Ex neighbor's new Boxer.......

[Ritz459]

Ok, her is the story. Some people that used to live by us have gotten a new Boxer. They already had one, a beautiful, male, flashy fawn Boxer named Gage. Now they have a White Boxer puppy.
This wouldn't be such a big deal, but I don't think those people should own a Boxer much less a dog. They don't abuse their dogs, nor neglect them but they just don't take very good care of them. They haven't trained Gage at all, I don't even know if they have neutered him or not, and how they exercise him is they stick him on a chain in the backyard. (It is a long chain, but still.....) And when he is on the chain he will just sit and bark and bark and bark because he wants some attention.
The only good I can see coming out of this new puppy that they have is that now Gage will have somebody to play with and so he won't be as lonely. I wish I could offer to train the pup and Gage and walk them and stuff, but since they moved, it would be very hard to. (Instead of a walk down the lane, it is a 15min drive to thier house.) Does anybody have any idea about how I could help these Boxers?


(And here is there history with their other dogs. They had two Rotties, but they were super aggresive (it was pretty freaky seeing a Rottie walk through your yard with a super thick chain dragging behind it ) and after they ripped open another dogs side, they got rid of them. Then they had a smaller dog (don't know what kind) about the size of a Shiba, but it wouldn't stay outside and always got out of the crate they had it in, so they got rid of it. Then they had a Finnish Spitz mix, that was a mean cuss (It tried to bite my sister when she was over at their house) but it ran away. Then they got Gage and now the puppy.)

[DarknessDivine]

Maybe schedule a once a week or every other week thing where either you come get the dogs or they bring them to you for a play date kind of thing. You could take them out walking, play ball any so many other things. Do you think they'd agree to that?

[Rip's Girl]

Darkness has a good idea, offering to take the dogs for a walk once in a while. (Better exercise than being stuck out on a chain)

[Ritz459]

That is what I was thinking about doing, but how do I ask them if I can without hinting that I think they shouldn't own a dog and that they don't take very good care of them? I don't want to offened them. Then I would never be able to help with the dogs!

[DarknessDivine]

I would first explain about how you are thinking of getting a Boxer and that you were wondering if it would be okay with them if you came every so often and took the dogs for the afternoon so you can get comfortable with thier behavior and so on....

[Carrie]

Brilliant!

[oc_spirit]

DDivine you're a genius!!! You could also say that some days you feel bored and would really enjoy having a dog for the day to hang out with and since you love Boxers so much............

Cheers!

[Ritz459]

DD you are brilliant!! lol I never would have thought of that! And I think I could also get them to let me by saying I'll give them free trianing lessons....my mom and Mrs.______ (the lady who owns the Boxers) talked about that before. Now I just have to asks my mom and see what she says. Then I can talk to Mr. and Mrs.______. Thanks for all of the ideas! I'll let you know how it goes!

[flyndog]

Ritz, what a great deal for them and their dog. But, don't be discouraged if you aren't able to help. I used to be frantic wanting to help unfortunate dogs. It was so depressing. It still sometimes breaks my heart when I go out on a consultation that is a dead end because the owners won't change. A wise trainer once told me "you can't care more than the owner". I hope this owner cares enough to let you help their dogs.
Yes, please let us know how it turns out!
Kit

[BXRchic]

I'm coming in here late, but I was thinking too that you can just tell them that you "loooooove boxers and just want to hang out with them b/c your not allowed to have anymore dogs" maybe you can also make up some bull about how you are thinking about going to school for "dog training", etc.

Anyhow... your heart is totally in the right place and its a shame that there arent laws against having an "outside dog". There are rules about what the outside dog is required to have (ie. 2 bowls and insulated shelter), but I wish that that were more strict. Its not enough.

It's especially not enough for a boxer... these dogs have virtually no hair on their bellies and under their "arms" and "legs" so to speak.

Just be careful... if this dog, Gage, who I'm thinking is not a puppy, has been an "outside dog", he's likely lacking socialization. As you said before, these people have a history of having "mean" dogs (I'm guessing exactly due to lack of soc.).
Just please be careful and let us know of any progress!

[Ritz459]

Gage isn't an outside dog. He is inside, but they keep him outside on a chian during the day sometimes. I don't think he has been socialized a whole bunch with other dogs, but I've met him before (he came into our yard while we were playing basketball and wanted to come inside with us) and he is a pussycat when it comes to people. He loves everybody.
I've talked with my younger sister, JeanAnne (she is freinds with Gage's owner's daughters) and she said that Gage was halfway trained (he knows the commands but he won't do them). I asked her if anybody was home during the day and she said yes, but during school nobody is at home.

An update (sort of): JeanAnne and I just got back from taking our dogs on a walk. When we were in our lane we saw Hailey and Hannah (JeanAnne's freinds. The people who have Gage) and we stopped to chat.
We got on the subject of animals and then onto Boxers. They were telling me about their new Boxer puppy. He is a boy, is white, and has a patch on his tail and on his eye.
Then she said the only thing bad about him is he nips and so whenever he nips the give him the 'scruff shake' or hit him on the nose. (This was suggested by a freind.)
I said that the scruff shake can actually make him more aggresive and fearful and might cause him to bite more. I then said that what I would do is when he bites, yell, "Ouch!" and walk away from him and ignore him for a while. Then I said I was watching a Golden Retriever puppy that nipped when she was excited and wanted to play, and I did the above and it worked very well.
So hopefully, they might try doing that instead of smaking him across the nose or doing the 'scruff shake'. I didn't ask them if I could exercise/train/watch their dogs though, because they are only around 9 or 10 and wouldn't know if I could or not.

[GreenleafGreyhound]

Oh boy. Scruff shake+lack of exercise really *does* excite the dog more. Try doing that to a dozen hyperactive shelter dogs and you'll know what I mean The OW! + ignoring until calm=a very well behaved dog *nods*.

I'm also curious---Aren't white Boxers not allowed in the show ring? If they are, I'd hate to know where your ex-neighbors got their Boxers.

[Rip's Girl]

Well from what I know GreenLeaf, white boxers are not just the product of BYB, reputable breeders can have a white boxer born as well. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

[GreenleafGreyhound]

True...but aren't Gage and the puppy both white? To me, it sounds like they came from the same source, but I'm probably wrong. Besides, no reputable breeder would hand their dog over to these guys if what Ritz is telling is true and not fabricated. Most (if not all) inquire about past/present dogs and what happened to them. Then, again, lying is a jerk's best alibi

[Ritz459]

No, Gage isn't white. He is a mostly twany, but has some flashy white patches on him. When JeanAnne first told me they had a new, white, Boxer puppy, I was thinking, 'Oh crap. These people, in my eyes, shouldn't even own a dog, and here they are, getting another Boxer, that is probably from a BYB and hopfully won't be deaf when it gets older.'

P.S. I think the puppies name is Cody or Coby or something like that. And from what Hailey and Hannah were telling me about him, he is already starting to hate having anybody touch is face because they hit him on the nose when he nips. Hailey said that she went down to kiss him on the nose the other day and he started growling and snapping at her.