[Boxer_Bruce]

We are getting a Boxer Puppy @ the end of the week & I hoping to get some opinions on a few issues:

Vaccinations:
Should he have rec'd his already @ 6 weeks old?
When should I de-worm?

Crate-Training:
My wife & I both work 9a-5p M-F and plan on keeping Bruce in a cage during the day. My wife will come hope @about noon daily to take him for a walk & relieve himself if needed. Is this a good idea? Shoud my wife come home at all? Would he be OK for 8hours?
We will obviously leave H20 for him and safe chew toys.

Leash:
Choker or not? I have heard chokers are great & terrible.

Classes:
We already have Obedience Classes scheduled for the end of Sept; is this too early?

Thanks alot.
We are VERY excited about this & want to succeed @ raising a pup; my 4yr old son has been asking for months.

[OwnedBySix]

Especially since you have a young child in the house, please do your research on this breeder before making a purchase. The dog should be AKC, the parents should have been tested for hip dysplasia and anything else common in the breed, they should allow you to meet both parents and provide pedigrees (unless there are several champions in their bloodline, they should not be breeding PERIOD), both parents should be well-behaved and friendly, the pups should be clean and should have been wormed with their first set of vaccinations. I'm sure others will chime in - I'm in a hurry...will address the other concerns after soccer practice!

[drfong]

In my opinion 6 weeks is too young to be getting the dog. Are you buying the dog from a breeder? Why do they want to let the dog go this early. It is much better to let the dog get older with its mother and litter mates. I would say atleast 9-10 weeks old is much better. This is my opinion and I wouldn't pick up a breeder puppy before then and wouldn't think a reputable breeder would sell it much earlier than that. If you are rescuing a dog or there are some other circumstances that can't be avoided than ok. There is no way you should try to crate a puppy for 8 hours. It will have to elliminate in the crate and make house training that much harder, it also is just not fair to the pup. The choke, no choke debate will not be answered here as if you look thru we all just can't agree on that. Too controversal. I will say that a puppy that young, I wouldn't start with one. I use one with both my dogs as they are used to it and it's easier than putting a harness on them to go walk. It just slips on and off and they already know how to loose leash walk. I did start them on harnesses and just left them on them. It worked for me. You will have to decide for yourself what tools you use, just learn to use them properly so you don't hurt your dog.
My vet started the vaccinations over with Brady eventhough the breader had already given the first round. They said many breeders give vaccinations but it was too early and didn't do any good. Brady started over at about 12 weeks and Molly when she was 10 weeks old. I'm not a vet so ask the one you will be using. I would establish a relationship with a vet before you pick up the dog. Go ask questions and make sure you are happy with the vet/enviroment. Make an appointment for the day or next day that you get the dog. My wife and I got our first pup on an impulse without any understanding how much work, resposibility and cost that were involved. We are lucky that we are finacially able and willing to take it on after the fact. The cost of the dog may seem minimal, but good care is not. It is a series of shots and vacinations, not just one. I would say that easily his medical expenses including neutering were atleast $600 for the first year. I'm not trying to discurage you, just inform. I want you to make a good decission.
Good luck

[opokki]

Originally Posted by Boxer_Bruce

Vaccinations:
Should he have rec'd his already @ 6 weeks old?
When should I de-worm?

Most puppies have at least their first shots and have been dewormed one or more times before going to new homes. It would be a good idea to bring a stool sample with you to your first vet visit to determine whether or not he'll need to be dewormed again.

Crate-Training:
My wife & I both work 9a-5p M-F and plan on keeping Bruce in a cage during the day. My wife will come hope @about noon daily to take him for a walk & relieve himself if needed. Is this a good idea? Shoud my wife come home at all? Would he be OK for 8hours?
We will obviously leave H20 for him and safe chew toys.

IMO, 8 hrs is too long to crate a puppy. You could make a long-term confinement area using an x-pen or confining him to a puppy proofed room. He will probably need an indoor potty area for now since even 4 hrs will be too long for him to hold it.

Leash:
Choker or not? I have heard chokers are great & terrible.

I would not put a choker on such a young puppy. Matter of fact, if you start training right away you will probably never need one.

Classes:
We already have Obedience Classes scheduled for the end of Sept; is this too early?

Am I correct in assuming that he will be about 10 or 11wks old by then? I think puppy classes are very important and I'm glad to see you are planning so far ahead.

If you have the time and a library nearby I strongly suggest that you pick up Ian Dunbars book "Before and After Getting Your Puppy". This book tells you everything you'll need to know to get off to the right start with your new puppy.

Here is his website with some information that you might find helpful:
James and Kenneth - Publishers of Dog Training Books and Videos

Good luck!

[OwnedBySix]

Ok I am going to give a shot at the rest of your questions right now. I agree - 6 weeks is WAY too young. 8 weeks is the earliest I would get a pup from a breeder.

Before leaving your dog at all in the crate, you are going to need to acclimate him TO the crate. This entails placing the crate in a high-traffic area of the home where he is able to see you. Bedding may or may not be a good idea for a young puppy - they sometimes will urinate on it, where they are less likely to do so with nothing. You have to watch your pup and see. Make sure he has lots of fun toys, and feeding in the crate can be a good way to get them acclimated quicker. Give the very best treats in there as well. When placing pup in the crate, do NOT respond to his whining. Of course, before even putting him in there be sure that all of his needs have been met. He shouldn't be hungry, thirsty, or have to go potty. If he whines, wait until he is calm to take him out so that he realizes "Well, when I whine nothing happens, but if I'm quiet..." Obviously at night-time he will have to be in the crate, but don't leave him alone at home in the crate right off the bat. Believe me they know the difference. At night do not respond to puppy whining. Once about 4 hours in, to take him out to eliminate. Set your alarm to do this as opposed to him deciding the time. Then, right back to the crate. You can start phasing this out around 12 weeks or so. When first leaving pup 'home alone' in the crate, leave for 5 minutes. Listen to see how he reacts. The idea is to do this several times, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30, an hour, 2 hours etc until he realizes that you are ALWAYS going to come back. SCALE DOWN comings and goings - especially don't make a big deal when you get home. You want to make this just a normal part of your day - not something to be excited about. ALWAYS leave him with something to occupy him (I always recommend a Kong stuffed with Peanut Butter, which can be frozen to last longer and soothe teething), and you may want to leave a radio playing on a soothing station. This shouldn't take longer than a week or 2, and it really is the best and easiest way for both you and your dog to adjust. It will save you trouble later.

Yes, your wife should come home to take him out and exercise him in the middle of the day. Make SURE he potties right before leaving him again. I do not think 4 hours is too long at all, granted that you set up a morning schedule that allows him to eliminate everything 'in there'. IE...if you have to leave for work at 8:30...wake at 6. Take puppy out to eliminate, engage him in play until 7. Take out to eliminate again. Feed a small meal and water in the crate while you get ready for work. Take out to eliminate again and be sure he goes. Try to leave enough time to engage him in play again for a little, and make the last thing you do before leaving be taking him out to go...yes again! I probably wouldn't do a meal when your wife comes home to take him out...it might just be too much going in when he doesn't have alot of time during the day to get it out.

A choker is not necessary. If you have him this young, use that as an opportunity to start a dog out fresh with leash training. At this age he cannot pull you down the street, so don't allow him to walk ahead of you. Specifics on leash training can be found throughout the forum and also will be suggested by your trainer. My own trainer suggests 'ignoring bad behavior and praising good', and with the leash, basically this means, when the dog pulls ahead of you, simply stop. Stop and pay NO attention to the dog whatsoever. Don't even LOOK at him. When he turns around and retreats to you, you give praise and continue walking. It may take you 25 minutes to walk 20 feet the first few times, but dogs learn quickly. In a few weeks of consistently doing this, he will realize, "Well when I pull we have to stop and that's boring. But when I walk NEXT to daddy..."

He should have his stool checked at the vets. Just take a small sample in a ziploc bag to your first visit. Puppies are notorious for worms.

That is not too early for obedience...it is wonderful. They will have plenty of tips for you too. Just remember - they are more training YOU...not your dog. They will give you the tools you need to be successful in training. It is important that both you and your wife are on the same page with his training and are consistent always. It is easy to "give in" to a little puppy, but those same things that you "give in" to now, will be neither acceptable nor cute in 6 months.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[Curbside Prophet]

Boxer_Bruce...I frequent many dog forums, none with as much regularity as I do this one. And my reason for this is because of the members that "we" (collectively) have are the best. You may get some of the information above from other forums, but none will be as complete or dedicated as that posted before me. So please, with as much dedication as you plan on giving to your pup, please read through the above posts thoroughly. And thank you for being responsible and asking these questions in advance. Good luck! and keep us posted.

[Boxer_Bruce]

Wow!!!

So much great advice!
We are so excited about getting the pup.
My son is goin to be so surprised.
Also still deciding on the name, leaning towards Bruce (obviously, by my screen-name Might change to Rocky or Reggie (we are from Philly)
I have read that 2-syllable names are better for training.

Please keep up the advice.

I am going to try to figure out how to post a pic.

[alundy]

8 weeks is usually the youngest you would want to get your puppy... however:

1. My BF and I also work 7-3 M-F, and we are crating our 4 month old. I come home for an hour at lunch to let her out and eat. Yes, you will definitely want your wife to come home. 8 hours straight is way too long for a young dog to be crated.

2. The first few weeks might be tough because he probably won't be able to hold it even the 4 hours. If you can take vacation time, that would be ideal. If not, paying someone to come by and spend time with the dog would be great for the first while.

3. There are lots of great websites with tips to make crating easier. Here is what I've found:

- Do not close the door to the crate for the first few hours at least - let him walk in and out freely. Put treats in there randomly to reinforce that it is a positive place. Then eventually close the door, but only for a couple minutes, lots of encouragement and praise the whole time.

- Never use the crate as a punishment - it is positive only!

- Never let them out while they are whining or barking - reinforces bad behaviour

- Once he is old enough for more exciting treats, like marrow bones or chew bones, give him one when he gets in the crate while saying "go to your bed" or whatever. We save the BEST treats for crate-time, and now, when I say "in your bed" she goes galloping in, all excited for what she's getting.

- Don't make a big fuss about leaving or coming home. When you come hoem from work and let him out, you'll want to pour out affection and go nuts. But you are better off saying "hi, good boy" and not getting her all worked up.

- Block the back of the crate until he is larger. It should only be big enough to turn around and lay down. Otherwise it may give him room to pee & poop in there.
GOOD LUCK!

[drfong]

Bruce, you never answered why you need to pick up the dog at 6 weeks. Is there any chance of putting it of a few weeks? It will be better for the pup and your family.