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How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog
Boxers are an energetic breed that loves to be mentally stimulated to release their pent-up energy and enthusiasm. To tire out a Boxer dog, there is a combination of focus areas that can be used in tandem to keep your Boxer calm and healthy.
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog – 5 Best Ways
The 5 areas listed below some of which should be done daily, while other done several times a week can be used to help tire out your Boxer dog and keep them from getting bored which leads to destructive behaviors.
- Exercise – daily
- Training – Daily initially, then several times per week
- Mental Stimulation – Daily
- Use of Interactive Toys – Several times per week together and daily by themselves
- Play/Off-Leash Time – several times/week
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Exercise
Ideally, 90 minutes of time spent walking would be ideal. This can be divided into 2 – 45 minute walks or 3 – 30 minute walks. A family walking schedule helps ensure your Boxer gets the appropriate amount of time walking to burn off pent-up energy.
If you are short on time because of work and family commitments, utilizing a dog walking service is a good option to help ensure your Boxer is getting enough exercise. Check out Dog Walking options at Rover.com for services and pricing in your area by clicking the banner below.
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In addition to walking, other types of exercise include off-leash time where they can run freely in a secure or fenced-in area. Boxers were bred to chase prey and will chase smaller animals if not in a secure area.
Running is an additional option but should be done gradually.
Boxers are a Brachycephalic breed, which means their skulls are compressed and breathing becomes an issue on longer runs. Short sprints are a better option and where they excel.
Boxers were bred to chase and hold prey so throwing a ball and or frisbee and having them chase it allows them to utilize all of their muscle groups and get the exercise they need to help keep them calm throughout the day.
If you are looking for additional exercise activities for your Boxer, review our article on the 7 Best Common Calorie Burning Eexercises For Boxer Dogs and Owners
Walking Tips When Exercising Your Boxer
When walking your Boxer for exercise we recommend using a harness which provides better control, especially since Boxers are medium to large dogs and can easily pull someone down if they become excited (seeing a small animal, other dogs, or a stranger) and start to pull.
Another reason to use a harness is to help prevent damage to the esophagus or windpipe if they begin pulling too hard. Your Boxer will start to cough and gag when they pull too hard on a leash and collar.
A good quality leash in conjunction with the harness also helps provide a better walking experience.
A quality harness at an affordable price and comfortable fitting on your Boxer is important. The Joyride Harness Leash bundles are quality harnesses and leashes at an affordable price.
For additional information on Exercise for Your Boxer, review our article on Boxer Dog Exercises – 3 Best Types of Exercise from Boxer Puppy to Senior Dog
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Training
Are Boxers Easy to Train?
Boxers are an intelligent breed and can learn new skills with repetition. In his 1994 book Intelligence of Dogs Canine Psychologist Stanley Coren, ranked the Boxer as 90 out of 100 breeds evaluated for obedience and working intelligence.
Dr. Coren’s book Intelligence of Dogs is available on Amazon.
Boxer dogs are stubborn by nature. They may have performed lower in obedience and working intelligence rankings than other breeds because a stubborn dog is less likely to be obedient during natural training.
For additional information on Boxer dog’s intelligence, read our article Are Boxers Smart? 3 Exclusive Ways To Measure A Boxer Dog’s True Intelligence.
One of the areas Boxers excels in is Adaptive intelligence. This type of intelligence involves being able to adapt to a situation and figure out problems on their own.
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Training Your Boxer
So how can you tire out a Boxer dog? Besides exercise, daily training can help keep a Boxer happy, because they love to be challenged and solve problems.
The benefits of training your Boxer are
- Teaches them Obedience
- Provides Mental Stimulation
- Reward them for Good behavior
- Keeps them happy and calm
3 recommended training commands for them to master initially are
- Sit – important in situations where you want to keep them calm
- Down – Boxers were bred to jump at prey. Therefore, when they get excited and want attention from visitors or friends they want to jump up on the person. Training them on this command will save a lot of stress when visitors come to the house or they see people in a public setting.
- Stay – Boxers were bred to chase prey. Teaching them to stay will help prevent your Boxer from chasing other animals or running up to people or children. This is the hardest one to train and will take additional time.
A Vetstreet.com survey of 1,800 dog owners reported that 45.5% of owners provided dog training themselves while 46.7% to their dog to a training class.
To learn more about if Boxers are easy to train read our article Are Boxers Easy To Train? We Tested Our Boxers’ Abilities to Uncover The Answer
If you want to Train Your Boxer at Home, visit Brain Training for Dogs
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Mental Stimulation
Mental stimulation is just as important as exercise when it comes to having a calm, happy healthy Boxer dog. Exercise is important for your Boxer’s physical health but they need mental stimulation for their mental acuity and to help keep them calm and tire them out.
Mental stimulation can be just as tiring for your Boxer. In fact, adequate mental stimulation helps prevent boredom which can lead to destructive behaviors like digging and chewing.
Mental stimulation and training are used in combination to maintain good overall temperament and calmness in your Boxer.
Mental Stimulation can be divided into two major categories:
- Instinct Reinforcement
- Training commands
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Instinct Reinforcement
Boxers have a storied history that includes many roles
- Bull Baiting
- Big game hunting
- Guard Dogs
- Police Dogs
- Service Dogs
Their storied breeding history gives them the nickname the “ultimate working dog”.
The breeding history has helped them develop instincts that can be reinforced for mental stimulation activities. These include
- Chasing – use a frisbee, disc, or ball to throw and they can chase it
- Jumping – a Flirt Pole is a great option for jumping
- Tugging and pulling – Rope Toys
- Sniffing and Smelling – Treat Balls, Puzzle mats, treat puzzles
There are a number of interactive toys that are detailed below to help with mental stimulation.
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Training for Mental Stimulation
Training is a great option to incorporate into mental stimulation time with your Boxer. Besides the three commands we outlined above – Sit, Down, and Stay, additional commands to work on include
- Come – When your Boxer is chasing either a toy or an animal, this will help prevent running off
- Drop it – Boxers like to chase and grab an object but don’t like to give it back
- Fetch – Boxers love to chase so throwing an object and teaching them to fetch is a fun skill
- Go – Have them sit and give the command to run
For additional information on mental stimulation, review our post 9 Ways To Mentally Stimulate Your Boxer Dog for a Happy Obedient Companion.
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Interactive Toys
As mentioned earlier, Boxers need to be mentally stimulated to prevent boredom, which then leads to destructive behaviors.
One of the best ways to mentally stimulate your Boxer is through the use of Interactive toys and training tools.
Boxers can play on their own or you can participate in the activity well. Boxers should have access to interactive toys that they can play with on a daily basis.
You should reserve time to “play” or stimulate your Boxer several times a week so they stay happy and calm.
Boxers are a breed that likes to please their family. They love to show off their skills when playing with them with interactive toys.
Toys to use when testing their instincts
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Instinctive Activities Using Interactive Toys
Chasing – There are a number of toys that can be used to get your Boxer to Chase. They include a frisbee, a flying disc, and soft rubber balls.
If you are looking for a unique chasing product the Chuck It Flying Squirrel from Cherrybrook is a great option. It flies well and has upturned edges to make it, easy for your Boxer to pick up.
Jumping – Boxers were used to bring down big game animals so they have an instinct for jumping. A good exercise is to use a Flirt Pole. A flirt pole is a pole with a bungee rope on the end that has a toy attached to the end for the Boxer to try to catch while jumping.
Options and pricing for flirt poles are available at the following retailers below.
Squishy Face Studio Flirt Pole at CHEWY
Tugging and Pulling – Boxers love to play a good game of tug of war. Since they were bred to bring prey back to their owners they have the instinct to tug and pull. This is also a great time to bond and have quality time with your Boxer.
Options for Quality Rope Toys can be found at
Only Natural Pet – Pet Eco-friendly Regenerated Cotton Ball and Dog Rope Toy
Sniffing and Smelling – Boxers have been used as Police Dogs, Guard Dogs, and Service Dogs. They have a great sense of smell. One of the best activities is to use a treat ball to mentally stimulate them and test their smelling abilities.
Below are pictures of our Boxers Duke and Hazel using the Starmark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball from CHEWY
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Play
Boxers love to play both with their owners as well as other Boxers. Play can include a variety of activities discussed above.
To add additional challenges you can set up tunnels, agility courses, or stair exercises for your Boxer. They will love to show off their skills while being mentally challenged at the same time.
Play time should include off-leash time to run at least 2-3 times per week to release pent-up energy.
Large Exercise Balls are another option to combine pushing, jumping, and chasing into playtime.
These are at
How to Tire Out A Boxer Dog – Summary
How To Tire Out A Boxer Dog? While it is not an easy task, there a 5 Best Focus areas that can be used in tandem to tire your Boxer Out.
- Exercise – daily
- Training – Daily initially, then several times per week
- Mental Stimulation – Daily
- Use of Interactive Toys – Several times per week together and daily by themselves
- Play/Off-Leash Time – several times/week
The thing to remember is that exercise, training, and mental stimulation are key to a calm, happy healthy Boxer.
Most of all, go out and have fun spending time with your loyal companion!
Discoverboxerdogs.com are Mary and Chris Kustanbauter. We reside in Red Lion, PA with our two Boxers, Duke and Katie, who are both rescue dogs. We have been working with Adopt A Boxer Rescue for the past 17 years and have adopted 5 Boxers from this fine organization. To learn more visit our Home, Boxer Dog Family, and Blogs Pages Visit us on social media on Facebook – Discoverboxerdogs.com, Instagram, and Pinterest.