Balboa

10/24/06 - Where do I even start? Balboa is a great dog. He has better manners in the house than most people I know. Although he is slightly stubborn at times. On the leash, he's a handful. He is such a big boy and he's literally as strong as an ox. I am working very hard with him and I'm glad to say that he's making progress. He just needs to learn that I'm the boss and he's safe with me when we're outside. Everyday he listens a little bit better on his walks and fights me a bit less. He is just so curious the second we walk out the door... he's all over the place - neglecting to realize that somebody is on the other side of the line! When you have 90lbs of boxer pulling on your arm, it's enough to tire you out! But we just keep on going, everyday, and everyday he gets one step closer to being relaxed outside. So, I am glad to say that things are going great with Balboa. It hasn't even been 2 weeks and I couldn't picture a day without him. He helps me get up every morning and gives me something rewarding to wake up to. He is a great friend, and I couldn't be happier to have him with me.

10/14/06 - Balboa has been adopted. He is going to live with Eric (Prince Eric as Sydney refers to him) and I think the two of them will get along well. Kim is working with them so that they get off on the right foot. We will miss him very much. We were all sad to see him go but know it's for the best.

10/10/06 - Balboa is pending adoption

10/4/06 - We've been working on Balboa's listening skills and boundaries. We let him off the leash at the house and he stays in our yard. As soon as you call him he comes right to you. The only thing that he has no control over is if he sees a squirrel...he has to chase it. I continue to take him to the field to run everyday he loves to burn off the energy, it seems his energy level is higher since he dropped a few pounds. We have a dog that lives in the house behind us that Balboa always barks at. He slipped out of his collar (I guess he's losing his double chin) the other day had an unexpected meeting with her and was nice as pie. The only difference with this meeting from any other is he was not on a leash and the other dog is a female. Any dog we have tried a formal meeting with was a male. We'll have to get a female and try it out. Maybe that would make all the difference. He is really a great dog and I know he would have so much fun playing with other dogs if he would just learn to introduce himself in a nicer way.

9/22/06 - I took Balboa down for his weigh in and he lost 7 lbs, all that exercise has paid off!!! As I have said before Balboa has pretty good manners and doesn't beg too much for food, but recently we found his weakness....Burger King. He can't keep his nose off the edge of the table (but still won't jump up) if there is a Burger King bag there. I think we found out how he got to be 101lbs! He is so funny, he gives you the sad eyes and paces around the table just hoping you'll give him at least one fry.

9/12/06 - Balboa had his meeting with another dog and it didn't go well. He was introduced to Charlie, a Golden Retriever, after a long walk to tire him out. He started barking as soon as he saw him and could not calm down. They wouldn't even smell each other or anything like that. It was all teeth and slobber. We'll have to try again another day. People that haven't seen Balboa for a couple of weeks are commenting that he looks like he has a lost a few pounds. I think I might take him to the vet to weigh him. It's a little hard to hold this guy on the bathroom scale, HA HA. Balboa loves to play soccer. We got him a soccer ball, it seems to be the only kind of ball he can't pop. He pushes it around the field and kicks it. He's a riot to watch. He'll wait and play with you too. Sometimes it even seems like he is trying to keep it away when he dribbles it down the field. We take him to an open field to exercise every day. When you get a couple rainy days and don't go he gets a little bored. You can tell the difference in him, he moans a lot and paces around the house. So he really needs a daily walk or run, he doesn't like to be a lazy dog. Now that the weather is cooling down I take him in the car with me to run my errands and he loves it. He loves attention, he needs a forever home that will show him lots of affection and keep him active.

8/24/06 - Balboa continues to amaze me with endless patience and manners. He and my daughter are like best buddies. If she cries for any reason he goes over to check her out and make sure everything's ok. In the morning he wakes me by putting his big head on the pillow next to mine and touching my cheek with his cold nose. He's such a good boy. I work with him everyday on the leash and he is doing much better, as long as he knows who the boss is. You have to make sure you walk in front of him. We are setting up a play date with another boxer today to see how he does. I'm curious to see how he handles it. I've seen how he reacts when passing other dogs and he gets very excited but I don't want to get him too close to stranger's dogs not knowing what he will do. So we will soon find out.

8/18/06 - Balboa had a trip to the Vet yesterday. He's a whopping 101lbs. The Doc said he could use to lose 15- 20 lbs. He should be low 80's. Other than that he's a healthy boy. He was very friendly with the staff and everyone loved him. He kept giving the assistant kisses. He did get himself excited when he was in the waiting room with a collie. She didn't even give him a second glance and was begging for her attention. He would pretend he was behaving for a minute with a little whine here and there and then he would try to get away and bark. We went through this cycle a couple of times until I just took him outside to wait until the room was ready. He doesn't seem to want to hurt the other dog I think he just wants to play. My husband is going to set up a formal introduction with another dog and work on it from there. We've been working on the walking and he seems to calm down with the pulling earlier into the walk each time. He continues to show endless patience with my daughter. She puts hats on him, puts his leash on him and takes him for walks in the house (he is very well behaved on the leash inside) , and he sits with her while she plays doll house and the dolls climb on him like a mountain. He is definitely a people dog, he's really a big baby.

8/15/06 - Balboa does something pretty funny. He chases ants. He pounces on them like a cat on a mouse. Then he eats them. It's hysterical. He is doing great and has a vet visit scheduled for Thursday and will be UTD on everything then. I took him for a 2 mile walk yesterday and he was pooped out. I think once he loses a couple of pounds he'll be a little more energetic. He is getting more vocal and will sing or bark when he wants something. It's not uncontrollable barking, just enough for him to get his point across and he's done. I will update Thursday and let everyone know how he is at the vet. I think he'll do fine, he is a great dog.

8/13/06 - Balboa is GREAT! We love him, he is so laid back. He has very good manners. We took him to a fenced in playground and he loved climbing through the maze and he didn't seem to wander too far from us but when he did wander a little and we called his name he didn't respond. So we're working on that a little. He is getting to know the neighborhood and the neighbors and the mailman loves him. He just loves people, we had a our friends over last night and they have 3 kids and with all the noise and craziness he wasn't bothered at all, it was just more hands to pet him and more faces to kiss. The first couple nights I kept in him the crate but last night I left him out and he was fine, he slept in the living room. I still leave him in the crate if I go anywhere during the day for more than 20 min. He hasn't had any accidents in the house with the exception of a little sprinkle when my husband came home the other day. I think it was out of excitement, but he hasn't done it since. I gave him a bath and he didn't object at all. I can't say he loved it, he just didn't care. He is not food aggressive at all. I can put my hand right in his dish and he doesn't care a bit. He does beg a little for people food but won't jump on the counter or table for anything. There was a pizza box on the table with a piece left in it over night and he didn't go near it. He won't touch the garbage cans either. I can't say enough how great he is.

8/11/06 - We just got Balboa yesterday and he had no trouble adjusting to a new foster home. He is a big boy! He just loves people and affection. He likes to play with toys and found the toy basket pretty quickly and the tugging ropes seem to be his favorites. He likes to unstuff things too. He's good on the leash but pulls a little, once you show him who's leading he's fine. He has a ton of patience with my 2 yr old daughter. She likes to hug him and tell him she loves him and he responds with a wag of his nub or kiss on the face. He went right in the crate when it was time for bed. He doesn't chew on anything that isn't a dog toy and he has no desire to get up on the furniture. He is an all around excellent dog and anyone would be lucky to have him as a pet.

8/3/06 - We have worked with Balboa a couple of times with his being either other dogs and although after his
 long tiring walk and being near another dog for a bit, he only gets to the point where he can relax and lay down...
he still does not want to hang out with them in the home or in the back yard.

He has been chasing the cats a bit more but he is big so they are scared and run from him so of course he chases 
them.

As always he is great in the crate and once in a home won't even need one he is so well behaved.I really do feel 
badly for him as he does not deserve to be crated all day...I let him out of the crate all night still and he is 
perfect...I really can't say enough good things about him.  I love him to death and feel he will make someone a 
super pet.

He is handsome, sweet, well behaved, silly, goofy, loves to play ball, hang out with you, loves to be pet and 
cuddled and just an all around good guy...please think about adding him to your family.

7/7/06 - Balboa continues to show us what a wonderful loving dog he really is. He just adores everyone he meets. He loves to play ball with you and will even give it over to you very easily so you can toss it again. Any youngster would have no issues playing with this boy. He is super in the crate and seems to do ok with the cats when they don't run from him...if they run, he chases them. He still isn't doing well with the intros with the other boxers so I have some help hopefully coming this weekend to assist me. I leave Balboa out of the crate at night and I have blocked him off in the hallway and computer room a couple of times for the day and he is terrific doesn't bother anything or have any accidents. I tell you he really will make a super pet for anyone who does not have another dog in the home.He's quiet, but will play, housebroken, not jumpy, loves people and walks well on the leash...he is a LARGE boy so can be strong at times but for the most part does well. He is a big luv bug and just wants a family to call his own to have a belated birthday party with. Can you make Balboa happy?? If so get that app or email in quickly.

7/2/06 - Well Balboa arrived in my home yesterday afternoon...a very large boy who loves people. He will be on some light food as he could stand to loose about 10-15 lbs. He comes in from a home where the daughter was watching him for the son and she is very allergic to him. He is great in the crate. I tried introductions this morning and it did not go to well. I will be working with him on that and hopefully get him to trust other animals. He has seen the cats a couple of times and tried sniffing then basically ignored them so with some further testing we will see if he is truly ok with them. Balboa is house trained and his birthday is today, 7/2/06, so a big happy birthday to Balboa who is turning 4. I am going to take him for a walk later today, he a strong boy but seems to do well on the leash. I have a lot to learn yet with him so in future updates I will let you know how things are going. I will get some pictures in of the cutie later on today. I feel he will make some family very happy...he is a luv bug!