How To Choose The Perfect Boxer Dog
Alas, you have decided to go for a Boxer dog!
Rule number one; always start by checking out the parent dogs for defective traits like aggression, hyperactivity and extreme shyness.
This is process easier accomplished when you get your Boxer from a reputable breeder or from a pet shop that get their animals only from known breeders.
Be careful and doubtful if you are getting your Boxer puppy from regular pet stores that often get their supply from breeders of unknown reputation.
As experts put it forth, breeders of unknown reputation are called "puppy mills". These "puppy mills" do not emphasis the standards of quality and health of the puppies they are producing.
On the other hand, reputable breeders usually follow and abide by the accepted standards for Boxers in terms of uniformity in the breed, good health, temperament, size and color.
Reputable breeders would be able to show the lineage and registration papers and/or pictures of the parent dogs that may even be sold to other owners.
The third type of breeders is the "Professional" one. Those professional breeders are also there to produce dog show champions or prospects.
If you're looking for a champion Boxer, then "professional breeders" would be your ultimate source.
Otherwise, it would be greatly worthwhile to check out known breeders as they can almost always provide you with some "best buy" puppies. This is mainly due to the fact that not all the puppies in a litter are show prospect/champion materials.
In any case, these puppies would still have the pure blood, nutrition and medical care. You could even get them for a bargain price!
Your other source option is animal shelters that in the US alone receive up to 12 million homeless dogs and cats every year, and about 25% of them are purebred. Paying the adoption fee is a lot cheaper than the price you will pay to a breeder or pet store, and you will be saving a life.
When you address the concept of good stock or purebred in dogs, it must include beauty. In a Boxer, good looks means that the coat is fawn and brindle, with the white markings or "flash" covering not more than one-third of the entire coat.
It is as important as any other quality in Boxer dogs. Sometimes the distribution of the "flash" alone may make the difference between a show champion and just a pet Boxer.
All-white Boxer or "check" dogs have hereditary risks. They're prone to blindness and deafness, and the American Boxer Club members are not to register, sell or use the "whites" for breeding.
It doesn't make much difference to choose a male or a female. At times, the male is calmer, more tolerant of other dogs, willing to hold still for those hugs than the female.
But at other times, the female can be so. One owner said the female Boxer is hyper and more aggressive especially toward other females, and that the aggression has increased as the female gets older.
In any case, there are no documented studies of the personality differences between male and female Boxer dogs. I believe they're pretty much the same once you get down to choosing whatever you porefer!