Posted on 03/04/2009 3:36:02 AM PST by Tennessee_Bob
Good morning! My family (myself, my wife, and our 16 year old and 14 month old) have been presented with the opportunity to adopt a Boxer. His owner is being relocated and cannot take him with her. He's three years old, gets along with small animals, which is good seeing as we have two cats, and a Sheltie. I've read about them quite a bit, and have been around a couple of them. My wife has owned one in the past. I'm impressed with them, but I'd like to get some owner's opinions and suggestions.
From what I can gather from what the owner has told me, he's well socialized and loves kids. The things I've read indicate that they're great with kids, and are good family dogs. What have your experiences been? As a three year old, do you think he can adapt to another family?
Thanks in advance!
Don’t own one, but everything I’ve read/heard is they’re high energy dogs but one of the best for families with small children. Good luck.
I used to have a two male boxer, Max and George. Max died a couple of years ago (he was old). He was the best dog I’ve ever had...gentle, funny, forever acted like a puppy, good with people. I say go for it.
I now have a basset hound whose personality is very different. Boxers will always have a special place in my heart.
Get the BMW and the dog.
Energetic!
good dogs, smart, but ENERGETIC!
Get the S model. Regular version is barely a Porsche ;-)
OH!!! That’s the Boxster.
You’re going to have to devote a lot of time to walking (or preferably running) the dog. A decorous little trot around the block, as you do with the Sheltie, is not going to work. It’s very hard to get a Boxer tired out. But they’re great dogs and this one might get you in terrific shape.
I have a friend who has a very large boxer that thinks she’s a lap dog. It’s a little disconcerting when this monster wants to climb onto your lap. But she’s a great dog — very friendly and gentle with kids.
A neighbor’s Boxer ate our cat when I was a kid.
I owned a boxer for about 12 years. She was a great dog, and loved having fun. Very dumb, but very faithful. She was protective of her family, wary of outsiders, but friendly with visiting friends and family. She made the rounds from door to door a few times every night, on patrol. Boxers are very attuned to a person’s feelings. I’ve never owned a dog that was so keyed in to how I was feeling. When I was happy, she was happy. When I was sad, she was comforting. When I was upset or angry, she became very defensive. Weird.
Boxers can be more susceptible to tumors than other dogs. My dog became overcome by tumors and arthritis, and I cried like a blubbering baby when I took her to the vet to put her down.
We have a 5 year old male boxer and a nearly 3 year old daugther.
As previous posters have stated, they are great family dogs. Wonderful with children. Our boxer is, like most others, very energetic. And he knows how to play rough with adults and other dogs.
But he knows how to play gently with our daugther. She can torment him until the cows come home and he would never react in a bad way. He has been known to give her a little nudge when she’s getting too annoying.
He sleeps in her room every night.
We know we don’t exercise him enough. So he would probably be a little less hyper if we could.
I’m not sure where you live, but don’t expect to be able to leave him outside in extreme heat or cold. They don’t can’t regulate their body temperatures enough to handle it.
And, be mentally prepared to have your heart broken. I don’t think the life expectancy of a boxer is as long as other dogs.
As someone else mentioned, they are prone to tumors. We’ve had one cancerous one removed from our dog already.
Is there any chance you can take the dog for a weekend and see how he fits in with the family?
I’ve had several Boxers- they are loyal and LOVE kids, they can get very protective of their humans against outsiders
but their bark can be worse than their (under) bite. Their appearance alone is enough to scare off bad guys.
Three is plenty young to learn new tricks and to bond with you
The only problem I had was that they were cancer prone and died young (ages 9-10)- but our lives together were good all around! Go for it! Feed them only healthy hi quality dog food.
My wife/kids have a boxer...I am not much of a dog person, so I don’t claim her.
They love that dog. My wife had boxers growing up, and my kids have always been around the dogs. They grab the dogs face, shake it, just all around abuse that poor dog...great with the kids...I can’t imagine her ever biting anyone. But she can sure sound tough when she needs to.
Downside...after getting a drink, she drips/dribbles on the floor...I complain, but not much effect. When I take a drink of water and spit it on the kitchen floor, my wife thinks it is disgusting...
One of the best breeds out there. We had two boxers in our family when we growing up. They’re great with kids, and are fairly smart. The only down side I see to adopting one is, he’ll be harder to train, but not impossible.
They drool......
My son has one he adopted from a shelter. She gets long great with his girlfriends beagle and our Pit Bull.
I grew up with a Boxer. She was a wonderful dog.
Adopting an older dog is not hard. The best way is have the previous owner visit you a couple of times after you get the dog home. Some dogs take the transition harder than others. This makes it easier.
I had two and also raised one of their pups. Boxers are great with kids and are very protective. They are, however, often confused with pitt bulls if their ears aren’t clipped (speaking from experience). When they are puppies they ‘can’ be quite destructive, but a 3-yr old should be way past any destructive traits.
All in all, if I could afford another dog right now, I’d go with a boxer. They are excellent watch dogs and don’t bark unless there is a real reason to do so, which I love.
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