Meet Toby

He knows his own mind, doesn’t forget anything and is very funny. He has adapted really well from surgery 2 years ago to become deaf, following chronic ear disease. He is a brilliant big brother to our other boxer Harry who is 5. There is a general Boxers can be a bit daft, yes they can but this is often short lived, as the next minute they are snoring! They are very intelligent actually.

He can be very stubborn, if he doesn’t like the route you want to walk he will just stop. As a puppy this trait was challenging. They are also very strong so you have to be on the ball with training on the lead.

How much we laugh at Toby and his silly ways. Most surprising though is how much a dog will change you if you let them, so much love, they give you a purpose and structure and a responsibility. The most surprising thing was in his early years how he reacted to a Type 1 hypo my husband was having. He alerted me by barking. He could easily have made an assistance dog.

That when you get a 2nd dog you need to train it like the 1st. Your dog will not train your dog. And that applies to any breed. But boxers are strong dogs and not always great at recall so this needs constant work especially in the early years. I wish I had known how much I would love him!