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a mutt by any other name is still a mutt


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I don't have a lot of experience with boxers other than the two I regularly sit.

 

I was pleasantly surprised. These, at least, are lovely animals. The male was home bred and has a very nice temperament. The female is a puppy mill rescue and you couldn't want a sweeter dog.

 

If you know the parents and like them, then I wouldn't be concerned.

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The boxers I have taken care of have all been very nice dogs. And they have been the best dogs with children that I have ever seen. They don't just put up with children. They love to interact with them. They are always so interested in everything the kids are doing. One of them had a shitz tsu companion and that little dog would jump up and grab hold of that boxers face and just hang on.

 

Boxers have a very high pain tolerance so kids roughhousing doesn't even phase them.

 

I don't think they are overly intelligent but they are fun dogs.

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The mom is sweet as can be. Dad is a working farm dog. They're only 4 weeks now so temperments are hard to judge. Prey drive might be an issue but we have managed to convince Layla to be gentle with the cats and kids. She even fallows our guinea pig around and lets him crawl on her. It's really tempting to get one honestly. I've never met a boxer I didn't like and I adore collies. I'm also partial to mutts. Grew up never owning a purebred dog.

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I have known one wonderful, family pet boxer who was just a bouncy, happy soul, and one who would attack any dog walked outside its house. Very limited experience with them though, and you are in a good position to know the breed. Edit: I meant to say the specific dog, not the breed.

 

At the risk of getting some heat for this, I am at the stage where I would much prefer to get a mix-breed pet dog than a purebred (not including border collies or other working dogs in this, just the pet breeds). I don't necessarily see why breeding a god-knows-what mutt with another god-knows-what mutt is necessarily worse than producing a purebred, given (a) suitable homes spoken for the pups and ( B) good health and temperament on both sides.

 

I would go so far as to say I have more sympathy with someone whose pet dog has such a litter and who cares for the pups well and then rehomes them, than with someone who purposefully produces 'correct' standard bulldogs or pugs, or breeds to dogs known to have genetic defects (or even breeds to produce those defects, like the breeding of Wyndlair Avalanche).

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I am not a huge boxer fan, mainly because I have met quite a few with terrible temperaments and I don't like short faces much.

 

However, if you know the boxer mom and shes a nice dog, and the pups are mixed with a pointy nose male, I think you could end up with a perfectly nice dog. It will be interesting to see what they look like too!

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I had never had a purebred dog until Layla and we got her off a farm in the nebraska boonies for 100 from working parents. My hubby grew up in a family with papered perfect beasts who were bred to look amazing. Not my niche. The one we're looking at looks boxer. Squashed face and all. He's always wanted a boxer. I wanted another collie. Maybe a great compromise. I LOVE the activity level and the collies suit my lifestyle. We have two girls 4 and 7, we camp and hike and she comes with us everywhere. Even to the fair and fish store. She doesn't work but she's one of the kids. And perhaps I can have half of a goof flyball team haha.

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Worth bearing in mind that if the outcome is a dogs that generally looks and behaves like a boxer there is a good chance that other dogs will hate it. It's a cross boxer owners have to bear.

 

I'm not keen either, and my dogs even less so.

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Boxers are not my thing either, but a fellow student in agility class has 3: an older male, an ~4 or 5 year old female and a 12 week old pup. The older two are friendly with people, but you don't want to walk your dog by her car unless you want to have 2 boxers aggressively barking at you. She has quite a few problems running her female in agility - it's too hot, it's too cold, she can't breathe through her short nose or the dog is distracted by something. I give her credit for continuing to work through all the boxer's issues.

 

The pup came from working lines (schutzhund) so it will be interesting to see how she matures. Maybe she will be able to breathe somewhat normally.

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I don't think it's so much that boxers are inherently dog aggressive, more that they often don't have any manners and other dogs can't read them. On the other hand, they can become aggressive from the number of other dogs that take exception to their behaviour.

 

I've known more than one be prone to collapse from hypoxia and they are very susceptible to mast cell tumours.

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Eh, I like Boxers a lot. I also like my Boston a lot, and most boxers I meet are similar in temperament. That is to stay effusive, physical, a little rude sometimes, but HAPPY BEYOND BELIEF. It's not a dog type I typically love for myself or seek out, but after having gotten all of that in a tiny package at the behest of my husband, I can't imagine not having that kind of goof ball personality around.

 

I've honestly known more reactive, selective, or aggressive border collies. I'm not sure I'd ever seek out that mix, but if I actually liked the individual dogs and/or puppy I wouldn't shy away from it, either.

 

I don't think it's so much that boxers are inherently dog aggressive, more that they often don't have any manners and other dogs can't read them.

 

Mum24dog I think nailed it with this. They're really forward, physical playing dogs and kind of what I meant by rude. Dog manners aren't always their thing. They, well, are paws, forward, rough playing dogs and a lot of other dogs hate that.

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I don't have real experience with boxers other than 2 families that I have known that had them. They were real sweethearts and I don't think I ever even heard them bark, but they were in families with children and other pet dogs, smaller dogs i should say and they seemed to get on with the smaller dogs fine. I can say when my daughter brings her 2 dogs up to play Mya seems to be the aggressive one, well not really aggressive but the other 2 don't seem to know how to read her and she doesn't really understand when they are barking and chasing each other.

 

If both parents have a good temperament I don't think I would shy away from a pup. Especially if they are neighbors maybe they would let you bring your dog over and see if it and the pup seemed to get on together.

 

I did find it interesting last night while looking at the paper and the ads, full bred dogs were listed for like 200 to 400 dollars, whereas goldendoodles, labradoodles, morkies, schimoos and such were listed for 1,000 dollars and more. Mutts are going for much more than full bred pedigree dogs.

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I think the price for pups in general is crazy. Maybe it's just me but it is a dog. Just a dog. A cat turd eating, dirty underpants munching, barking, piddling pooch. I love my dog. She's part of my family. But it's a dog. My in-laws paid 1200 for a golden doodle. Twelve hundred! For a mutt! I'd pay for a rescue though. They usually come fully vetted and fixed. The prices they charge for rehoming makes absolute sense. But that is just my opinion. I care about health, not so much lineage. I don't work my beastling either. And she's a wonderfully funny companion. I think she would love her own friend. She's not picky on who her friends are. Her favorites though are a few mutts and a dobie who comes over.

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At the risk of getting some heat for this, I am at the stage where I would much prefer to get a mix-breed pet dog than a purebred (not including border collies or other working dogs in this, just the pet breeds). I don't necessarily see why breeding a god-knows-what mutt with another god-knows-what mutt is necessarily worse than producing a purebred, given (a) suitable homes spoken for the pups and ( B) good health and temperament on both sides.

I think that the "doG knows what variety" of mutt is much preferable to the cross of two purebreds. Most purebred pet breeds come with a lot of problems, and putting two together isn't necessarily an improvement, health and temperament-wise.

 

I don't much like Boxers, but I can't see why someone who does shouldn't get a Boxer mix. But if it were me I'd pick the one in the litter with the most muzzle. Like most squashed-faced dogs, Boxers tend to be... err... windy.

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I'd probably pass, but I'm not a huge fan of Boxers, although I know a few that I like (but I don't find myself wanting to take them home!)

 

My favorite mix with Border Collie is Lab. I know that isn't popular with many people, but I had one of those and loved her and would not be opposed to having another in the future. Of course, I'm not talking about deliberate breeding.

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I have never been a fan of Boxers but I have a friend that had one and he was the sweetest dog. He was huge and built like a tank and had one of the most aggressive sounding barks. It was good that when I went over to visit I was never wearing my church clothes because I always left with plenty of fur and dog slobber all over me. He was also really good with other dogs. My friend had a neighbor that bred Miniature Schnauzers and her Boxer was always jumping the fence to go play with the puppies.

 

I think Boxers are like a lot of other breeds. If they are well socialized and trained they can be nice dogs.

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I think the price for pups in general is crazy. Maybe it's just me but it is a dog. Just a dog. A cat turd eating, dirty underpants munching, barking, piddling pooch. I love my dog. She's part of my family. But it's a dog. My in-laws paid 1200 for a golden doodle. Twelve hundred! For a mutt! I'd pay for a rescue though. They usually come fully vetted and fixed. The prices they charge for rehoming makes absolute sense. But that is just my opinion. I care about health, not so much lineage. I don't work my beastling either. And she's a wonderfully funny companion. I think she would love her own friend. She's not picky on who her friends are. Her favorites though are a few mutts and a dobie who comes over.

 

While I agree that I'd never pay that for a golden doodle, and that rescue dogs are a great option for many people I sure don't have an issue paying a responsible breeder a fair price for a pup from physically/mentally sound, healthy parents.

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I like mutts. I don't subscribe to the theory that they are necessarily healthier just by virtue of being mixed (the mixes in that mutt matter, and they can pick up health problems as easily as avoid them) but I like mutts. I also like purebreds. I'm just not that picky, as long as the REASON they're breeding and matter they are going about it and keeping their dogs and puppies is something I am willing to financially support.


Or the price of the pup/dog is less than the money spent on it. Molly is either purebred or 3/4 bc and 1/4 ACD. Kylie is God Knows What. Both of them have been really awesome. The only mix I have had trouble with is my GSD/LGD mix and let me be honest: I'm not a big GSD person, anyway, and Thud's basically an extra large, extra fluffy, extra territorial GSD.


But basically I don't care what it is, or who it's parents are. I care that I not contribute money to breeding being done in ways or for reasons I don't want to see continue and I care that it's the right job for me/the job/what I want.

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I like mutts. I don't subscribe to the theory that they are necessarily healthier just by virtue of being mixed (the mixes in that mutt matter, and they can pick up health problems as easily as avoid them) but I like mutts.

I think it's just the statistical thing. You can smoke a pack a day for life and die in your nineties, or you can get lung cancer without ever having smoked at all, but overall you're much more likely to have lung cancer if you smoke. Same idea for mixed breed dogs.

 

I don't think that applies as much to border collies- they don't seem to suffer from the inbreeding health problems as much.

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