Buying a new pup.

[rperry03]

I am really considering buying a boxer. I know alot of people who have them and they are great with kids and other animals.
I am looking for recomendations for a male or female and has anyone has ever had problems with thier boxer and kids?

Also I am looking for A puppy in the next couple of months if anyone is looking to sell. I do not plan to breed. Papers are not important. I live in New Jersey but would travel
for a puppy with the right easy going temperment!!!

Thanks!

 

[BRIDGIT]

Welcome! I don't any info on getting a boxer puppy on the east coast but can tell you a little about my boxers. I think they are wonderful dogs. I couldn't ask for better. My two have been around children and have never had a problem. I have two females so I cannot give advise for males. The reason I got two females was that the older dog was given up by previous owners because it didn't get along with male dogs, so a female was our only option. I have never seen her agressive other than once with a male dog. There are ideas she was breed aggresivly. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck with your search.

 

[Skittlesalley]

Boxer with kids

My daughter was three when i purchshed gypsy(she is Ch sired ) and they are the best of friends they would fall asleep together watching cartoons they go every where together Gypsy now has 7 ,4 week old babies that she has shared with my daughter from the moment they were born. All of the puppies just love to see her coming. I also have a Lab and I would recommend the boxer for children over the lab. Attached is a pic of my daughter with gypsy and all 7 of the babies which are Ch sired. I do believe in quality dogs so you know what your getting but of course they are mor expensive but when it comes to your child take no chances

 

[Liquid]

I will pass along my experience with my boxer and children.

My Kota, now 9 months old female, goes hyper every time someone comes to my house.

We were at the dog park about 1 month ago. It was right after Tallahassee (where I live) had gotten a very bad storm and the road to the dog park was washed out. My and my wife went anyways and when we got there there was only one other person with two lab mixes there.

Kota ran and played just fine.
Then some lady came by. She had no dogs but 3 kids. A boy about 8 and 2, 4 year old girls. Well Kota comes up to the girls and just sits. No shaking, no jumping. Just nice and calm. The girls started playing rough with her. Still Kota was nice and calm.
Then the girls started running out to the middle of the park and Kota chased after them.

Oh oh, chase mode. I was scared Kota would knock them over or something.

Nope, still calm.

I was never so impressed with my baby. She knew the kids were kids somehow.

Another thing that is overall with my dog. She is not agressive in any way. She does play watchdog VERY well though. If anyone comes near my house she goes into balistic mode. She barks and paces the house. Even does a scarey growl. =)
But she wouldn't hurt a fly. That I am sure of.

 

[proudpop]

My recomendation for finding a great puppy would be to contact the New Jersey Boxer Club and ask about members who might have litters currently available. It worked for me. I can recommend a breeder in North Jersey if you like, however I am sure you could find some great dogs closer to your area if you look through right channels.

 

[YourFriendDeb]

I can't say enough about boxers. They are the quintessential family dog. They love their "people", they love to be around you (sometimes in your LAP if they can get away with it!) We have a six month old male and since we don't have kids, I was curious as to what he would be like around children. We tried to socialize him from day one, and I think we've done a pretty good job of that. I can't stress that enough...SOCIALIZE SOCIALIZE SOCIALIZE your pup...every day if possible.

We take Legend everywhere we go, just about. We try to take him where we know there will be a diverse group of people...men, women, older kids, young kids, bicycles, different noises, different turf (grass, sand, concrete) and different smells.

Yesterday we took him to a local park, and he sat and watched all the kids running about, playing on the swings and such, and when they came over to see him, he was all wiggles and kisses. He doesn't mind kids tugging on his ears or getting in his face...he is VERY tolerant and patient with them (not bad for a six month old puppy!) So I say you have nothing to worry about.

I think you've made an EXCELLENT choice with a boxer. Good luck to you!

 

[karan]

Hi:

I agree with everyone else; boxers are great with kids. Investigated boxers quite a bit before getting Hanna at 7 weeks, now 6 months old. We have 2 kids, 3 & 7 when we got Hanna. She has been wonderful. Cannot agree more with Debbie who stresses to socialize your pup immediately. My daughter, now 4, knows to be nice to animals but still, she gets rather annoying with Hanna by trying to dress her or hanging all over her while Hanna's trying to nap. Hanna lets her do whatever she wants to with only a look of "Please leave me alone". Hanna can play somewhat roughly with my son's rowdy friends, but seems to be extra gentle around the little ones. The puppy nipping in the beggining has to be stopped early on with a firm "NO" or walking away from them if they won't stop. We had that problem at first but she was quick to learn not to nip. Jumping was another thing we insisted was off limits from the start. She'd jump on us and we'd gently push her down with a firm "OFF". All in all, can't say enough good things about Hanna's behavior with our kids and everyone in general. Good luck finding your new baby.

 

[Bethany]

I too highly recommend getting a boxer if you have kids. My husband and I have no kids so our boxer wasn't around kids until she was 8 months old, and we were visitng friends with an 8 year old and a 6 year old. We were afraid of how Pebbles would act around kids, so we watched her closely, but to our surprise, she was more gentle with the kids than she is when she plays with us!! She sometimes tries to get toys out my my hands when we play fetch, but with the kids she just sat and waited for them to throw the toy! As far as I'm converned they are the best breed out there - but I might be a little biased. :D

 

[Sabrina Jay]

I noticed that you stated you planned on breeding and papers were not important. Why is this?

By joining the Boxerworld forums, you agreed NOT to promote irresponsible breeding practices. I'm sure one of the moderators will mention this, so I wanted to forwarn you.

I hope you have started researching the breeding aspect. To breed properly, you will not make money. If you are lucky, you MIGHT break even.

Please do a search in the FORUMS area, on previous posts on breeding. There are a couple of the moderators that have made very detailed previous posts on hereditary issues & problems that can arrise during whelping and afterwards.

If you look under the FEATURED section on Boxerworld (on main screen, on the left hand side), you will also find information on contracts, top 6 reasons people give for breeding, etc.

 

[lawdawg534]

I beleive the original post said "I do not plan to breed. Papers are not important."

I have had several Boxers and they were all very good with children except our newest one Tango. Most of the time she is pretty good with my son (he's almost three) but she is going through the puppy biting and nipping stage where she tries to bite everything when she is excited. We have to watch her very closely when they are playing. I am confident she will stop soon trying to bite him because we are very consistant with letting her know that behaviour is not acceptable. We use a stern "No biting!" and stop the playing until she calms down a little. When that doesnt work we have a can with some pennies in it that gets her attention when you shake it. This is the first time I have experienced trying to train an alpha female and she is very head strong. Our others were runts of the little and very docile from the beginning.

Good luck in your search.