Don't be discouraged because it's long!!! I need advice. My male boxer, Bobo, is two years old. I'm 16, and plan on getting an apartment or something of my own between the ages of 18 and 21. So by this time he'd be at least 4 years old. Almost all of his life he has been an outside dog, but his first year he was an inside dog. My mom remarried this year and my stepdad says we're not allowed to have pets in the house because of fleas and dirt. When I move out, though, I hope to take him with me, and keep him as an inside dog. Would this transition be hard on him? We have other dogs, two female labs,(who would no be coming with us) and they are part his pack as of this past summer, but I think he sees me as a dominant part of that pack, because I'm out there so much after school with them and he is quite submissive to me when he understands what I'm demanding. Would the separation from the other dogs be difficult, or would I be enough for him for it to be easy? I don't want to put unnecessary stress on him, especially if it will cause unwanted behavior. What about the space? He's used to going out of his shed-sized pen and running around as much as he wants, jumping and playing all over the place. Would he feel crowded in an apartment? I would walk him every day whenever he needed to expend some energy. I love this dog like he's my best friend in the whole world and I want what's best for him. Would it be better to let him stay with my parents, even though boxers are meant to be inside dogs? I'm not saying he's not happy as an outside dog, I just know boxers are meant to stay inside year-round. He is always so excited every time he sees me. I know this dog loves me just as much as I love him, if not more. I think he would love to be around me more, but I wonder what's best for him. I know it sounds like I don't even deserve to be a dog owner, what with all of these questions, but I'm asking them so that I can become a capable dog owner...
I know he needs to be inside. I know he is meant to be an inside dog, but I can't exactly demand that my stepdad let him inside all of the time. That is not my place as a child. If I could, I would let him inside when he was at work (even though that's wrong...) but he is trained with an underground electric fence and shock collar to stay inside a perimeter, which does not involve any entry to the house... None of this was my idea... I swear. I hate the fence. I hate that he's outside. I hate that I have to take off his collar and drag him over the line just to walk him every day. Although he's getting used to the idea that he can cross the fence as long as his leash is on, he still fights me about the fence... I do not want this for him, which is why I want to take him with me. It is cold in Illinois in the winter and hot in the summer and boxers are not made for that kind of weather... Idk what I should do. If it were up to me he would have never become an outside dog in the first place... but I had no say. So... please give me advice on what would be best for him, because I think someone with more experience than me should assess the situation.
I know he needs to be inside. I know he is meant to be an inside dog, but I can't exactly demand that my stepdad let him inside all of the time. That is not my place as a child. If I could, I would let him inside when he was at work (even though that's wrong...) but he is trained with an underground electric fence and shock collar to stay inside a perimeter, which does not involve any entry to the house... None of this was my idea... I swear. I hate the fence. I hate that he's outside. I hate that I have to take off his collar and drag him over the line just to walk him every day. Although he's getting used to the idea that he can cross the fence as long as his leash is on, he still fights me about the fence... I do not want this for him, which is why I want to take him with me. It is cold in Illinois in the winter and hot in the summer and boxers are not made for that kind of weather... Idk what I should do. If it were up to me he would have never become an outside dog in the first place... but I had no say. So... please give me advice on what would be best for him, because I think someone with more experience than me should assess the situation.