Recommendations for adding a second Boxer to our family
Hi all, lurker and first time poster. I love seeing the pictures of all of your babies. We are longtime Boxer lovers. We are on our 4th boy, Beau (brindle, 4 years old). We got him when he was about 4 months old after our prior Boxer passed suddenly at an all-too-young age from cardiomyopathy. He’s been well socialized but can be protective of me (the only female in the family) and my young kids (5&7).
We are looking at adding a second Boxer to our family and now that I have kids, I’m worrying (perhaps needlessly) about how they will blend.
Beau has mild separation anxiety. It’s not severe, but we think he’d benefit from having a partner. Our local rescue contacted us last week that they have a puppy available if we want him. I’m both excited and nervous. We know all the tricks - lots of exercise, meet and walk in a neutral zone, etc. But now that I have kids this feels high stakes that it needs to work.
We went to the Rescue’s adoption day a few weeks ago and met a few adult dogs, and Beau didn’t like them near his human brothers. We are hoping the puppy energy will have different results.
Any tips?
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u/Mammoth-Oil-6924 2d ago edited 1d ago
When my boxer puppy became a member of our family at 8 weeks old he seemed to re-energize the 5 year old boxer overall. The older one was "bossy" and, in my opinion, did a phenomenal job of helpng train the puppy. That "puppy" is now 8 years old and he's the most chill companion to me and two cats. I get compliments all the time regarding his good behavior and sweet demeanor. We're missing his older brother as we had to say goodbye 2 years ago but grateful he made it a touch past 12 years old. They were best friends. Boxers are a lot of work and need tons of exercise and enrichment, but they're totally worth it! My late boy was always super protective of me around most other dogs. I don't have children of my own but both boxers were always fantastic with nieces and nephews of all ages.
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u/Clean-Pickle8269 1d ago
I had a female die at 12 and I had an 8 year old male.... I replaced her with a new female and my male had mixed emotions lol that female is now 2 years old and almost 80 lbs..... she is as big as my male!!!!
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u/Mammoth-Oil-6924 2d ago edited 2d ago
The brindle is the youngest and grew to 100 lbs! The fawn weighed 65 lbs in his prime.
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u/hayaku_chan 1d ago
Have you considered getting a girl boxer? The rescue we worked with suggested a male/female pairing when we started fostering to ensure an easier dynamic. Of course, personality and temperament matter most, so finding a girl whose energy complements your boy is key. We foster failed our boy, and now I couldn’t picture life without him and our girl. They balance each other out so well! Also passing along the advice we kindly received when we were thinking about adding another member to our family: boxers are like potato chips, you can’t just have one!
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u/duncan-donuts-nz 2d ago
Do it. If interested in a specific dog perhaps do a meet and greet at a neutral space.
My older boy Pablo is also my fourth and first boxer who has reactivity and anxiety issues but has a heart of gold. When his big sister Daisy passed away last year we decided to go down the puppy route as we couldn’t find a rescue that met everyone’s needs. Enter: Dudley. He’s a different energy (our ray of sunshine) and bringing them together was very different to other times when introducing a puppy to the older sibling. Nothing outside the realm of reasonable dog behaviour but it took a bit of concerted effort in re-establishing the new routine. Pablo likes his one-on-one cuddle time with his dad and if Dudley comes to join in, Pablo will sometimes growl and/or snap so we’ve been working on a new ‘share’ command but he has his own quality time with me so maybe build in something similar with Beau so he still feels part of the pack. After a year Pablo is now semi-retired and lets Dudley take on some of the paw patrol duties. So the dynamic shifted once he was fully grown and now they’re brothers for life.
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u/BXM93X 1d ago
We just went through something very similar. We got Boxer #4 as a 2-month-old male puppy the same month Boxer #3 turned five, also a male. We had always wanted to have two Boxers at the same time, but we heard all the warnings about having two males and were advised by some people to consider a female instead. We were also told that two males can sometimes be easier than two females. In the end, I think so much comes down to the individual dogs, introductions, training, exercise and being willing to put in the work.
So far, our two boys get along great. One of the nicest surprises has been what the puppy has done for our five-year-old. He has completely reenergized him. They play together constantly, chase each other around the yard and of course do the typical Boxer “boxing.” 😂 It has been fun watching the older one become playful in a way we hadn’t seen in a while.
We make sure they both get plenty of exercise outside of just playing with each other. Long walks have been key for us. The puppy also gets an extra one-on-one training walk because he obviously needs more structure and training at this age. We don’t expect the older dog to be responsible for wearing him out or teaching him everything.
We’ve also learned how important it is to protect the older Boxer’s space and routine. There are times when you can tell he’s had enough of the puppy’s nonstop energy and just wants to chill. When we see that, we separate them and give him some peace rather than waiting for him to have to correct the puppy. He still gets his one-on-one cuddle time with us, his own walks and plenty of attention without the little guy around. I think that has helped prevent him from feeling like the puppy suddenly took over his world.
With young kids involved, I would probably be especially deliberate about managing the introductions and not rushing things. Beau being protective of the kids would be the one thing I’d pay close attention to. A puppy may absolutely feel less threatening to him than an unfamiliar adult dog, but I’d still introduce them slowly and give Beau plenty of positive experiences where the puppy is around his family without feeling like he needs to guard anyone.
I’d also give them breaks from each other from day one. Two Boxers don’t have to be together 24/7 just because they get along. Separate walks, separate training sessions, separate resting spaces and individual time with their humans have worked really well for us.
We always wanted two Boxers and so far we’re very pleased that we took the opportunity when it came along. It’s definitely more work especially with a Boxer puppy but watching the relationship develop between the two has made it worth it. And seeing our five-year-old acting like a puppy again has probably been the best part.
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u/Imaginary-Option3480 double dipper 1d ago
They’re much better in pairs! We got Atlas (on the left) when he was 6 weeks old- his mother had passed away. When he was 1 1/2, a friend asked if we could take Ares (on the right), because she was moving, and couldn’t take all her dogs.
My husband swore up and down that they’d fight, since they’re both intact males, but they were best friends almost immediately. Boxers are special.
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u/surfaceofthesun1 2d ago
Puppy vibes are likely to be better than adult dog vibes, from what you describe. I grew up with boxers and always only had 1. Now, i rescue boxers and have had many, usually we stagger ages and have 3 at a time. I will say they are so social and goofy, all my boxers have loved having dog friends. Highly recommend.
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u/Knox_the_Boxer 1d ago
I think a puppy would be the way to go. The puppy is in no way a threat. Beau will recognize that from the beginning. He can easily get away from it if it gets on his nerves in the beginning. It will allow him to grow to love the puppy at his pace. The puppy will most likely be enamored with Beau. It’ll remind them of mom or dad, which is really all it knows at this point.
I say go for it! Nothing better than a boxer… except for two boxers! 🤭
Welcome to the page!
Tell Beau that Knox says, HI!
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u/bgrant670 1d ago
We got him about 9 months before our 14 year old passed. I think it was great for him at the early age… learn a little bit.
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u/BRShooter60 1d ago
We are on #4 & #6. Three have come from breeders as puppies, and three have been rescues. The rescues have all been added as a second dog for companions to existing dogs. They have blended very well. We have a friend who has run a boxer rescue and she vets both dogs and adopters for the right match. Please consider a rescue. They have been some of our best dogs.
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u/seaturtle100percent 1d ago
We are fostering a 1-year-old with an 8-year-old at home and following the protocols of the foster organization. This starts with having them separated in the home. This is partly because, with a foster, you never know what kind of environment they've come from - but the puppy does not have any visible, residual trauma.
The separation has been the most important for our resident dog. He is very protective of me as well - and after a few days he got used to the idea that there was another animal in the house BUT everyone is safe - which seemed really important (his behavior made was at first like he needed to protect, but he got over it with time). He could smell and hear the foster, etc.
That separation period was the thing they stressed the most, and not just our dog - but also we - got adjusted to both dogs at home before the dogs' dynamic began. After 10 days (which was hard), we took them on neutral territory walks together where they sniffed etc but not off leash and nothing too intense. Next week we will start with some on-leash, backyard (home) introductions to see how they do.
So far, this protocol that we learned from the boxer foster organization has been extremely helpful for a smooth entry into having two boxers at home. Our older dog was 2 months old when we got him, and we brought him right home and introduced him to our 8-year-old female (at the time), which was fine because he was a puppy puppy. This way is really great for anything more than 16 weeks old.
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u/Narrow-Principle-233 15h ago
Beau might do better with a sister rather than brother. I have worked with boxer rescue for over 25 years and they do love company!
We just never placed 2 females together.
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u/Which_Grape_8960 14h ago
We added a male puppy when our other male was 2, and it has been a bumpy road (we had a third male but he was already an old man at that point, and the other two didn’t bother him). No one told me (not even the breeder) that two males can be difficult. Highly recommend a female puppy! But overall, absolutely do it! Even though ours took some time (and training) to tolerate each other, they definitely keep each other company now!
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u/Tjlance1 6h ago
When Dante was a year old, we brought Alfie into our home. He was 8 weeks old and Dante fell in love. They were best buds, thick as thieves and the biggest troublemakers.
Unfortunately, we had to put Dante down when he was 7 and Alfie has never been the same. He's still a troublemaker, but something changed in him.
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u/ForeverPuppysMom21 2d ago
What a good lookin boy! I’ve only had one boxer, Puppy, lost him after almost ten years 1/11/2026. I wish we would have got him a sibling, but he did have a kitty that came along when he was about 4. They got along pretty well :…) if I could go back, I would definitely get him one. Just for the company. Here’s a pic of my boy, thought I’d share.:)