Had you considered helping a dog looking for a new home?
In New Zealand Diane at NZ Boxer Rescue is doing a fabulous job helping boxers who need rehoming in Auckland - contact her via her webpage. In other parts of the world many Boxer clubs have rescue services. If you can't 'rescue' a dog yourself, please think about helping Boxer Rescue with a small donation.
How do I locate breeders?
I don't recommend just waiting for a newspaper ad. Start looking well ahead of when you are ready for a pup. This dog will hopefully be part of your life for 10-15 years. Make sure it's going to be a healthy dog with a good temperament that will suit you - find breeders you trust with dogs you really like and see when they're likely to have litters. It should be worth waiting for the right dog.
It is a good idea to contact as many breeders as you can to increase your chances fo finding a good quality boxer that is right for you. To locate breeders, a good strategy is to ask local vets or dog rangers if they know of good breeders, and/or ask people who have boxers where they got theirs. If you're not having luck with that approach, kennel clubs will give you contact details for boxer breeders and/or boxer clubs - contacting the clubs is a very good way to get information on serious breeders (or at least those that happen to be members of that club!).
In Australia, each state has its own Canine Council - start at the Australian National Canine Council to follow links to your state's website (how easy it is to find breeders depends on how good each state's website is). In New Zealand, the NZ Kennel Club Boxer Contacts page has the breeders and clubs listed. Remember that on most sites (in both NZ and Australia), only the breeders who pay to advertise are listed. Commercial sites like Dogzonline (Australia) or Dogzonline (NZ) or can also give you names of breeders who pay to advertise.
How do I choose which breeder?
There are many breeders around, many good, some bad. Puppy buyers often make the mistake of assuming that anyone who has bred lots of litters, must breed good dogs - quantity has nothing to do with quality! Also, don't assume that a breeder who enjoys success in the show ring, is necessarily breeding responsibly in terms of health and temperament - reputable breeders are not always responsible breeders (as I explain in this article on Boxer breeders that I wrote for the Boxer Underground Magazine a few years back).
The genetic background of your pup is important! The way a pup is raised in its first weeks of life is also crucial. To increase your chances of getting a healthy well-adjusted pup, you need to do some homework. Make sure you ask lots of questions, eg simply asking why a breeder selected that particular dog and bitch to breed from can tell you much about their objectives - does their answer cover health, temperament, and looks?
Assess any breeder carefully - Does the breeder have their dogs assessed at breed shows? Are the pedigrees of the parents well known? Does the breeder know about the dogs in the pedigree - their characteristics, health & temperament? Where are the dogs a generation or two back now? - are they still alive? ...and if not, what happened to them? Have the sire & dam been hip scored, had general health checks? Is the breeder knowledgeable about health issues in the breed (see Health Checks below)? Have the pups been properly reared with top quality food, good socialisation, and an environment unlikely to lead to behavioural problems in later life?
Take note also of what questions the breeder asks you. If you loved your dogs and wanted the best possible homes for them, what would you be asking prospective buyers? If a breeder doesn't seem to care about how you will raise the pup you take home, how much care do you think they took in raising the dam and caring for the pups in their critical first weeks of life?
Sites with useful advice for puppy buyers about knowing which breeder to go to:
What Health Checks?
Remember, all dogs, like people, could potentially suffer from health problems - the fact that breeders should check for a small number of conditions does not mean the whole boxer breed is going to be susceptable to them. You can learn about the health of the breed on The American Boxer Club's Site. The Genetic Diseases section is a nice summary of the conditions that breeders need to be particularly careful of. I have provided guidance about health test and further links to health information on my Health Page.
Sadly many breeders don't appear to place a high priority on breeding healthy long-lived Boxers. If a breeder is not keeping genetic disorders in mind when planning their breeding programme, then they are, in my opinion, playing Russian roulette. It is important for you to assess whether a breeder is knowledgeable about the conditions they should be seeking to avoid in their breeding program.
Unfortunately there are some dodgy breeders who claim to health test, but in fact check for only a small number of conditions or don't use proper testing methods. What is particularly disturbing is that some very experienced breeders are advertising dogs in boxer club websites and magazines with comments like "clear of heart disease" when their dogs have not been tested fully. It is a matter of 'buyer beware' - you need to ask what tests have been done and what the results were (my Health Page gives guidance on questions to ask). There are also breeders who put forward a raft of excuses about why they don't need to be testing for health problems - I wrote an article about some of them. The best idea is for you to educate yourself and be confident about asking for details of health test results and/or the longevity of the lines if those things are important to you.
Papers or no papers?
Maybe you don't want to show or breed. That shouldn't make any difference when it comes to choosing a breeder. Perhaps you had in mind that it would be cheaper to buy a dog without papers?
No matter what you intend to do with a pup I recommend going to a breeder who is knowledgeable about the breed and is working to breed the best possible Boxers. That pretty much rules out anyone breeding dogs without papers.
Papers are proof of pedigree. If a breeder can't be bothered getting papers, just how much trouble are they likely to have gone to with investigating pedigrees and checking the health of their dogs? Papers give you some evidence that the breeder took an interest in planning the litter to some extent and didn't just take the nearest male dog and use him on their bitch, and is also more likely to also have bothered looking after the pups properly as the litter was organised rather than an accident or whim.
Watch out though, papers in themselves are not enough proof of a breeder who has done their homework. Within the world of dogs with papers there is still a huge variety in the quality of the breeders & pups you may come across. Remember to do your homework - read the tips on the sites I've given you above.
How do I choose a pup?
People often say firmly: "I want a red & white bitch", then come & see a litter and fall in love with a totally different pup. It really does seem to be best to let the pup choose you - the personality is the most important thing & within one litter it can vary hugely. You want the right pup for you.
From a young age you can see what kind of personality a Boxer is likely to have. Some pups are more outgoing or more independent. Some pups have a higher 'prey drive' than others. While you should steer clear of any timid boxer, do not believe the old myth that the pup who rushes over to you first has the best temperament. For a house full of boisterous activity that pup may be the right one. But, for some people the pup that stands back and checks things out before leaping in, the one that is a little more reserved and a little less likely to chase everything that moves may be better suited.
Think carefully about what kind of dog you want and find a pup that will suit. A good breeder should be able to help you make that match.
There are some good tips on the Dog Owner's Guide: Picking a puppy Web page.
What can I expect to pay?
I truly hope that price is not a big deal to you when you are considering which pup to make part of your family for the next decade. Prices vary hugely - you might pay $250 or $1000 for a Boxer pup in New Zealand.
You should keep in mind that price doesn't equate to quality. Eg, some breeders may charge at the lower end of the scale but balance that with screening potential homes very carefully, whereas other breeders work on the principle that a high price will put off less desirable homes. Unfortunately some breeders are simply trying to make money out of breeding their dogs and don't take a lot of care to breed good Boxers but do charge a lot for their pups. (The questions you ask about health tests should help you work this out).
When thinking about price, remember that if you save a few hundred off the purchase price, you might be spending that same amount on vet bills. What's important is to find a good quality pup that will suit your situation.
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