Selecting Your Boxer: Practical Puppy Dog Advice
Selecting your Boxer dog begins with checking out the parent dogs for unbecoming traits like aggression, hyperactive and extreme shyness.
This is easier to do when you choose your Boxer from a reputable breeder or from a pet shop that get their animals only from known breeders.
Exercise prudence if you are getting your Boxer puppy from pet stores, which may obtain their supply from breeders of unknown reputation.
These “puppy mills” as they are called are not known to put much emphasis on the quality and health of the pups they are producing.
Reputable breeders would adhere to 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 pedigree and registration papers and/or pictures of the parent dogs that may reside somewhere else.
Professional breeders are also there to produce dog show champions or prospects.
Even if you are not looking to raise a show champion Boxer, known breeders can provide you with some “best buy” puppies because not all the puppies in a litter are show prospect/champion materials.
The full litter would have had benefited from the same proven bloodlines, nutrition and medical care. So you can pick from among the good-looking brothers or sisters of potential champion for a bargain.
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 pure bred. 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.
The definition of good stock or pure bred must include beauty, and in a Boxer good look means the coat is fawn and brindle, with the white markings or “flash” covering not more than one-third of the entire coat.
Sometimes the distribution of the “flash” alone may make the difference between a show champion and just a pet Boxer.
The all-white Boxer or “check” is prone to blindness and deafness, and the American Boxer Club members are not to register, sell or use the “whites” for breeding.
When it comes to choosing male or female Boxers, there are not much clear-cut differences in their personalities.
Of course no matter what breed of dog you have proper training is essential. And that starts with house breaking. Make sure you do it right
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