Are Two or More Boxers Too-Much?


 Guenther

Kris writes:

I found your website this weekend and I am addicted!!  Mostly because I’m one of those crazy Boxer moms.  I really appreciated reading your story of how you added your second boxer.  We are going through that right now.  We also waited a long time to add Guenther to our home.  Mostly because my husband NEVER liked dogs.  Until our new neighbors moved in with their boxer.  He makes us laugh constantly when we would watch him through our patio door while he and his dog brother are out there.  My husband would go over and ask to take their dog for a walk!  Which they absolutely loved because they are a young busy couple and rarely have time to walk him.  Well, last March we brought Guenther home (from a breeder).  We thought we did our research and were prepared.  Why wouldn’t we be prepared, we raised 3 kids who are now 20, 18 and 15!  Wrong, he is worse than any of my kids were as toddlers!  Thank goodness we didn’t get a dog when our kids were young, I don’t think I would have survived!  He is constantly on hyper-active mode until he flops down and passes out on the couch at night, all 90 pounds of him.  He is destructive and loud and we love him to death!  He is just the most beautiful, loving dog I’ve ever met!  We “think” we might want to add another boxer.  I think he would benefit from having a four legged friend to frolic with when we need a few minutes to get things done.  Right now he has to have our constant attention.  We had a deposit on a boxer puppy from the same breeder we got him from but a week before we picked her up we were notified that she had died from parvo.  I think the whole litter was lost.  I had requested a copy of the review from our state inspector and had found out that in December 2013 she had 3 litters of lab puppies (which we didn’t realize she bred labs) and only 2 puppies out of those 3 litters survived.  It mentioned she was working with her vet to clear the parvo out of her environment.  I now have learned, the hard way, how much more research I needed to do.  I thought I had researched all the avenues on this breeder but were unaware of the “state inspection reports”.  Anyways, my husband has been teetering with the fact that this might be a “sign” that we shouldn’t get another one.  We do have a few other questions that your article didn’t touch on and I was hoping you could give me some insight on.

My husband’s biggest fear is that if we add another dog, Guenther will abandon his humans and we won’t want to “be” with us as much.  I think the opposite that we will have two sets of boxer lips drooling at my feet all the time!  Did your first boxer treat you any differently when you added the second one?

Our dog trainer suggested waiting until Guenther is two years old to add another dog.  She says sometimes, dogs will revert to old puppy habits when a new dog is added.  And with boxers being perpetual children how do you know when the right time is?  He loves dogs and people so I don’t think he would have any trouble getting along with another dog.  Plus, since we have worked with a trainer on some of Guenther’s bad habits, I feel we are more prepared to be able to train a new one.  Plus, they really are smart and fun to train.  It’s keeping their brains busy that’s sometimes a challenge.

I’m still weighing the puppy versus rescue option.  I do watch our states boxer rescue closely.

So, any other insight you could provide on adding a second boxer would be appreciated.  They truly are like potato chips, you just can’t have one!!

Daily Boxer Reply:

First, Guenther is beautiful!  And thank you for the compliments on our site.

We fostered before rescuing Daisy. So we had the experience of a 2nd boxer, prior to the 2nd boxer.  Rosco just turned a year when we rescued Daisy.  Daisy was 8 months old.  They are 6 months apart in age.  Rosco is my Guenther (very needy, active, stubborn, smart, playful, and is always getting into mischief).  Daisy is much more calm, flexible, and go with the flow.  I often wonder if she is this way because of her experiences prior to our family (see article http://dailyboxer.com/rescue/daisys-rescue-a-story-of-hope-and-resilience/) .   At first, I hoped Daisy would rub off on Rosco and chill him out a bit … yeah well, that didn’t happen.  But it didn’t change Daisy into a crazy pup either.  Rosco is dominant of the two.  What I found was that, Rosco became a bit jealous (still is at times).  If you show Daisy affection, he will get in the middle.  Daisy followed Rosco mostly but it truly was a match meant to happen.  Rosco takes care of her too.  If I let Daisy outside and walk away from the door, Rosco scratches and follows me around until I let him out so he can be with her. They play (boy do they play and entertain each other). It will definitely give you some down time, my  husband and I laughed when you said ” My husband’s biggest fear is that if we add another dog, Guenther will abandon his humans and we won’t want to “be” with us as much.”  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, you husband can rest assured that in this case, (like you said) you will have 2 boxers sitting and drooling ON you!  Rosco and Daisy not only entertain each other but sleep together, exercise (run), play, drool, wiggle (although in opposite directions) and seek constant attention from us.  2 (or more) is definitely better than 1!   

I hope that helps.  If I might add 1 more thing… I would say RESCUE!  You don’t know what you are getting with breeders (as you have already found out) and you don’t know what you’d be getting with a rescue but … with a rescue, you will certainly save a boxer and get what you need as well.  In addition, if you rescue a young boxer (not necessarily a puppy) you don’t have to do the puppy thing (which I wouldn’t sign up for if someone paid me). 

Now it’s your turn to respond to Kris.  For those of you who have more than 1 boxer, should she get a second boxer?  Should she rescue?