I have a 2.5 yr old male boxer and my family and I love him so much! Prior to getting him, we had a 6yr old Boston Terrier female who helped "raise" Tyson. As a pair, these two dogs were awesome! They had almost identical personalities except one was a lot smaller than the other. They napped on one another, wrestled, played tug-a-war, and were merry inseparable.
Last year we had to put Zoe down due to a mass in her brain and she was having seizures. It was a sudden death and was heart wrenching for all of us to make the decision. After she crossed over to the other side, Tyson never acted the same. We got him neutered thereafter (we never bred them) and we sent him to a trainer to get him acquainted and comfortable around other dogs other than Zoe. He did extremely well, but still seems sad and lonely at home. My wife, kids, and myself love to play with him, but he's just not the same.
We are really considering adopting either another Boston Terrier or another boxer but would like to get your opinion on what I should do.
-Would he be more comfortable with another small dog (since he was used to that) or do boxers typically like to be around others the same size?
-Would it be an issue if we brought in another male, or do males typically prefer to share their space with females?
-Would It be easier for Tyson to be introduced to another adult dog or would it be better to bring in a puppy so he/she can grow with Tyson?
Tyson is still grieving the loss of his mate. If you think you're up for a puppy, I'd bring in a puppy that's what we did to help our grieving guy. Especially since he's not been around other dogs a lot. It gives him time to get used to the new kid as it grows. Our big guy has fear issues with big dogs but is usually fine with smaller dogs. We got a female and as she's grown, we're dealing with some "I'm the Boss" issues with her. Our guy is pretty laid back and let's her get away with it most of the time instead of correcting her himself so it's left to us. If we did it again, I think we'd go with another male for less chaos in our 2 boxer family.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, he probably is still grieving. You mentioned that if you were to do it again you would get another male. Are male boxers typically ok with one another assuming they're both neutered? I want to avoid any aggression between the two dogs, which is why I was considering a female. Thoughts?
Yes males get along fine (there's always and exception) 2 females big no no. And male female, sometimes there are skirmishes if the females decides she's the older dogs boss. Don't get me wrong, we love Zoe, but she can be super bossy and stubborn and has jumped on our boy a few times as she's gotten older because everything is "hers" as far as she's concerned. Have to put her back in her place when it happens. Keep in mind our big guy out weighs her by 30 pounds but she has no fear!!
LOL yes the girls! Twice for me, stupid friend, maybe not feeding them and a pig ear incident, when I came back. And a battle with Gunther over his excitement with baby kittens being born was the other! She did not like his level of excitement and when thur me to get to him!! No harm to either Gunther wanted the heck out of there so Daddy had to step up but uh ... wow!
But that aside I luv the girls ... but of course "one" only per household.
Generally speaking as long as you stay in the Bully camp and yes "Bostons" count it should be a pretty easy road. I f you decide to go outside do your research.
Lessons learned there OS Working line GSD for me .... yeah, moving on.
So from reading what everyone has said, it is an ideal situation to have 2 males rather than 1 male/1 female, correct? And the take home is to never have 2 females!
Would there be an issue if one male is neutered and the other is not? I would assume the non-fixed male would show more dominance, right? I really just don't want Tyson to feel subordinate to whomever I bring into the family, whether it be a male or female, puppy or adult, fixed or not fixed.
So from reading what everyone has said, it is an ideal situation to have 2 males rather than 1 male/1 female, correct? And the take home is to never have 2 females!
The two female things with Boxers is pretty much a hard no. But we aren't dissing the girls we luv, them just saying they are the more, challenging of the two sexes.
Would there be an issue if one male is neutered and the other is not? I would assume the non-fixed male would show more dominance, right? I really just don't want Tyson to feel subordinate to whomever I bring into the family, whether it be a male or female, puppy or adult, fixed or not fixed.
I can speak partially to that as Gunther and Rocky were both fixed and Struddell, was not fixed for about 4 or 5 years, I did not want to have her put under anesthesia.
And "my" policy was "No Dog Parks" and No "I thought my dog was friendly people" and I did not take my dogs to friends with dogs homes. I took "zero" chances with my dogs .. let alone "Struddell!"
But I can't address your question directly, how you manage them would be the biggest factor. On the other hand by and large if you get an older rescue chances are they will be fixed before being delivered!
Well ... for that matter "Rocky" was fixed and it had "zero" impact on his attitude! Or size for that matter 116 lbs OS WL GSD. Sooo there is that ... management is key in all things dog.
I think you are doing a great thing by thinking of getting a new friend for Tyson. I really do not know about neutering but as for getting two females, i know that is not such a good idea. Maybe for neutering, you could always do it to both no matter which you get.
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