| Teresamag | 05-20-2010 11:46 AM |
We had a 75 lb Boxer named Zeus for over 10 years who lived with our Yorkies. He was such a beautiful gentle dog with the Yorkies. He would often sit down with our 3 1/2 lb Belle hanging off his flews with the look of "mom, make her leave me alone". He would also lay down on his stomach to play very gently with the Yorkie babies, I have pictures of this somewhere.
Boxers are medium to large sized dogs who are goofy and sometimes very energetic. If you have small dogs like Yorkies the puppy should be bought second so that the resident Yorkies can teach him to respect them before he gets too large. Also good obedience training is a must, he has to have good manners and learn to sit and down when you tell him to (as any dog should but large dogs in particular) so they won't get too exuberant and hurt people or Yorkies. Another option is to contact a breeder to see if they have a teenager or adult Yorkie they would like to place so you don't have to deal with the wild activity of a Boxer puppy. Zeus came to live with us at 10 months old as a show dog "washout", (one testicle didn't descend). Their loss was absolutely our gain and it was wonderful to get a young dog with a little bit of his brain already in place :), house trained, crate trained etc.
Boxers unfortunately have quite a bit of genetic heart problems so like anything else do your research and ask if parents have been tested for hip dysplasia and heart problems. Also, reputable Boxer breeders do not breed for white puppies as the incidence of deafness is very high. Flashy (white on neck, face, chest, feet) Boxers bred to flashy Boxers often produce these white puppies so alot of these breeders will breed fawn or brindle Boxers to a Flashy Boxer to get the white markings that are desired in the show ring without the risk of white puppies. White puppies can be registered now by AKC but the Boxer Club has in their code of ethics that these puppies must always be spayed/neutered and never bred. No reputable breeder will ever breed a white puppy but I see many BYB and puppymills using white dogs.
Sorry if I've written a "book" but Boxers are my second love (after Yorkies) and people just don't do their reseach before adopting one (just like Yorkies huh). :)
Teresa | 