Anyone have a boxer or a pug, and other misc. dog questions.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

SO and I have made the decision to get a dog - maybe even 2 dogs. We’ve both had puppies before, so we know what we’re getting into. We’re trying to figure out just what sort of dog we want, and after looking at the web yesterday, we both liked the idea of a pug or a boxer. Or maybe 2 pugs. Or maybe a pug AND a boxer. Or maybe something completely different.

Among our list of requirements is that the dog doesn’t shed too much (already have 2 cats, don’t want to be living in complete squalor), is good with the cats, can be left alone during the day (although for the short term, SO is at home, so he can help get through puppyhood.) We have a biiiig fenced yard with dog doors, so the dog will be indoor/outdoor as it chooses. We also, of course, want he/she/them to be brilliantly intelligent, attractive, and affectionate.

Does anyone out there have either of those two dogs? Are they nice? Any strange habits we have to worry about? One web page said that boxers fart a lot! Is that true?

Also, how does one go about finding a good breeder? If I’m buying a purebred, I don’t want some sort of inbred dunce of an animal. No puppy farm dogs for me, thank you very much. But I’m clueless as to how to find a “good” breeder. Any suggestions?

One more question - SO is against getting the dog neutered. I convinced him that a female should be spayed because I, for one, don’t want to deal with her going in heat. He agreed with that, but he says that he doesn’t ever anticipate allowing a (male) dog enough freedom to randomly impregnate other other dogs, and therefore he doesn’t see the need to neuter him. He does say that if there’s a health risk, he’d agree to the procedure. I’ve never NOT had a neutered animal, so I’m wondering what the general consensus is - I don’t see any logic problems with his arguement, I just was always taught that you MUST neuter an animal. How do you all feel about this?

2

A dog that is similar to a pug and a boxer is a Bullmastiff. My sister has one, and I can tell you Magnus is a dream dog.

He has a short coat that doesn’t really shed. He is alone during the day (unless he’s at Doggy Day Camp - I know it makes me sick, too) and loves sleeping in his crate. He’s walked every day and gets tired quickly and sleeps a lot.

He plays wonderfully in the yard, doesn’t bark (unless the doorbell rings), and is extremely affectionate. He gets along with their cat and loves other dogs and children.

He does drool after drinking water and he’s pretty stubborn. But he’s been well trained and everyone loves him. If I was to get a dog, I would definetly buy this breed.

Here are some photos of bullmastiffs http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/bnightpatrol/index2.htm

Please consider this breed.

Formerly unknown as “Melanie”

3

I had a Boxer for a while and loved him (it’s a long story why we had to give him back, so don’t ask).

Anyway, they are wonderful dogs; my favorites. They are typically great with kids, very playful, LOTS of energy. They are very powerful animals, lots of muscle and need a family who can devote lots of time to them.

I don’t think a boxer-pug mix would work; have you ever seen the difference in the sizes of these two breeds?! :slight_smile:

I would recommend finding a person in your area who does boxer rescue. This is where breeders or people who just love the breed will find homes for displaced, abandoned, or lost boxers. This is how we got our boxer and he was a big love, already house trained, and just a great dog.

Regarding your SO’s desire to not get a male neutered, I would have a SERIOUS discussion with him on this. Our male boxer was 65 pounds and jumped over our 4 ft chain link fence without even a thought. Even if you can keep him in, how sure are you that you can keep the little female poodle down the street who’s in season OUT? Unless your breeding (and unless your doing it for a living, I’d wouldn’t), get him fixed. (Sorry if I seem a little pedantic: neutering pets is a sore spot with me).

Anyway, get a boxer! They’re great! I met a boxer-lab mix this past weekend and he was fabulous.
Good luck!

4

Whoops! Mis-read your post on the boxer-pug thing. I like pugs too. A house with a boxer and a pug would be guaranteed to be a fun house!

5

Have you considered a Boston terrier? A cute small dog, great with kids, intelligent, not a lot of shedding. My brother used to raise and show them, and he loves them. He says they have a big dog personality in a compact body. I’m personally a fan of large dogs, the bigger the better.

To find a breeder, visit a dog show. If it’s a benched show the breeders will be happy to talk to you. In fact, most breeders love it when you show an interest in their dogs. That will insure that you’re not getting a puppy-mill dog will questionable backround. Often they will sell pups that they judge not to be show quality at greatly reduced prices, so that’s a good way to go.

I’m all for spaying and neutering my animals as soon as possible. They are happier and healthier and you will have far fewer headaches with out the biological imperative.

StG

6

Well, I’ve always spayed and neutered, too, but SO hasn’t. He’s had male dogs before, and never had a problem with them not being neutered. It’s not going to cut it to simply tell him “well, it’s a good idea to do it. It’s easier to handle the dog when it’s neutered.” I need solid arguments with facts to back them up if I want to change his mind.

Neither of us have plans to breed the animal. He’s proven in the past that he can successfully handle an un-neutered male dog. He did end up getting that dog neutered at about 8 years of age because the dog developed some sort of tumors that were less of a problem if the dog was neutered, so it’s not like he’s pedantic about it. He just sees no need to do it unless I can provide him with solid fact and evidence that says it’s a good thing. He felt this way about females dogs as well until I pointed out that they go into heat and have periods where they’ll get blood all over if they’re not neutered. He said “OK, I can buy that.” End of discussion. Any such thing for male dogs?

( and heehehee, BunnyGirl, I agree a pug/boxer mix would be quite a funny looking dog!)

7

My friend had a boxer and my 2+ years of experience with it can be summed up:

pros: Doesn’t shed, fairly friendly, OK around kids

cons: Stupid dog- forgets people if it hasn’t seen them in 3+ days, doesn’t learn well
skittish- gets caught in cords real easy and freaks out, starts yelping
Doesn’t train very well, drools a lot, very stinky breath even for a dog. Whines and chews stuff up if left alone.

I’ve met other pure-bred boxers and they all seem to share the same traits. Basically its a friendly dog although high maintenance and not very smart. Perhaps inbreeding/purebreeding is a large part of the stupidity and mixed boxers are smarter, I don’t know.

8

We are on our second boxer and will probably always have boxers. The are EXCELLENT with kids, smart, friendly, and have a lot of personality.

A couple of considerations:

The Heart of Ohio Boxer Rescue group puts the following in their application-to-adopt form:

(Regarding the latter: while they can’t “live” outside, ours always enjoyed running out in even the worst snowstorms at least for a while. Despite their thin coats, heat bothers them more than cold.)

While boxers have very short hair and do not shed like a Persian Cat, they do tend to leave a bit of themselves behind. If you have white furniture, you will definitely know when a boxer has been sitting on it.

One more issue: Boxers are prone to tumors. They often do not live more than 10 years (although I know of a couple 15-year-olds).
We have photographs of kittens sleeping on top of our first boxer and the second boxer sleeps with cats with no trouble. (If a cat runs, the boxer will chase. If the cat stops, the boxer quits.)

Our first boxer always assumed that any small child belonged to her. (This led to some amusing incidents when families strolling with children and pets on our street found her trying to “protect” the children from their own family’s dogs. She did not attack the dogs, she would simply stand between the dogs and the strollers to shield the children from the dogs.)

I also vote for neutering any pet not used for deliberate breeding.

Tom~

9

I just read Mojo’s reply. There are a lot of different dogs out there and Mojo may have encountered the worst.

Drooling: Males drool quite a bit. Females drool some when hot and have just watered.

Chewing: this is a serious boxer issue until about the age of 2. Between 1 and 2 they begin to learn what not to chew. Our second dog is just over 1 and she has already cut way back on destructive chewing (although she will grab and chew things to get attention).

Intelligence: Might be that Mojo met stupid dogs. I dunno. Our first boxer was very bright. Our second boxer seems fairly bright. I’ve never seen a boxer whining because they tangled themselves on their own cord, but I can’t say none do.

Tom~

10

It has been my personal observation that most ‘stupid dogs’ are generally the overbred models from the puppy factories. They are dogs that have been bred with siblings or mother/father for several generations, thus weakening the gene selection.

Easy one-step assembly instructions.
Pour Beer A in Uncle B.

11

My aunt breeds pugs, and they are wonderful dogs. Pugs do shed quite a bit, as does any dog with a fur coat. Some pugs have what is known as a ‘double-coat’ and these dogs are much softer to the touch, but shed twice as much. Pugs are also prone to breathing problems, because of their short snouts. They also snore like buzz-saws :). They can have eye problems too, if they are especially bug-eyed. As far as personalities, all my aunts’ pugs (she has 8) are as sweet as sugar, but not the Einsteins of the dog world. If you are interseted in a pug, and in the New England area, email me. She should have a litter available in the next few months.
Personally, I feel any male dog that is not going to be bred should be neutered. Any change in their personalities is for the better, and IMHO, neutering a young dog is better than waiting for a problem to arise in an older one. A puppy won’t know what he’s missing, if you get my drift :slight_smile:
If you want a smart dog that doesn’t shed, have you considered a poodle? Not all poodles are little sissy dogs, you know. Poodles are very smart, and they don’t shed at all. I let mine grow out in the winter, and he looks like a little black sheepdog. In the summer, he gets one or two good haircuts, and he’s fine.
Poodles can be high strung (especially toys), but with proper training, they make wonderful pets.
Good luck with the new puppy!
Rose

12

I raise Labrador Retrievers and we absolutely love them. They learn extremely quickly and are very eager to please. They do expect to be a part of the family.

They shed, but have a short coat, so no more than most other short-haired dogs. They love the water, love the snow, love fetching, oh hell, they love most everything.

Breeding with labs (as with every other purebred dog) is very important. I’ll second the notion that stupid or hyper dogs tend to be from inbreeding/bad lines.

Hunting lines are more intelligent, while show lines are beefier and way more pretty. I mix the lines in my dogs and get both.

Lab rescue organizations are a great place to look. If you want a puppy, I’ll have some in the spring and/or I would be glad to find you someone in Colorado.

If you want more information about the personalities, feel free to email me.

trisha

13

Neuter the dog. Advantages:

Less likely to pee in the house and/or on your leg.

No embarrassing ‘hump grandma’s leg’ behavior.

Less aggressive - less likely to bite someone, less likely to get into a fight with another dog and cost you a chunk of money.

Less likely to try to escape, or to go roaming if he does escape.

Reduces incidence of testicular cancer. (Michelle, where are you?)

Absolute zero chance that an ‘accident’ could happen and create unwanted puppies to be killed later at the pound.

And why frustrate the dog if he’s never gonna get any? Which is kinder - never even having the urge, or having tons of urge and being forced to be celibate? And heck, even if you had a female, he’d only get a little twice a year - not exactly a thrilling sex life.

And, for a really low blow, ask your husband if he’s one of those insecure guys who has to confirm his masculinity through his dog, whether it’s the best thing for the dog or not. They’re neutering the DOG, not him!

Dogs ain’t people - they don’t have ‘feelings’ about their testicles or lack thereof. They don’t come home from the vet going ‘My God, they cut my balls off!’ - they don’t even realize what’s happened.

Carpe diem - Seize the day
Carpe noctem - Seize the night
Carpe cerevisi - Seize the beer

14

Sorry it has taken me so long to resond.

A lot of good advice already given.

Pugs are very sweet dogs but they are WILD! They are extremely energetic, sometimes not too bright, and they snort and slobber and drool like there is no tomorrow. A vet tech friend of mine has two of them, they are wonderful little clowns but after an hour or so they drive me nuts.

Boxers are very smart dogs. I have never seen a dumb boxer. They are loving companions and they can be taught very easily how to behave. It is true, as mentioned, that they are more prone to cancer, and as a larger breed dog, tend to have a shorter lifespan.

Boxers and pugs, due to the shape of their face, can have a lot of respiratory problems and be more prone to heat stroke. The folds in their skin can also get infected.

With a boxer, you have to decide about ear cropping. Most pups will already have their tails done, but ears are done at a later date. I vote for not cropping.

As for neutering, don’t get me started, ok? Most people who don’t want to neuter (but have no problems spaying) are men who have “issues”. Males left intact are more difficult to handle than ones who have been neutered. Many of their other undesireable behaviors have already been outlined. Health reasons may be even more important than behavioral ones. Intact males are more prone to prostate disease and cancer. Please have your vet discuss this with you in a more detailed manner, and ask him to be frank about it. Too many times a vet will simply go along with what you want because they don’t want to piss you, their paying client, off. But then they will walk out of the room shaking their head in sorrow and then getting angry (privately) when you come back in a few years with a dog with prostate disease. We don’t neuter and spay because it is an easy way to make money. And just for the record, animals can mate through a chain link fence. So even if you are POSITIVE your un-neutered male will NEVER mate, guess again. Where there is a will there is a way, and sooner or later your luck as an owner will run out. Responsible pet owners spay and neuter.

As for finding a reputable breeder, that can be hard to do. I mentioned in my Animal Emergecny thread something about Pet Lemon Laws. Check them out in your state and know your rights before you buy. Ask your vet if he or she knows any breeders. Ask friends who have good quality doggs where they got them. Go to dog shows. Don’t jump on the first dog you see. Visit many breeders and use your common sense about what you see. If something about the place bothers you, go by that instinct.

Any other questions, e-mail me and I will be happy to give you as much info as I can.

Michelle,
Resident Vet Tech.

15

My personal preference for dogs is the one and only American Pit Bull Terrier. I know the name conjurs up many horrifying images, but don’t believe what you read or hear in the media concerning this great breed of dog. I have never had a pit bull that did not love people. They are a special breed though and I advise anyone thinking of getting one to do some serious studying. it is a dog that needs a special kind of owner and someone that understands it’s history. That said, let me state they are one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever owned, they are fun to play with and they love to please their owner. They can be stubborn and they get their feelings hurt easily, but you will always know they love you. They can just as easily be an outdoor dog as an indoor one, but you should always make sure you understand how to obedience train a dog, or have a professional do it. They are similar to boxers in many ways, but without the associated health problems. Since this dog has been bred for performance and not bred for “what it looks like” problems like hip dysplasia are very rare. The American Staffordshire Terrier on the other hand has a high occurence of these problems (even though the dogs look basically the same they were bred to totally different standards. One was bred to look good (an arbitrary thing based on the thoughts and feelings of some judge) and the other to be a performer (in this case a fighting dog). Boxers are wonderful dogs, but consider the Pit Bull, they are worth a look at if you want a faithful companion that will love you dearly, accept your friends, and protect you even to the point of death. Check out this FAQ: http://www.nyx.net/~mbur/apbtfaqfaq.html#faq

Regards and happy puppy hunting! And YES!! NEUTER!!

PitBullDawg

16

If you are not set on Boxers or Pugs (or a puppy in general), and want a calm dog that barely sheds, you might consider adopting an ex-racing greyhound.

I have volunteered with GREAT Greyhound Rescue for a couple of years and am completely in love with greyhounds. They are docile, affectionate dogs, and contrary to popular misconception, are not hyper and do not require a ton of exercise.

(Side note: a friend of mine owns three boxers, and while they are nice dogs and not stupid, they are extremely active and need LOTS of exercise.)

Some of the wonderful things about ex-racing greyhounds include: they have been taught to walk on a leash, they are used to being crated, and they are used to someone else being “in charge.” Most adoption agencies (all that I know of) cat-test each dog so as not to place an ingrained chaser in a cat or small-dog household. Greyhounds are retired between about 2 and 6; the usual age we see is about 4.

Anyway, if you are interested in more information, here is a good site: www.adopt-a-greyhound.org

Regarding neutering, it is a MUST. Hundreds of thousands of unwanted animals are destroyed each year due to irresponsible owners who do not neuter and spay their pets. If this alone were not enough, I think the health benefits should help sway your SO.

17

But, back to pugs…there is an author (Margo Kaufman) who is crazy about pugs and has written a hilarious book about her own called Clara: The Early Years. I recommend it even if you decide against pugs.

18

Based on my own experience, I’d say mixed breed dogs are better than purebred anythings. They are less likely to have genetic health problems such as are common in purebreds, and they probably are smarter. There’s a reason inbreeding is frowned on in human circles, and the same applies to animals.

When I was a kid, my parents bred boston terriers. My dad still has four, and the three that are related (mother and 2 male offspring) are the most poorly behaved, hyper, and obnoxious dogs I have ever met, except for two others, both boston terriers as well. (I don’t necessarily have a thing against BTs in general, just I’ve seen what happens when a small, excitable dog is not given any obedience training. It’s not pretty, folks.)

I got my first dog as a grown-up about 10 months ago. He is a pit bull mix, with probably some boxer. Hap is the nicest dog I have ever met. He is calm with kids, doesn’t bark without provocation (ie, strange cars in the driveway), and is good with the cats. He came from the pound and was an adult of indeterminate age who came from an abusive home. Having gotten him from the pound, I have the added bonus of knowing I saved my dog’s life. He would have been put down if someone hadn’t shown up who wanted him. To me, knowing that has given a special closeness to our relationship that I don’t think buying a puppy from a breeder would have given.

(A word of caution, though, do check out what your rights are before getting a dog from anywhere. Have it checked out by a vet, and make sure it’s healthy before you commit. I made the mistake of assuming my dog was healthy, and he cost me about $600 in vet bills in the first 6 months I had him.)

It may be that when an ornithologist says the Water Ouzel walks under the water, he only means that he has seen a Water Ouzel or some other bird sitting on a stone in the general vicinity of a body of water.
–Will Cuppy

19

Golden Retrievers are very smart, loving and devoted dogs. Quiet and don’t shed.

German Shepards are great watchdogs, and for the most part, happier staying outdoors.

FWIW - I remember reading on a list somewhere about the intellect of dog breeds; I can’t find it now though.

But, I do remember that Boxers did not rate highly at all.

Boxers may be a bit too aggressive around your cats as well, not necessarily attacking Fluffy, but playing too roughly.
(I know your cats would prefer a Golden)

And… neuter. Always.

Take Care.

20

I have two boxers, both just over a year old. We had another previously, who died of cancer when he was just less than a year old.

We love boxers. They are devoted, fun-loving, playful and happy. They believe that they are full (human) members of the family. We have found them to be extremely bright (almost to a fault, occasionally – they’re regular escape artists!)

We haven’t experienced any of the problems Mojo mentioned. My dogs don’t drool, don’t shed significantly, don’t forget people and aren’t nervous or skittish.

Not to say that they are perfect – they do have problems. Our dogs aren’t nervous, but excitable. They’re happy to see you and love to show it. They’re highly demonstrative. They can also have their stubborn moments.

One thing to remember about boxers is that they are LARGE DOGS. Ours both weigh around 75 lbs and they can weigh up to 90 lbs. So, you should have plenty of room for them to play, and not be too fragile yourself. They like to romp.

Re: the thin fur thing – My dogs love to be outside – hot or cold. It’s been in the teens/twenties around here this week and they’ve begged to be outside all the time. I wouldn’t let them sleep outside in this weather (like they would – their indignant howls would keep us all up – How Dare You Lock US Out Here All Night!) but you don’t have to restrict their outdoor play.

One more thing. I would only get one puppy at a time and wait the better part of a year before getting another. If you get puppies at the same time, they bond more with each other rather than with you. If you wait to get the second, you’ve already established a strong relationship with the first.

As far as finding a good pup, I would suggest visiting several breeders. My experience has been that after you seen a few operations, it’s easy to tell who cares about their dogs and who’s a puppy factory.

I love my boxers, and will probably have more. If you have a big enough place and a big enough heart, they’re wonderful additions to your family.

I’ve often thought that the world can’t be all bad as long as there are dogs in it.

Plunging like stones from a slingshot on Mars.