My limited Boxer history

[Raskolnikov]

Hello all. Firstly, I would like to apologise for any daft questions I have about Boxers as I have only had one and he was a street urchin who we picked up about 3 1/2 years ago. He had an owner who used to visit him once every 3-4 weeks (he lived about 60 miles away) and a neighbour who used to feed him more or less daily, but it was apparent as soon as we turned up that he wanted to be ours.

We were renting a house up in the freezing north of Spain and Thor used to jump in our van to sleep at night while my wife, my Bullterrier and I rented a house for a month. We started taking him to the beach everyday, walking miles together etc-in short, he became our boy- and there was no way on earth we were going to leave him up there all alone when we left for pastures warmer in the south.

He needed no training whatsoever, he was good as gold and was the loyalest little buddy imaginable until he started suffering with epileptic fits last January. We medicated him for months but, in the end, he was a zombie, a shadow of his angelic former self, so we took the horrible decision to put him to sleep.

He was my first ever rescue (we've also lost the Bullterrier to age in the meantime) but he started us on our crazy rescue campaign-we've subsequently rescued a scavenging Malamute from the streets, another BT from a rescue centre and a little terrier cross from the streets as well. These 3 are all males so now we are determined to find a young female Boxer to rescue. She would have to be young so that she grows up with the other dogs as my biggest fear is of rescuing an adult who takes exception to my little terrier at some point, as one bite and shake from a powerful breed would do away with the little bugger.

I figure, the younger the better to bring the girl up as a "sister" to the others. This is where my potentially silly questions begin, I'm afraid. I don't want a show dog, just an athletic and healthy pet. Would I be able to approach a breeder to pick up/rescue a whitey, for example, or are they sold as pets? My wife is 100% against buying a dog for various reasons but the danger of rescuing an adult is bothering me. I have friends who work at the rescue centres here and I could pick up an adult tomorrow, and in an ideal world I would do, without hesitation, but I can't help fearing that things could go wrong in a second. By introducing a much younger dog, however, we'd be minimizing the danger. So I'm just wondering, what is the situation with the undesired whiteys (at least from a showing and breeding point of view?) Are they sold, given away or culled, or does it depend on the breeder?

Thanks all.

Oh yes, I will try to put some pix up of our gang, but it might take a while as I am having problems with my internet access here. Thor was a huge headed, skinny bodied boy but I wouldn't have had him any other way!

[christineorr]

I am not quite sure where you're located at present, but here in the states, there is an overabundance of homeless animals, including puppies. The pups may be harder to find in any "shelter", as the rescue groups work hard to try to get them out since it's so important at that stage for them to be in a home and trained/socialized.

As far as breeders, I guess it just depends. There was recently a thread from a girl asking for help for her grandfather whose dog had a litter with a white deaf. The grandfather did not want to sell her, as he was afraid it would be mistreated. By contacting a rescue I'm familiar with, we were able to get the pup and she's now being fostered until this weekend where she is going to transported from Ohio to Minnesota to the rescue. They have experience with training deafs.

As far as the white boxers, not all, but a lot of them are deaf. Since I am unsure as to your exact location, I'll wait for a reply so that maybe I or others are able to help.

Sounds like you guys have really big hearts. The animals are lucky to have you, and I hope someone can help you.

[Raskolnikov]

Hi Christine

Sorry, I didn't say my location. We are still in Andalucía, Spain. Our 5 year plan was to travel, travel, travel...but within a week on the road we found Thor, the Boxer, and because our Bully was male we decided to knock the travelling on the head and settle down here in Spain as 2 boisterous males in a campervan might have been hard work.

I've got to say, I don't regret the change of plans for a minute. The 3 good years we had with Thor were priceless and I would love to always have loads of rescues on the go as it keeps me out of the boozer and up in the healthy, clean-aired mountains. All good stuff this dog ownership, eh?!

Thanks for the info, BTW.

[christineorr]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if you were still in Spain. I hope someone here can help you. You obviously gave Thor a good home. He was very lucky. I agree two dogs in a campervan would be quite the experience!

Wow, since I really don't know anything at all about Spain, I'd have to defer to someone else. The way I found breeders here was through our American Kennel Club, so maybe going through the European you can find someone to help you or maybe some breeders here. Good luck to you!

[SuzyQsmom]

We got our girl at 12 weeks old from a friend who knew someone who didn't want their puppy anymore. The point being that just by looking around and asking you may find something. Check with local vets, perhaps they might know of someone who got a pup that feels they cannot handle them or afford them and are looking for a good home - vet clinics can be a valuable source, many vets and vet techs etc also work with rescue groups - you may well be able to find a puppy who needs to be rescued. Check local shelters or animal rescue groups, it is amazing sometimes that puppies will be abandoned too - full breeds as well as mixed. Good luck with your search. You might check for breeders in your area, if they are breeding show dogs, they may have one who is not up to standard or unshowable and you may be able to work something out - it never hurts to ask.