Boxer Dog - my best friend (Boxer)

Member Name: clumsy221

Product:	Boxer
Date:	03/11/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A loyal, docile pet and a good companion

Disadvantages: The drool and slobber!

***My love of dogs***

I am a dog lover, big dogs, little dogs, any shape, size or age. I not one of these people that only love puppy's, I believe 'a dog is not just for xmas, its for life'.

As a youngster we had our first dog during my early years at school. It was a beautiful mongrel named 'Prince'.

Unfortunately for us my mum and dad worked full time and struggled to juggle things around to make sure that our loyal friend had someone at home with him most of the day. There was not problem with us loving him it was just we finding it difficult to give him the attention he deserved.

At around the same time this happened an elderly friend of ours lost his lifetime friend 'Shep', when he passed away after 11 years.

Over the next few weeks my parents made the hardest decision ever and gave 'Prince' to our friend, the reason being he lived alone and was really finding it hard without his loyal companion.

I admit now that I do not really remember too much about our first dog, because of how young. But I do remember that we made a lovely old man very happy and our dog had a fantastic new home.

Luckily I do remember our second dog, once again a mongrel named 'Prince' who my parents bought for me and my brother a few years later when we had the resources to give a dog the attention it needed and deserved. 'Prince' lived 9 long years with us and we have so many memories that we often share together.

After that I never thought I would get another dog because I was so heartbroken when he passed away.

Skip 10 years later and my boyfriend (now fiancee) introduced me to his boxer dog 'George' named after George Foreman (the boxer).

First impressions do count, and I had fallen in love all over again and now had two men in my life, and one of them was a brindle 2 year old boxer dog!

***George the looker***

George is a gorgeous brindle colour with perfect white socks, white features on his face and big white tummy that he loves us to rub!

He has the largest head imaginable with the sweetest puppy dog look I have ever seen, and boy does he know how to use those eyes.

Some people think boxers are ugly with their huge heads and big slobbering jowls but I thing they are cute. George has huge floppy ears and always looks well groomed even though he smells like most dogs do!

Boxers are short haired dogs however they shred quite a lot of hair so George has given me quite a lot more cleaning then I ever expected!

He is now 9 years old and is still very muscular due to the amount of exercise he gets. He has the odd grey hair but I am really surprised that he does not have much more because a lot of older boxer dogs tend to go grey all over their face, but not George he looks like he has his own stash of 'just for men'.

***George the puppy***

I missed George's younger years but by all means I hear he lived up to a boxer dogs reputation as a boisterous, playful puppy, who bounced around and even got chucked out of obedience classes for misbehaving!

He liked to chew things, but what puppy doesn't, however I believe he was quick to train and became very obedient from an early age, and thankfully that remains the same.

My favourite part of hearing about his younger years is all the trouble he caused and the places he got stuck, like the cat flap in the door! and the pictures, oh how cute he was and still is.

***George the human***

George is convinced he is human, in our house we call him 'The King'. He sighs when he is fed up, he glares at you when wants something and he rolls his eyes when he knows you are talking about him.

I often come home from work to find him sat on the chair near our front window keeping an eye on what's going on, a proper 'nosey neighbour'.

He is a character in his own right and we adore him for this.


***George and his temperament***

George is a loyal dog to have and on the occasions I am at home by myself he makes me feels safe and protects the house from strangers.

He is harmful of his family but can be distrustful at first with strangers, but he has never attacked or endangered another person, but I truly believe this is down to how each individual dog is brought up.

He is docile, bright, brave, loyal and and faithful to his family. I could not ask for a better behaved dog. All our neighbours comment how good he is.


***George the softie***

Although boxers are good guard dogs and can look fairly scary, George is a softie at heart when it comes to his family and friends.

The best part of the day for me is when I come home from work, he leaps, he does a little jig and whilst trying to smother you with kisses. One thing I have learnt is that you certainly never get so much appreciation from a human!

He is so happy to see you that even when we nip to our car he sits eagerly waiting out return and gives us exactly the same welcome he would if we had been away all day.

However the downside is when we do leave ... oh my word, what a little sulker he is, we actually call him 'yo-yo' head because he bounces up and down so you cant stroke his head to say bye bye.

It still amazes me how much he loves to cuddle and how he seems to think he is in fact a lapdog .... a big one at that. If you let him he will snuggle in your arms and fall asleep within minutes.

His worst habit is jealousy, any hugs or kisses with my partner are banned if George catches us, he will even try to stick his head in-between us as if to say 'hey give me the attention'.

He will try to crawl under out duvet at night so he can snuggle at the back of our legs and if one of us lies in one morning he will try to come lie in the other persons place, its quite a shock when you wake up with a big fairy head staring up at you!

With George around we joke that we have our very own stalker and we owe a good proportion of his good health and fitness down to the fact he loves to follow us everywhere whether it be to the toilet, to the front door, to get the remote control or to his favourite place the kitchen.

***George the greedy guts***

George and food, generally in our house these two words are used in the same sentence. George likes to eat, whenever I set foot in the kitchen he follows closely ... I have even gained the nickname 'The food lady'!

But be aware he drools when he eats, he drools when you eat and he drools when he thinks about eating!

Need I say more.


***George the fitness fanatic***

George needs to be walked regularly, were lucky to be able to take him out at least twice a day so he gets his good fair share of exercise.

He is always full of energy and loves to play, in the garden, in the living room you name it he jumps around ... so its best to have some room for boxer dogs to run around.

We don't have children but he is so docile that our friends children ride him, pull his ears and even dress him up, he just loves the attention.

***George the hypochondriac***

George is a pedigree which does have its downside as they are prone to a number of illnesses including tumors, heart conditions, intestinal problems and fits.

Unfortunately for George, he has had a pin put in his leg after falling too many times because of his overactive nature, he has had a tumour removed from his head, one of his little toes removed because of a skin tag and he has started to have the occasional fit. So insurance with pedigree dogs is a something you must buy.

You may not believe me, but George still looks like he did when he was a puppy, he has had gone through three operations and he has come out fighting. But before each operation we did have had to decide if George would be worse off after the operation and seriously think what was best for him.

Its a terrible thing to go through when your pet is ill but we ultimately had to think of how he felt not how upset we would be if he was not with us anymore .... but since the operations he has found a new lease in life (maybe thats why he is looking younger).

The worse thing we faced was his recovery, it was such a shame because he could not tell us how he felt and it was heartbreaking when he was so quiet and unlike himself but he improved very quickly and we were so overjoyed.

I think the one thing he hated was the big plastic cone he had to wear over his head, he bumped into things, he got stuck in places and he slobbered all over himself. But thankfully we can look back now and laugh.


***A final word***

George is my trusty and loving companion. Im sure anyone with a dog feels the same and can hopefully relate to my review.

Whatever type of breed your dog is they need you love, security and warmth to ensure they get the upbringing they deserve.

Enjoy your time with your loyal friend we certainly are! :)

Summary: The friend you always wanted