New (stray) Boxer ID'd -- Help please!

[Alsabrook]

One of the benefits to living in a small town is that everyone knows everyone else -- and their pets.

"Our" new boy was ID'd by a friend of mine tonight. His friend raised him and just recently gave him away to a new home because he was developing an aggressive temperament that he couldn't deal with any longer. He killed a 6 month old Dachshund puppy and numerous neighborhood cats. His owners have a 2 year old daughter and they were concerned about his aggressiveness.

He ran away from his new owner and ended up in our neighborhood. My friend seems concerned that the new home wasn't that great of a home to begin with.

Hubby and I are torn. What do we do?

HELP!

 

[joannaryan]

Is your friend for sure that "Puppy" is the same boxer that his friend owned? Has he shown any aggressions towards your cats since you have taken him in? I would try to contact the previous owners and see if the boxer is the one they gave away and if so, what were the reasons as to why they got rid of him :( I really couldn't tell you anything else as far as the aggression goes but there are many members on here that can give you some great insight as to what to do. Good luck

 

[Cami]

If "everyone knows everyone" then do you know the original owner and the new home the Boxer was placed in?
How many vets are in your area? I would assume that one of them know this dog?
I'd try to get in contact with the original owner (through your friend) and then perhaps locate the home he was placed in.
I'm sure you trust your friend however it only makes sense to try and get the pup back to its rightful owner, whoever that may be. If they are not interested in him then you can add him to your family without any scenarios left out (they come looking for him eventually for example).
If he really does have a history of killing animals and he is in your possession then someone could come after you. I'd want to get "all of my ducks in a row" with regard to ownership before I got too attached (hard to NOT get attached).
Some Boxers have a high prey drive. It can be curbed in as far as getting along with other pets in the home but it requires a lot of work and persistence on your part. If you don't think he will get along with the cats IN the home then it might be best to find him a home without cats or other small animals. Boxers are NOT outside dogs.

 

[Alsabrook]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it!

I've been in contact with both the original owner and the new owner through a third party. The new owner implied that since the dog didn't stay in his un-fenced yard that he didn't want him. He was only with the new owner for a couple of days. My personal concern about the new owner is that he has been associated with people who raise pit bulls for fighting purposes and though he's never been caught at it, I still don't like it.

The original owner cannot take him back as he works out of the country and was worried about leaving him alone with his wife and daughter just in case the aggressiveness got out of hand. He said that he was raised with his daughter and never once offered to be anything other than loving and patient with her.

We've been working with him pretty extensively over the past few days. We've put him in a few situations that, were he an aggressive natured dog, should let us see his "true colors" and he never put a foot out of place. He's a complete love -- except to smaller animals.

I think he has a very high prey drive. I've sought advice from a trainer and she suggested going back to the basics and getting him used to following our commands in the middle of major distractions. Today was his first un-planned test of that. He was in the front yard with us and our neighbor and her kids were riding their golf cart down the road. He won't chase a car, he couldn't take the pressure of the golf cart. He waited until they reached our driveway and then bolted. He got 3 good strides in before I yelled STOP and he immediately put the brakes on and came right back to me.

I'm always open to any additional advice, tips, and training techniques. If we can get him to tolerate the cats, we'll figure out how to divide the house so they can call a truce!

 

[Gatorblu]

It sounds like things are working out! I am glad you are going to get to keep him. It sounds like he found his way to home he is suppose to be in. As for the cats I am at a loss. We had feral cats at our previous home and the dogs would chase them. So now all cats are something to chase.

 

[srennie]

First and foremost high prey drive and aggression toward animals DOES NOT translate into aggression towards humans. They are 2 TOTALLY different behavior issues and are completely 100% unrelated to eachother. A dog can want to kill every animals it sees and not have a single aggressive bone toward humans.

Second, since you know he has a history of killing small animals I would NEVER allow him to be off leash outside of your home/yard. You could be setting yourself up for huge liability if he charged after someone's pet in a split second and didn't stop when you called him back. He sounds like a very nice, managable dog who ended up in 2 homes that weren't knowledgable about dog behavior. If you decide not to keep him because of the risk to your cats then please look for a boxer rescue in your area. And do not let your guard down too quickly with your cats. I have a friend who adopted a boxer mix a few weeks back and she had been doing very well with the cat but they shut the cat in a room when they weren't home. Since she had shown no aggression toward the cat they let their guard down and weren't as diligent with locking up the cat. They forgot to shut him in the room one day and came home to a dead cat.

 

[Alsabrook]

srennie, I've actually emailed 4 boxer rescues. 1 of them is located less than 2 hours from me. The only one I've heard back from was BARC and they're quite a haul from us. Laura emailed me back once and I responded and haven't heard back since.

We're being extremely careful to keep the dog and the cats seperated. Unfortunately, that means the dog is staying outside until we can find a permanent arrangement for him. While we absolutely ADORE him, both of us understand that this could very well be a temporary lay-over for him until we can find him a forever home.

I'm hoping to hear back from either Laura at BARC or one of the other rescues in the near future. Until then, we're giving him the best possible care that we can.

In the mean time, here is a quick photo update. Hubby finished cutting the grass and plopped down in the yard to play with the dog. Within seconds, he figured out that humans make great pillows!

 

[srennie]

Oh, he is so cute and looks like a total snuggle bug!!!

 

[Sansal]

Awww he is such a cutie. I hope you hear back from the rescue soon, he deserves a good home.