[egershna]

What are your thoughts on Boxers?

I've had some limited experience with the breed in the past and they seem like pretty nice dogs. I'm starting to read up on them because I am seriously considering the breed. The biggest concern I have with them is they are brachycephalic breed. However after reading up on this breed a bit it almost sounds like a better fit since they don't typically have the DA issues that the Bully breeds do. (However I realize any dog can become DA).

Anyway just a breed I am looking into. What are your overall thoughts and opinions on the breed?

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 AM ----------

I might add its also a breed that we both can truly agree on, so that is a plus. (Instead of me being like, hey this is the dog we are getting. It would actually be a mutual choice)

I'm at least 2 to 3 years out from another dog at this point. (haven't ruled out the SBT, just looking at options)

[theatadug]

There are some German Bred working breeders that have really nice Boxers. There was one in my old neighborhood, I gotta say it has to be one of the best looking dogs I have ever seen. His snout wasn't smashed and the pup was massively ripped.He moved with such elegance, I just loved the way the dog looked. I placed Bernie on a sitting position and the boxer was kicking up like a horse trying to lunge at Bernie lol

Just remember these dogs descend from baiting dogs and can be dog aggressive, they also tend to be human aggressive so they are not a walk in the park. I do love their demeanor and how goofy they are.

[egershna]

My uncle has two female boxers that I've spent a lot of time with over the years. One is 7 and the other is 9 I think. The white one has the most wonderful temperment and is calm and very well behaved has been her whole life. The brindle well when she was younger trouble was her middle name lol. If there is something to get into she would find it. If trouble is to be found she would find it. She ripped up their brand new hard wood floors an hour after they moved into their new house. (Training and exercise didn't do squat for her) But my gosh she is a beautiful animal!

However in her older years she has mellowed down considerably. I've always said if I could have the white one's temperment and personality in the brindle's body that would be the perfect dog. lol.

[GogaMegaPis]

I had a boxer when I was in middle school. She wasn't anything special, picked her up from a byb but she was still amazing. She has slight human aggression... I'm not sure if i would even call it that. She did not like when unknown people would get in her face, especially little kids and would do a nose punch to their face.

Other than that she was very protective. If i harassed my sister enough she would start barking angrily at me haha.

She wasn't the best socialized dog but I am definetly getting this breed in my future.

She was super wigley

[theatadug]

My uncle has two female boxers that I've spent a lot of time with over the years. One is 7 and the other is 9 I think. The white one has the most wonderful temperment and is calm and very well behaved has been her whole life. The brindle well when she was younger trouble was her middle name lol. If there is something to get into she would find it. If trouble is to be found she would find it. She ripped up their brand new hard wood floors an hour after they moved into their new house. (Training and exercise didn't do squat for her) But my gosh she is a beautiful animal!

However in her older years she has mellowed down considerably. I've always said if I could have the white one's temperment and personality in the brindle's body that would be the perfect dog. lol.

There are a lot of pet quality ones you can easily get, I am sure the show stock is goofy and less wired. Either way the best way to get the right one is for you to visit the breeder, meet the breeding stock and if you like what you see make sure you put a deposit down so you can pick the dog you want out of the liter. At 8 weeks you can see the different personalities in the liter and you can pick a dog with the personality you want. If you go with the working German bred dogs, you will be dealing with a dominant, protective, hyper super dog.

[Chiquita]

Boxers are truely one of my favs! they are awesome dogs had one for 5 years he was 6 when we got him from a family friend.

[Rupeviv]

My biggest issue is their health issues- heart conditions and cancer being the main ones. Even well bred ones are very prone to these conditions. My friend's has had 4 mast cell tumors removed, leaving him with a giant scar down his shoulder and half of one ear missing. No thanks.

[egershna]

My biggest issue is their health issues- heart conditions and cancer being the main ones. Even well bred ones are very prone to these conditions. My friend's has had 4 mast cell tumors removed, leaving him with a giant scar down his shoulder and half of one ear missing. No thanks.

I didn't realize that heart problems and cancer were common in the breed. I mean I knew that it was something they were prone to but I didn't realize it was common. After having a very sick dog that only lived two years and drained a good portion of our savings, that would be a concern.

How common is it?


I've been so lucky with my current dog as far as health goes. Maybe I just need another mutt. lol That is my fear with any purebred dog is ending up with another sick one.

[GogaMegaPis]

My biggest issue is their health issues- heart conditions and cancer being the main ones. Even well bred ones are very prone to these conditions. My friend's has had 4 mast cell tumors removed, leaving him with a giant scar down his shoulder and half of one ear missing. No thanks.

Cancer....

put her down at 9yo due to skin cancer and one other type.... also she had very bad hip dysplasia (*sp?)

i have no idea what her parenst genetics were so this could attribute to the severity of my dog.

I partially blame purina food (not a real educated acusation)... had a catahoula before her and she went down with similar cancer

[dwestemesse]

My parents have 3 Boxers and my brother has 1. They are super neat dogs. Their dogs are BYB products but they are fairly healthy and have extremely awesome temperaments! They have littermates and the males face is more smushy than the females. The male does have a Dialated Cardiostenosis, which is a bad heart problem, however, his case is fairly mild. My advice is to buy from a breeder that does EXTENSIVE health testing! Heart problems run deep in the breed. The Dialated Cardiostenosis', Dialated CArdiomyopathy etc. Make sure that the cardiac testing is done with a holter monitor AND an EKG. Very important.

My parents free feed their Boxers, they are in very GOOD shape and it isn't due to conditioning on their part, it is genetics. They got lucky with these guys!

[egershna]

My parents have 3 Boxers and my brother has 1. They are super neat dogs. Their dogs are BYB products but they are fairly healthy and have extremely awesome temperaments! They have littermates and the males face is more smushy than the females. The male does have a Dialated Cardiostenosis, which is a bad heart problem, however, his case is fairly mild. My advice is to buy from a breeder that does EXTENSIVE health testing! Heart problems run deep in the breed. The Dialated Cardiostenosis', Dialated CArdiomyopathy etc. Make sure that the cardiac testing is done with a holter monitor AND an EKG. Very important.

My parents free feed their Boxers, they are in very GOOD shape and it isn't due to conditioning on their part, it is genetics. They got lucky with these guys!

Very pretty dogs. And thanks for the advice regarding the health and heart testing

[Phoneemer]

I love love them, they have great goofy temperaments but not crazy like say a bull terrier and they are so loving.

The owner of the pet store had one that came to work every day and he was my baby. Still whenever he sees me he goes ape and comes to tackle me and cover me with kisses and proceedes to sit on me (because at that point I'm on the floor with him). And there is nothing better then grabbing those big jowels and giving them a big kiss.

[heilyprollecyspor]

I looove boxers. They're such clowns. I swear sometimes it's like they exist to make people smile. Very intelligent dogs. But I've yet to meet a boxer that isn't insanely stubborn. Haha. I have a boxer/APBT and she's the most amazing dog I could imagine owning. She loves people but she's a great watchdog in the house. Boxers aren't the healthiest of breeds though. And you've got to watch them in the summer. They can't breathe magnificently. I don't know much about their health issues.

[Rwujnezq]

I grew up with Boxers.

You will totally want to have room for a chain spot. Maybe it's because my parents always got crazy, drivey dogs, but they both swore they would have killed them if they didn't have the option to put them outside.

They are dumb. And drooly. And gassy.

But, they are great dogs for kids, provided you train them and make sure they're exercised. Mugsy and Danny were me and my brother's best friends and guardians. However, we both also knew that getting knocked down by either of them was always bound to happen, as was an overly excited nip (more of a pinch), and I remember more than a few bloody noses from being hit with a big, dense, blocky Boxer skull.

I know my mom's favorite thing about them was it was easy to stay in shape, as they needed to be run or biked at least 5 miles a day. She was complaining about it the other day actually, that she's gained 20 pounds and misses hooking a crazy ass dog to a leash and running until they were about to drop (that or cleaning up destroyed parts of the house and pulling out her hair.. no room for laziness with Boxers)

I've thought about getting a Boxer in the past, but I don't think I have the patience to deal with that kind of stupidity and stubbornness right now. And the drool. Oh god the drool..

[egershna]

I grew up with Boxers.

You will totally want to have room for a chain spot. Maybe it's because my parents always got crazy, drivey dogs, but they both swore they would have killed them if they didn't have the option to put them outside.

They are dumb. And drooly. And gassy.

But, they are great dogs for kids, provided you train them and make sure they're exercised. Mugsy and Danny were me and my brother's best friends and guardians. However, we both also knew that getting knocked down by either of them was always bound to happen, as was an overly excited nip (more of a pinch), and I remember more than a few bloody noses from being hit with a big, dense, blocky Boxer skull.

I know my mom's favorite thing about them was it was easy to stay in shape, as they needed to be run or biked at least 5 miles a day. She was complaining about it the other day actually, that she's gained 20 pounds and misses hooking a crazy ass dog to a leash and running until they were about to drop (that or cleaning up destroyed parts of the house and pulling out her hair.. no room for laziness with Boxers)

I've thought about getting a Boxer in the past, but I don't think I have the patience to deal with that kind of stupidity and stubbornness right now. And the drool. Oh god the drool..

You know that is something that Pit Bulls have over Boxers for sure. They don't seem to drool much

[rockboyzaza]

I like Boxers. We are considering a female Boxer puppy for Jack to have a playmate since has no one since Riddick died. Boston's and Boxers go really well together. Jack loves Boxers. We have 2 neighbors with them and they are awesome dogs. Really good natured from all the ones I've met.

The one Boxer came down every day when Neva was in heat and tried to get in the yard. Even being intact w/ a bitch in heat, he was perfectly fine with all my other dogs and when he realized, he wasn't going to get to Neva, settled for playing with the other dogs male or female.

[Rwujnezq]

We got really used to having old dish towels and rags hanging in each room of the house (especially by the front and back door) for quick and easy drool removal. But man, when they shook themselves, that froth could really fly!

[elektikakass]

We've had Boxers off an on my entire life and probably had at least six or seven. Every one was a great dog without exception and never DA or HA. They're the clowns of the dog world and endlessly entertaining but high energy and require a lot of attention. I never had a drooler, (thank goodness), or any major health problems and they were all pretty good watch dogs.

We don't have them now because we're a bit older now and don't want to deal with large, active dogs any longer so we have EB's. However, I wouldn't hesitate a minute to get another one if the situation was right.

[AnIInWon]

I don't like Boxers, I'll be the odd man out!

The ones I've met remind me of a jerky or rude -standard poodle. None of the ones I've worked with were dog or human aggressive, a handful (we've had a LOT of puppies from one breeder in the area) were reactive but nothing serious. I just found them to be really rude and obnoxious dogs and not in a "fun way" like some other breeds.

One puppy did have some type of heart condition and a few others didn't have the greatest hips but I imagine with a good breeder you can pretty much rule those issues out.

Not that there were any issues with any of their temperaments, I just personally don't like them. There was one bitch, around 3 and I liked her, but she was very mellow and laid back in comparison to the others. So I assume that I liked her, because she isn't a typical boxer!

[Phoneemer]

I like Boxers. We are considering a female Boxer puppy for Jack to have a playmate since has no one since Riddick died. Boston's and Boxers go really well together. Jack loves Boxers. We have 2 neighbors with them and they are awesome dogs. Really good natured from all the ones I've met.

The one Boxer came down every day when Neva was in heat and tried to get in the yard. Even being intact w/ a bitch in heat, he was perfectly fine with all my other dogs and when he realized, he wasn't going to get to Neva, settled for playing with the other dogs male or female.

That also reminds me all my dogs have loooved Boxers.
I had a Kelpie x bully mix with my ex and one of his friends had a white boxer who she loved and always cuddled with and she didnt cuddle other dogs.

And Izzy grew up with Marley the other Boxer (who I just refer to as my step dog since he was like my own).

Here's some pics, the white one is primo with my old dog and the other is Marley.