes are toxic if they get quite a bit.
Know what?
I said this one would be shorter. Uh, I lied.LOL
I am going to give you my email adress, so you can write me directly. Or, if you prefer, you can continue to wriote e here.
charlotte34@earthlink,net
Go check out that site I gave you.
Read up on the Breed Information, and check out the Boxer rescue groups.
If you need some more info about anything, write me at my email, or here, whichever you prefer.
You are in for a really neat experience.
Charlotte