Getting a dog Doberman vs. Boxer. Advice?

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Ironman

Ironman

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My wife and I would like to get a dog. We are looking at either a Boxer or Doberman Pinscer at the moment, leaning a bit toward the doberman. Anybody have experience with them, or boxers?
 
They are both good dogs. I personally have owned neither. My neighbor has two boxers and she loves them. Very playful. Good around kids, from what I hear. Dobies are good, also. My older brother had a very sweet Dobie. She spent most of her time sleeping on cushions in front of the fireplace.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for in a dog. Temperament, regardless of which breed you decide on, is very important. You also want to make sure that the breeder is socializing the pup.

I would strongly suggest that you purchase your dog from a reputable breeder. I don't know the health concerns in either breed, but Mongo would know. Please don't get your dog from a pet store or a back yard breeder. Pet store dogs are often sickly and/or in poor health. You really don't know their background, either.

True dog breeders breed to improve or enhance the breed, and not to turn a quick buck. You could ask the breeder you purchase your dog from how often that bitch is bred, or how often they typically breed a bitch if this is the 1st or 2nd litter. It's my understanding that most good breeders don't breed until the bitch is approximately 2 years old. And after that, they don't even necessarily breed every year - maybe/maybe not. I think more often it is every 2-3 years, unless there is a valid reason to breed more often.

Sorry I don't know more about either breed. I'm certain there are members here who can provide more information.

Judy
 
Took too long with my last post and lost it. I've had 3 Boxers. One was purchased from a breeder thinning out her stock, 2 were rescues. Don't overlook the rescue organizations online. Boxers are great family dogs. Great with kids. Natural protectors. Loyal to a fault. Some people may think they are dumb and don't train well, but they are just headstrong. Once they mellow out from about a 2.5 year puppy-hood, they are the best dogs ever IMO. Look on wikipedia.org for Boxer Dogs they describe the breed very well. Good luck! -Matt-
 
While I was growing up in the 60's one of my neighbors across the street from us had a Dobernam. I could not count how many times I petted and played with it. Then one day while my neighbor was packing the trunk of his car in preparation for a vacation, the Doberman turned on him and started ripping his arm off. The growling, the blood curling and the shouting I will never forget. My neighbor lived fortunately, but no one will ever convince me a Doberman is safe animal. They simply are not.

Get something else.
 
We know some people with dobes, show qaulity dobes, but they're still just a little wiggy. (IMO) As far as I can tell IME, they don't send any stress signals then just flip all at once at least in my sample of two.

I see a few boxers around, they seem fine, boisterous a bit.
 
Hmmmm, loaded question. Both breeds have their faults and strengths. Health-wise; can be real bad stuff in each breed. Temperment; I'd choose the Boxer... as long as you realize that they are playful goofballs quite often. Both dogs should do a good job protecting children, but the Dobe has the reputation, sometimes deserved, of being mentally unstable and aggressive. In my experience, I can count on one hand how many "bad" Boxers I've dealt with. Dobes, too many.:( Then again, some of the sweetest dogs I've ever met have been Dobes. Here's a breed where it REALLY pays to do your research and homework. You should be able to meet and interact with BOTH parents. A fancy schmancy paper pedigree means diddly to me. The breeder should be asking as many questions about you as you do about them.
Good luck. Are you considering any other breeds? How about a mutt? (and no, not those fancy "designer" dogs... ain't nothing more stupid than someone paying $800-1200 for a "something-doodle", when it in all reality is just a mutt!) My first dog was a mutt of very indeterminate parentage from the pound. Best dog I've ever had.
 
My last dog was a boxer/beagle mix. He was awesome. A perfect mix, he was really playful, even at 2 years. Unfortunately, he had some huge health problems develop and we had to put him down. :( I am about ready to try again, definately want a dog for the kids, age 6 and 9 and guard dog instincts. I miss not ever having to worry about intruders.... Maybe I should look at another boxer.
 
I grew up with Boxers and I had a friend with Dobies. In my opinion, I would take a Boxer over a Dobie any day and twice on Sundays. But I would strongly second the warnings that others have given you about buying the dog from a reputable breeder or from someone whom you know personally. DO NOT BUY FROM A PET STORE! You should try to meet both of the puppy's parents to see what sort of personalities they have as their pups will inherit some of the personality of each. Also, a good breeder who cares for his or her pups will try to match you to a suitable dog.

Boxers are headstrong, that is for certain. They were originally bred to hunt wild boar and that is why they have the overslung lower jaws that lock when they bite down. In this, they are like the English Bulldog. Like the Bulldog, they have scrunched up breathing passages and tend to snore a lot as well as to develop breathing difficulties in some of the dogs. The Boxer was an extremely popular dog in the late 1950s and early 1960s and was, therefore, overbred. This led to a degree of instability and some other problems for a while, but that has worked out of the breed as their mass popularity faded and the puppy mills moved on to other breeds. What you get today is a good, solid dog with great loyalty and a deep affection for children. But the male Boxers can be damned territorial. I got very good at breaking up dog fights as a kid.
 
Most of the folks I've known who had Boxers loved 'em -- but they are very willful and difficult to train. Very happy, playful dogs.

Dobermans can be outstanding dogs, or a horrible mistake -- depends upon the breeding. If you get a dobie, not only to you want to deal ONLY with a reputable breeder, but you want to avoid "show dogs." Show dogs are bred to have compact heads, and while dobies with smaller heads look nicer to some, they are more likely to develop behavior problems as they age. Get a BIG dobie with a big head. Red Dobermans are a nice alternative to the standard "black & tan" (which screams "KILLER NAZI ATTACK DOG" to the ignorant -- over a dozen breeds have black & tan coloration, including dachsunds), but avoid some of the weird mutant colorations out there (albinos, blues, etc.) as they're more likely to develop health issues.

Both are good choices. Don't let anyone scare you out of getting a Doberman. As long as the parents are stable (a good breeder will allow you to see them), the head is full-sized, and the dog is consistantly well-treated (neglect and abuse are the root cause of hyper-aggression, barring brain defect), a Doberman is an excellent dog. Highly intelligent and eager to please.
 
A thought, if you don't mind. If you have children, you might wish to consider a Labrador Retriever. I had a black Lab that a friend had given to my son, actually, but my son was 9 years old at the time. Kip was my dog as I was the one who trained him and loved him. What you want to look for in a Lab is not the show dog but the field trials dog bloodline. These dogs are bred for busting through brush and such and they tend to be bigger and to have longer legs, but they also tend not to get so fat as the show variety. They also tend to be smarter. Kip was almost as tall as a neighbor's German Shepherd at the shoulder and he weighed about 100 pounds by the end of the winter. He self-fed, however, and he would cut back on the amount of food that he ate as the weather warmed up so that, by August, he down under 75 pounds.

You could not have asked for a more loyal and loving dog. He used to go on Boy Scout outings with me and he adopted the entire Troop as his pack and would stand guard over all of them. When we adopted a little girl from El Salvador, he was the most patient of us all with her and she frequently wound up sleeping on his bed with him as he kept the nightmares away. When he died, it was a toss-up who missed him the most, her or me.

But I will say that he was one stubborn dog to train and, at about 8 months, he challenged me for leadership of the family pack and I had to hoist him up by his leash. It didn't hurt him physically, but it hurt his pride and made the point that I was the boss. I was training him on the street outside of our house and a neighbor thought that I was abusing him and called animal rescue. In any case, he was a happier dog after his place in the pack was made clear.

I miss him still and he died ten years ago last April.
 
rnhood said:
While I was growing up in the 60's one of my neighbors across the street from us had a Dobernam. I could not count how many times I petted and played with it. Then one day while my neighbor was packing the trunk of his car in preparation for a vacation, the Doberman turned on him and started ripping his arm off. The growling, the blood curling and the shouting I will never forget. My neighbor lived fortunately, but no one will ever convince me a Doberman is safe animal. They simply are not.

Get something else.
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I have a friend with a similar story for a boxer. Family pet, great with kids blah blah blah... until the day it tried to kill one of the children. In my opinion any dog bred as a fighting dog be it guard or hunting (and I'm not talking about retrievers here) is a poor choice for a pet. No doubt some of you will tell me I'm wrong, you've had a super duper killer mastiff death dog and because you trained it right it was completely harmless... Good for you, and may you continue to prove me wrong, but the one time I am right about the super duper killer death dog is the time that you are going to have to live with for the rest of your life and someone else (usually a small helpless someone else) may not have that luxury. I think Hugh's advice to get a lab is excellent.
 
My only advice is whatever dog you get in the end, just make sure you take the time to train it properly. Nothing's worst than a dog that goes off the rails because it wasn't trained properly. And dogs that have been bred for a particular purpose might in fact need more than a mixed-up mutt, because they'll have a greater inclination to hunt/fight/play agressively/whatever, and need to be trained so they know when that is or isn't appropriate. Our first dog that we had was a 4th-generation lab mutt, and he was a great dog but so much better after we took the time to train him well, because we could rely on him much more. Hope the dog's great tho, whichever one you get!
 
The thing is a lab needs a large fenced yard or farm, as I understand it. I don't have that.
 
Ironman said:
My wife and I would like to get a dog. We are looking at either a Boxer or Doberman Pinscer at the moment, leaning a bit toward the doberman. Anybody have experience with them, or boxers?
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You really need to buy some books and do some research. It's great to get some opinions, but I would talk with some breeders and veterinarians too.
 
First Doberman the wife and I had was a beautiful dog. Had her trained by a well known trainer. Extremely obedient, could walk her anywhere without a leash and she would be at your side like glue, put her in a stay and she would be there until hell froze over. One day I had her on leash in the yard as the wife and I were going somewhere when the neighbors walked over to talk. Their 4 year old daughter was with them and we were talking when the bitch just went for the girl out of the blue. I was just able to restrain her before she got to the girl. Not a doubt in my mind the girl would have been mauled badly if the dog was not leashed. What caused it? Who knows. Had two other Dobies after that without a bit of trouble from either. Even the best of Dobies could be a wild cannon.
 
Both are excellent breeds and much good stuff has been said about each above.

All I could add is that in my limited experience with Dobbies, they are some of the most trainable & eager to please dogs I've ever seen. You do need to do your homework though & get a good dog no matter which breed you choose. Personally I own rescue dogs. Sometimes they come with a little bagage but they are normally potty trained & always very loyal.

But when I am picking a puppy, I do the cradle test (for lack of a better term) - holding the pup with both hands you recline him & hold him facing you at arms length like a baby - you want one that doesn't struggle or fight you - from what I understand this shows a well adjusted pup. And last time I picked one that way I ended up with a wonderful dog :thumbup:
 
How do you account for the Boxer, then, Triton? I have yet to hear of anyone who has a horror story of a brutal Boxer dog, although they were bred initially as boar hunting dogs* and were then horribly overbred in the 1950s so that they became rather unstable. Unstable they may have been, but NEVER vicious as far as I know. Their instability took the form of nervousness and "flightiness", sort of ADHD, if you will. That, and their breathing and digestion problems were exacerbated with the overbreeding.

* You can still see that heritage in the docking of the Boxers' tails. They also used to clip their ears so that they they stood up straight. The whole point of the exercise was to minimize what the boar could grab onto. Boxers were bred from the Dog de Bordeux and other such mastiff descended animals, as is apparent when you look at one. I know that it is hard to see a boar hunting dog in the average American Boxer, but youi should have seen the one with which I grew up. He weighed a good 75-85 pounds and had the MOST incredible bull neck on him. It was easy to have thought of him pulling a boar down.
 
FullerH said:
How do you account for the Boxer, then, Triton? I have yet to hear of anyone who has a horror story of a brutal Boxer dog, although they were bred initially as boar hunting dogs* and were then horribly overbred in the 1950s so that they became rather unstable. Unstable they may have been, but NEVER vicious as far as I know. Their instability took the form of nervousness and "flightiness", sort of ADHD, if you will. That, and their breathing and digestion problems were exacerbated with the overbreeding.

* You can still see that heritage in the docking of the Boxers' tails. They also used to clip their ears so that they they stood up straight. The whole point of the exercise was to minimize what the boar could grab onto. Boxers were bred from the Dog de Bordeux and other such mastiff descended animals, as is apparent when you look at one. I know that it is hard to see a boar hunting dog in the average American Boxer, but youi should have seen the one with which I grew up. He weighed a good 75-85 pounds and had the MOST incredible bull neck on him. It was easy to have thought of him pulling a boar down.
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Recheck post #12, the story I related WAS about a boxer. He ended up with about 20 stitches if I remember right...

I don't trust them and would never own one especially with children.
 
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