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Is there any way to convey a Boxer's ability to sneak into your life, steal your heart and rip it away? What would you think when you look at a wriggling, squirming litter of new, fat Boxer puppies? Until you experience the effect yourself, there is just no way to fully understand the Boxer experience! Welcome to the continuing story of Scrapper and how he wormed his way into our hearts and made us laugh....
The saga begins in Spring, 2001 when we discovered after a long search and much waiting, we were going to become the new owners of a bouncing baby Boxer boy, appropriately named "Scrapper" by his breeder, Christina Ghimenti of PawPrint Boxers, This was because of the"scrappy" nature he exhibited upon when first born as he pushed his way through the other puppies to get to mom's milk bar... oh, we were just not prepared...
Once we knew Scrapper would be coming, the countdown began. Does time ever go more slowly than when you are waiting for something wonderful to happen? Ask any girl waiting for that call from her boyfriend! S-l-o-w-l-y, painfully, those final weeks til homecoming crept by. But Christina was kind enough to allow us weekly visits to our soon-to-come-home puppy which only reinforced the longing each time we left.
Finally, the big day arrived! Eagerly we hurried over to pick up our newest member of the family. That first night our son, Stephen, slept on the couch to make sure the new baby wouldn't wake up alone and scared in a new place. Snuggly tucked into a fleece bed, with a towel-covered hot water bottle and ticking alarm clock, the first few nights passed quickly and uneventfully. Housebreaking was a breeze - within three days, Baby Scrapper was already scratching at the door. Somehow, cleaning up pee and poop didn't seem like such a terrible chore with Scrapper. We didn't care - we were just happy to have him here.
As you can see from these photos, from the start, we were very strict with Scrapper and never allowed him to get on the furniture. We were very diligent in the application of this rule.
Barely a week after the soft-eyed baby came here, it was time to keep an appointment that I was not looking forward to. Scrapper was headed for the show ring. Show Boxers have cropped ears. We knew it had to be done, but after a week of smoothing and fondling those silky soft ears, guilt was settling in big time. Nevertheless, we got up early one morning, fortified with coffee and junk food and headed off to the special ear crop vet whose work was known far and wide. All the way up in the car, I felt like a criminal. I just wanted this day to be over. And soon it was...
Well, that was done.
The next five months we taped, wrapped, taped and wrapped, taped some more and wrapped some more. Finally, the desired result was obtained - a gorgeous show crop. Frankly, I don't recommend anyone have their Boxer's ears cropped unless they are serious about showing or plan to be very careful with the aftercare. It's a long road to a successful outcome and requires much diligence on the owner's behalf.
Watching Scrapper make his way to adulthood was full of adventures and new experiences. As much as he needed to learn about us, we needed to learn about him. Hard to imagine that a puppy who weighed barely 8 pounds when he came to live with us would grow to reach over 50 pounds by his first birthday. And those were 50 pounds of pure muscle. So we decided obedience classes were in order. At five months, Scrapper and I eagerly arrived at our first obedience class. Well...I was soon to discover that Boxers "obey" differently. "Heel?" "Stay?" "Come?" All were greeted with the typical Boxer response - a quizzical look that seemed to mean "Nah, you don't really mean this, do you?" and an attempt to socialize with the dog standing closest to him. A piece of fuzz was a distraction demanding immediate attention. Thankfully, our instructor had grown up with a Boxer. She knew their ways. She encouraged me to keep going. Oh, the day that light bulb
went off over his head was a day of rejoicing!
It was all worth the effort.
As Scrapper was growing up, he was also becoming more and more a part of the family. You haven't been scammed for food at the table until you've looked into those huge brown eyes and felt that chin press into your leg. No, there's no sound, no whining -just a constant stare that's impossible to ignore. "You are so selfish and mean to me...you know that is my favorite food...why aren't you giving me just a taste...that's all I want!"
We discovered Scrapper was a natural retriever. He began with small items, balls and doggie toys. If you threw one, he ran to get it, picked it up and trotted back. Of course, before he would let you have it to throw again, you had to play a round of tug-o-war with the item being tossed. If you in any way hesitated to go through his pre-set parameters, you would be barked at. But just one polite bark at a time. ...and then a Pause....to see if you were really paying attention.....Bark ...........Pause.... etc.
Then came the day that changed his life, Scrapper discovered the frisbie...
Life for him and us would never be the same. Was there ever an attachment so strong that one never tired of the beloved? Never tired to hear the name? Never failed to perk up at the sight? This dog was born to chase frisbies. Soon we had to be careful to refer to "it" by spellling F-R-I-S-B-E-E or making up some other euphemism when Scrapper was in hearing distance or we WILL be going outside to throw for a while.. Day after day, playing frisbee is his fondest desire. He plays til exhaustion, rests awhile and plays some more. Of course, we have an assortment of the little round things lying around, all in various stages of being chewed, since they don't last forever. It's so nice to know your purpose in life, isn't it?
All this goes to say, our life has not been the same since Scrapper came to live with us. He is teaching us to look for the joy in life. And that sometimes the most important things really are free. Scrapper has continued with his obedience training. He's been going almost two years now and no longer rolls on the floor when you say "Down!" The dog standing next to him is less likely to distract him from his lessons, though it isn't guaranteed. Thankfully, we have the same instructor who is aware of Boxer ways. Scrapper has matured into a beautiful Boxer and a wonderful ambassador for his breed. Of course, he has wormed his way from his dogbed into our bed. At first we set restrictions, only on Saturday night could Scrapper sleep on the bed. Gradually, those restrictions have eroded so it might be four of the seven nights a week he's sprawled sideways across the bottom of the bed. We take trips and Scrapper comes along. Dad's first obligation upon coming in the door at night is to wrestle with a 65 pound dog in his lap and say"woodgie-woodgie-woo." Now that it's clear this boy has stolen our hearts, explore further and learn more about why we think Boxers are the best!
Check out some of the links below to see more about Scrapper and his family!
The Boxer Credo - "Hakuna Matata" - No Worries! Life is good!
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All photos copyright 2003
