My husband and I have been talking about getting a dog and it seems the time has finally come. I grew up with one of the best dogs ever to grace the planet, a Golden Retriever named Durango, and on weekends with my Dad’s pack of wild rescues, which at one point reached a high of nine dogs, so I have known since we bought our house three years ago that it was only a matter of time, but for John (that’s my husband), this has taken a little more convincing. You see, he never had a dog growing up and he’s never lived with one as an adult. His only pets growing up were Frisky and Furry, two short-lived hamsters whom he remembers fondly but with whom he quite understandably had only a fleeting bond.

But for my birthday this year, John’s gift was the go-ahead on project dog, so we’re in the throes of research and planning now.

I’ve been a little hesitant to talk about it here on my blog because at the moment we’re planning on working with a breeder rather than rescuing a dog. My cat is a rescue and I try to support rescue programs in whatever way I can. With my history of being just another “pup” in a rescue pack, I can’t help but do that. But for this particular choice, when my husband is so new to the world of dogs and really wants a puppy to start with from 8 weeks, working with a good breeder seems like the best choice. Little does John know that I plan to round out our own pack once with rescues once he falls in love with Dog #1.

So step one for us was choosing a breed. My co-worker Andrew DePrisco, wrote a book a few years back called Choosing A Dog For Life which was a great help in this process. John and I pored over the breed descriptions again and again before narrowing it down to fourteen breeds, then four, then one. To my surprise and delight, we ultimately chose the Boxer.

We have met and loved a number of Boxers during our time together and I can’t wait to bring that energy into our home. So now it’s just a matter of finding the right one.

There are fantastic and reputable breeders here in New Jersey, which is very lucky for us. Yesterday, a friend suggested that we might want to think about bringing a white Boxer home. From what I have read, fully 25 percent of Boxers are born white in color, or mostly white with some patches or fawn or brindle, and they are not up to the breed standard for showing. The standard dictates that the dog must not be more than one-third white to compete as a show dog. White Boxers are slightly more prone to hearing problems, apparently, but otherwise are just as playful, loyal and fabulous as their fawn and brindle litter-mates.

With this thought in mind last night, John and I spent a good portion of the evening reading about white Boxers and watching YouTube videos of them. And I think we’re in love.

I’m going to look into this possibility and see what comes up. It would be nice since we are planning on working with a breeder this time to still bring home a dog that is less “wanted” than others. Who doesn’t love an underdog?