What to Expect When Adding a Boxer Pitbull Mix to Your Family
Both the boxer and the pitbull are both large dogs with powerful personalities and somewhat intimidating appearances. And by somewhat, we mean terrifying if you’re not used to a dog. While some people are all about having an intimidating looking dog in the house to keep intruders and strangers at bay, this is also an unfortunate aspect for these dogs when they don’t have families, especially when it comes to the pitbull. Due to frequent stories about pit bulls attacking children or attacking their owners, many people are terrified of these gentle creatures.
They’re often treated unjustly because of their reputation, with far precedes them. Most pitbulls are as kind and loving and affectionate as a kitten, but they’re big bodies and intimidating appearance makes them the things doggie nightmares are made of. Add a bit of boxer to the mix and most people are going to pass on a dog like this. It’s something that was once considered a mutt but is now called a hybrid, sometimes a designer dog. When breeders design the boxer pit bull mix on purpose, they can ask a significant price for their dogs. This tends to make them a bit more desirable.
Read on to find out what you can expect if you plan on adding one of these gorgeous hybrids to your family. What you think you can expect might not necessarily be the truth.
Appearance
The boxer is one of the fiercest looking dogs in the world, but it’s one of the least aggressive dogs. The pit bull is intimidating in appearance, but it’s not nearly as fierce looking as a boxer. However, when bred together, you’re going to get a dog that has the best of both worlds. This means you’re getting a dog that’s gorgeous, large and very strong in appearance.
Energy Level
What you’re going to get with a boxer pit bull mix is a very energetic dog. This is a dog that wants frequent attention, wants to be on the go and has a difficult time settling down. You can begin training this dog early so that it recognizes commands and knows immediately when you want it to calm down, but rest assured that it’s a very high-energy dog that will not do well at home, cooped up for long periods of time. For this reason alone, a small house with no yard, an apartment or a condo are usually not good places to have a dog of this particular heritage.
Intelligence
One of the best things about the boxer pit bull mix is the intelligence level of this dog. It’s one of the smartest dogs in the world. This is a dog that’s highly capable of learning, and one that doesn’t make it difficult to teach. Its intelligence level makes it possible for this dog to understand what you’re teaching in a very short time, which does make the training process that much simpler. Additionally, this is a dog that will hear you, understand you and make sure you know he’s a good boy when you give a command – even if he doesn’t like it.
Loyalty
The boxer pit bull mix is a dog that has a strong sense of loyalty. This is a dog that knows who it loves, knows who takes care of it and wants to make that person happy. For this reason, this is a dog that will listen when instructed. It’s also a dog that will stop at nothing to protect the people it loves. While not an aggressive dog of taught otherwise, this dog is not going to back down in the face of danger. If it senses that a person is in trouble, the boxer pit mix will go out of its way to ensure that help is offered. Its sense of loyalty is unlike any other, which is one of the best personality traits of either breed.
Aggression
Do not expect aggression from this dog. Boxers are notoriously calm dogs and pit bulls are only reputed to be aggressive dogs thanks to poor ownership and an inability to properly raise dogs. It’s not the pit bull that’s aggressive, it’s the owner who taught the dog to be aggressive. If you begin socializing your mix and training it at an early age, you’ll never have to worry that the animal will behave aggressively. That’s not to say the dog won’t do anything to protect you, but it certainly will not go out of its way to cause a fight or look for trouble.
The reason pit bulls are considered such aggressive dogs by those who don’t know any better is because of bad owners. There is a saying that’s very true; there is no such thing as a bad dog, only bad dog owners. It happens regularly that people pick up a dog like this and think it’s fun to train it to be aggressive and mean because it’s “cool” or “funny” but it’s not. It’s not amusing and it causes other dogs like this to have an unfair disadvantage when it comes to finding a forever family thanks to the ignorance of some pet owners.
Other Animals
To be on the safe side, it’s not a good idea to adopt or purchase a dog of this nature if you have other smaller animals around the house. These are not aggressive dogs, but they are not particularly fond of other animals and will usually not take well to having one around. It’s possible that this dog will become protective of a child or adult in your house and attack a cat or smaller dog that – in the pit bull boxer mix’s eyes – comes too close for comfort. It’s possible that adopting or purchasing this dog as a puppy will make it easier for the dog to get along with other animals because of the socialization of the dog. However, it’s not recommended that you pick one up as an adult and bring it into a house with other animals for safety reasons.
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