going to look at new puppie this friday what to look for..

david39

Over the past 30 years we have had four dogs. The first three were rescues from the RSPCA, all about a year or so old. Those that were not house trained were easy to sort out and I can honestly say that all three were little or no trouble from the day we got them.
Last year, the third one died and we bought an 8 week old puppy. It's a skye terrier, like our last rescue dog. It has driven us demented from the word go, cleaning up after it, training it, stopping its destructive habits. Skyes do tend to have an independent will of their own but they are good house dogs and the reason we bought it was because of the happy times we enjoyed with the previous rescue skye.
Now, we think we are pretty competent when it comes to dealing with dogs, both of us having had dogs since we were children, but I can assure you that young puppies and fully grown dogs come from completely different planets!
Now that he's trained and more mature, we would not swap him for any other dog, but the first three months were torture - and he was never left on his own for more than the odd couple of hours.
If you will take my advice - don't buy the puppy!

One other point - leaving a dog (especially a young one) alone for five hours, five days a week, even with visits from family, would preclude you from taking a dog from the RSPCA - they would consider those to be unacceptable conditions under which to keep a dog.

UKTigerlily

Boxers can be good with kids yeah, but like any Dog you won't know what a Pup will end up like all you can do is train it & hope, it may well hate kids, then what happens if you want any in the future? My mate's Boxer Pup was socialised with kids & turned out to find them highly annoying when they had their own & they got rid of him! An adult you'd know what it was like x

suki1964

UKTigerlily wrote: »

but a Pup really isn't great for a first Dog

Why are pups not great as first dogs? Or is that just your personal opinion?

suki1964

Tbh, this pup wouldnt be a pup I would be looking for - its a cross breed so Im assuming an accidental mating so there's little chance of knowing of any health issues it could be storing up for the future.

If you have your heart set on a pup, and want a breed like a boxer, then hold fire and take your time to find a reputable breeder.You would find a reputable breeder through the breed club of your chosedn breed - not small ads on the internet.

Rescues also have pups you may want to go around your local rescues and see what types of dogs are in need of a home - you may suprise yourself and fall for an older house trained dog.

Working and bringing up a pup is hard work, but can be done. I done it many a time as have millions of other families. If both you and your partner are set on doing it and have in place support for when you are at work then its possible - knackering but possible


Good luck

Mrs_pbradley936

Good luck if you decide to have him.

hethmar

Please look at those rescue boxers, some are less than a year old.

pboae

As has been said Boxer x Beagle could potentially be an extremely difficult mix (I love beagles, but I'd never have one, or a cross, because I can't handle the howling).

It's also a singleton pup, which often develop behavioural problems later on, especially with bite inhibition and self control (anger issues, if you like). Experienced breeders will usually try and get a singleton adopted into another litter to prevent that. Failing that, they need intense and constant socialisation from an early age, far more than a multi litter pup needs.

I wouldn't take on a singleton unless I was absolutely confident that the breeder was experienced enough to have done everything possible to prevent future problems due to lack of socialisation.

On top of which it sounds like an unplanned mating, (because who in their right mind would mate those 2 breeds on purpose). So probably 2 untested animals, either accidentally or convenience mated.

If you go and see that pup it'll tug on your heart strings, as all pups do. But long term it just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

downs523

we have decided not to go with the boxer x beagle, mainly from looking at this thread, it was one of 2 choices we had in mind, were going with our other choice of pup, a grey/white whippet puppie. dads had one from a young age and i have been with it alot since its grown and like them.

WolfSong2000

glad you've decided not to go with the boxer X beagle...I've been lucky enough to have experience with a wide range of dog breeds, and I can honestly say that I wouldn't touch that kind of cross with a bargepole!

Although incidentally my mother's golden retriever had an "illicit encounter" with a nearby boxer (I keep telling her to get the dog neutered, as this isn't the first time this has happened, but she wont listen). Anyhow, while the vet was telling the boxer owner that there would be loads of problems giving birth, etc, in the end it went perfectly and the puppies were absolutely gorgeous and as it turns out very mushc sought after? Who'd have thought .

Whippets are nice dogs...I find them to be a little nervous for my tastes, but it's each to their own. Choosing the right breed is really important for first time dog owners, otherwise things can go very badly, as I've personally seen.

frankie55

Hi there, I'm glad you've decided not to go for the Boxer/Beagle cross, mrs across the road got a beagle in October around the time I got my last pup and it has been a nightmare. Very difficult to train and keeps running away, we live in a rural area, many of the local cabal of dog lovers and walkers spent all of last Sunday searching the fields and woods for her in her latest adventure. She is also not very trustworthy with other dogs and had bit and nipped my pup several times....nothing serious but worrying....my neibhour is now considering returning it to the farm breeder where she got it from, and she is a sensible lady who has had several Beagles in the past, and employs a dog walker a couple of times a day when she has to leave it, it's also caused considerable damage in her home. Personaly I think she was unwise to take a dog that was 5 mths old and had only lived in the barn for most of the time, but there you go