Boxers

[Lance]

Neither of my two were aggressive with other dogs. I guess it's kind of a hit-or-miss thing. My second one was such a wuss my daughters kitten pushed him away from his own food dish and commenced eating his food while he looked on.

[Myka]

I LOVE boxers. My dog is half Boxer, half Pit Bull. I have several friends who have purebreds as well. Ime they are VERY energetic, and need lots of training and attention to be happy dogs. They will become destructive (digging and chewing mostly) if they are bored. They don't bark much, generally good with other pets (all 4 of the boxers I have known have been very good with other dogs, but play REALLY rough), and kids once they learn to settle down a bit. They tend to want to be dominant, sentsitive and high strung, so I would suggest you get some good doggie training classes so you learn how to deal with their personalities properly, and use training to kind of mould their habits. They dislike punishment and get their feelings hurt easily, which they often deal with in destructive ways. The purebreds on most people's accounts are rather susceptible to many ailments, so insurance is a good idea for this breed.

[fishytime]

Wow Catherine your sure an adopt'o'maniac. Dogs, tangs, clams, ....Kevin

[EmilyB]

Boxers are the only type of dog that have ever aggressively attacked my dogs. (two dobermans and a German Shepherd). You have to wonder what they were thinking. And not just one or two boxers, probably five or six that I have met where we go for grooming and play. This lady is ready to ban boxers completely.

Now, the owners of said boxers are not the brightest light bulbs. They have a tendency to stand there and do nothing about their dogs behavior, so you can see that that is half the problem right there. I would suspect given the natural tendency of the boxer to engage, an owner should be vigilant and not let the dog get the upper hand.

One day these boxers I have met will attack the wrong dog, and something bad will happen. So be sure to keep control !

[phreezee]

Boxers are the most agressive dogs when I'm walking/biking with my lab and husky. There's about 5 I know of in my community. I dislike the breed personally, especially since they chop their ears and tails. Poor guys.

[muck]

Too bad I didn't live in Calgary...Then I could bring Jaime over to play with your Dobies and Carson, Deb.

[Reefhawk1]

Boxers are a high energy dog that are a great addition to a family. My sisters and I all have one and over the past 15 years. There have been 5 total in the family. They are great with kids and are decent watch dogs. Heath problems over the years have been thyroid issues, cancer and hip dysplasia.


Besides the health issues, I love the breed and would get another in a heartbeat!

[Bartman]

I got my Boxer as a rescue when he was 3 yrs old (he lived to 8). When I got him he had no manners at all and, although he never started fights, he got attacked quite often as he likely displayed the wrong attitude and was poorly socialized. A Boxer is a great dog IF you establish yourself as the Alpha dog and are very consistent. They also respond very well to crate training (no destructiveness). With some quality time spent I could call my dog back when he was chasing a squirrel and he would come. If two dogs ever looked a little tense all I had to do was growl, bark or shake my keys and the situation was totally diffused. The training took longer than if I had raised him from a puppy but he was a fantastic dog that I would have put in any situation with confidence.

Amongst my parents and siblings we have now had 7 Boxers. You will never regret getting a Boxer IF you are willing to always be the boss. Also, once they get to be around 3 they settle down quite a bit.

I now have a Vizsla which is basically a Boxer sprinkled with sweetener.

[AndyL]

I think myka nailed the breed pretty much... Except for one thing - boxers have been showing neural/brain issues developing in the breed over the past decade. They always did have some more tempermental issues (as above, boredom, destructiveness, and some say depression) but those seem to be getting exaggerated with the current blood lines...

There's one a couple doors down from me who is literally a jekyll/hyde dog one day you'll walk up and he's an absolutely loveable pussycat; next day - same circumstances he's going insane trying to tear you to pieces... The owners are good to forwarn you what kind of day the dog is having; but I couldn't imagine dealing with that kind of temperment swings...

[michika]

We've tentatively passed on the puppy for now. After budgeting out the approximate costs and adding them to our current dog related costs, we don't believe we are willing to take her one. However, we did make mention that if in two weeks no other suitable homes had been found that we would certainly re-consider.

We estimate that she would cost us about $150-$200 per month extra for her share of the dog-walker, insurance, food, toys, treats. This number excluded vet costs, and a spay.