New addition to the family
 

I had forgotten how nice it was to have a dog around :bigtu:

After losing both of our rescue greyhounds about two years ago, rather suddenly (within one month) to unrelated illnesses (bone cancer and gastric infection) we took the plunge yesterday and adopted a rescue Boxer. We decided to go this way after researching several breeds.

So far it is going well. He is a gentle giant with the immediate family, and is showing great progress in only one day in recognizing who the Alpha dog is (me) and responding to training, like not pulling on the leash like a maniac during walks. He is letting me, and my three year old take toys from him (submissive) and not being aggressive. He is already house trained, crate trained, neutered, microchipped, and had his shots. Most of all, he is a friendly, playful, good natured dog, and should be a great addition to the family.

The adoption agency has been great so far. We plan on adopting a female in a month or so once Stryker gets adjusted to his new home. Whoever left this great dog to wander on the streets must have been a real douchebag; that is where he was found by the pound, before he was eventually rescued by Austin Boxer Rescue.

Austin Boxer Rescue - Adoption
Click past the first picture to get a look at him.

Researching dog breeds before buying/adopting one FTMFW people! I wish everyone else did the same thing.

that's awesome:D

Congrats man, he's a good looking dog.
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Congratulations. We have two boxers, both rescues. A four year old male and a 3 year old femalE. They are great dogs.

Thanks guys.

Steve, very cool, small world. Any tips? Or, pretty much follow just what I have read about Boxers so far, and what I know about dogs in general.

Stryker is responding a lot better to training than my Greyhounds ever did, though Greyhounds are of course a much different breed, and known not to be very trainable. They pretty much ignore anything unless it is small, furry, and moving fast. I never could get any of them to play 'fetch' for example. Heeling took a lot of work, like years. I did teach them to wait for their food, and hold biscuits on their muzzles.

Oh yeah, and Kong brand dog toys are great, a thick rubber tube/ball thingie that stands up to rigorous chewing. So far the Kong is holding up just fine. And, you can fill them with treats. I tried peanut butter mixed with dog food. He was completely engrossed in that for about an hour. Stryker tore apart a furry squeak toy (that my wife brought home today) in about 5 minutes. We had to take it from him when he started trying to eat the stuffing. Even my Greyhounds could destroy most chew toys in an hour or so. Kongs are much better.

Not cutting down Greyhounds by the way. They are also a great rescue dog. All three of ours were retired racers when we adopted them. They are the pinnacle of 'ripped' when they come off of the track with very, very low body fat, and large muscles with definition, from high protein diets. Very mellow dogs, almost like cats in that sense. They have these 5-10 minute bursts of energy each day, then just chill out and lay around the rest of the time. They are known as the world's fastest couch potatoes, and man are they fast, crazy FAST. When they are at full sprint, they are completely airborne for several feet between foot falls.

Congrats. Boxer Rescue did an event in Jun and Harris Hill donated some seat time for the auction. :bigtu:

We rescued a Weimaraner a little over a year ago. He's got a shit load of energy so I run him as much as possible.

Chris

Fail...
Stryker bit someone in the family, namely my wife's stepfather. It was not a playful bite, but a puncture wound bite that drew blood. He was not provoked. I am not willing to chance another incident, especially with my 3 year old daughter around, so Stryker is gone.

He is now back up for adoption.

Ouch...that stinks to hear.

This was the first time I read the thread (but had often wondered about the avatar pic), and it was a good read up until the update.

Honestly I've always worried with adopted dogs. I adopted a boxer/lab mix once, and he was great around big people, but would push on and snap at kids. I didn't give him near the training you did, but still left an impression. He was a great dog for an 18yr old male, but having a daughter now the biggest animal I let in the yard is Brisco, her new Shih Tzu.

I'm sorry you had to see him go. Hard to get rid of a "family" member for the sake of the family.

Yep, it was disheartening to have to give him back. Other than that he was a good dog. Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?

I would have never forgiven myself if we kept him and something happened with my daughter later on. She is much more important of course.

Zxtex,
right call... but hard a one.
Boxers are cool... except they do get the wicked farts.
I wish you luck when you are ready to try again.
Jim

My greyhounds also used to get really bad gas, especially if we switched dog food brands, or fed them particular ones. That was one of our leading indicators as to which brand was best.

They really are great dogs...but I'd argue about best. Coming from a family that has always had labs, I've never met a lab I didn't like.

Had you actually read the thread though you would have realized that your comment was not fitting for the current discussion, despite the thread title you clicked to post whore on.