Remember, when choosing a
puppy, we choose a family member, that is why those, who value
family ties - the ties of love and loyalty - must make the right
choice. First of all, you should remember, that Boxer is a dog,
that requires rather active and long walks, only so he will not
annoy you with his bad behavior. Together with this dog you can
have walks in crowdy places. He will not scare surrounding
people, on the contrary, he will call only positive emotions.
Before you decide to take a puppy, it is better to get to know
his parents. The best age to take a puppy is 1.5-2 months, as it
is the age when the puppy's sex is distinct and they are ready
to be taken from their mother. The nose lobe must be fully
black. The bite should be not tight with some retreat. After we
examined the puppy's exterior look, we should check his working
qualities and temper. There are a lot of different tests for
temper that can be a great help, outweighing lack of experience
or knowledge.
In life, puppy follows his instincts - hunting, defensive, food,
fighting and sexual. Defensive instinct is the main for guard
dog, which will protect his territory (that means your territory
as well), his house, himself and his troop (that is you and your
family). However, defensive activity requires certain maturity,
that is why you can examine only hunting abilities of the puppy
now. You should also check puppy's level of sensitiveness and
determine his dominance. Sensitiveness reflects the stability of
the nervous system. It is not the best choice if the dog is
afraid of street noise or even starts panic. The dominance
specifies the order and shows the degree of dog's obeyance, that
means whether the dog will obey your orders or you will obey his
desires.
In order to help you in making the right choice we would like to
offer you some tests. It is desirable to test your puppy when
his age is 6-8 weeks. You will need a tennis-ball, a steel bowl
and a rug or a piece of artificial wool of the size similar to
the kitchen towel.
Test 1. Sociability.
First of all you need to define the sociability of the litter of
puppies you chose. Approach to the puppies and evaluate their
behavior. Joyful barking, fawning, cheerfulness and fun is that
exact behavior you need. The puppy that showed indifference or
fear is unlikely to become a good companion. If the litter
includes mostly the puppies of the kind, it is not recommended
to take a puppy out of it.
Test 2. Hunting instinct.
The following test you will carry out with friendly puppies
only. Attract puppies' attention with the rug. Pull it with
short jerks on the floor. The hunting instinct will make the
puppies chase the rug. However, there is some nuance. A puppy,
that tries to chase the carpet will perfectly do for a role of
beloved pet, while a puppy, that stubbornly chases the rug until
he bites it is an inborn sportsman, hunter and fighter.
Here you should narrow the circle to two or three puppies. The
test must be done with each puppy separately and pass to the
following test only after you've tested all the puppies. It will
give time for them to have some rest during the break between
their turns. If you are testing only one puppy, give him a break
not less than 15 minutes.
Test 3. Sensitiveness.
This test will help you to check the sensitiveness of your
puppy, that is his nervous system stability. This test is better
to carry out on the hard floor or on the asphalt, somewhere in
the calm place. First, you should involve the puppy into the
game. When all his attention belongs to you and your game, throw
the steel bowl in about a meter behind him. The desired reaction
is a full indifference or a light wince with quick coming back
to normal condition that is followed by sniffing around the
object. Normal condition is expressed in the puppy's desire to
return to your game. If the puppy shivers of fear, runs away,
refusing to continue the game and it is impossible to take him
out of shock, he is not your choice.
Test 4. Hunting and returning
instinct.
Take a tennis-ball and roll it away from the puppy. The puppy
with good hunting qualities will throw himself to the ball and
the puppy with good returning instinct will come back to you
with this ball. This instinct is showed in everything - from the
game with flying plate up to the obedience training. Remember
that return qualities are very important for dog obedience
training and it is necessary to develop them.
Test 5. Championship.
After playing with the puppy a few minutes, turn him on the back
and take him in this position for a minute, placing your arms on
his chest. The undesirable reaction if the puppy lies obediently
and silently or on the contrary, tries to attack you. The
"proper" puppy must show obvious unwillingness to lie on his
back through whimpering and twisting. Such behavior is good for
a pet. If you need a sport Boxer, you should search the puppy
that snarls and barks, expressing his aversion. However, after
all his reaction must be followed by obeyance and enfeeblement.
Thus, you check who will be the leader among two of you.
Test 6. Forgiveness.
Ability to forgive is an important requirment for any dog.
Involve the puppy in game again. When he will be fully keen on
it, take his paw and pinch the bulge on his big toe. You must do
it quickly but strong enough for him to squeal. The proper
reaction is if the puppy quickly forgives you, involving you in
game again or licks your face. A puppy that runs away will never
become a good dog, as well as the puppy that tries to revenge
you. Though you may consider this method rather cruel, it is
necessary to be done. Your children should play with a dog that
is able to forgive. Moreover, forgiveness plays a great part in
obedience and security training and in every area of the dog's
life.
Although this test cannot give you 100% guarrantee. That is why
before making a choice, consider carefully all pluses and
minuses as you choose a friend and a member of your family for
long years. And it doesn't matter whether your dog will be a
champion of competition or exhibition; the main thing is that
you find mutual understanding between two of you and then
everything will be great.
