Urgent! I need answers quick!

[Sohshee'smom]

Ok guys, you have helped so much in the past, I need you again!!! I have been wanting another boxer for some time now, ever since getting my Sohshee. She is an exceptional dog, has been since the day we brought her home. She went right to her crate the very first night, never a whine, wonderful with my kids and all other animals. I have NEVER seen her make any move whatsoever that could be considered aggressive. She isn't animal (male or female) aggressive, food or toy aggressive...wonderful dog. ANYWAY :D I have just learned that there is a male (not fixed) fawn with black mask boxer in our local high kill shelter. He was brought in with another brother that was also not fixed, flashy fawn. His brother, as flashy's normally are here, was adopted immediatly. He however is out of time. It is kinda expensive to adopt from there and with it being Christmas and me having two kids, it was really out of my budget, but I have found a WONDERFUL woman that will sponser him (pay for him, with me agreeing to pay her later). He will be fixed before I bring him home (my female will be fixed right after the first of the year). HERE is my question(s) (finally I am sure you are all saying ) (1) My husband is afraid of why the boxers were let to be lost then not found (are they mean, do they have horrible habits, did they do something wrong to make the owners not want two dogs that they have obviously had for awhile back??) (2) Is he aggressive? I asked the shelter worker if he was and she said no, that is was wonderful with his brother and sad now that he is gone, but my husband says that, that doesn't mean he won't be aggressive with Sohshee. (3) Is it safe to bring a full grown dog (I am guessing around 2 years?) into a home with 2 children when we don't know his background? I mean what if he turns on one of them? I could never forgive myself. (4) He is being fixed, but I have never been around a male dog that was fixed after coming of age...will he "mark" my house even if he is fixed now? And also a gross question, but will he show is penis all the time? (the only male dog I have ever been around stuck his penis out, even though he was fixed, quite gross) (5) will meeting him tomorrow show me any signs of how he is? How will I know if he will mark my house, have food aggression, be mean to my dog or kids??? As you can tell I am quite upset. I mean, I have never been a "big dog" person until I got Sohshee, as a matter of fact, I have always been afraid of big dogs until her. I have recently been around several full grown boxers and didn't have the slightest fear...I don't think I would fear him, but I do fear my kids, I mean, my kids can lay on Soshee and she just licks them...I have personally never heard of a mean boxer, but what if this one is? Someone help me please!!!

 

[KBENDER]

My grandsons learned to walk holding on to boxer tails, two of them were rescues, 1 female anad 1 male. I currently have 3, 2 girls and 1 boy. Introduce the two dogs on nuetral ground. Do it with both of them on leads. If there are going to be problems you will probaly be able to tell it at that point. Even litter mates will have fod problems. I feed mine in different places and then let them outside after they finish. There maybe minor problems but they will work them out
Good Luck

 

[Sohshee'smom]

Thanks Keith for your reply. I really want to do this, I am just nervous. Sohshee is very easy going, in the past when we dog sat she just let the other dog do whatever they wanted, take her food, so on. I hope that helps the situation without her getting bullied.

 

[alaska]

I personally have adopted a male un-neutered boxer (1yr) and took him home to my older un-neutered boxer and I have never had a problem, I was lucky the new comer was timid. I would see if the shelter would let you bring in your dog to a visiting room (if they have one) and introduce them to see if they will get along, then introduce you children to him seperately from soshee and see how he does. I wouldn't do it all at once since soshee might want to protect "Her" kids from this strange dog, but if everyone gets along fine I would say go for it. I am glad I adopted another dog, they are the best of friends now, I did however neuter the newcomer.


Hope it works out

 

[myrocky]

I agree about them meeting at the shelter maybe. And if you can swing it try a trial week or two weeks. YOu have to remember that you have kids and you have to consider that. You don't know the dogs background, he could of been let go because of issues with kids. You also can't base the not aggressive part on the fact he was fine with his "brother" If they were littermates I am sure they have worked out the pack order, plus they have always been together. I am not in any way suggesting not adopting him. I prefer to only adopt rescues. I just want to make sure you are not just thinking with your kind heart

 

[pep0987]

I agree with everyone here. Ask the shelter if you could give him a trail run. Ask if he has had any problems with other dogs besides his brother. Have you met him yet?? I think this could be a great choice. Be careful though.

 

[Sohshee'smom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am keeping him on a "foster first" "adoption if it works out" basis. I haven't met him yet, he is getting fixed tomorrow and then I pick him up friday. I am excited, I am committed so hopefully things will be fine. They say he is doing great with all other dogs, they said he was released because of divorce and his brother has been placed with a 3 year old and he is doing wonderful with the child. Thanks again everyone! Heather

 

[Aimee]

Originally posted by Sohshee'smom

(1) My husband is afraid of why the boxers were let to be lost then not found (are they mean, do they have horrible habits, did they do something wrong to make the owners not want two dogs that they have obviously had for awhile back??

We live in a throw away society. That's the number one reason there are so many dogs unwanted and unclaimed. I have 2 dogs that I adopted from rescue and I also foster for rescue. I see people throw away their dogs because they have children, get new carpet, failed to train them, children lost interest, didn't spay or neuter and had behavioral problems etc. etc. etc. One can never assume that because a dog is at the shelter or in rescue that it is a "problem child" so to speak. Does it happen, sure, but it isn't realistic to believe they all have issues.


(2) Is he aggressive? I asked the shelter worker if he was and she said no, that is was wonderful with his brother and sad now that he is gone, but my husband says that, that doesn't mean he won't be aggressive with Sohshee.

Most shelters do temperment test their dogs to a certain extent. If dogs are aggressive they are usually not adopted out. Dog aggression is another issue. Your expectations are going to be the first thing to disappoint you. When we get fosters in we have to acclamate them to our existing crew, especially Lexi. Since Sohshee sounds laid back and almost submissive then I wouldn't expect you would have too much difficulty if your male wants to be alpha. DO expect a few scuffles and make sure when you bring him home that he has a crate of his own where he can retreat if he needs to. Transitioning to a new home can be stressful. We usually crate our fosters for the first 24 hours so they can relax and get used to the sounds and smells of the house without anyone bothering them. We crate them in an area we use (meaning don't put his crate in a quiet room nobody ever uses). You may not have any problems and they may be instant best friends but it's best to be informed upfront and not let your expectations get the best of you. An example: We recently adopted Dusty and her and Lexi are best friends. BUT for the first 3 days we had her the two of them were snapping and snarling through gates and crates at each other. On day 3 we were finally able to get them to interact off lead and they have been inseperable since. Just some food for thought

(3) Is it safe to bring a full grown dog (I am guessing around 2 years?) into a home with 2 children when we don't know his background? I mean what if he turns on one of them? I could never forgive myself.

I understand your concern for your children. I never recommend leaving a child unattended with a dog no matter if you've had the dog since a pup or not. There are many people who have had a dog for years, it's grown up with their children, and one day one of the children gets bitten. The dog gets labeled as a biter or as child aggressive when in turn that's not the case. It is most important to teach children how to properly treat dogs and it is also important to include children in daily training and playtime activities. The book "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson has an excellent section on this. As I've said before (and many others as well ) I think this book is a "must have" for all dog owners!


(4) He is being fixed, but I have never been around a male dog that was fixed after coming of age...will he "mark" my house even if he is fixed now? And also a gross question, but will he show is penis all the time? (the only male dog I have ever been around stuck his penis out, even though he was fixed, quite gross


Baxter was neutered last year when we adopted him from rescue. He is MUCH older and has never marked in the house. He does however have to pee on every blade of grass when we go on our walks :rolleyes: I've learned to pick my battles though. I definantly prefer him to do that outside! More food for thought, I have also been told that males still have some active sperm left in the tubes after a neuter so this is something to be aware of since you have a female who is not spayed. Their hormones do not decrease immediately either. 2 things to remember!



5) will meeting him tomorrow show me any signs of how he is? How will I know if he will mark my house, have food aggression, be mean to my dog or kids???

You will be able to get a feel for him when you meet him but you won't be able to tell if he's going to mark and you won't be able to tell if he is food aggressive. Our fosters always get fed in their crates until I can tell that their won't be any aggression issues. I always recommend that each dog has it's own bowl and that they get fed scheduled feedings. This helps dogs with food aggression issues because there is no competition for the bowl or the need to hoard food.

After the holidays I would enroll him in obedience. It will be good socialization for him and it is also a way to bond with him. I think you are doing a wonderful thing and although you may have no issues, it's best not to go into something blindfolded. I wish you the best of luck!!

 

[karens]

You have some great advice here. I just wanted to pipe in that my rescue boy was an unclaimed stray. We went through a pretty lengthy intro with my girls at the rescue. We only had one squabble over a new toy someone brought over to welcome Spencer to the family and that was it. I knew nothing about Spencer's background, but learned rather quickly he LOVES children. He is more like a linebacker when greeting them as opposed to just a nutty boy. We watch him very closely around kids, so he does not knock them over and transform into a Super Lick Machine. Having a dog that loves too much is kind of a nice problem to have though! Good Luck to you, I hope everything works out!

 

[Sube Ru's mom]

I completely understand your fears. Pat and I got Subi in late August, she was our first boxer, but no first dog, and she came from a rescue. She has been around dogs all her life (all 8 months) and she has never had a problem.
The rescue we got her from needed us to foster a dog they got in, a 2 year old brindle male, he is neutered. At first i was kind of worried, the rescue got him from a shelter and had no background on him at all. But i fiqured we would give it a shot, we were not worried about Subi but the other dog. anyways, we took Subi to the rescue and introduced her to tiger (the dog they wanted us to foster) and they got along fine. we decided to go ahead and foster,. but like you i had the same fears
1. marking- he has not done it yet and we have had him for almost 2 weeks
2. penis sticking out- i like you do not like that either, and he has not done it yet, i am sure he will at certain times but i have never seen it. yea!!
3. food agression- he is not that bad, he was the first 2 days regarding any kind of food, but after telling him no and taking the food away for a certain amount of time he is better about it.
4. counter surfing- MY BIGGEST GRIPE- he still does this and i am trying to break him of this habit. Not having a lot of luck though
5. toy agressive- he is still agressive with toys, he doesnt growl or snap but he intimates subi so when he comes over she just drops the toy and he grabs it,
6. i cant help you with the kids sorry
i agree do a trial run and see how it goes. Tiger is a GREAT dog and i am glad that we agreed to foster him,. the only reason we are not keeping him is because we are still working with subi on obiedience and i dont have the time for both dogs right now. But i do plan to get another dog later down the road.
GOOD LUCK!!!