Few questions about first dog

[Adelle]

Hi Scott, you have already got a lot of good advise here but I thought I would add my 2 cents


1. Male or female? are there any distinctive differences for my needs? I don’t plan on breeding - Either but make sure to get them spayed or neutered, its good for their health and can help avoid certain cancers down the road

2. puppy or young dog? for the kids sake, well for me and wife too... i thought of a puppy, they are so cute and just get to watch them their WHOLE life basically.... but Iv never trained a dog before... would it be better to buy a dog thats 1+ years old that’s already house broken? - Puppies are cute but lots of work, if you adopted a grown dog from a rescue you can get a dog that has a good history with young children, you may have to wait but its worth it

3. Inside or outside at night? Can a dog sleep through the night? I mean, am I gonna have to wake up at 4am to take it outside to potty? Also, for watchdog purposes... is it better to be in yard? How much time should a dog spend outside ALONE? - Inside day and night except for exercise and potty, boxers are indoor dogs, they need to be with their people, also with their short coats they don’t do well in cold temps and with their short noses they don’t do well in the heat either, also they can get sunburn due to the thin coats also

4. How much exercise? I like to do a quick jog around my neighborhood almost every night... its about 1 mile. Is that enough for the dog? Will the dog RUN with me? or more like take out in yard and throw ball kind of exercise? - A good daily jog sounds good once the dog is old enough – don’t run with a puppy, check with your vet on that one

5. How much money? How much can I expect to pay for a nice Boxer? seen puppies in newspaper for around $200-$300 - You have already got plenty of info on this question, a good rescue goes for about $200 and that usually includes shots and spay/neuter

6. Would be okay to take to work with me? I own my own store and work all day long like most people... wife is home alot during day and son is in school... but just thought that I would like to bring it to work with me sometimes... would that be a good idea? I mean, its just me, wife at work... and the customers... but I have a back area he and I would mainly stay in... how often would I have to take him out to potty in an 8 hour day? - It depends on the dog as to whether it could go to work with you or not, I imagine a dog that is a few years older and calmer would be fine, with a few potty breaks throughout the day

7. Good with kids? I have a 3 year old son and have another 5 year old cousin that comes over alot!! I’m sure kids are a little rough at times pulling ears, etc would dog get mad? - Boxers in general are good with kids, but there is always an exception to the rule, if you go through rescue they will only give you a dog that they know is good with young kids, boxers are large and strong and can be somewhat hyper and could easily knock over a young child by accident so always supervise closely. You also need to teach your child how to treat a dog so that it doesn’t do something that could push the dog to its limits

Good luck with your decision

 

[adeinert]

while i am not trying to endorse BYB's both of mine come from Back Yard Breeders,

Besides the fact that backyard breeders are unethical and ruining our breed, I have heard two dozen nightmare stories for every "my dog turned out generally healthy" story.
An acquantaince has two byb boxers. One is riddled with health problems to the point she will surely live a very short life and the other I would classify as a mix (they thought the AKC papers meant something but you have to know it's the pedigree that counts. Just because Jimbo and Babs the parent dogs are registered means nothing really.) Mind you, they love their dogs and pay dearly to care for both, but why support these things happening to our breed?!? It breaks my heart that they keep churning out these dogs to live in suffering and reap the financial rewards.
Fleas are cosmetic compared to what is going on inside. If they don't health test, the odds are that somewhere in the near future you will need to rent out space in your vet's office. This is the same for dogs bought at pet stores.

What you don't spend for the purchase of your beloved new family member you will spend ten fold at the vet's office. Same goes for food. If you are cheap and feed what is at a grocery store you will have the ailments that go with poor quality food. If you spend as much as you possibly can, your dog will be healthier for it. They didn't make up the saying, "You get what you pay for." Going on the opinion of multiple local vets, boxers are very expensive dogs. One reason I believe I hear this so often is that I don't live really close to any reputable breeders so instead of taking a small drive most people buy poorly bred boxers from pet shops and newspapers. The result is that the vets are astonished at how these dogs run up vet bills.

Maybe a boxer mix from a local shelter would be a better choice. Start up cost is low and often they are free from some of the ailments known to purebreds. As long as you give the dog the key components: love, indoor home, love, quality food, love, vet care, love, and training - you will have a perfect addition. (I am sure I left something out, but you get my point. )

I think I can say safely, that if you can't afford a quality boxer at $800 for start up, you will not be able to afford the care of a boxer, and surely not the high chances of getting one from a BYB that needs extensive vet care. Remember BYB's don't test so something like hip displaysia and a total hip replacement could come up in the first few years. I am in rescue, we see it all the time because then the uncommitted owners dump the dogs and we nurse them back to health. Raging allergies are also very common and VERY irritating for the dog and draining on your pockets. If any of this is something you can't sign on for, don't make that animal take the risk. On the flip side, A friend owns a health tested boxer (most of my friends own rescues) that had a five year health guarantee. Not a single problem and he is turning five.

There is a lot to think about, especially when you set limits of how much you can give time wise or financially. Life, whether it be a human's or an animals, cannot be planned out that carefully. Something always could come up.

Ashlie

 

[vasha]

I have a BYB dog. I hate to admit it, but I do. And while physically he's a healthy boy, his genetic makeup leaves a lot to be desired.

Kaiser is severely aggressive to the point where I seriously considered putting him down. You may wonder if I did anything to cause this aggression, ie using bad techniques to train etc, but I didn't.

Kaiser was extremely well socialized with just about everyone and everything. He started puppy classes as soon as he was able to - about 14 weeks old and he excelled in them. He finished his puppy classes, an advanced class and almost all of his 'trick' class. He knew how to behave around children, he knew how to behave in public, he was well behaved at the dog park, he wasn't perfect, but he certainly wasn't aggressive.

As he matured, around 10-12 months of age, he started to change. He began charging children jumping up in their faces and barking and snapping at them. He began starting fights with other dogs at the dog park. Needless to say we stopped going to the dog park.

He's bitten four strangers, he hasn't broken skin, but he's definetely nipped at them. He's bitten my boyfriend and he bit me, and he did break skin when he bit me. And all of this seemed to come out of nowhere.

Last October I was nearly at the end of my rope with him after he bit my neighbor. I almost put him down. We went to a behaviorist instead and he's doing better. He is muzzled when we go for walks and I really can't baby him as much as I used to be able to. It sucks not being able to cuddle and love on your dog. The program we're on is rigorous and exhausting but if I don't follow it to the 'T' and he bites again, that's his last chance. It was a deal that I hated to make with myself, but I don't have any other option if he bites. I had to give him every opportunity and every chance to learn not to bite before I put him down.

I will never trust him around children or with anyone excluding my boyfriend, myself and the boarding kennel Kaiser and Lola go to when I'm out of town. This is a big hinderance on my personal and social life. I can't have people over. When we take walks (which we do alot because we live in an apartment) I have to be sure there are no strangers around and if we do run into someone, I have to get out of that situation as soon as possible.

Being Kaiser's caretaker is stressful, heartbreaking and honestly is sometimes a headache, but I also made a committment to him when I brought him into MY life and purchased him from that "breeder". So I have to do the very best I can by him.

I'm telling you this, Scott, to ensure that if you do purchase a puppy you do so from a breeder that not only health tests their dogs before breeding, but temperment tests them too.
Because even if your BYB dog is perfectly fine health wise, there's no guarantee that he won't suffer from other genetic issues as well. And even if the sire and dam didn't display any aggressive tendencies, who's to say that their sires and dams didn't? BYB don't follow lines, they don't know the genetic makeup for what they're breeding.

What would you do if you did buy a puppy and you did everything by the book and he attacked your son? Is that really a risk you're willing to take? Thankfully I don't have children.

Think about it.

vasha

 

[TONY & GEMMA]

If you are thinking now that $800 + is too much than maybe you are not really ready for the committment of owning a dog. The buying price is just the beginning!

Yep, totally agree with the money thing. We paid £600 (UK Pounds) for Brando which I believe is somewhere in the region of $1000 (not sure how right I am), and he was worth every penny.

He has an excellent temperament and is in excellent physical condition (maybe I'm a little biased! ha ha ha)!

Then, as everyone else has already said, you have the cost of all his vets bills, vaccines etc, crate etc, and also insurance (if you're planning on getting it).

They definitely don't come cheap.