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Dog question "Boxer"
- Thread starter 338sniper
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I have a boxer, she will be 3 in Febuary. We got her at about 3 months, I started her out on the expensive puppy foods then switched her to whatever walmart has on sale. As for excercise*** Do you jog? If so you will have a wonderful running partner. I can take my boxer on a jog then come home and she still wants to play for a while. She will crash after that and snore for hours on end. I didnt have to much of a problem training my puppy but the lady i bought her off of had already started so i just kept working with her and she did great. (except for learning to shake, she just wont learn that). And boxers have HUGE hearts. They love children and will protect them at all cost. I got sick and spent about 14 days in the hospital and she went into a depression, she was staying at my grandmas and would just lay around and wine, barely eating and not wanting to play. But they are wonderful dogs to have, we will be getting another after we move in the next year or two!
jrogers
Why not pass the time with a game of solitaire?
Repped. A rescue dog is the correct answer. Unless you're one of those human oddities who feel compelled to parade their dog around at shows or actually need a working breed there is literally no excuse to buy a puppy when millions of dogs sit in shelters across our nation. You can even get a puppy at the shelter, and then you won't have to worry about whether you should mutilate your dog in order to meet some arbitrary appearance standard.
We have three Boxers now. Two of them are 5 years old and the other is 2 years old. All have docked tails and floppy ears. If you are not going to show them don't get the ears done. The two 5 YOs were super easy to train and eager to please the humans. The 2 YO we just got him from a rescue, some training already and a quick learner. We took our Boxers to First Friends K9 Taining in Fishers, Bruce and company are great. Food wise our female has a sensitive stomach and went through 3-4 foods before we found Royal Canin Boxer that helped with her issues. They are a high energy dog that is very loyal, kid friendly and protective. These three were the first Boxers I have ever had and I will now have a Boxer as long as I am able to care for them. They are great dogs!
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Given all of the bad temperament on the Political sub forum... maybe we should consider.... naw...
Family dog is most-likely going to be spayed or neutered. In which the "Papers" or "Registration" means nothing. Save your money and opt to skip the papers, some places will sell the puppy without papers for far less money.
Ears... Leave them floppy IMO, but that's just me.
Our Boxer "Sable" is VERY high in energy. I have to take her to the park (she probably heard me type P.A.R.K. and is about to tackle me) every day to keep her happy. She is the Most Loyal, Fun, Happy, Kind and Gentle dog and we love her to death. If she doesn't get to run every day she'll let you know. she starts with talking to you, then pawing at you, then barking and bringing you her leash.
Ears... Leave them floppy IMO, but that's just me.
Our Boxer "Sable" is VERY high in energy. I have to take her to the park (she probably heard me type P.A.R.K. and is about to tackle me) every day to keep her happy. She is the Most Loyal, Fun, Happy, Kind and Gentle dog and we love her to death. If she doesn't get to run every day she'll let you know. she starts with talking to you, then pawing at you, then barking and bringing you her leash.
I like his ears!
The thing with the ears is personal preference. Here is a picture of our boxer and a friend's boxer, neither has the ears docked. But our friend's boxer has these weird ears that stick half way up anyway, he might look better with docked ears. My Maya, however, looks adorable with her floppy ears.
I've had purebred and mixed breed dogs. I'm one of those "oddities" - at one point I wanted to participate in Dog Obedience with our Dobermans. I did show a couple of times in "fun shows", for conformation.
My daughter was active in 4-H with dogs, but those don't need to be purebred.
Our current dog is a registered American Pit Bull Terrier, and my husband and I agree he is our best dog ever. Years ago, I had a registered Doberman who was also a great dog. Yes- she had her ears cropped.
I'm kinda neutral on the cropped ears. I like the way they look on some breeds, but there's no guarantee they will stand anyway. I actually helped our old vet, by holding some puppies while he docked their tails, as his assistant wasn't available. It really didn't seem to bother the pups much at all, they were only a few days old, if i recall correctly.
I might be mistaken, but I thought the ear cropping and tail docking started out as a preventitive measure, so dogs wouldn't get their ears and tails caught or torn while hunting, or as far as Dobermans, while serving in the military.
I think any dog, registered or mutt, has the potential to be a great dog. I think I will stick with breeds that don't normally have docked tails and cropped ears, and avoid that decision from now on.
My daughter was active in 4-H with dogs, but those don't need to be purebred.
Our current dog is a registered American Pit Bull Terrier, and my husband and I agree he is our best dog ever. Years ago, I had a registered Doberman who was also a great dog. Yes- she had her ears cropped.
I'm kinda neutral on the cropped ears. I like the way they look on some breeds, but there's no guarantee they will stand anyway. I actually helped our old vet, by holding some puppies while he docked their tails, as his assistant wasn't available. It really didn't seem to bother the pups much at all, they were only a few days old, if i recall correctly.
I might be mistaken, but I thought the ear cropping and tail docking started out as a preventitive measure, so dogs wouldn't get their ears and tails caught or torn while hunting, or as far as Dobermans, while serving in the military.
I think any dog, registered or mutt, has the potential to be a great dog. I think I will stick with breeds that don't normally have docked tails and cropped ears, and avoid that decision from now on.
My family has always had a boxer. They have been some of the best dogs! I remember riding our first one like a horse when i was really little. He didnt care one bit that I was tugging his ears or holding on around his neck. Tails were always docked but ears left alone. I think that is the way to go for a family pet.
And to those who say never buy a pure bred, that may work for you, but sometimes familes need a certain tempermant or lead a certain lifestyle that just any dog wouldnt do. Also you really dont know what you are getting, yes you can get some great dogs but sometimes you dont, and no matter how much training, attention, exercise, etc you do the dog is horrible. this happened to me and getting rid of a dog after a couple of years of trying to be a good owner is hard especially on kids.
So yes I will always have a pure bred dog from now on because for the most part you know what you are getting, if you do your research or have spent time with the breed.
And to those who say never buy a pure bred, that may work for you, but sometimes familes need a certain tempermant or lead a certain lifestyle that just any dog wouldnt do. Also you really dont know what you are getting, yes you can get some great dogs but sometimes you dont, and no matter how much training, attention, exercise, etc you do the dog is horrible. this happened to me and getting rid of a dog after a couple of years of trying to be a good owner is hard especially on kids.
So yes I will always have a pure bred dog from now on because for the most part you know what you are getting, if you do your research or have spent time with the breed.
Coming from a family where both my parents are Vets, and my dad is VERY particular about how he crops ears and is one of the things he enjoys the most...... I say get it done.
Every dog we have had that is suppose to get their ears done, has them done. There is a reason for it other than looks that goes back to how the breed came about. Is it painful, there is a little pain from the after care required to get the ears to set properly, but you need to make sure you do this before the dog is 4 months old or it will be much more of a PITA.
Also, when the puppys are born their tails should be docked almost immediately.
Every dog we have had that is suppose to get their ears done, has them done. There is a reason for it other than looks that goes back to how the breed came about. Is it painful, there is a little pain from the after care required to get the ears to set properly, but you need to make sure you do this before the dog is 4 months old or it will be much more of a PITA.
Also, when the puppys are born their tails should be docked almost immediately.
I agree with you on this..... but I will probably never be able to get a shelter/rescue pet.
So far I dont meet the requirements of the 2 or 3 Ive looked into because I dont have a fenced in yard.
Huh.... apparently for the last 60 some odd years that my family, back to my grandparents (maybe longer), has had dogs with out a fence, we are now incapable of taking care of them??
My inlaws have had boxers from the time I met my wife. Worst dogs ive ever been around. Most hyper and misbehaived ive seen hands down. From what ive read here though it sounds like more of an owner problem than a dog breed problem with them so hopefully you'll be fine. As for me I will never own a boxer due to whay ive seen with their dogs. Good luck to you.
Don't think you have to have a " super special Boxer " to 9-12 years out of them. 8-12 years is the average life expectancy. My wife grew up with one and he was 14 when he passed. I've also talked with many other Boxer owners and 10 years was the average that I found.
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sorry man but its true. 9 year old boxers aren't the norm. Im not saying its impossible, just not as likey as say a 9 year old cat. Boxers are an overly popular breed subject to massive amounts of poor breeding and are prone to things such as cancer.
Ive had boxers, and still have one at the moment, or maybe my parents who have been Vets since the mid 70s have it all wrong
Ive had boxers, and still have one at the moment, or maybe my parents who have been Vets since the mid 70s have it all wrong
sorry man but its true. 9 year old boxers aren't the norm. Im not saying its impossible, just not as likey as say a 9 year old cat. Boxers are an overly popular breed subject to massive amounts of poor breeding and are prone to things such as cancer.
Ive had boxers, and still have one at the moment, or maybe my parents who have been Vets since the mid 70s have it all wrong
I have had 3 boxers and Clay is spot on with this information. At age 7 we start preparing for the inevitable. Cancer is one of the leading killers of this breed. 2 of my 3 died of cancer.
The point about poor breeding is also spot on. I have had GREAT boxers but the last one was extremely dominant. He was one I couldn't trust with my kids and opened my hand up when I was putting him in his crate before leaving for the day (a routine thing I do every day with all dogs I have owned and did every day with this dog) for no apparent reason. He also ended up biting one of my builders who was working on my property. Terribly difficult dog to work with. My point with all of this is to say that the difference is in breeding. There is a reason some boxers cost $500 and some boxers cost $150. Do yourself and your family a favor and research your breeder and spend a little more for a boxer with a good background.
As for the OP question of cropping the ears, I had my first boxer's done and will never put a dog through that again. He was in terrible pain for a couple of weeks. I'm a former career firefighter and am still a Paramedic of 22 years and have pretty thick skin and my wife tells me my job has made me cold and unfeeling towards others (whatever that means!) and I'm here to tell you that watching that dog go through the healing after having his ears unnecessarily cut was terrible. My other boxers had natural ears and they were still obviously boxers.
Overall, they are fantastic dogs, but are very high energy and require A LOT of exercise daily.
No, what you are seeing is just the breed of dog. They have TONS of energy and need exercise regularly. In fact, the dog I referenced in the post above I finally figured out had so much energy that the trick to having him behave was to simply wear him out. I ride my bicycle alot and I found that I could grab his leash, hop on my bike, and ride off. He would run beside me and LOVED IT! I found that about a mile and a half to three miles was what he needed to burn off all the extra energy he had and he was an awesome animal once he was in that state.
Good dogs, but they aren't like my bull mastiff who would rather not lift her head if she doesn't have to because that takes energy!
My boxer started getting arthritis at age 7. Prior to that I would get up early in the morning and do a two mile walk. He loved it. Also took him to a remote part of a forest preserve and let him loose. He would blast around until he got pooped. Fun dog but very high energy. He had an eye problem that I was told all boxers get, several hundred dollars with a specialist to fix it. Then his skin got bad. We spent a ton at the vets towards the end of his life. He was one month shy of his 10th birthday when we had to put him down. The arthritis got very bad and he couldn't tolerate the meds. Towards the end I had to lay him down as he couldn't do it by himself.
Titanium Man
Master
If you get the ears done, you'll be less likely down the road, having to deal with hemmatomas (sp?) which aren't life threatening, but a pain to deal with. Ask the vet about them. Maybe non-cropped boxers don't have a problem with them, just have to ask.
I believe that requirement came into place because the majority of dog owners aren't responsible enough to own a goldfish (they shouldn't have kids either). I know a handful of people that volunteer at different rescues and they said they all require fenced in yards, runs, or watching quite a bit of interaction because of the sheer number of stupid people that will open a door and let animals run with zero training. When rescues are trying to save the same dogs from kill shelters because idiots keep letting them run free, it gets old. Blame the irresponsible pet owners.
