WELCOME TO HOME COUNTIES BOXER WELFARE
We are a Boxer rescue charity, established in 1991, committed to helping Boxers in need find loving homes . We initially only covered the Home Counties region, hence the name, but now cover a wider area as demand for our help has expanded. In addition to helping find homes for Boxers in need, we also provide support to Boxer owners to assist them with the on-going care of their Boxer with help, advice and in some cases funding. We have a network of volunteers who foster, home check, transport and fundraise for us.
We hold 2 shows annually, one in Worplesdon and one in Tyttenhanger. We also have an AGM around March and a Xmas party in early December. We welcome your Boxer family members at all of our events! For more information about past and next events, please visit our Events page.
WELCOME TO HOME COUNTIES BOXER WELFARE
We are a Boxer rescue charity, established in 1991, committed to helping Boxers in need find loving homes . We initially only covered the Home Counties region, hence the name, but now cover a wider area as demand for our help has expanded. In addition to helping find homes for Boxers in need, we also provide support to Boxer owners to assist them with the on-going care of their Boxer with help, advice and in some cases funding. We have a network of volunteers who foster, home check, transport and fundraise for us.
We hold 2 shows annually, one in Worplesdon and one in Tyttenhanger. We also have an AGM around March and a Xmas party in early December. We welcome your Boxer family members at all of our events! For more information about past and next events, please visit our Events page.
PLEASE NOTE : We currently have a very long waiting list of people seeking a dog and are therefore not accepting any new general registrations at this time. If you are interested in a specific dog featured on this site or our facebook page, please contact the committee member listed in the advert.
COVID-19 Latest update
Our welfare and rehoming activities are continuing and we are acting in accordance with government and local advice and guidelines.
We are mindful to protect the health and wellbeing of our trustees, volunteers and the general public, so we have had to change the way we work, but please be assured we're doing everything we can to make sure that we can continue to help Boxers in need.
If you are looking to re-home your Boxer
Please call one of our Trustees or complete our on-line form . All details are on our 'Contact Us' tab . We will be happy to talk to you about your current circumstances and the ways in which we can help.
If you are Adopting a Boxer from HCBW
There is a great deal of anxiety, worry and concern at the moment. Being around animals can bring great pleasure, companionship and mental health benefits. If you are in the process of adopting a Boxer from HCBW, we will work with you to ensure we find a safe way to enable this process to continue. We will do everything we can to limit all unnecessary social interaction, and will practise frequent hand washing with soap and sanitiser. We ask that all adoptive families also wash their hands and use hand sanitiser during any visit. If you feel unwell or are experiencing any symptoms, or if you or a family member are self–isolating, we ask that you please call so we can work out the next steps for you.
Boxers in Foster care with us.
If fosterers experience any problems with the dogs currently in their care or in the event of circumstance changes, as always, please contact us.
If you want to join our Database
We are continuing to halt any future potential adoptive homes from joining our database at this time. This is so that we can limit home-check interactions to only those homes being considered for a specific dog.
We are mindful to protect the health and wellbeing of our trustees, volunteers and the general public, so we have had to change the way we work, but please be assured we're doing everything we can to make sure that we can continue to help Boxers in need.
If you are looking to re-home your Boxer
Please call one of our Trustees or complete our on-line form . All details are on our 'Contact Us' tab . We will be happy to talk to you about your current circumstances and the ways in which we can help.
If you are Adopting a Boxer from HCBW
There is a great deal of anxiety, worry and concern at the moment. Being around animals can bring great pleasure, companionship and mental health benefits. If you are in the process of adopting a Boxer from HCBW, we will work with you to ensure we find a safe way to enable this process to continue. We will do everything we can to limit all unnecessary social interaction, and will practise frequent hand washing with soap and sanitiser. We ask that all adoptive families also wash their hands and use hand sanitiser during any visit. If you feel unwell or are experiencing any symptoms, or if you or a family member are self–isolating, we ask that you please call so we can work out the next steps for you.
Boxers in Foster care with us.
If fosterers experience any problems with the dogs currently in their care or in the event of circumstance changes, as always, please contact us.
If you want to join our Database
We are continuing to halt any future potential adoptive homes from joining our database at this time. This is so that we can limit home-check interactions to only those homes being considered for a specific dog.
HOW WE WORK
We consist of a small number of people who voluntarily give their time to rehoming those boxers who, through no fault of their own, have to find a new family.
We are also here to help Boxer owners with general advice on the Boxer breed and any problems which may arise and in some cases may help support funding for veterinary treatment. For example, where there is difficulty in rehoming a dog due to age or medical condition, we can offer help with veterinary fees. This is only possible thanks to our Sponsor Scheme supporters. We also aim to promote responsible Boxer ownership and encourage supporters and Boxer lovers to attend our fun dog shows.
All of our dogs will be neutered prior to re-homing, or we’ll ask you to arrange for the dog to be neutered by your own vet and HCBW will pay a contribution to the vet direct.
As you can imagine, all of these activities run away with the finances, and as a registered charity we rely solely on your kind donations from membership, sponsorship and adoption.
- We work with the family who need to re-home their Boxer and help support them in that process
- We carry out dog assessments and gather as much information as possible about the dog to be re-homed
- We find suitable matches for the dogs needs through our database of home-checked, Boxer-savvy owners
- Before a potential match is registered on our system they will have carried out a phone interview with us and completed a successful face-to-face meeting and home check at their own home
- We aim to place dogs directly from one home to another, however, sometimes it is necessary to use kennels on a temporary basis and we work closely with approved kennels and staff to ensure the dogs needs are met as a priority
- We arrange home checks for any potential homes through our network of volunteer home-checkers
- We work with canine behaviourists and can recommend trainers for dogs with more advanced training needs
- Where required, we arrange and transport dogs in our care for veterinary treatment
- We provide transport for introductions, visits and hand-over for dogs in our care, sometimes this is a meeting point half-way and where possible
- We follow up with a home-check for the newly adopted Boxer after they have settled and to ensure everything is going as expected
- We provide follow up support and rescue back up for the remainder of the dogs life
- We always check and register micro-chips for any dogs that come into our care
We are also here to help Boxer owners with general advice on the Boxer breed and any problems which may arise and in some cases may help support funding for veterinary treatment. For example, where there is difficulty in rehoming a dog due to age or medical condition, we can offer help with veterinary fees. This is only possible thanks to our Sponsor Scheme supporters. We also aim to promote responsible Boxer ownership and encourage supporters and Boxer lovers to attend our fun dog shows.
All of our dogs will be neutered prior to re-homing, or we’ll ask you to arrange for the dog to be neutered by your own vet and HCBW will pay a contribution to the vet direct.
As you can imagine, all of these activities run away with the finances, and as a registered charity we rely solely on your kind donations from membership, sponsorship and adoption.
THE BOXER BREED
The Boxer is a descendant of the Bullenbeisser, a German breed which was used to hunt bear, boar and deer in the 19th Century. It is thought that this breed was crossed with the Bulldog and this provided the basis for the present day Boxer.
The Boxer makes a lovely family companion for his intelligence and character, is an excellent guard dog and has proved his worth as a tracking dog and worked in the armed forces as a messenger and as a pack carrier. His clean outline, glossy coat and the nobility of his beautiful head and expression have brought the breed many admirers.
The Boxer is in the Working group of dogs
They can be medium to large dogs, with the females generally being smaller than the males
They have a short coat which can shed
They generally live an average of 10 years
Some breeds can have a natural Bobtail
Boxers are friendly, lively companions that are popular as family dogs. Their suspicion of strangers, alertness, agility, and strength make them formidable guard dogs. As puppies, Boxers demonstrate a fascinating combination of mood-mirroring expressions, energetic curiosity, flexible attention spans and charming characteristics. They sometimes appear at dog agility or dog obedience trials and flyball events. These strong and intelligent animals have also been used as service dogs, guide dogs for the blind, therapy dogs, police dogs in K9 units, and occasionally herding cattle or sheep. The versatility of Boxers was recognised early on by the military, which has used them as valuable messenger dogs, pack carriers, and attack and guard dogs in times of war.
For more information on leading health issues for Boxer's, please visit our Boxer Health page.
The Boxer makes a lovely family companion for his intelligence and character, is an excellent guard dog and has proved his worth as a tracking dog and worked in the armed forces as a messenger and as a pack carrier. His clean outline, glossy coat and the nobility of his beautiful head and expression have brought the breed many admirers.
The Boxer is in the Working group of dogs
They can be medium to large dogs, with the females generally being smaller than the males
They have a short coat which can shed
They generally live an average of 10 years
Some breeds can have a natural Bobtail
Boxers are friendly, lively companions that are popular as family dogs. Their suspicion of strangers, alertness, agility, and strength make them formidable guard dogs. As puppies, Boxers demonstrate a fascinating combination of mood-mirroring expressions, energetic curiosity, flexible attention spans and charming characteristics. They sometimes appear at dog agility or dog obedience trials and flyball events. These strong and intelligent animals have also been used as service dogs, guide dogs for the blind, therapy dogs, police dogs in K9 units, and occasionally herding cattle or sheep. The versatility of Boxers was recognised early on by the military, which has used them as valuable messenger dogs, pack carriers, and attack and guard dogs in times of war.
For more information on leading health issues for Boxer's, please visit our Boxer Health page.
TRAINING
There are many conflicting training techniques out there at the moment, we are facing a time of change and have learned so much through behavioural studies about our dog companions that has changed the way we train our dogs today based on these new understandings. There are still a lot of old trainers / old training styles out there and these are not the way to go. We would simply suggest to do your research on a good puppy socialisation class in your area to begin with - many vets will run these. Then find a good positive reinforcement trainer that is ABTC, IAABC accredited and members of ICAN, PPGuild, and has a diploma in Canine Behaviour - this way you know you are working with someone who will be teaching you safe techniques. Then when your puppy is old enough maybe look into some fun classes like agility or scent work as examples (although generally Boxers are not the best with scent work due to their short noses)! It's all about having fun. Find something you enjoy doing together, as a family with your dog and every day will be fun!
EXERCISE
The Boxer needs around 2 hours of exercise or more per day. They are a very bouncy, energetic breed and can be good at agility.
As an athletic breed, proper exercise and conditioning is important for the continued health and longevity of the Boxer. Care must be taken not to over-exercise young dogs, as this may damage growing bones; however, once mature, Boxers can be excellent jogging or running companions. Because of their brachycephalic head, they do not do well with high heat or humidity, and common sense should prevail when exercising a Boxer in these conditions.
If you are looking for enclosed safe areas to let your Boxer run off lead, there is a great site you can search for spaces in your area: https://www.dogwalkingfields.co.uk
As an athletic breed, proper exercise and conditioning is important for the continued health and longevity of the Boxer. Care must be taken not to over-exercise young dogs, as this may damage growing bones; however, once mature, Boxers can be excellent jogging or running companions. Because of their brachycephalic head, they do not do well with high heat or humidity, and common sense should prevail when exercising a Boxer in these conditions.
If you are looking for enclosed safe areas to let your Boxer run off lead, there is a great site you can search for spaces in your area: https://www.dogwalkingfields.co.uk
FOOD
Food and nutrition plays and important role too and we would suggest doing some research in this area. So many complete dog foods that are available are bad for dogs or not really much good at all, including some of the veterinary recommended ones! The best site for comparison and finding something that works for you and your dog is www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk.
Boxers are very energetic even at old ages. They need plenty of exercise which means their diet should be high in quality calories. The main source of these calories should be lean animal protein, which include lean chicken, turkey, lamb and fish.
Boxers are also prone to dental problems, increasing their susceptibility for bad breath; dry dog food that is large and difficult for them to chew improves the likelihood for plaque removal. Plaque can also be removed by crude fiber in kibble, which has a flexible structure that increases chewing time. Polyphosphates are often coated on the outside of dry dog food, which further reduce plaque buildup by preventing calcium production in saliva. Odor production from the boxer's mouth is likely to be reduced if its teeth and oral cavity are kept in healthy conditions.
Boxers are very energetic even at old ages. They need plenty of exercise which means their diet should be high in quality calories. The main source of these calories should be lean animal protein, which include lean chicken, turkey, lamb and fish.
Boxers are also prone to dental problems, increasing their susceptibility for bad breath; dry dog food that is large and difficult for them to chew improves the likelihood for plaque removal. Plaque can also be removed by crude fiber in kibble, which has a flexible structure that increases chewing time. Polyphosphates are often coated on the outside of dry dog food, which further reduce plaque buildup by preventing calcium production in saliva. Odor production from the boxer's mouth is likely to be reduced if its teeth and oral cavity are kept in healthy conditions.
Please check out our online shop for HCBW merchandise 😄 Your purchase will help our fundraising efforts.
HCBW 2021 Calendar
£9.00
Home Counties Boxer Welfare 2021 Calendar
Help support HCBW by purchasing our 2021 Calendar - each month features an HCBW rescue Boxer.
Price includes £1 P&P
If you are looking for more than 1 calendar, please see our pack prices with reduced P&P costs for 2, 3, 5 and 10.
HCBW Dog Frisbee
£7.00
Home Counties Boxer Welfare material and rope dog frisbee, black rope, white material with black logo. We can't guarantee how long they will last with your Boxer unfortunately but they could provide hours, minutes or seconds of fun!
NB: If you buy this item at a show it will cost £5.00 (online to cover the post and packing costs the item is £7.00)
All money raised from sales of merchandise goes towards funding to help pay for vet bills and re-home Boxer dogs.
On Sale
On Sale
Pack of 3 Tea Towels
£19.50
£16.00
Pack of 3 Home Counties Boxer Welfare bespoke tea towels. This pack is discounted, individually each tea towel is £6.50, meaning you make a £3.50 saving on the pack online!
NB: If you buy this pack at a show it will cost £12.00 (online to cover the post and packing costs the item is £16.00)
These are large tea towels (77x50cm). Material: Cotton.White with black print in 3 different designs:
Home Counties Boxer Logo with Paw Prints
Home Counties Boxer logo Dog
Boxer Silhouette
All money raised from sales of merchandise goes towards funding to help pay for vet bills and re-home Boxer dogs.
