2 boxers??

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dfeck

Boxer Pal
We have a 5 year old boxer that has renal disease. She's doing well and is still very active. You would never know other had being thin. When we got her she was at 25% kidney function and now she's at 15%. We know it a matter of time before she'll leave us. My wife and son are bugging me to get another boxer puppy. They want another dog for Maya to play with and "train" along with us. We both work and I'm very concerned about introducing a puppy into our family while both of us are working. We looked at a litter that are 12 weeks old. We never had a puppy before. We got Maya when she was 14 months old and was partially trained. She did very well during the day in her crate to the point were we leave her in the mud room while we leave for work. She's a very good girl. Doesn't chew, very affectionate and loves being with our family. My question is; does it make sense to get a puppy now? How well will a 12 week old boxer puppy do in a crate during the day without wetting? I would anticipate being gone up to 8 hours a day. Do you think it's selfish getting a puppy now? The litter we looked at had females and males and we didn't commit but tentatively picked a brindle male to join our family.

Doug
 
ColePaityn

ColePaityn

Boxer Buddy
I just has to put one of my girls to sleep in November. She was nine. That left my 12 year old all alone. I couldn't stand not have 2 Boxers around. So I picked up Bella at 8 weeks old. Puppies are a handful and there isn't any easy way to train them. Dixie does help though. Bella follows her outside and it has helped. It's like having a baby. They need constant supervision. 12 weeks old would be impossible to hold its urine or feces for 8 hours. I've got all my girls as puppies. So be patient if you get one. It will be worth it.
 
jacquim

jacquim

Boxer Booster
Puppies are definitely a TON of work but well worth it in the end. By 12 weeks old Raiden was able to hold his bladder for 8 hours while we were at work (although it was straight outside the second we got home). He has never had an accident in his crate, but depending upon the dog, bladder holding could be an issue that young. I found training easier with an adult dog that they can follow around and learn from, but you also have double the work having two dogs in the house.
My biggest issue with our boxer pup is chewing/destruction. He is fantastic when being 100% supervised, but as soon as we turn away he is getting into some sort of mischief. He doesn't chew as much now as he did as a small puppy (he is 7 months old now) but still gets into trouble if no one is looking. I have to keep him crated so that my house doesn't get destroyed when we go out, despite my other dog being fine to have the free run of the house at all times.

Good luck in whatever decision you and your family end up making!
 
Caney Creek

Caney Creek

Boxer Insane
I would not count on a 12 week old puppy being able to hold its bladder for any more than 2-3 hours at a time. A puppy that age being able to hold its bladder for 8 hours straight on a regular basis is definitely not the norm. The chances of him having an accident or developing a bladder infection would be pretty high. Could you hire a dog walker to come and let the pup out during the day so he's not crated for so long at a time? You would only need to continue this regimen until the pup is older and fully house trained, and 100% capable (as well as trustworthy enough) to hold its bladder for 8 hours. Or, if it's not possible to have someone let the puppy out mid-day, instead of crating you could just confine the pup to a small play-area with a designated spot for him to use the bathroom. Not sure how this would affect house training but it is another option.

Puppies are a lot of work, you would definitely need to make more time for training and exercise, and you also can't count on the next dog you get to be just as well behaved and "easy" as your current girl. Every dog has a different personality and different needs so you have to kind of prepare yourself for the "worst-case scenario" for lack of a better term. ;)
 
Cami

Cami

Boxer Insane
Puppy-dom aside.....how will the mandatory time spent with the new pup affect the time you may need to spend with your current dog with kidney issues? What are the future issues you may have to start dealing with in regards to her health?
Puppies are a handful and require nearly constant supervision. Are you able to provide that without taking away from your current girl with her condition?
 
sandy's mom

sandy's mom

Boxer Insane
I had a 10 year old put down in October and my 8 year old was really sad and lonely... so, we adopted a new baby and he absolutely loves her.

Nobody can ever replace our Sandy, and Bella is nothing like her... but she makes Napoleon happy and she makes us laugh a lot.
I have not regreted getting her for one minute.
 
D

dfeck

Boxer Pal
Out Voted

Well we decided to get the puppy afterall. We had a family vote and I was out voted 3 to 1. It's been a few weeks now and we find the puppy isn't that much work. Our current girl is very high maintenance and the puppy is actually easier than her. Maya is much more active than Max (puppy) and requires a ton of excercise. So having Max play along side her has given Max the excercise he needs. As far as during the day. My eldest son is home from college for winter break and has taken Max out for potty breaks. He's due back at college in a few weeks so Max will be almost 16 weeks old. We decided to see how it goes when he goes back and if we need to hire a dog walker to come in we're prepared to do so. He's finally sleeping through the night without having to go out to potty. It took about 10 days for him to do this. He now will go 8 hours during night without going out. I know night is easier because the body produces less urine during sleep.

Doug
 
Caney Creek

Caney Creek

Boxer Insane
dfeck said:
Well we decided to get the puppy afterall. We had a family vote and I was out voted 3 to 1. It's been a few weeks now and we find the puppy isn't that much work. Our current girl is very high maintenance and the puppy is actually easier than her. Maya is much more active than Max (puppy) and requires a ton of excercise. So having Max play along side her has given Max the excercise he needs. As far as during the day. My eldest son is home from college for winter break and has taken Max out for potty breaks. He's due back at college in a few weeks so Max will be almost 16 weeks old. We decided to see how it goes when he goes back and if we need to hire a dog walker to come in we're prepared to do so. He's finally sleeping through the night without having to go out to potty. It took about 10 days for him to do this. He now will go 8 hours during night without going out. I know night is easier because the body produces less urine during sleep.

Doug
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Well I'm glad to hear that it's going well :) Post some pics of Max and Maya soon!
 
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