Anyone have an outside boxer? - Page 3

BxrMommieNAZ · #25 5th March 2011, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesquite

Well, here's my take on it. Basically our Jake is an inside dog. But, H and I both work full time. Our choices are - leave him in or leave him out. So, on nice days we leave him out. So far he has not gotten into any trouble and he seems to enjoy being outside. Honestly, it seems like a better option - he can run, play, bark and pee when he wants to.

For neighbors that do not work all day or work from home, this can be a huge annoyance if barking is uncontrollable and you're not home to let the dog in. Just to bring up another point of view. I work full time from home for the last 3 1/2 years and finally had to call animal control on a neighbor that left their dog outside all day while at work because the dog barked non stop all day long. And it really leaves open the ability for someone to steal your dog. In many parts of the country Boxers are the #1 stolen dog. Just something to think about.

BxrMommieNAZ · #26 5th March 2011, 01:20 PM

Also for those that leave your dogs outside, bee stings are pretty common, as are Boxer allergies. Our Boxer ate a bumble bee once and his face swelled up about 3 times the size of normal (he had no other known allergies ever) and he was having trouble breathing. Had we not been home he more than likely would have been dead within an hour due to the respiratory distress.

There are many things that Boxers can be allergic to (spiders, bees, wasps, etc) and if you leave them out when you're not home and this happens they very well may have passed away by the time you get home to render medical assistance.

I attribute it to this, I would not leave a 5 year old child outside unattended because anything can happen, they get hit by a car, stung by an insect, into something they shouldn't, etc, so I take up about the same philosophy with my dogs in order to keep them safe. This doesn't mean they're confined all day, when I would get home from work they are let out, they have mornings, etc.

**Maniago** · #27 5th March 2011, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuinessBoxer

I could step out for the mail and get hit by a tractor trailer too, but I cannot hide under my bed to avoid it.

True. Unless you are suicidal, I'll just be you take every precaution to make sure that doesn't happen.

agaither · #28 13th March 2011, 02:16 PM

Thank you all for your input I really do appreciate EVERYONES opinion. Luckily we live in a great neigborhood and I would NEVER leave Bruce in a fence where I could not check on him every few minutes. We have a window that would look right back on his pen. I know my boxer boy and I know that he LOVES being outside, as long as I am home and can attend to his needs I see no reason that he shouldn't be admitted to spend an hour or two out back in the shade with a chewy! We love our dog and although I never gave the impression otherwise some of you seem to think we are banishing our boy from the house for no reason. This is silly, our dog has successfully covered our entire house in slobber, slept in bed with us everynight and has been essentially our best friend in the world; Still he is a dog and some dogs like to run in the (fence) yard and bark at squirells and our dog is one of "those" dogs.

Sansal · #29 13th March 2011, 04:01 PM

Thank you for clarifying. Just from reading you first post it wasn't entirely clear how much time he would be spending out there and what the set up would be like.
The way you describe it now it sounds like it could work very well (and if I had a setup like that I know that my dogs also wouldn't mind spending some time outside without us once in a while).
Good luck with everything

Mesquite · #30 14th March 2011, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

For neighbors that do not work all day or work from home, this can be a huge annoyance if barking is uncontrollable and you're not home to let the dog in. Just to bring up another point of view. I work full time from home for the last 3 1/2 years and finally had to call animal control on a neighbor that left their dog outside all day while at work because the dog barked non stop all day long. And it really leaves open the ability for someone to steal your dog. In many parts of the country Boxers are the #1 stolen dog. Just something to think about.

Jake doesn't usually bark unless there's something for him to bark about. I know some breeds bark constantly for no reason; I do not find that to be true of boxers. We have a 6 foot wood fence and a gate that can easily be locked. Jake is well contained and (when we lock the gate) relatively safe from would-be dognappers.

BxrMommieNAZ · #31 14th March 2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesquite

Jake doesn't usually bark unless there's something for him to bark about. I know some breeds bark constantly for no reason; I do not find that to be true of boxers. We have a 6 foot wood fence and a gate that can easily be locked. Jake is well contained and (when we lock the gate) relatively safe from would-be dognappers.

In my area they jump the fences, tranq the dogs, and cut the locks off the gates. So don't assume that just because your gate is locked your dog is safe. They did that in Louisiana too to use them as bait dogs for dog fighting. Luckily it's died down quite a bit in my area the past year or so, but stealing dogs whether gates were locked or not was a HUGE issue for a couple of years. Trust me, if someone wants your dog to sell (they can make a pretty penny) or to use as bait dogs they WILL find a way, especially when it's not hard to jump a fence and cut the lock.

On the barking, I say unless you're not home you have no idea. Your neighbor could hire gardeners and your pup barking at the gardeners doing work next door for an hour, etc. Unless you're home to monitor a situation you just don't know.

rayandsarah · #32 14th March 2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesquite

I know some breeds bark constantly for no reason; I do not find that to be true of boxers.

Our neighbors have a female boxer and she barks the entire time she is outside. She starts at 5:30 am and her last potty is around 11 pm. It drives me nuts!

BendyBoxers · #33 14th March 2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agaither

We love our dog and although I never gave the impression otherwise some of you seem to think we are banishing our boy from the house for no reason.

I appreciate the clarification too.. I had thought since you asked specifically about having an 'outdoor Boxer', and said that a pen was being built for him outside.. Well, that he was going to be an Outdoor dog.
I didn't mean to offend you if I did. Really, I didn't. I think that everyone just wants your dog to be a part of the family, which it seems like he is- so there isn't a problem at all.