To rescue or to buy. That is the question
- Thread starter S@ndi
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FarleyBoxer
BANNED
I don't have personal experience w/rescue but I will say that when we are able, our next boxer will be a rescue. I guess when it comes down to it, unless you are in the show ring/breeding world, there is no plausible reason for you to 'need' to buy a puppy. My BF and I paid $500 for our Farley (he's white, so that was $500 too much now that we know better) and he is like our child. But that said, probably dozens of lovely, wonderful boxers will die today b/c they simply don't have a home. Why not give one of them the life they always wanted and never had, instead of buying a puppy from a breeder? Unless a rescue dog has serious temperment issues you are simply not equipped to handle, I don't think there's a logical argument against it.
My 2 cents...
Camille
My 2 cents...
Camille
Silverstar
Super Boxer
Me too. But, it won't be hopefully for many many many years from now (Till one of my babies decide it's time to go). I would love to rescue now, just can't.FarleyBoxer said:
Celest
tweetytwad
Boxer Booster
Kracker is a rescue and she's wonderful. It was great to get to meet her and learn about her temperment before we brought her home. I don't think we missed out by not having her for her little puppy stage.
scribe1128
Super Boxer
Rescue, rescue, rescue!
All three of my boxers were rescues - one from a shelter and the other two just happened to find us. Jake was rescued from the streets by a friend of the family, who tried to find his family. When that didn't happen, we took him in. That began my long love affair with boxers. Many years later, I was pining over the loss of Jake during my divorce in which my ex kept him, so I found Titus at a nearby shelter. Lady came to us a few years later when my son found her wandering the streets with a broken leg that healed wrong, skin and bones and in full-blown heat. Our first intention was to get her well, get some weight on her, then give her to the rescue. Well, she won our hearts and no way we could let her go. She and Titus are the best of friends. Yes, rescues do appreciate what you do for them and they have so much to give in return. There are a lot of homeless babies out there deserving of a forever home!
Cheryl, Titus and Lady
All three of my boxers were rescues - one from a shelter and the other two just happened to find us. Jake was rescued from the streets by a friend of the family, who tried to find his family. When that didn't happen, we took him in. That began my long love affair with boxers. Many years later, I was pining over the loss of Jake during my divorce in which my ex kept him, so I found Titus at a nearby shelter. Lady came to us a few years later when my son found her wandering the streets with a broken leg that healed wrong, skin and bones and in full-blown heat. Our first intention was to get her well, get some weight on her, then give her to the rescue. Well, she won our hearts and no way we could let her go. She and Titus are the best of friends. Yes, rescues do appreciate what you do for them and they have so much to give in return. There are a lot of homeless babies out there deserving of a forever home!
Cheryl, Titus and Lady
Just wanted to start this convo for everyone
I bought our first boxer and he died from seizures. We were given a brindle puppy by friend of family. 4mo? for 450. Perfect dog. And now we are adopting a 3 yrold male on the 25th. He has to get fixed first
He's a whopping 90 lbs and has a big teddy bear personality. I just won't buy again because there were plenty of people in line for our girl Jessie, and I like to find the Treasures in these "Big babys" If I can love a dog no one else happens to glance at, why stand in line for the tiny ones everyone wants.
S@ndi
Ps. My son totally deserved it, but what do you do after your boxer corrects your child. He only has one mark, but I don't want her to get in the habit of this.
I bought our first boxer and he died from seizures. We were given a brindle puppy by friend of family. 4mo? for 450. Perfect dog. And now we are adopting a 3 yrold male on the 25th. He has to get fixed first
He's a whopping 90 lbs and has a big teddy bear personality. I just won't buy again because there were plenty of people in line for our girl Jessie, and I like to find the Treasures in these "Big babys" If I can love a dog no one else happens to glance at, why stand in line for the tiny ones everyone wants.S@ndi
Ps. My son totally deserved it, but what do you do after your boxer corrects your child. He only has one mark, but I don't want her to get in the habit of this.
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Silverstar
Super Boxer
I have met more people who rescue and it's great! I have a neighbor who rescued and many of the BW friends who have and their babies are wonderful.LuvMyTyson said:
That is me too, exactly! Because of the love of my furbabies, rescue seems to be a natural instict now.LuvMyTyson said:
VTbxrFan
Boxer Insane
Having volunteered with a a rescue for several years (and having a rescue boy of my own), I don't think I'll ever get buy a puppy as long at there are rescue dogs in need. Some people just prefer to start with a puppy, though, and I respect that choice as long as they buy from a responsible breeder. One definite benefit to buying a puppy from a good breeder who has health tested and screened out genetic health problems from several generations is that you increase your odds of a healthy dog. And of course if you are interested in showing and breeding, you can't do that with a rescue.
As far as scary stories, well, no, not every rescue story is a happy ending. Sometimes it's a bad match between the dog and family and sometimes problems come up that weren't evident while the dog was in foster care. But most of the stories are good. But there are no guarantees with a puppy, either. If all puppy stories were great, there wouldn't be so many dogs in rescue and shelters. And even puppies from good breeders can end up with health problems - my family got a puppy from a very reputable, responsible breeder. Sadly, she died before her third birthday from kidney failure. There wasn't a genetic cause for it and it was't something that had ever appeared in the breeder's lines - sometimes bad things just happen.
As far as supporting the breed, I think either one does that. Certainly I'm partial to rescue, but I also recognize that breeding has to continue if the boxer is going to continue to exist. The key is to only buy from a responsible breeder. A big mistake people make is "rescuing" a puppy from a bad situation by buying the puppy from someone who is keeping them in bad conditions (or in a pet store). While I understand the feeling that at least that one puppy is saved from poor conditions, giving money to the person responsible for the conditions will only encourage them to produce more puppies who will suffer through those conditions.
It's also possible to do both - get a puppy from a rescue. It's uncommon and you'd have to patient, but rescues do end up with puppies. In the last year, my rescue ended up with two litters of puppies - one bitch had puppies in the shelter and we pulled mom and pups two days later...and then a few months later, we pulled another bitch a shelter and then discovered she was about to deliver a litter. Certainly that's unusual, and we couldn't believe when we ended up with two in one year, but we did have some families on our waiting list who wanted to rescue but really wanted puppies, so we had no trouble finding homes for them. (In both cases, these litters appeared to be full-blooded boxers, and both moms were turned into the shelter with a male boxer.) The more common scenario is older puppies being turned into rescues or shelters - entire litters are not common, but they do happen.
And it's possible to get an adult dog from a good breeder. My parents did that with their current boy - after losing one, they really wanted another boxer but didn't want to go through the puppy phase. They found a very good breeder who had 1 year old from a carefully planned litter - they had hoped to show him and use him to continue their breeding program, but as he grew up, they realized he wasn't quite up to that. They hadn't quite decided whether to keep him as a pet for themselves or try to find him a new home, and then they met my parents who had two boxers before and would provide a great home, so they let him go. He's now 12 years old and has been extremely healthy for his whole life - a product of good breeding, but a few very minor flaws that made him unsuitable for the show ring.
As far as scary stories, well, no, not every rescue story is a happy ending. Sometimes it's a bad match between the dog and family and sometimes problems come up that weren't evident while the dog was in foster care. But most of the stories are good. But there are no guarantees with a puppy, either. If all puppy stories were great, there wouldn't be so many dogs in rescue and shelters. And even puppies from good breeders can end up with health problems - my family got a puppy from a very reputable, responsible breeder. Sadly, she died before her third birthday from kidney failure. There wasn't a genetic cause for it and it was't something that had ever appeared in the breeder's lines - sometimes bad things just happen.
As far as supporting the breed, I think either one does that. Certainly I'm partial to rescue, but I also recognize that breeding has to continue if the boxer is going to continue to exist. The key is to only buy from a responsible breeder. A big mistake people make is "rescuing" a puppy from a bad situation by buying the puppy from someone who is keeping them in bad conditions (or in a pet store). While I understand the feeling that at least that one puppy is saved from poor conditions, giving money to the person responsible for the conditions will only encourage them to produce more puppies who will suffer through those conditions.
It's also possible to do both - get a puppy from a rescue. It's uncommon and you'd have to patient, but rescues do end up with puppies. In the last year, my rescue ended up with two litters of puppies - one bitch had puppies in the shelter and we pulled mom and pups two days later...and then a few months later, we pulled another bitch a shelter and then discovered she was about to deliver a litter. Certainly that's unusual, and we couldn't believe when we ended up with two in one year, but we did have some families on our waiting list who wanted to rescue but really wanted puppies, so we had no trouble finding homes for them. (In both cases, these litters appeared to be full-blooded boxers, and both moms were turned into the shelter with a male boxer.) The more common scenario is older puppies being turned into rescues or shelters - entire litters are not common, but they do happen.
And it's possible to get an adult dog from a good breeder. My parents did that with their current boy - after losing one, they really wanted another boxer but didn't want to go through the puppy phase. They found a very good breeder who had 1 year old from a carefully planned litter - they had hoped to show him and use him to continue their breeding program, but as he grew up, they realized he wasn't quite up to that. They hadn't quite decided whether to keep him as a pet for themselves or try to find him a new home, and then they met my parents who had two boxers before and would provide a great home, so they let him go. He's now 12 years old and has been extremely healthy for his whole life - a product of good breeding, but a few very minor flaws that made him unsuitable for the show ring.
bluekirsdog
Boxer Pal
I agree, rescueing is the way to go
My husband and I just rescued a boxer from our neighbor's who were going to either take him to the pound or shoot him! Because their female mastiff wasn't spayed, and Duke, the boxer, wasn't neutered, which was causing a lot of tension and leading to fights. Instead of getting them fixed, they just decided to be rid of the boxer.
We took him home and he is the best dog ever. He is just over a year old, beautiful big and brindle guy. We couldn't be happier. And if it weren't for us, he would be dead right now, like alot of unwanted boxers. I feel that if you really are devoted to the breed and you aren't looking to show your dogs, there isn't a reason in the world why you shouldn't get a boxer through a rescue. There are every bit as fantastic, and since there are (most of the time) not little puppies needing to be rescued, you can see what the personality and behavior/characteristics of the dog are before you take it home. Ours is the most loving, affectionate, gentle guy ever. What would we do without him?
bluekirsdog
My husband and I just rescued a boxer from our neighbor's who were going to either take him to the pound or shoot him! Because their female mastiff wasn't spayed, and Duke, the boxer, wasn't neutered, which was causing a lot of tension and leading to fights. Instead of getting them fixed, they just decided to be rid of the boxer.
We took him home and he is the best dog ever. He is just over a year old, beautiful big and brindle guy. We couldn't be happier. And if it weren't for us, he would be dead right now, like alot of unwanted boxers. I feel that if you really are devoted to the breed and you aren't looking to show your dogs, there isn't a reason in the world why you shouldn't get a boxer through a rescue. There are every bit as fantastic, and since there are (most of the time) not little puppies needing to be rescued, you can see what the personality and behavior/characteristics of the dog are before you take it home. Ours is the most loving, affectionate, gentle guy ever. What would we do without him?
bluekirsdog
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