Boxer as a farm dog?

[srennie]

I have a friend who lives in Oklahoma. A few days ago a dog showed up and hasn't left. The kids are falling in love and today she sent me pictures to see if I knew what kind of dog it is. She has been trying to find the owner with no luck. The pictures are of a pure white boxer and she is just adorable!!! She has natural ears and a docked tail and seems pretty young. They are considering keeping her but worried because they are having a house built and will be moving soon to a rural area. I've only had boxers in the suburbs so I really don't know how to advise her. Here is the question she has....

"do you think she will do good on a 10 acre farm around other animals or not? that is why we were holding off on getting another dog, until we were actually OUT there on the land and let the dog be raised around the chickens and the Dexter cattle and a few goats that we want to get.........do they have a kill instinct like other dogs have a tendency towards? because were leaning towards more of a working type dog......that might try to herd the animals but not chase and kill them. But, there is lots of room to run around, a pond to swim in, etc."

Does anyone have any words of wisdom that I can pass on to her?
Thanks!

 

[srennie]

Here she is..

 

[BigDies]

Hello from Oklahoma! While I'm not sure on the breed as a whole, I can tell you my boxer has a strong "big game" prey drive. All the cattle he's been around he has tried to go after. I've justified this as being something they were bred for (reasonable or not just what I've come up with haha). I will say though, that it has been an extremely hot summer here this year, been more humid than usual and boxers do NOT do well in the heat at all. Plus, some (maybe most) boxers cannot swim so the pond may situation may not be the best. All in all it sounds great that the dog could have somewhere to run and play, and it's definately a huge step up from being a stray, but I don't know that the farm life is ideal for a boxer.
Btw she's adorable and if they don't think she's a good match for them then have them be sure to contact the boxer rescue here, they are good people!

 

[TossBranAbi]

I think it sounds like a great life for a boxer. As for prey drive, that would depend on the individual dog.

She would obviously need to be inside in a cool area during the majority of the day so that she doesn't get overheated but being a farm dog (as long as she is treated as a family pet and allowed to live inside) is so much better than being a stray. As long as she is well taken care of, what difference does it make if she lives in an apartment in the city or on a farm in the country?

 

[NateBazooka]

omg that dog is precious.

 

[Sansal]

She is a cutie lovicon I think farm life could be great for her as long as she is allowed inside and treated like a family pet. Since she is still young I'm sure she could adjust well to living with other animals. However, she would most likely need training to make it work. I think it's a matter of weather your friends want to spend the time/effort/money on training her.

 

[Jan]

We live in the country and have lots of cows as neighbors and Moto leaves them alone. He will only chase them, if them come into out yard and that is just fine with me. Our neighbors had turkeys last year, that would come into our yard and the dogs would herd them out. They weren't aggressive to them at all.

There is no reason that a well trained boxer wouldn't make a good country dog.

 

[alyssakitz]

My parents live out in the country, and although we are not technically in the country, we had critters all over our property. Zoe has a pretty high prey drive, but I have taught her not to hurt things. She chases turkeys, racoons, deer, etc. but would never hurt anything she caught. I do agree that this is dog dependent though. She looks young and I'll bet if your friend was willing to train her she could make it work.

Zoe loves to swim in the lake at my parent's house. I have to drag her out or she would probably drown from exhaustion. I think the country is a great place for dogs. My only concern with this particular dog would be making sure she didn't get too much sun since she is all white, and as others have mentioned, making sure she was kept out of the elements since boxers don't do well in extreme temperatures.

She's a real cutie! Sounds like she may have wandered into the right home!

 

[EAO76]

I think any dog can be taught "rules" if the family is willing to put the time in. I was involved with an adoption where this family fell in love with this huge male Boxer at the rescue I volunteer with. This particular family had a bunny that had free roam of their house & yard. I thought FOR SURE the dog would try to kill the bunny but to my surprise they worked it out. I am sure her 1st instinct would be to chase. But if they are willing to keep her on a leash or long line for a few weeks/ months & teach her the "rules" I think she will be fine. I assume they will acquire the animals slowly so she will have time to get used to each new thing at a reasonable pace. It sounds like a great life for a boxer. I am actually jealous. I'd love to have that much space for my dogs to run.

 

[NateBazooka]

If they decide not to make her a farm dog, they need to send her to me to make her a city dog. I keep looking at that picture - this is a dog that is going to help make some home complete.