Has anyone here have experience with Boxer puppies?

Sometimes your puppies need the close comfort of briefs.


But seriously... I would think they can be indoors... but I've never had a Boxer. I have had Labs, and they do fine out or in... just have to have room.

Main thing I can say is be consistent to take the puppy out to potty after every nap, feeding, watering, and playtime.

They poop a lot, and pee even more when very young.

Have a mop ready.

 

I had a boxer female growing up, from puppy of 5-weeks-old until she died at age 12 from a tumor.

Typically, they are *very* smart and you can house-train them easily, using the "here's your newspaper to pee on -- good girl/boy" technique.

Ours was indoor/outdoor. She had the run of the yard during the day and loved it. She never jumped a fence, but in part that's b/c she had lots of adult attention most times.

Hope that helps. Any specific questions?

PS -- I still get misty about this dog. Just an amazing family companion.
PPS -- more than pee and poop, you will remember the boxer for DROOL!

 

Visit the Houston SPCA and tell them what you told us. They'll help you out.

 

Isn't he in Midland?


I'd say any puppy needs tons of time and attention... or a yard while you're gone.

 

I own two boxers. Bred the girl once and had a full litter of boxer puppies about a decade ago. Boxers are great if you have kids. They do some things I've never seen other dogs do around children. When my nieces and nephew were toddlers and wanted to roam outside, they would sometimes drift to the pool where the dogs would block them from the pool in case they tripped and fell in. In the times where the kids would pull their ears, or pull on their mouth flaps they would put up with it or just manage to walk away. They're just very patient and wonderful around kids, despite have a somewhat similar appearance to a pitbull.

That said they drool a lot, are prone to tumors, and get a lot of stress on their shoulders and back if they put on weight and don't get enough exercise. If you have about a half acre or more yard to let them run around they should be happy. A high fence is optimal since they're incredible leapers. Training them not to destroy property like any animal all depends on how well you train them as puppies. They are very energetic dogs but do mellow out as they get older.

If you train them well though, the worst you'll have is maybe a trail where your grass once was showing where they like to roam around most.

 

Put it this way.... Having a dog is like a poor excuse for not wanting children...... They're just like family, and give them lots of attention... Any neglect towards it will result in the Michael Vick foundation....

 

I own a year old female bull terrier spayed.... She fights with my 3 yr old male beagle neutered constantly.... I figured that getting them spayed or neutered would prevent them from being aggressive... So, yeah always keep an eye out on them and show a lot of attention unless the Micheal Vick Foundation calls....

 

Go for it. Boxers=Chick Magnets.

 

if i didn't have a lab, i'd have a boxer.

as a first time dog owner, you gotta realize it takes a tremendous amount of work and patience. the first year of course is the hardest. getting up 3-4 times a night to potty train. buying the right food (none of that grocery store or petsmart crap). lots of play time.

when you say you're away all day, what is the time table on that? if you leave him inside, you have to be prepared to come home to shredded shoes and furniture if he finds himself bored.

also take into consideration how much you travel. you can't just leave a bowl of food and water and ask him to ration it. you'll have to find a dog sitter or take him to the kennels costing a nice chunk of change.

 

emoreland,

I agree with the other voices here. It takes a lot of time at first, and if your commute isn't too bad, you'd want to have the option of coming home for lunch. I think our boxer benefitted her first year from my mom being between jobs. Well, it was easier on all of us that way. There was no ripping up of furniture or whatever b/c the dog had some company mostly.

 

watch the dog whisperer w/ ceasar milan...

SHHHHH!!!

 

According to him, "SHHHHHHH!!!!" is the answer for everything, lol.

 

I have two boxers that I adopted from S.A.F.E. House dog rescue and they're wonderful dogs. I keep'em indoors most of the time during Summer and let them out as often as I can during fall/winter. They do drool a lot and I am constantly trying to wipe up after them (impossible at times) but they are great watch dogs and like others have said, awesome with kids (I don't have any but they love the neighbor's two young kids).

They do have a lot of energy and so you have to exercise them a lot. Unfortunately I learned this the hard way 'cause I gave them free reign of the front half of my house while I'm at work and I guess they got bored and chewed up their first two dog beds, my dining room window's trim panel and one of my XBox 360 wireless controllers. Now my girlfriend and I try to walk'em each night around the neighbordhood; gets'em tired and they fall asleep when we get back home.

In addition to the drool prepare yourself for some bad gas. I've had some dogs in the past growing up but these two boxers can get some pretty bad gas. It's funny when they fart 'cause it can sound very human like so we just laugh it off.

With two boxers it helps keep'em occupied and I don't feel so bad when I leave for work in the morning. Goodluck with your new boxer puppy! Post pics if you got'em.

Here's my boxers Kobe (male) and Yashi (female).

 

awesome photos! God but I love boxers.

And you're so right about the gas -- I had kind of forgotten that. Our boxer would fart, surprise herself awake, wheel around to smell the cloud, and then trot out of the room, leaving us to suffer.

...

I don't think we're going to convince this guy to go for boxer puppies at this rate.

 

Do they box?

 

It's more like a lot of chest bumping and pawing.

 

Sorry for the necro-bump...but just curious, emoreland, how has boxer ownership gone?

My wife (and kids [11, 7, 2]) are leaning on me big-time to get a dog and boxer seems to be the dog of choice. My sister has a female boxer who is a couple of years old (with three girls about the same age as my kids) and her dog is fantastic with everyone...so I'm led to believe that boxer might be a great choice for family. One of the things that concern me is the health issue regarding boxers. It seems that you should get as pure a boxer as possible from a highly reputable breeder...which makes sense...but seems to be extremely costly. I've seen online estimates anywhere from $1000 to $2500 (of which I'm not the least bit excited nor motivated to partake of).

I know I can find tons of info online from boxer boards and the such, but I'm looking for some personal opinions of you guys regarding health concerns and previous experience purchasing and raising a boxer from a puppy.

Additional note...one of my major concerns is allowing the dog outside in my backyard. Living in the desert, we have no grass in our backyard...just crushed granite rocks which are sorta uncomfortable to walk around without shoes...which worries me about the pads on a dog's feet.


Thanks for any feedback!