Boxer Personality vs. Pitbull Personality

Both the boxer and pit bull breeds of dogs are known for being aggressive with strangers entering their properties and threatening the humans and animals within a building. Both dogs were bred for fighting at various times in their histories, but can be socialized to become loyal, friendly family pets living with children and other pets.

  1. Exercise

    • The boxer is a breed that is naturally happy, curious and energetic that is often used by military and police groups as a working dog. The boxer is more mentally energetic than the pit bull and requires daily exercise of both a physical and mental variety in order to stay well trained. When daily physical and mental is exercise is not provided, the boxer can become highly strung and aggressive. The pit bull is naturally aggressive toward other dogs and other animals, with other dogs often attacked with a bite around the neck. The nature of the pit bull requires the dog to be exercised each day to stop the dog becoming aggressive and destructive toward its owners' property, people and animals.

    Family

    • A pit bull can become a successfully socialized member of a family when the natural order of a pack is created with the pit bull kept at the lower end of the pack, including humans. When the pecking order within a family is established and the pit bull is positioned beneath its owners in the family pack, the dog becomes a loyal, obedient family pet that can live happily with children and other pets. The high pain tolerance of the pit bull means it can successfully play with small children without becoming overly aggressive due to pain caused by the rough play of children. The boxer is a protective dog toward the family it lives with and can be a successful watch and guard dog. While known visitors will be welcomed by the boxer, an intruder entering the borders of the family home will be restrained by the boxer with its jaws and with the boxing paws motion from which the breed gets its name.

    Training

    • Both the pit bull and boxer require training for an owner to control the temperament of the dogs. When the boxer is not fully trained to recognize its owner as its master, negative aspects of its personality can become prominent. The negative personality traits include demanding attention, boisterous behavior and becoming difficult to control. An untrained pit bull can become difficult to control as well, and can attempt to dominate its owner.

    Fighting

    • Both the pit bull and boxer breeds have been used throughout their history as fighting dogs. The pit bull is more associated with this behavior, as it can be trained to be more aggressive than the breed's natural temperament. The personality of the boxer is naturally dominating of other dog breeds and requires training to alter this behavior to become more tranquil.