Most would agree that day you bring Boxer puppy home, you must already pick direction in which you want to go with him.

Disciplining one is a matter of thinking and working a step ahead of your Boxer. Do it with love, gentleness but firmness as well.

Also, a Boxer that is well behaved today may not remain so forever. DogÆs behavior constantly changes; new problems can always develop and existing ones could get worse. So make discipline constant.

Training your Boxer is most important thing you will do for him and for yourself in order to have a much better relationship together.

A trained Boxer will listen and can safely be allowed freedom more than an untrained one.

A disciplined and well-trained Boxer is more confident and makes a wonderful companion that is smart, soulful, most people-oriented dog and blessed with boundless energy - a pleasure to live with.

A poorly trained dog can be a loud and destructive nuisance around house that weighs on you more like a commitment and responsibility rather than a blessing.

Teach them young when Boxers donÆt know any better rather than stressing them out when they are older and more difficult to control.

It is not fair on your Boxer to let him pull on leash when he is a small puppy and this doesnÆt hurt your hand, then to scold and shout at him if he does same when he is big and strong and makes your arms feel like falling off joints. It is not fair on dog and certainly not fair on you.

Start training some place that is familiar to your Boxer, where there is minimum distraction.

But remember socialization is also an important part of training because you donÆt want to end up with a very shy Boxer.

So after both of you are skilled at several obedience commands, start taking him to different areas for practice, where there are increasing amount of distractions present. Examples are near a supermarket, busy parking lot and a busy park on Sundays. This may seems like starting all over again but youÆll have a superbly trained dog at end of it. So it's worth effort.

Keep in mind Boxers are intelligent. Being an intelligent dog has its own advantages and drawbacks.

They are quick to learn.

It also means Boxers have a mind of their own that would sometimes show up as stubbornness. Thus, they can be harder to train than most other dogs due to their independence.

Understand BoxerÆs intelligence/stubbornness, handle it well, and you can avoid problems in disciplining and training them.

As owners, you must maintain respect between you and your Boxers. Respect goes both ways.

Respect their intelligence. Love them. Set rules for behavior. Trust them. There is no need for extreme measures to show Boxers that you are top dog.

Handle their hard-headedness with patient and don't give up on their training.

And because they are stubborn, conventional obedience training may not be most effective way to get them to listen to you.

Utilize their high play drive for more effective obedience training.

Conduct "play training" where by training tasks are made into fun games and BoxerÆs high play drive is used as motivation. There are a lot of really good books available on this type of training.

Basically Boxers are intelligent and could be stubborn. So you have to outwit them!

While training your Boxer, you have to make him WANT to do what you want him to. You can't make him do stuff unless it is FUN. Otherwise you are wasting both your time and his.

Your Boxer's favorite activities should become training, so that training becomes his favorite activity.

Boxers LOVE to play! You will have happiest Boxer in world and most obedient if you will just spend some time, giving them your undivided attention everyday. Otherwise they feel ignored, bored and will tear or chew things up and will not listen to you.

Some tried and proven tactics you can use to make your Boxers listen to you more.

* When playing with your Boxer puppy, play at his level.

If play is encouraged at ground level, this builds your role as dominant or top dog when you are standing and training your puppy. If puppy is allowed to jump up and initiate play, then this can lead to unwanted jumping up as Boxer gets older.

Feed him a balanced diet.

Additional tips from owners include:

- Give an occasional yogurt treat - Ask your vet about giving Boxers calcium tablets as they could have some problems later on in life!

- Keep him comfortable so his immune system can remain strong.

- Boxers are shorthaired and sensitive to extreme elements of weather and thus must be kept a housedog. His shortened muzzle also makes hot and humid weather uncomfortable for him.

- Give Boxers lots of exercise and regularly.

- Remember that he is a big and strong breed and requires physical outlets for his boundless energy and high play/prey drive.

- Walk them three times a day or have play sessions. Provide plenty of space for them to bounce around. You want to keep their spirit up and not break it or they wonÆt be dogs you fall in love with in first place. Healthy and happy Boxers are a joy to live with.

- Make a breeder your friend.

- Keep in touch with breeder who sold you Boxer. The breeder can advise you about care and health matters that are unique to breed. Any Boxer breeder, for that matter, can be an invaluable ally to you throughout your Boxer's life.

- Guard your Boxer from fleas.

- Your Boxer has fleas if you find black specks in fur or fleabite marks on skin. A tip given by an owner is to give your Boxer garlic daily to prevent fleas.

- Boxers catch fleas from other animals. It is an every day problem that, at some time or another, you can expect to encounter in your Boxer.

- The fleas only go to Boxer to feed on its blood.

- Fleas mostly live and multiply in your home. The comfortable living - central heating, double-glazing and, best of all, fitted carpet - we create for ourselves and our Boxers also work best for fleas.

- De-worm your puppy every month and your adult Boxer, every six months.

Worms

Worms is another everyday problem in Boxers but puppy is more likely to get sick from worms than grown up Boxer.

The sick one would lose weight and become weak, suffer from upset stomach, poor growth, listlessness or even lung trouble.

They may impede your puppyÆs growth and cause him to have a potbelly or be thin and have a shoddy-looking coat.

Your grown Boxer may not be showing any sign of worms but he could spread them more than sick puppy, through large amount of larvae or eggs passed out in feces.