Woo woos and burns and beaning OH MY.. Boxer dog traits we all love.

The top of my list is boxer woo-woos. 
Woo-woos are the sound a boxer makes when it is feeling annoyed, excited, happy, sad, silly, mad, or just because they want to.  It is sometimes referred to as singing.  Every boxer has their own unique woo. Some woos sound like growls, some woos sound like whines.  If your boxer woos be happy.  It is one of the cutest sounds you'll ever here a boxer make.

Examples of Wooing

This is an example of your sad woo-woo.



 Turn your volume down a bit for this next one!
An example of the annoyed woo-woo.

Boxer burns:

This is when your boxer runs, all out, with his butt tucked up underneath him like the devil himself is chasing him.  Accompanied by heavy panting, puppy bows, and sometimes barking and wooing.
If your boxer is in the midst of a burn watch out!  Boxer burns may cause temporary blindness causing the dog to clumsily knock things over and run into things such as doors, walls, and unsuspecting toddlers.

Example of Boxer Burns.







The Kidney Bean Dance:

The kidney bean dance is a native dance of the typical boxer dog.  It generally happens anytime the boxer is excited about something.  The most common example of this is the "OMG! You're home!" Kidney Bean dance. "Beaning" is when the boxer wriggles back and forth uncontrollably, bending themselves into the shape of a kidney bean as if they are trying to sniff their own butts. 




Oh and lets not forget he snoring!

Post by Jessi Grafeld.

Boxer poetry

Boxer Valentine

I found a pretty Valentine
Beside my door today
It didn't say who sent it
But I guessed that any way.

Because it said "I Love You"
And then I looked and saw,
My Boxer dog had signed it
With his muddy little paw.

"Did you send this to me", I asked
"You might as well confess,"
He looked at me with a Boxer grin
And his stubby tail wagged "Yes!"

Author Marta Nettelfield & daughter

To my dog(s):

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. I love thee agreeably - enough to let your stinky doggy hide on the bed after a run through damp leaves, mud and slug infested gardens.

2. I love thee steadfastly - enough to devote a year to raising you from a wobbly speck into a strong healthy adult (who promptly attempts to seize control).

3. I love thee passionately - despite your repeated efforts to probe my ears, eyes and mouth with the same tongue you use for various other atrocities.

4. I love thee well - despite the amazing odors you produce.

5. I love thee deeply - though you use me as a napkin at every opportunity.

6. I love thee madly - despite the various bodily functions you have performed at inappropriate moments, in inappropriate places.

7. I love thee constantly - despite the dog "bladder curfew" I have lived by for many years.

8. I love thee truly - despite the "doggie land mines" hidden in the grass.

9. I love thee absolutely - because you never (well, hardly ever) hog the remote control.

10. I love thee gratefully - because you stay by my side (or on my side).

11. I love thee devotedly -more than clean carpeting, clothing, furniture, floors or walls.

12. I love thee bravely - enough to battle the indomitable flea on your behalf.

13. I love thee monetarily - enough to put the vet's children through college.

14. I love thee openly - I will bear any embarrassment for your furry sake.

15. I love thee totally - more than free time, excess cash or a predictable life.

The Half-Breed 
They call me a BOXER,
But I'm a Half-Breed.
Part BOXER of course,
and part people indeed.
Anyone who owns me knows it's true.
We're so close to being people,
we're like part of you.
"He's one of the family,"
you've heard people say.
"Don't know how we'll manage when he passes away."
But they'll get another BOXER,
a purebred at first.
Not the most well-behaved puppy,
but far from the worst.
Then the change will take place,
the same as before.
They'll end up with the same human
HALF-BREED once more

--Author Unknown

THE LIFE OF A PUPPY

This morning, I woke up and kissed my Dad's head
I peed on the carpet, then went back to bed
"The life of a puppy, oh my, this is great"
Then I thought about breakfast, "I hope it's not late"

Mom took me outside, we walked for a while
This never fails to make Mama smile
I sniffed at everything that we did pass
I ate something weird and it gave me gas

I'm sure God loves me, I know that is true
He gave me so many great things to chew
Rugs, plants or rocks, I really don't care
What I truly like best is Dad's underwear

That Obedience book was sort of yummy
Though it didn't sit well on my poor puppy tummy
I threw up a bit but that was all right,
When Mom found it later, I was well out of sight

I made streamers of T. P. while running at full speed
Mom is pretty quick but I was still in the lead
I flew under the bed and Mom flew past
She stopped and shook her head and breathed
"You're too fast"

Mama later phoned Daddy and said, "it was frightening!"
That afternoon she was sure I'd pooped lightning
She sat at the computer while I chewed the cord
She thought I was mad but I was just bored

When Mama had enough and couldn't take anymore
That's when my tushy got shoved out the door
I love it inside but outside is best
Lay in the cool grass and had a good rest

That didn't last long as there was too much to do
Can't quite remember where I hid Daddy's shoe
I found an old bone and scratched at a flea
I watched the dumb Squirrels as they jumped in a tree

I barked at the kids when they got off the bus
I can't figure out why this makes Mama fuss
I barked at the neighbor, I barked at the wind
I barked and barked, till Mom yelled, "Come In"

The Sun Dipped In The West, Soon Daddy Would Come!
I sure love my Daddy, we always have fun
I barked at my Daddy and then turned on my charms
I woof woofed, "hello," then jumped in his arms

Sitting under the table, it's sooooo hard to wait
Daddy slipped me a goodie right off his plate
I raced through the house and scattered my toys
Ricocheted off the furniture and made lots of noise

Mom found her purse, the one I had abused
Daddy let loose a chuckle
Mom asked "are you amused?"
I cowered down low, I must be in trouble
Dad said, "wasn't my boy, it must be his double!"

Mom turned off the TV and said, "it's time for bed"
Dad said "let's go boy" and patted my head
I got in my spot between Mom and Dad
I thought about my day and what fun that I had

Mama kicked out my bone from the covers below
Then let loose a sigh, a sigh deep and low
She gave me a kiss and snuggled me tight
And whispered so softly, "my darling, good night"

.

Doggie park woes...

Izzy LOVES the dog park. We have a free local dog park not far from home. We've been going about 2-3 times a week since Izzy finished her vaccines and have NEVER had a problem... until today.

Cue rant.

Today when we arrived at the dog park there were 3 dogs already there.  I walked in and unclipped Izzy's harness like I always do. The 3 dogs charged across the park to greet her. The largest of the three, I believe was a male am staff mix began to "play" with Izzy. This dog quickly escalates and won't even let Izzy off of the ground. I look to the owner expecting her to apologize and get control of her dog. SHE DOESN'T. Now the other dogs have joined in and Izzy yelps, a clear indication of "knock it off that hurt." Well this causes the larger dog to escalate further and start chasing her everytime she gets up. So I try to grab Izzy and the other dogs owner laughs and tells me to relax. "Look at their ears and tails, its obvious they're just playing." To which I responded with, "Really? Because my puppy is crying. You need to get control of your dog so I can get my puppy out of here."

Now let me give you a visual of this fabulous specimen of a dog owner. She was wearing pink yoga pants with a too tight white tank top, french manicure, and had recently done her hair.  She gingerly picks up her dogs leash and says, "now Roscoe* stop that. I said stop that.... nooo roscoe." So I did something I normally would never do, I put myself between him and Izzy and picked her up. I then, without another word, proceeded to go over to the small dog inclosure so I could wash the mud off of Izzy before we left.

While rinsing her off, I noticed that she did infact have a scrape on her belly from the other dog. By this point my blood is boiling.  At this very moment the dogs owner approaches from the other side of the fence and says, "I'm sorry that was scary for you, he really was just playing with her." I had had enough, I lifted Izzy up and showed the woman her stomach, "Does this look like playing, she could have seriously been hurt.  Stop making excuses for your dog and be a responsible pet owner. We have never, in the past 2 months, had a problem here. If you can't control your dog, you shouldn't bring him here. Every person and dog has the right to feel safe coming here." With that she picked up her coach purse, leashed her dog, and left.

To the woman who clearly must have a degree in dog psychology and body language *note the sarcasm that was intended*  here is an excerpt from www.pet.webmd.com.

When dogs play, they often play-bow, paw at each other and bounce around like puppies. Their bodies look relaxed, rather than stiff, and they might make “play faces”-they hold their mouths open and look like they’re smiling. During play, the dogs might growl playfully and open their mouths wide, exposing their teeth and pretending to be ferocious. They might switch roles so that one dog’s sometimes on top when wrestling and sometimes on her back, sometimes chasing and sometimes being chased, sometimes pouncing and sometimes getting pounced on. The dogs might also frequently switch games, alternating between stalking and chasing each other, wrestling and rolling around on the ground, mouthing on each other, playing with toys, and taking breaks to drink water or sniff around. As the dogs run and wrestle, you might notice them pausing or freezing frequently for just a second or two before launching back into the game. These little pauses and breaks in play help ensure that play doesn’t get out of hand.

If possible, watch for warning signs and step in before a fight happens. Your first clue that things aren’t going well during play might be the absence of all the signs of polite play described above. Instead of those signs, you might notice the dogs’ bodies becoming stiffer and more tense. Their movements might seem faster and less bouncy. Play might become louder and build in intensity, without any breaks or pauses. If you see any of these signs, it’s time to separate the playmates. You should also interrupt play if you see a dog who’s pursuing and playing too roughly with a playmate who’s trying to get away, or who’s repeatedly knocking down or standing over another dog. Intervene immediately if a number of dogs start to chase a single dog-especially if that dog is small.

End rant.

Thanks for reading.  If you've ever had a less than pleasant experience at the dog park, tell me about it and how you handled it, in the comments :)

*name has been changed

Dumpster Diving

Have you ever heard the expression "a dog will eat anything?"   We learned our lesson the other day.  We were laying in bed, enjoying my vacation and my husbands day off from the fire house, when we heard a strange noise coming from our living room.  It sounded like Izzy had gotten a hold of a piece of paper.  Slowly we pried ourselves from the bed to go see what she was up to.  When we walked out of the bedroom our 5 month old puppy's head pops out of the garbage bag that was now on the floor, and she comes trotting over with a soggy french fry hanging from her mouth.  As if to say, "look mom I saved you some," she immediately dropped it at my feet. 

Now after looking at the picture, and reading up until now you're probably wondering why there was a pound of french fries in the garbage.  Did I mention we're lousy cooks?   I say that because I can only imagine how much has to go wrong for an ENTIRE bag of frozen french fries to come out tasting bad.  So the night before the french fry binge eating, we had botched a bag of french fries and decided to just throw them out. 

Fast forward to the next day, Izzy is so proud of herself.  When we yell at her, instead of laying and sulking she runs around the house doing her kidney bean dance.  I go to check the bag to see how many fries she actually ate and my jaw hits the floor.  There were only 3 or 4 fries left in the garbage.  I immediately go into freak out mommy mode.  Feeling foolish, I pick up the phone and call our vet.  I explained that our 5 month old puppy just downed a pound of french fries and the vet tech on the phone LAUGHED.  When she finally regained her composure she said to just keep an eye on her and to expect an upset tummy.  

So for the next couple of days we were diligently watching her every move.  Other than feeling sluggish the day of, and not eating her puppy chow that night. She was fine!  I was hoping she'd at least get a bit of an upset tummy to teach her a lesson.  But no, she still tries to dumpster dive....

Introductions...

Hi! I'm Jessi. I'm 23, married and own two dogs, Hope and Izzy. I'm writing this blog because ever since bringing Izzy home our lives have been crazy. I needed some way to document everything that happens on a day to day basis or else I'll forget all of these great stories. This post is to introduce the main characters of my stories.

 HOPE

This is Hope.  We rescued her from the shelter in 2011 and she is now 3 years old.  She was tiny and timid then, and now shes slightly less tiny and slightly less timid. She was our first dog (my husbands first dog ever that he raised).  She is a great big sister to Izzy and makes a great role model, for good behavior and BAD.  

Isabelle "Izzy"

This is Izzy.  She is a 5 month old boxer puppy.  She is spoiled ROTTEN by everyone in our family (I'm not innocent either). She does everything puppies are supposed to do, and a lot more than just that.  She is what inspired me to start this blog and I could tell you a hundred stories right now but then I wouldn't have anything to write about later.

Guest Stars that I'm sure I'll be writing about...

JC

This is my "booger bear".  Technically he is my parents dog... but don't tell him that.  He loves long walks on the beach, McDonalds cheeseburgers, and snuggling under the covers (I think I just described most mens dream date).  He makes kissy sounds when you kiss him goodnight (hopefully I can get it on video) and he has enough personality for 10 dogs rolled into one.  We're not sure what he is but my best guess would be Boxer and Black Lab.  He loves to do the kidney bean dance and his boxer burn through the house. 

Tucker-man

This is Tucker aka "Happy-Butt", my aunt and uncle's dog.  He is the wise old man of the group.  He LOVES food.  And by loves food I mean make sure your fingers are out of the way when you give him a milk bone ;)