Boxers are beloved dogs due to their sense of loyalty to their pet parents and their willingness to please them. Furthermore, boxers love to be praised for a job well done. Once you’ve developed a baseline of trust with your boxer, they become especially obedient and easy to train. But are boxers easy to potty train?
Potty training a boxer is actually pretty easy, so long as you make it one of your first priorities when you bring them home. You should also understand that accidents can happen occasionally, so patience is key when it comes to potty training. Knowing a boxer’s bathroom habits also helps you implement proper training for their unique needs.
Once you’ve potty trained your boxer, they’re likely to keep up good potty habits throughout their lives. If something changes, be sure to take note of those changes in case they’re an indication of an underlying health concern.
Are Boxers Easy To Potty Train?
Boxers tend to pick up potty training with ease. It’s ideal to start potty training your Boxer once they are around seven weeks old, or shortly after you bring them home. Put your boxer on a leash and bring them outside, and designate an area where you’d like them to go to the bathroom.
Use simple language when you do this, like “let’s go potty” and consistently use the same language so they learn to associate going outside with going potty. Boxers learn through being rewarded for doing something good, so implementing rewards into their potty training will help in your success. This is going to teach your boxer that going potty outside is what you expect of them.
You should take your boxer outside on a leash until you sense they are comfortable enough to go out without one. You should only ever let your boxer outside without a leash if you have a completely enclosed backyard with a high fence. Boxers like to follow scents, so the risk of them running free is high.
When Do Boxers Usually Need To Go Potty?
There are some key indicators to keep in mind as you develop a potty schedule with your boxer. As expected, they’ll likely have to go to the bathroom as soon as you wake up and before you go to bed. Of course, after meal times, they’ll likely have to go to the bathroom shortly after.
To meet your boxer’s exercise needs, you’ll want to take them on one or two walks a day at minimum. They will likely go potty during your walks. Once they wake up from a long nap or have been playing around inside for some time, they might also need to go to the bathroom.
Will Boxers Tell You They Need To Go Potty?
Boxers are not frequent barkers, but they will find ways to let you know they need to go potty. It’s key that you pay attention to them, or you might possibly miss these cues. The first sign they’ll show you is walking over to the door and either sitting or standing there. They may also look towards you, waiting for you to notice.
Your boxer may also pace back and forth around the door, looking outside and then looking back at you. You might also hear them whimpering or making noises around the door. When they are getting restless, they might even scratch at the door.
Be sure to let them outside as soon as you see any of these signs. Otherwise, they may have an accident inside because they can’t hold it in any longer. As they know you won’t like this, they may become upset or concerned that you’ll punish them. Be sure that you don’t yell at them; they won’t go potty in the house out of defiance.
Potty Training Your Boxer For Being Home Alone
If you decide to crate train your boxer, be sure their crate is spacious enough for them. You also shouldn’t leave them in a crate when you’re not going to be home all day; crating your boxer should only be done for a few hours at the most. They aren’t likely to go potty in their crate as they don’t want to sleep near their excrement.
Before you leave home, you should take your boxer outside for a walk or spend some time outside with them. You should also encourage them to go to the bathroom, though they may not have to. Once you get home, you should take your boxer outside as soon as possible in case they have to go potty.
Otherwise, you can try to keep your boxer within a certain area of the home by putting up some puppy gates. You should set up a couple of puppy pads in a specific area, such as a bathroom, and train them to go to the pads if they have to potty before you get home.
When you get home and see that they’ve used the puppy pads, be sure to reward them with praise and a treat.
How To Handle Accidents In The Home
No type of training, including potty training, warrants yelling or punishment when a mistake is made. Boxers don’t learn through punishment. You don’t want to praise them for having an accident, obviously. Accidents will likely be few and far between, but responding to them properly will likely eliminate them in most cases.
If you come home to the scene of an accident, clean it up. At this point, it’s too late to correct your boxer’s behavior. They aren’t going to understand that what they did when you weren’t home is bad when you try to correct them after the fact.
One thing you can try is to pick up their poop in a towel, bring it outside with you while your boxer follows, and place it in their designated potty area. This will help them understand that poop belongs outside and not inside.
If you’re home and you stumble upon your boxer going potty inside, this is the only point where you’ll really be able to correct the behavior. You’ll want to tell them no, and point them towards the door. They won’t be able to stop, but this will help them understand that the outside is the place to go potty.
Tips For Potty Training A Boxer
When boxers eat or drink, their food and water seems to pass through their system quite quickly. After each meal or big drink, you should prepare to take them outside within about 15 minutes after they are done. They’ll likely have to go around this time.
Having a steady and longstanding routine with your boxer when it comes to potty time will also work wonders for keeping up proper bathroom habits. Take them outside at the same times each day, use the same command every time, and keep up rewards until potty time becomes second nature to them.
If an accident does occur, be sure you clean it up thoroughly as soon as you notice it. You want to eliminate the smell, as you don’t want your boxer associating that spot in the home with the place they can go potty.
Boxer puppies may also be more prone to accidents before they are spayed or neutered. Even if your boxer is not sharing your home with another dog, their instincts encourage them to mark their territory. Once they are spayed or neutered, they will likely stop this behavior.
When To Be Concerned About Changing Potty Habits
If you see an uptick in accidents, it could be a sign that your boxer is experiencing some kind of health issue. This might manifest in them suddenly having to go to the bathroom more often, or it could be that they struggle to go to the bathroom. With accidents, it may seem like your boxer just can’t help but go.
While it’s not a fun part of having a pet, you should also be paying attention to their poop. If it changes in appearance, seems overly runny, or your boxer seems to have frequent diarrhea, you should call your vet. Diarrhea can be dangerous for dogs, as it dehydrates them.
A change in potty habits is usually one of the first signs your boxer will show if there is a health issue. You may just need to change their diet, take them outside more often, or treat them for an illness in consultation with your vet.
Final Thoughts
Are boxers easy to potty train? Their obedient and loving nature makes it simple, but that doesn’t mean a repetitive training regimen isn’t needed. Patience is also needed, as accidents can happen. Giving them lots of praise when they follow your training will also instill good potty habits within your boxer, as they love making you happy.
Your boxer’s bathroom habits are one of the many important indicators of their health and wellness. A happy boxer is a docile one that loves nothing more than keeping you happy, and that includes going potty in the right place.