Every dog has a unique personality – just like people. I realize that some might disagree with me. But they’re wrong. They’d be just as wrong to believe a dog’s personality is based solely on breed. With SIX boxer dogs, I am a qualified expert on this. Not only are they the same breed, but they’re the same family. Let me introduce you to my pack:
Duke: The undisputed Alpha. He is a magnificent example of the breed. Big, muscular body, dark brindle coat, and the smartest dog I’ve ever met. My brothers might disagree with that last statement, as they tell me that our family dog, Thor, was the smartest. Unfortunately, I was just five years old when he died, so I can’t really say that I knew him well, but I do know he was wonderful, and will share more about him later.
Duke’s Personality: This guy is a rock. He’s unflappable in any situation, except when it’s time to go for a ride in the car, of course. He gets super excited about that and dances around in circles. It’s adorable.
Duke is my husband’s service dog, and he knows exactly what’s expected of him. He accompanies my husband everywhere – even when flying across the country. When in public, he’s on a leash, but that leash is usually just draped over my husband’s shoulder. No need to keep a tight grip because Duke isn’t going to leave my husband for anything. They’ve had encounters with other dogs losing their minds, barking, and lunging. Duke just looks at them like, “Dude, you’re embarrassing yourself,” and walks on past.
Leilani: My princess dog. I’d never had my very own dog before. So, when we decided to breed our rescue, Trouble, we planned to keep one for me. Well, we kept two. I was there when Lelani (aka Lani, Lani Lou, Lou Lou, Boo, and various other names that are NOT my password) was born with those little white feet and the little pink nose, and I fell in love instantly. My husband had quite a bit of experience breeding dogs, and he recommended I hold her close to me right away so she could imprint on my scent. As she got older, I started taking her everywhere with me, and she is a “Velcro dog.” She follows me from room to room and is curled up under my desk as I write this. She’s my sweet girl and, yes, she’s spoiled.
Leilani’s Personality: Leilani is my mini-me. She has a little anxiety in social situations but tries her best when she’s around people she doesn’t know. She will move close to me when we’re in a new place and sometimes will stand right behind me. If someone wants to pet her, I show them how to slowly approach her with an extended hand so she can sniff. Then she may let them pet her. Once. Before she backs away again.
Leilani will go with me anywhere, and I take that as a sign of trust. With me, she’s super affectionate and has the most expressive big brown eyes. Just like my husband with Duke, I don’t have to grip her leash; it’s mostly for show anyway. Lelani isn’t going to run away. She snuggles with me at night and suffers when I must leave her behind. I recently traveled to visit family and was gone for a couple of weeks. My husband stayed behind to take care of the dogs and the house. According to him, Leilani was pining for me much of the time.
Ghost Pepper: We call her Pepper, and she is a flashy fawn with faint (aka “ghost”) brindle markings. Pepper is the result of a “meeting” with some folks advertising for a stud for their fawn female, Fiona. Duke happily answered the call, and my husband volunteered to assist when the whelping time came. Instead of a stud fee, we opted for pick of the litter, and that was Pepper.
Pepper’s Personality: Poor, sweet Pepper. She’s so affectionate, it’s almost annoying sometimes. She wants to be near us – to the point of being on top of us sometimes. She will give me kisses and snuggles, sometimes to the point where I must push her away. She sits on top of me if she’s anxious. Funny girl, she loves my husband unless he raises his voice, even if he’s directing his voice to one of the other dogs – even the TV. Pepper has expressive big brown eyes and uses them to get her way. Every. Time.
Jade: Well, Pepper’s people were clever. Before Pepper was old enough to come home with us, we received a photo of her and Jade sleeping with their arms around each other. We certainly couldn’t separate them after seeing that picture, so we have Jade too. Very clever. But we’re happy we kept her. Jade is a flashy dark brindle with an elegant body type.
Jade’s Personality: Jade is a wild child. She always has been. She will run full speed back and forth along our wall, barking her head off if she thinks somebody is walking by. She jumps up on the wall to peek over and bark at nothing. We have nicknamed her “Monster.”
Jade is also a sweet girl, and during training, she responds better to praise than to treats. She’ll do anything for an ear rub and a butt scritch.
Earl: When Pepper got old enough, we bred her with Duke. We figured we’d end up with a pup that had Pepper’s looks and Duke’s brains. Out of the litter, we settled on a flashy fawn male whom we named Earl. Because he’s Earl of Duke… More about the brains part in a minute.
Earl’s Personality: He is the sweetest boy. This is good because he is a massive dog. He looks like the kind of dog you’d want as a guard dog. In reality, he’s just a big mush. Don’t get me wrong, we love him. But he’s kind of, well, clueless. Very sweet, but clueless.
Popeye: The baby of the pack. He’s the result of Earl and Jade. Popeye is a flashy dark brindle like his mother. It’s a good thing he’s so cute because he’s a handful! Smart little guy though, and we’re sure he’ll be very trainable as he’s quite attached to my husband.
Popeye’s personality: He’s not a year old as of this writing, so it is hard to say what he’ll be like as an adult. He does love to please – especially my husband. He’s a sweet boy, but he is a wild man. It appears that he inherited his mother’s personality.
Trouble: The original mama of this pack was Trouble. We rescued her from a bad situation, and the poor thing was a kind of a mess. My husband saw her advertised online, so he drove 3 hours to see her. The people who had her said they were unable to care for her, but when he went to take a look, this poor young dog was locked up alone in a room. Not socialized, not housebroken, just alone. Without hesitation, he called to tell me he couldn’t leave the dog with these people and was bringing her home. Of course, I agreed. Sadly, Trouble was killed by feral pigs a few years back. She was protecting Leilani, so, as the Klingons say, “it was an honorable death.” She was a sweetie, and we loved her. I’d like to think she would be proud of her pups.
Kippy, Babe, and Pig: These were the dogs my husband and I had when we met back in 2019.
Kippy was a black lab mix and the sweetest thing. She was my son’s dog and slept on his bed since the day we brought her home from the animal shelter. She had a good life with us and passed from natural causes at the ripe old age of 10. She’ll have a post dedicated completely to her.
Babe and Pig were mother and daughter boxers belonging to my husband. Babe was quite regal and somewhat reserved. Her daughter, Pig, was a big goofball. She got her name because when she ate, she grunted just like a baby pig. More about these two in another post. Suffice it to say, when I first met my husband and he mentioned that he had boxers, I knew he was a keeper.
Personalities – are they part of the breed or the upbringing?
As I’ve described our various dogs here, they each have a unique personality. Some of their behaviors can be attributed to the breed. But since they have all been raised in the same house, I’d have to say it’s not just the breed or the upbringing. It’s the individual.
Helster777 