How to Care for a Newborn Boxer Puppy

The first eight weeks of your newborn boxer puppy's life are the most crucial, so a great deal of attention is necessary to ensure proper development. These first eight weeks will shape the health of the dog throughout its lifetime. Whether its feeding or ensuring proper weight gain, you need to give boxer puppies your full attention.

Things You'll Need

  • Dog food
  • Blanket
  • Scale
  • Milk (from mother)
  • Boxes
  • Newspapers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Feed your boxer pup enough times throughout the day. On average, puppies need to drink milk three to four times per day. There is no set amount of milk that they need to drink --- it varies from puppy to puppy. Determine how much milk your boxer pups need by weighing them carefully. Each boxer puppy should weigh about 2 to 4 pounds, but weight may fluctuate slightly. Use a blanket or cushioning on a scale to get an accurate weight. The blanket will not affect the weight. Weigh each puppy at least twice per day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Keep track of which puppy you weighed and make sure that each pup is gaining enough weight per day.

    • 2

      Trim your boxer pup's nails each day. They will begin to grow very quickly during the first week of life. Use a clotting solution, like Kwik Stop, in case the quick of the nail is cut by mistake. Cut your pup's nails very slowly and carefully. Trim only a small section (or the small "hook" of the pup's nail).

    • 3

      Your boxer pups will begin to wander outside of the nesting area near mom during the third week of life. Use a box to keep them near mom, but remove one side of the box and place newspapers just outside of the box. Connect another box to the first box, if you desire; this will permit the puppies to have room to run and play. It will also give mom time to rest and steer clear of her playing pups.

    • 4

      Give your boxer pup dog food around the fourth week of life. Two cups of dog food a day should suffice. Mix one-fourth wet puppy food with three-quarters of water to make the food easier for the small boxer pups to eat. Create a soupy, soft mixture and start the feeding with dog food in small amounts; this will permit the boxer pups to get used to eating dog food and allow the digestive system to catch up and get used to solid foods.

    • 5

      Buy some small toys for your boxer puppies to play with during the fifth week of life. Bring your pup outside during the seventh week of life to introduce it to the outside world. This may be a good time to start house training, but don't expect too much from your pup just yet. Give him time to learn. Take your boxer pup to the veterinarian for its first vaccinations when it's 8 weeks old.