We are getting a female dog early next year so Bo will have companionship during the day and well, he needs a sibling anyways. We keep going back and forth between getting another Boxer or a Boston Terrier, both intelligent breeds. Big/Big Pros: Don't have to worry about Bo hurting her when playing rough. Can take them both to the big dogs dog park by myself. Boxers are so freaking funny and adorable. The faces. Cons: Food $$ will be double. Up to 60-70 lbs. Finding a 35-40 lb boxer is rare. Not sure about the vet costs (do they charge the same $ for a smaller dog?). Take up more space. (We have a 1,700 sq ft house). A lot more exercise. I try to give Bo daily exercise. A 3 mile walk or biking (hubby does biking because I am too scared since Bo likes to take off sprinting at first). Will have to find someone else to watch the dogs when going out of town because my mom will not have two big dogs in her house. I am not a fan of boarding. Big/Small Pros: Only up to 15 lbs. $$ for food won't be so significant. Won't take up so much space. Can walk both dogs without an issue (I think). Pet stuff won't be so expensive. Cons: Bo can hurt her inadvertently and "small dog" syndrome. Can't take both of them to the dog park unless hubby comes with me. (two areas - big and small dogs). Mom will be ok with a big/small dogs in her house. Any insight/advice from dog owners with 2 dogs will be appreciated! It's really hard to decide which breed to get. I would love either one but just trying to decide on the most feasible one. We will get her from a Boxer rescue group or Boston terrier rescue group. If I can find a compact boxer then I would be so happy!
I have 2 German Shepherds. When they are outside they play rough but sometimes I take them to my parents house who have a small Bijon/Yorkie. They play but the small dog has never gotten hurt. I am not sure about the vet bill. The exam charge will be the same for all animals. I think most shots cost the same. Only thing that would be different are medications that are administered by weight such as heartworm and flea/tick control.
I dislike little dogs. I've had an Old English Sheepdog, a Dalmation, and now I have a Malamute. Little dogs love to jump on your laps and are a pain when people come over for that reason. Big dogs, while some may still do this, seem easier to deal with. I've had many friends with Bostons and I've disliked every one. Oh, and with little dogs, you gotta do that thing where you squeeze their butt to get that nasty juice out. I watched a friend do that once to her dog and I nearly vomited and pledged to never have a little dog.
If your boxer is well trained he will not hurt a small dog when they play, even if they are rough. If you socialize them well with each other they will play well together. How old is the boxer? If he's a little past puppy stage and is calmer and gentler than the puppy stage it really shouldn't be that hard at all. I too am very much against boarding. I've had to do it, but when you research these places and go and tour their facilities, most in Houston are really bad. If you have concerns about walking them and about who will keep them if you need a dogsitter I'd advise to go with the smaller dog.
Oh, one more thing... If money is a major concern, you should really think about not getting a pet. Yeah, food may cost an extra $20/mo or so for a big dog, but when it comes down to it, either of them can have some sort of medical issue that ends up costing $500+ at the vet. If getting a big dog is a burden on your pocket, don't get a pet period.
Little dogs that jump do so for the same reason that big dogs jump on furniture or knock people over. They haven't been trained not to. People with big dogs tend to put more effort into training them to avoid bad behavior because the consequences are more severe. If a little dog is trained well it will not jump on people or on furniture. What in the world are you talking about lol? I've never heard of this and have a dog that is 20 pounds or so.
I currently have the opposite problem. My dog is a shade under 20lbs. If I get a bigger dog, it will cause a problem when trying to take them places (which are usually segregated by weight). I say go for something slightly smaller, but not too small. Reason being, your current dog is the alpha and needs to be put in a position to be such. Bringing in a bigger dog could present the opportunity for a power struggle and more conflict. A smaller dog will typically fall in line easier.
Dalmations are usually dumb as a sack of hammers, but that's more of a result of inbreeding as much as anything else.
Glad I'm not the only one who's clueless on this. I have a Jack Russell, a rat terrier, and a chiweenie. I've never had to do anything like this. I've seen them drag their asses on grass before, but don't all dogs do that?
We already have a boxer. Read again. Bo who is over 3 and is well trained and always does well with big dogs. We once dog sat a small dog and it was disaster. Mainly because of the little dog being bad and he constantly bugged Bo!! I had to keep them separate most of the times. My husband thinks that Bo will adapt to a smaller dog and discipline Bo if he tries to bully the smaller dog. So I dunno. He wants a small dog and I want a big dog so trying to figure out a compromise. Lol, all kind of dogs will have to get their anal glands squeezed. Thankfully, never had to do that with Bo since he doesn't have that issue.
lol. It's something to do with their anal gland sac. You can pay vets to do it and it's not much. But what happens is their glands get full, which in large breeds they're released when they crap. You'll see them scoot their butts on the floor because they're in pain. Then the pressure from the scooting releases it and bam, you have fishy smelling juice all over the floor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_gland#Dogs Any dog should be trained, period. But even the best trained little dog I've seen jumps constantly on people and sits on your lap every second it can. If you want something like that, just get a cat.
Big dog vote When we adopted our first male boxer Kobe we had the same concerns as you including cost and care of having two boxers in the house. We decided to adopt our second boxer Yashi (female) to be Kobe's sister and all of our concerns went away. Sure it is a little more money for food and care but we thought the benefits outweighed any negatives. We were also worried about my parents handling two boxers while we were out of town but they did just fine and now have no issues with them at all (other than tracking dirt into the house). Unfortunately we lost Kobe earlier this year after a short battle with a brain tumor but we now have our third boxer Nicky (male) to be Yashi's new brother. Both S.A.F.E. House and Lonestar boxer rescue groups recommended getting the opposite gender of boxer for our existing dogs as they typically get along better. I'm not sure if this is true but we followed their recommendations. So my vote is to go big and get another boxer! And here's my obligatory pics of our boxers.
If you take your dog to the vet regularly then you don't have to worry about it. My 20 pound dog never jumps on people or gets in people's laps without them picking him up. (which he hates) There are breeds that are obvious lap dogs like a Chihuahua, but I don't think Di is talking that small.
