Thinking of adopting a rescue

[AmyPat]

My husband and I have a 5 1/2 month old male boxer who we love to death. We are now thinking that we may want to look inta getting him a pal, especially being that we do not have kids yet. We were thinking this would be a great time to get them acclimated to each other before they become too old to accept another dog. I was wondering if anyone could give us some advice on whether this would be a good idea or not considering our situation. Cooper is great with other dogs and absolutely loves to play. We own our own home and have a decent sized fenced in yard. We are both very active (athletes) and take the dogs wherever possible, such as our softball games, football games my husband coaches etc. etc. We do not want to go through the hassle of another puppy b/c we both work during the day and there seems to be some wonderful dogs that need a home out there. We were thinking of a dog that is anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years old. Again, sorry this is long winded but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[VTbxrFan]

Go for it! You might not find many rescues as young as 6 months, but there are generally a lot around 1 - 2 years old. Sadly many people give them up when they hit that age as they need some extra attention with training in their "teenage" phase. The rescue groups do a wonderful job evaluating the temperament of each dog and will help you find one that will get along well with the one you already have. You will be doing a wonderful thing by providing a home to a dog in need, and you will most likely save yourself the frustration of house training a young pup. Good luck!

 

[Aimee]

We've had 3 dogs that have come from rescue and Lexi we got as a pup. I wouldn't do it any other way now. Baxter we've had a little over a year and he fit right into our family. He was housetrained, crate trained, neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. He is a wonderful dog that I wouldn't trade for the world. Dusty we've had about 10 months. She came to us from a shelter as a foster. We eventually adopted her. We housetrained and crate trained her in no time and she too fits right in. Puppies are alot of work and alot of money. Most of the dogs available in rescue are wonderful dogs awaiting the opportunity for an owner that will take responsibility for them. Your active lifestyle sounds perfect for another addition and I have to say adding another boxer to my family was the best thing I ever did. I now know I could never just have one again. There's also a special bond you get with rescues and also a special feeling knowing that you've saved a worthy soul. I wish you much luck in your attempts to rescue. Just one side note, most rescues will not adopt out to a family with an intact dog. At 5 1/2 months I figured he wasn't neutered yet so that may be something to consider

 

[AmyPat]

Thanks for the advice. We have just started considering this so we probably will not act on it until we do a little more reserach. Cooper is not neutered yet, but will be before he is 7 months old. So we would not even consider bringing a dog in until he has been fixed. Anyhow, again thanks!

 

[Mommy2Cool]

First, I would like to say, thank you for asking all of the right questions, before adding a new addition to your home. If you do your homework first, things have a much better chance of working out well.

The above posts have excellent advice. I would just like to add that adopting a rescue is a wonderful feeling. I would do it again in a heartbeat! If it were up to me, I would never go through the puppy route again!:p

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[BoxerFun]

I agree with the others...rescue is an excellent way to go. My 1st Boxer was a rescue and was such a wonderful dog. I now have Murph that I bought as a pup and when he was about 15 mos. rescued a 9 month old Boxer and they are the best buds...they are 6 months apart and you would think they have been together since birth!

Also...your boy can be neutered now! He is plenty old enough...the sooner the better!!

 

[Boomer'sPapa]

Kudos...

It's nice to see that I share a birthday with one of the board's furbabies....I too was born on 11 July!

I was in your same situation.... work a full-time job, and had plenty of time to give a new boxer in the house, but didn't have the time committment to stay at home with a new boxer puppy for several months.

The rescue folks originally estimated Boomer to be 2 years old when he came to them, but quickly revised their estimate to 1 1/2 years old. Boomer was actually my third choice. The first, Caesar, was a 5 y/o fawn male with a total hip replacement. His foster parents adopted him. The second, Max, was a 5 y/o fawn male surrendered as a result of a divorce. A week or so before my initial visit to see Max, he was reunited with his real daddy. With the disappointing news that I wouldn't be adopting him was a picture of Boomer. I replied to the e-mail and said that I would drive down from San Antonio on 4 Aug (my dad's birthday) to pick him up.

In three days, we will have been together for five months (I can't believe it!) :D. He has turned out to be a wonderful companion.

Kudos for thinking about rescue!

Cheers,