Boxer or border collie?

[lainiekazan]

Almost on the point of going to see some boxer puppies but dh says he'd still prefer a collie.

Dcs are 14 and 9. I am at home most of the time.

Which would be best?

Get a boxer. I've had three and they are amazing dogs. They aren't the most intelligent of dogs but what they lack in brains they more than make up for in personality and love. They would be perfect for your boys.

I'm not a collie fan. They are working dogs which require a specific type of lifestyle.

I would worry that collies really need to be worked a lot and aren't so keen to snuggle down and watch telly with you of an evening lol

Pfft! Tell that to my friend's collie, who seems to think he's much smaller than he is and tries to be a lap dog.

You should also read Clare Balding's book My Animals and Other Family. She has always had boxers in her family and adores them. She tells the story of when she was a toddler one of her boxers flinging itself out of a first floor window because somebody the dog didn't know was talking Clare out somewhere! That definitely tallies with my experience of them.

Boxers do not like going out in the rain!

I've two, its pouring down outside, DH mentioned 'walk' and both dogs looked like 'what? in that? no thanks' ( and settled back down on their three person bean bag in front of the window)

Aww, poor labs If I had a dog I'd have a black lab, for sure. My DB's is also bright and handsome

But I can't have a dog as I'm too lazy

Oh yes. They do hate the rain. They look at you like your insane if you get the lead out when it's wet outside

My schnauzer goes to the door, peers out at the sky and then turns straight back round and back to bed if the weather doesn't suit . Also if we have walked "too far" he will just sit down and if you don't come back to him quick enough will take himself off back home. So one circuit of the park is fine, two and he will stop at the gate and sit there.

We have 2 dogs, my DPs is a collie and mine is a samoyed (very big, fluffy white husky type thing). DP got his collie (pippa) when he was about 15 on the basis they're quite easy dogs to train. However pippa is quite neurotic and gets terrible separation anxiety when left alone but that's her temperament and being bullied by her brother when she was a puppy. All I can say is watch the puppies carefully. Xxx

I looked after someone's King Charles Spaniel for the weekend. I thought, "Ah, some nice long walks." It was the laziest of dogs. It went up the road and then, as akaemmafrost's dog, sat down and refused to budge and inch and I had to carry it home. It refused to go out in the rain... or even light drizzle.

Unless you have a lot of time to devote to exercising and training a collie, then don't get one. They are very bright, but that needs to be used and directed, and as dogs bred to be running all day that is what they want to be doing.

My parents had litter sister collies, and though of an evening they wanted to cuddle, the rest of the day they were in the go, or on high alert to be off again. I think their minimum exercise to be happy was 3 hours off lead running per day

lainiekazan my mum had a spaniel and god help you if you took it for a walk and a) walked at a quicker speed than my mum did or b) tried to go a different route - she would just sit down and refuse to walk!

Having watched two bully boxer dogs rip a chunk out of our border collie's shoulder muscle when I was a child has coloured my view of boxers somewhat - so I'd always go for a collie with those options

Having said that, unless you can give a collie a lot of exercise I wouldn't recommend them either!

A boxer every time. Friendly, full of beans, loving, loyal oh and completly daft! Gorgeous dogs.

Another vote for a collie. Our old collie (we lost him nearly two years ago) was so bright we had to spell words out in front of him (V.E.T W.A.L.K) but he could spell so that was all a bit pointless! We could walk him for hours and he would get home and look as if to say 'is that it?'

We now have a Springer Spaniel - the difference is incredible. The pup is positively dim - in the nicest possible way - compared to my collie.

Oh, and the only boxer I have ever known would cover me with great gobbets of slobber. Yeuch!

Get a boxer! We'd never had a dog before & got one last summer. Yes, they need a lot of attention when they're puppies but ours is 9 months now and most of the time he does exactly what he's told. He's adorable, loyal and loves cuddles.

Boxers have heart problems and have some heart syndrome which means they can literally drop dead in mid air. We used to look after a friends the first one died jumping in the air at 9 and the second one did the same thing at 4 they were absolutely devastated as these dogs were their children.
I found them incredibly friendly loving fantastic with children although they will guard children my DC's were babies when we used to look after them and they miss read a situation and went for man in the park so you have to be careful and we found them vey trainable and obedient providing you're consistent and firm. But they dribble snore needs tonnes of exercise just running round and round and round and bounce everywhere. We never heard them bark once. I wouldn't own one there are plenty of healthier less dribbly snory dogs out there.
I grew up on farms with boarder collies IMO these are working dogs who are only really happy when they are doing what they were bred to do; round up sheep. Or if not rounding up sheep some other activity like fly ball or obedience. So unless you have a couple of hundred sheep up on some hill in the middle of no where which you need to round up every day or cant think of anything better than spending your evenings at fly ball/obedience classes frankly I wouldn't touch one as a pet with a barge pole I'd rather have a whole house full of boxers.

The thick Labrador thing is a front. They pretend to be to lull you into a false sense of security so you decide to padlock the fridge for example.

So you don't decide, sorry

very true about the boxer heart issue but they dont all have heart issues

lolly doesn't

oh yeah, she doesn't like the rain and walks around puddles but she goes crazy leaoing around and snuffling in the snow

we affectionately call her 'pigdog' as her snuffling, sniffing noise is very pig-like

its a positive thing
we like pigs
dp used to keep them and thought they were wonderful

Boxer boxer boxer boxer boxer boxer boxer boxer.
Best dogs ever.

Do you like boxers, then, belizabus?

Collie. Mine's hard work, but he makes me think; how to make things interesting for him. He really makes me try hard for him. He does need it, but then for me, getting a dog was about a new (potentially challenging! oh yes, and so it is) relationship. I dunno about boxers though.

I have a boxer. He is very intelligent, friendly but also very protective of the house and family. He sleeps outside the kids room at night to make sure they are safe and loves a cuddle and a play.

He needs over an hour off the lead a day to burn off his energy but as long as he has that then he is calm and very well behaved. A lot of people who come to the house comments on how calm he is and that they thought boxers were mad, over excited lunatics. He's fine on his own for a few hours but I wouldn't recommend anyone getting a boxer if they work away from home full time.

I've had 4 boxers, one lived to 17, one to 13, another to 7 and my current one is 3. Never any heart or liver problems, or any dominance or aggression issues and none of mine have been neutered either.

An ex boyfriend had a collie and, although very sweet, she used to roll on her back and wee herself whenever she heard a loud noise or saw someone she didn't know. I know they're not all like that but I don't think I could cope with that character and prefer a more confident type like a boxer!