Boxers are intelligent, loyal breeds that make good household pets provided the puppies are trained properly when they are young. Although Boxers are often mistakenly believed to be an aggressive breed, this is not the case at all.

Bright and friendly, Boxers are known for being particularly good with children. Like all dogs, though, Boxers require early socialization and training in order to be the best possible canine companions.

Because they were developed as a working breed, Boxers respond best to reward-based obedience training. Following are five tips for effectively training a young Boxer.

1. House training your Boxer puppy

House training your Boxer puppy is going to be one of your first priorities after you bring it home. As with other breeds, quickly and effectively house training a boxer puppy is going to largely depend on consistency and persistence.

Boxers respond better to positive reinforcement training techniques than to punishment, so after your puppy has successfully done its deed outdoors, be certain to reward it with a treat.

Boxers are actually one of the easiest breeds to house train, so these process should go fairly smoothly.

2. Daily exercise for your Boxer

Because Boxers are large, energetic dogs, they need to receive a proper amount of daily exercise. Dogs that aren't exercised enough because restless and can even begin to show aggression in some cases.

If you don't have a big yard, it's recommended that you locate the nearest park with a large dog walking area and take your Boxer puppy there on a regular basis. You'll get exercise and exposure to fresh air as well, which is another great reason to include a puppy in your life.

3. Train your puppy to walk on a leash

Teaching your new puppy to walk on a leash is very important if you want to be able to enjoy taking it for dogs. Dogs that lunge and pull on leashes when being walked make exercise time difficult and uncomfortable.

Teach your puppy to heel by having it walk at your left side while repeating the word "heel," and be sure to have a treat handy for those times when your puppy deserves a reward.

4. Teaching your puppy not to jump

Unless trained otherwise, Boxers often jump up on people to display excitement or to show that they want to play. Although this behavior can be cute in young puppies, it's not so great in mature dogs. It's important that Boxer puppies be trained not to jump up on people from an early age.

Be firm and consistent with your puppy so that it will get a clear message that jumping up in not acceptable.

5. Length and training consistency

All standard obedience commands are easy to teach Boxers how to do. Sit, stay, come, fetch, etc. should be taught to puppies using reward based training procedures.

Training sessions should be kept fairly short because puppies don't have long attention spans and can become bored if training times drag on too long.

It's important that training take place on a daily basis, however, so that the doesn't forget what it has learned.

Although busy families sometimes put off dog training due to time constraints, it's important for your relationship with your dog, that it receives adequate training at a young age. Training should only take a few minutes of your time per day, and the time invested in is well worth the results.