adopting a boxer puppy - questions

boyohboyohboy wrote: My family has been considering adopting a puppy for a while now. We are looking
for a dog that is a good watch dog.
I have looked up tons of info on boxers and they seem like a great family dog.
I have found one at a pet store, but I was told today he is "pigeoned toed" now I cant find out what that means as far as health issues go..does anyone know?

we have researched the cost of supplies and vet bills and this seems like a good fit for us.
the boxer is white with a 4 leaf clover shape on his nose that is black.
I am told that white is a rare color and generally not allowed to be breed, and that it is one breed of dog that might have some defects if it is this color.

I am wondering if the pigeoned toe might lead to hip issues? I called the vet but the woman who answers the phone didnt seem to know.

I am also wondering how do you dicipline a dog? we are getting him a kennel for when he cant be out with us..do you put a dog in there for punishment? wouldnt that make them think that if they were in there it was due to being bad?
I ask because while we spent sometime with the puppy he knocked down both andrew and Jake and chewed on their ankles like bones! He never broke their skin, but I would want to teach him not to chew on the boys..lol!

I also would love some direction on where to get some good solid dog advice.

Karen I am emailing you next!

mom21kid2dogs replied: Just in case you aren't aware, boxers, as a breed are beautiful, smart,wonderful, loving and POWERFUL dogs. They are VERY high energy and are very needy in terms of exercise and attention. My parents have had boxers for many years. They are very well tempered with children but as adults they will top out between 80-100 lbs easily. They required walking and playing for at least an hour a day. Theirs really never outgrew the need for consistent exercise until they were about 8. Also, boxers have a shockingly short life span. The average boxer life span is 9 years~short for even a large breed.

Not trying to dissuade you from your decision, just letting you know that as a breed they are not great 1st time owner dogs unless you fully understand them. On the other hand they ARE great with kids (both my parents were not good with other dogs but my brother's boxer was fine with other dogs) and are a very loyal, sweet hearted breed. Total lovers but VERY high maintenence!

danahas4monkeys replied: We have a boxer and he's the love of our lives! Elvis is 8 now and we've had him since he was 5 wks old. They are very very smart dogs, very energetic but super easy to train. Need lots of room to run but also think they are lap dogs. They are very loyal dogs great with kids. They slobber and snort alot lol and gas OMG! But they are a great dog, and we'll be getting more! Elvis was 8 in February and short of some seizures he had last summer due to a poisoning by a neighbor he's been the picture of health. Good luck with your new dog!

coasterqueen replied: How exciting Stacy! Sorry I just not got your text. I'm battling a very bad chest cold and I went home at lunch so I could nap and just got up.

Ok, as far as breed, I know nothing about boxers, but reading what others have wrote take every word they say to heart. Why? Because we researched the option of a dog THOROUGHLY before deciding to do it. I mean, we even knew it would be like having a baby again, and still it didn't actually set in until we got Gavin. KWIM? We knew w/getting a st. bernard mix we'd have to deal with drool (thankfully it's not as bad as a pure bred) and yes, he drools and drips massive amounts of water everywhere. He needs LOTS of walking. I walk him in the morning before work, we've been coming home at lunch to walk him, then we walk him 2 or 3 times at night. We are still trying to figure out our routine, since it's only been a week, but I can see problems starting when school starts and we need a lot more time with the girls for school work, etc. Right now they are helping with him at night so we are spending time with them that way. Otherwise Gavin is taking up a lot of our time.

Otherwise Gavin is an awesome addition to a our family. Oh and training, you better be willing to spend a LOT of time with the puppy for training. Gavin had quite a bit of training before he came to us, but he still requires training every second. And we bring the girls on to help train. We are just reading books and online for information.

Expense of a dog - well so far we've spent WAY too much money. I lost count after $1,000 , but I think we've spent around $1,500. That would be for kennel, crate, leash/collar, tie-out/leash, bowls, food, cost of adoption, flea/tick meds, bones, bed, bed for crate, and not sure what else, lol. Of course we have a very large dog and everything costs more the bigger the dog is - seems to me.

Basically the only real things I didn't consider up thoroughly upfront was the time a dog would need and how that cuts into the time with the kids. You need to fully understand this and realize you are going to be running day and night, at least for a little while - at least we are. Even after the girls go to bed we walk Gavin at least one more time and so there is no time to sit down and relax, watch tv and my house is kinda going to h e double hockeysticks right now with him here - not only just being here but slobber, wet feet (coming in from outside) leaving prints everywhere, his shedding - he sheds a ton - things like that.

The other thing was cost. I knew it would be expensive, but not this expensive, lol. We could have probably passed up on the doggie bed, as he loves blankets and we have tons of comforters here at home. Oh and another cost I didn't add above is a $320 wireless fence system. If a dog need lots of room to roam I feel you have to have some kind of fencing - Gavin sure needs it. The wireless system you could even have in a rental system, I'd think.

Training for us is just trial and error right now. Again, we are blessed because he was already trained quite a bit. Gavin even shakes with you, lol, we didn't teach him that. AND all of his crate/kennel/house potty training was already done so we didn't have to deal with that at all! Which was nice. When we get a pup we'll have to deal with that aspect, though. Oh and Gavin doesn't chew nor jump on the children so no training with that either. We are basically training him to sit (he does sometimes) when we want him to, sit by the side of the road when a car comes, not pounce the cats (our biggest issue), and not to sit on the couch. Oh and he's not real great when we call him, so we are working on that too. All small stuff in my book.

I'm not sure if I'm any help or not.

DVFlyer replied: Everyone I know who has boxers love them.

I've only heard bad things about buying from pet stores.... perhaps you could find a rescue or breeder in your area.

Calimama replied: I would never buy from a pet store IMO. Have you thought of finding a boxer rescue?

boyohboyohboy replied: ok so I guess that I am discouraged from getting the dog we found (and kinda love) at the pet store..
since the general feeling is the dogs are not good dogs, or are mistreated, (is that why?)
but because he has some issues, a hot spot, and this pigeon toed that we are unsure about..
its just to much to spend and fall in love with and have him not live.

so we have looked around and found two private breeders, that both have boxer puppies..so we see them in the next two weeks.

thanks for all the info and in put!

I am still leaning towards getting a boxer, but will really miss this little baby we deemed buddy...

mom21kid2dogs replied:
I think what people make reference to in terms of buying from a pet store is the "cloudy" history of the dog you are buying. Most (but certainly not all) pet store by their "stock" from backyard breeders. Dogs who are aquired in this manner can have a myriad of medical, genetic and social problems. Because pet stores are in the business of getting their dogs sold at considerable profit, any issue the dog has is not likely to be disclosed. It won't likely be covered after the sale (even though you may be told differently). In the end, you could get alot of heartache and expense you hadn't planned for.

I don't know about your area but in our area boxers are a dime a dozen on Craigslist. There are at least 10-12 of them a week in the Columbus CL. They vary in price but some are listed as free to good home.

Karen knows of what she speaks so I'd pay alot of heed to her experience. Even though I've owned dogs all of my adult life, I still am in awe at the work it takes to settle a dog into our family.

One thought that comes to mind for your family, if you aren't dead set on a particular breed or puppy, is a prison dog. Ohio has a good prison dog program (including one locally) where dogs are rescued from pounds and live with low risk inmates who socialize and train them. They come with some basic training which certainly makes the task of adding a dog to your family less daunting. Because they come with basic manners and obedience they can be a great fit for families with young/small children. You'll still need a good trainer but you won't be starting from ground zero. I know other states do this as well. It might be worth googling.

3xsthefun replied: I love boxers and think they are great dogs.

But I would stay away from the pet store. Alot of the puppies come from puppy mills.

coasterqueen replied: Hun, I can't tell you whether to buy from a puppy store or not. I know nothing really about them. As I said in a past post a couple of weeks ago, we were going to buy from a breeder, but then as we searched the net and found so many puppies/dogs that needed homes and walking through the pound and seeing all those dogs going to be put to sleep.......we knew where we had to get a dog from. We still may get our puppy from a breeder, now that I feel better that I saved 3 animals.

The bottom line is you have to find the dog that fits YOUR family, whether it's from a puppy store, a breeder, the pound, the APL, whereever - that dog needs to fit your family. Go in with your eyes open when doing so - don't have your head in the clouds. I know I sure would have had mine high in the clouds but DH knew this and constantly drilled in my head what bringing a dog into our family would be like. That helped me prepare for the amount of work a dog would bring.

You know as far as what sicknesses they might have when you get them - we adopted one of our cats - Sox - knowing that he has numerous upper respiratory infections. At the APL they said there hardly was a time he did not have one. We still decided we wanted him knowing that we'd have to deal with it. Just decide what you can deal with and go from there.

I know I wouldn't change anything about Gavin. I was sad about some of the other dogs we came across in our search, but Gavin is perfect for our family. We (well really DH, but he was right in standing firm on this) didn't want a puppy right off the bat as we didn't have all the time we needed for one - a young dog would be well more than enough for us. We (DH) didn't want one that was not trained at all, as he knows we work and don't have as much time to do those things. So Gavin was completely PERFECT for us. We know when we get a puppy for Gavin that it will not be as a perfect fit for us, because it will come with a lot more responsibility, but we'll know that going in and will have some experience under our belt.

You will find the perfect puppy/dog for your family. Just take your time and go in with your eyes wide open.

jcc64 replied: Boxers are great, but DO NOT buy one from a pet store. Right off the bat, you should know that the information provided to you from the pet store employee is inaccurate--white boxers are not RARE, they are in fact, undesirable according to the standards of the breed, which is undoubtedly why this one wound up in a pet store. Does that mean he's a terrible dog that no one should own? Of course not, but don't be fooled into paying top dollar for a purebred dog who, in the bizarre world of purebreds, is worth a lot less simply because he is white. If he's lying to you about one thing, what else don't you know about this particular dog? If you do a quick google search about puppy mills and pet store puppies, you will probably find out all you need to know about buying a purebred this way.
Why not look at a boxer rescue, which would cost considerably less, and help out a homeless dog, in the process? Go to petfinder.org and type in your zip code and the breed/gender you're looking for. Or, if you're determined to get a puppy, do your homework and find a reputable, responsible breeder, particularly if you're concerned about long term health issues. Buying a dog from a pet store is the fastest route to heartbreak and exorbitant vet bills. Trust me on this one. Good luck.

coasterqueen replied:
BTW, Stacy, if you still want a boxer despite what others say about them (good and bad) still go for one. So many people leaned us away from getting a saint bernard. We still wanted one. Of course we ended up getting a mix breed st. bernard, but still we knew what we'd get into w/getting one and did what we wanted. So as long as you know ahead of time what the breed is like (energetic, or whatever) and you are willing to deal with it, then it's fine.

I always feel sad about the ones who don't think that thoroughly through before getting a dog, kwim? When we were at the pound to adopt Gavin, a lady brought in a poodle mix. She said she had to give him up because he chewed on everything and wouldn't stop. Well, first off he's a puppy - they chew on everything and second, I kept thinking I'm SO GLAD we can't give children up as easily as dogs, or people would give children up for everything. It's sad If I could have taken that dog I would have, I felt so bad for him.

And a lot of people kept telling us, well if the dog doesn't work out just take him back. Well we didn't want that. We wanted to know EXACTLY what we were getting ourselves into and make it work.

I hope you find the boxer that you want. You will love the adventure, let me tell you that - you might pull your hair out until you all adjust but it's F U N!!!! and totally worth it.