The time between eight to twelve weeks is sometimes called the fear imprint period. It is generally believed that any painful or particularly frightening experience leaves a lasting impression on a pup at this time, even more than if that same experience happened at some other time in life. This time coincides with the period in the wild during which the mother would be doing the final weaning of the pups, so it might be that this period occurs with an initial realization on the part of the canine puppy that he won't always be taken care of.

If a breeder has been responsibly socializing the puppies while still in the litter, this is unlikely to be a problem in your average well-bred boxer litter. In fact, most vets who do ear crops want to wait until the pup is about ten weeks old or at least ten pounds. That event falls within the fear period, and most puppies that are cropped are not emotionally traumatized by the experience.

The real message here is to make sure that the pup is not overwhelmed by anything. A cool, calm, matter-of-fact approach will go far to ensure that your pup will come out of this fear period with no emotional scars.

Beyond Twelve Weeks

In the time between about twelve weeks and eight months, your boxer puppy will go through many different phases emotionally and physically. It is possible that he will go through other fear periods to a lesser extent.

If your pup shows any fear reactions that do not seem normal, you can assume that they fall into one of the fear period categories. Do not attempt to make him get over it by dragging him to the object he fears. If you make a big deal of his fear, you reinforce to him that there is a good reason to be afraid of whatever triggered his reaction. The best course of action is none. Leave him alone, ignore his reaction, and the behavior will pass. Or let him investigate on his own with no encouragement from you. He will discover that in most cases, what he feared is perfectly safe and harmless to him.

There is some suggestion in research that those later fear periods are due to calcium deficiencies attributed to growth spurts. This is another reason why it is important to feed an optimum diet. During this time it is important to keep training and reinforcing the basic obedience commands (sit, down, stay, come, and leave it) with patient persistence. Changes, physically and mentally, are happening at a very fast rate in your boxer's life, so you want to give him every opportunity to learn how to be a good dog as much as he can at every stage of his life.

Finally, remember that somewhere between four to eight months, your boxer will move from puppyhood to adulthood. In other words, at some point in time during this age, other dogs will come to regard him as a young adult, capable of better behavior. They will not tolerate the same degree of pushiness or play from him as they would have in the past. You should expect better behavior of him, too.

The Eight- to Fourteen-Month Fear Period

Sometimes called the secondary fear period, this fear period also appears to have its roots in canine evolution. Many boxers show no signs of this secondary fear period, but some do. In the wild, young canines would be taken hunting with the pack for the first time during this period. They would know that any time they saw or smelled something unfamiliar, they should treat it like danger. For many canines, wild or domestic, danger means fear. It was nature's way of instilling watchfulness into wild canines.

Sexual awareness, or the kick-in of hormones, can make your boxer very aware that he might have some competitors in other males, and this can make him feel insecure. This is an important time to keep training and socializing him and to avoid letting him think that the world is big and dangerous.