Got our first Boxer today and I'm very concerned

[Coll]

When we arrived to meet our new furbaby, upon her breeder handing her to me she noticed her eye was swollen. She said she had just bathed her in some sort of oatmeal shampoo and thought it may have gotten in her eye. As we were talking she then remembered the puppy eating Mama's dental bone and said that may have been it. She told me I should buy benadryl (liquid) and give her 1/2 tsp. Since I have a 3 year old I figured 1/2 would be too much for a puppy. I did give her 1/4 tsp. Now I'm not so sure I should have followed her advice.

I did wait to see if the eye swelling would go down and it didn't get any better even an hour later. So, I gave her a dose of benadryl. We stopped to let her go potty (it was about a 2 hour drive) and I noticed she was walking funny. She was itching a and acted as though she was trying to itch while walking too. I thought that maybe she was still learning how to walk. Stupid, I know but I couldn't think of any other reason for her walking to be so "off".

Fast forward (since we were driving home) to when we got home. She has not urinated since we picked her up at 1pm. We've tried to get her to go but to no avail. She was still walking weird so I gook a video of her and sent it to her breeder. She said she thought it might have been because Flare has never wore a collar before and that might be it. Her swollen eye did go down, though.

We did take off her collar, but she's been asleep the rest of the night. My son pointed out to me that at one point she was sleeping with her eyes open and her tongue was hanging out of her mouth.

So. This may all be normal or even just little stuff. But this is our first boxer.

Any advice?

[Jan]

Congratulations on your puppy!

I would be a bit concerned about the eye and would take her to the vet on Monday and have it checked out. I would definitely be concerned about her not urinating. Has she been drinking anything? If she is drinking lots and still not peeing, that is definitely a problem. Puppies don't have the ability to hold it. If she is still not peeing, I would be taking her to the emergency vet.

Sleeping with the tongue out is perfectly normal for a boxer.

Let us know how she is doing!

[joannaryan]

Our boxer puppy is 16 wks now, but when we picked him up his was being bothered by one of his eyes and we took him straight to the vet, not wanting to take any chances and he told us that he could have scratched his eye or one of the litter mates could have scratched it during play. He gave us antibiotic drops for his eye and it cleared it up within two days. As far as the peeing goes I would also check with your vet.

[EAO76]

She could be waliking funny because she is itchy. Was she just vaccinated? She could be having a reaction to that. Is this a quality breeder? Or someone you found on the internet or advertisment? And yes tongue out is totally normal.

[Coll]

The swelling went down. She finally peed right on my carpet. LOL She started walking fine when she woke up from her nap (minus her collar). And I'm so glad to know about the tongue out while sleeping. Made me feel so much better.

I know I sound like a worry wart, but I want to make sure everything is fine with her. Her breeder seemed VERY concerned and even called later yesterday to make sure things were better and check in on her. As far as reputable breeder goes, well I don't know. She just moved to the state last year from California. I did ask about health problems of her other boxers. They are both 5 (the puppies parents). She seems live a very good person, very sincere and I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character. However, I have been wrong before, so.......

I guess that now that I have read up on boxers and all the posts here about health concerns; I am VERY scared. I just don't want her to have any of this stuff.....EVER! It's been something I've worried about since bringing her home yesterday. I ask myself, "Oh my, is she going to have_________________ or ________________, or do I need to test her for __________________ or __________________ (even though she shows no signs of whatever _________________ may be).

I have had dogs in the past. They have been adopted, rescued and all adults. This is my first puppy and I already feel love like I do for my kids toward her. It's a totally different feeling all together.

So to end this, I have another question. Is it normal for them to shake in their sleep? I thought it was just a twitch or two as she falls asleep (my husband does this). But then at one point she was shaking a lot. Any clue?

[Coll]

Never mind, it must be her dreaming.

[LILYLARUE]

I think we all were worry warts upon our first puppy and with boxer's as pups, they do and have some weird things to worry about! LOL

We are all willing to help you get through this puppy stage, so just ask if anything "weird" comes along. Most likely it will be just "a boxer thing".

Also, I bet that puppy will win your heart unlike any other dog you ever had. Boxer's do that.

[RoxiesEcho]

Bella is our first boxer and I was totally ignorant of the breed before we got her. I know that it can be overwhelming as you get on BW and start reading the stories, especially the possible health issues. But bad things don't happen to everyone and it really is good to know what can happen and how to be aware of symptoms and behaviors to be on the look out for. And if heaven forbid, anything does happen, there are wonderful people on here that can share their knowledge with you and provide support. As far as the sleeping goes, Bella is the twitchiest dog I've ever had. She twitchest, wiggles, kicks, rolls her eyes, sucks on her tongue, even makes the funniest sounds all the time!

Congratulations on your new puppy!

[Gatorblu]

Originally Posted by Coll

Never mind, it must be her dreaming.

I am sorry, but this really made me laugh! Thor is more vocal in his sleep then anytime he is awake. He wakes me almost every night. He'll be running and/or barking in his sleep. I swear he has this half bark/half growl thing that sounds like the woop!woop!woop! from the Three Stooges. Sometimes he moving and jerking so much I think he is having a seizure and wake him only to get the "What?!" look. Just to let you know Thor is over 10 yrs old. The worrying doesn't stop, but most things you will learn to chalk up to nutty boxer behavoir.

[Lizzie]

Originally Posted by Coll

Is it normal for them to shake in their sleep? I thought it was just a twitch or two as she falls asleep (my husband does this). But then at one point she was shaking a lot. Any clue?

Quite normal behaviour for a boxer! Monty was never still when awake and when asleep he wasn't either - he would run (back legs going like he was on a bicylce), tongue darting in and out of his mouth (like a lizard), eyelids flicking like the devil and then to top it all off he would woop woop and bark and even howled once! Monty aslepp was a sight to behold indeed

Diva sometimes grumps and growls in her sleep, but in comparison to Monty it is very tame

[Cami]

My husband AND Raine have restless leg syndrome while sleeping. DH takes medication for it (it doesn't help) and of course nothing I can do for Raine.
Both of them "running" while sleeping in tandem makes for a L-O-N-G night.
I can happily be found on the couch most nights with a cat on top of me but I can sleep.
Can't forget the snoring in tandem as well. Good times.

[sriley]

Try to relax and enjoy your new pup. They don't stay little for long. You've found this great site and the members here will always offer advice and support along the wonderful journey that is Boxer ownership. The health issues are worrisome for all of us who share our lives with this crazy, fantastic breed and even the most well planned and reputable breeding practices can produce pups that fall victim to any number of health complications. I have no advice to give on that front aside from doing your research and keeping yourself informed ... and in my humble opinion, there is no better place to do that than here