Your Dog's Name: Lucy

Breed: AKC Boxer

Born (Date/Location): 12.24.04/United States

How did you get your dog?: Through an AKC registered breeder of Jaquet's bloodline fame.

About you: Lucy isn't mine, my sister actually owns her, but she's our family dog.

What makes your dog special: She's the sweetest and probably the most well-known Boxer around our area, and since we take her everywhere with us, she's really spread the Boxer fame. There are alot more people in our town who have Boxers as pets now since we tell everyone about ours. It's a pretty awesome thing.
Contrary to popular belief, Boxers are *not* easy to train. It takes alot of patience (and treats) to get them to respond to you, since their attention span is quite small. I had Border Collies all my life, and the difference in intelligence/obedience at a young age is amazing. Being a very playful and headstrong breed, everything will seem a big game to your Boxer if you don't train it otherwise. I'd recommend waiting until your dog is at least 6 months old to begin obedience training unless you plan to show him/her. Puppy Kindergarten is also a big help. Once you get the ball rolling though, training will become very easy. At 6 months, training our Boxer to sit was a very long and arduous process that took weeks of practice. As of last week (1 year, 7 months) I taught her to "Give Paw" in two tries with the assistance of some tasty little moist treats. Hopefully we'll be able to show her by age 3 because her 'puppy stage' will be over by then.
Just another quick recommendation: if you want a Boxer as a family dog or home protector, do not go to a breeder who produces dogs for the sole purpose of showing. Someone once said that show dogs should be classed as a completely different breed from working dogs, because all instinct has been bred out and all that's left is a pretty exterior. That's not completely true in Boxers, but show dogs being as high-strung as they are will make any family outings a major headache by their constant need for attention and overly-alert attitude. Also, while your show Boxer will look threatening to possible home intruders, by the time they break into your house, you Boxer will be waiting, wagging their knubby, and giving kissies to every part of Mr. Burglar's body. This may thwart them in their quest for theft, but it won't keep them from making a clean getaway. Your Boxer might even follow along, as a car ride is quite fun, no matter who it's with! :D
In my experience, Boxers will chase anything that moves without giving a second thought to possibly injuring themselves, so it's imperative to keep your Boxy in a fenced in area or on a leash. They love to run, and you don't want to take a chance of them running far and fast away from you! Also, since most Boxers have docked tails before you get them, you'll want to take special note to the fact that they'll have poor balance while riding in the car. As they get older, the lack of a balancing tail becomes quite evident as they become clumsy every time the car makes a turn or begins to move after a stop.

Likes/dislikes:
Likes: the sweet face, friendly attitude, beautiful body structure, human-like personality, comical playfulness and general demeanor. Boxers love people & people love Boxers!!!
Dislikes: difficult to train, frustrating need to always be with someone, stealing the covers, stealing your shoes, stealing your pillows, stealing your friends, stealing the show, stealing your heart.... ;-)


^ Boxies loooove to talk back, and it's so darn cute! ;-)


^ Everything becomes a chew-toy!


^ They'll watch your every move, and learn from what you do.


^ They'll command every piece of furniture in your house, turn in a few circles, and then lay down and sleep on it.


^ Now there's a happy girl! Maybe she's dreaming about when she was a puppy....



...or maybe that tree branch she befriended last week...



Perhaps it was about that sandal she stole yesterday:


... well whatever it was, she sure was having good dreams...



I hope you all enjoyed this little group of pictures of my overly-photogenic Boxer. :)

For more of my Boxer art, and my other art too, go here: My Artwork

Any and all training tips will be accepted with an open mind. New ideas are more than welcome!