Buenos Aires, an adventure in Boxers

As a long time volunteer for BRLA, Boxers are part of daily life. Between those living in our home and the hundreds staying in the BRLA kennel, a daily Boxer fix is a must.
Besides Boxers, travel is another personal passion. Our two Boxers travel many places with us (you might have seen Big and Georgia's Excellent Adventure) but South American was not a trip they could go on. Our dogs were set with a home sitter for over two weeks and we were prepared to miss those funny faces and crazy personalities.

We knew that our trip would include the gracious people of South American, savory foods and the delicious Malbec wines of Argentina. To our suprise our adventures in South America became a suprise adventure in Boxers as they are one of the most popular dogs around. Enjoy the 13 brief glimpses of some Buenos Aires Boxers.

- Joni, BRLA volunteer.

Paseaperros

One of the most unique sites in Buenos Aires are the dog walkers or Paseaperros. The city is the 10th most populated in the world and they love their dogs. The city is mostly vertical living in multi-story apartment buildings. With busy work schedules the dogs need walkers to provide them with the outside experience they cannot get in a flat. It is not uncommon to see a walker with dozens of dogs. Sixteen was the most we saw during our stay. It is something to see as all dogs walk in harmony and total peace. Most of these dogs are un-altered and the fact that they all get along is nothing short of a miracle. Actually it’s a credit to the Argentine way of life. People there are confident and very relaxed. Dogs are dogs and they are happy just being dogs. It is obvious they do not have the emotional baggage as dogs of other cultures do.

Charo

As we all know Boxers are social butterflies. Meet Charo the cuchi-cuchi Boxer of the Buenos Aires café scene. Day or night you would find Charo and her mom having a coffee or a cocktail in one of the trendy sidewalk cafes. Charo would wander from table to table, not to beg for food, but simply to acknowledge her fellow diners. Charo was also a fashion hound with her shiny chain necklace. As it turns out what we thought was jewelry for dogs was actually a triple choke chain. It was functional as well as very fashionable. Charo was one chic chick.

Parque Las Hadas

We had an apartment in a chic neighborhood called Palermo Chico. From the window of our 7th story flat we could see Parque Las Hadas, one of the larger city parks frequented by the Paseaperros. A walker will arrive at a swanky apartment and park his growing pack to a light pole. They wait patiently as the walker goes up to get the newest member. Once down, off they go until all dogs are picked up. Then it’s off to the park. They run, socialize, hang out and enjoy about 3 hours of quality time before the drop off procedure begins. These are some of the happiest well balanced dogs we have ever seen in our lives.

CeCe

We met Cece (or perhaps her owner was simply saying Yes, Yes – Si, Si) the day of the Academy Awards. This park was being decking out for a big red carpet event that evening. Cece and friends were getting in some play time before the black tie crowd arrived. Cece was the typical Boxer, chasing all the other dogs around, getting along with everyone. Typical for Buenos Aires, not so much for us back in the states. She was a beautiful young girl who lived a charmed life in this beautiful Boxer filled city.

Amigos

Buenos Aires is by all appearances very much a European city. It was founded by a flood of European immigrants. Most indigenous people were driven out. You can see the Italian influence in the architecture, language (a kind of Italian Spanish) and the food. The Spanish are the other predominate immigrant influence with culture, food and language. The German influence is apparent in two of the three most popular dogs you see: Boxers and German Shepards. Labs are the third most popular. Sadly they do not spay/neuter as we do, but all these dogs exist in harmony and surreal canine serenity. Go figure.

Grupo de Perro

The Paseaperros do not just walk the dogs. It’s a complete social outing where when returned home the dogs are both physically and mentally exhausted. The parks of Buenos Aires are filled with people, going here and there, sun bathing, kids playing in parks (most parks have a working carousel in them) and non stop people watching. Along with the other dogs, there is a lot of mental stimulus for the dog out with walkers. Some dogs run free, others are tied in groups to trees to chill and observe for awhile. It’s an amazing canine social circle and Boxers are always in the mix.

Dude & Old Dude

We saw this white Boxer a couple of time in the Plaza de Chile. We also met the old Boxer numerous times. Once we realized they were together were dubbed them Dude and Old Dude. What is so cool about these two is how far they would wander from their humans, but apparently always had one eye on them. They would explore to the edge of the park and never even considered stepping into the traffic whizzing down Avenida de Liberator.

This day Dude and Old Dude spent quite a bit of time getting attention from us but without being called headed straight back to their humans. All they needed was to see the kids being loaded in the stroller and they knew they would be moving on. It was so respectful how Dude and Old Dude simply fell in line behind the humans departing the park. Old Dude was definitely showing Dude the ropes. They crossed the busy streets without leads, right behind their humans. It was a like a beautiful Boxer ballet.

Shop Like a Dog

Dogs go every where with their owners in Buenos Aires. You see them in cafes, waiting outside shops and just out and about together. These are some Boxers that we met in the city's swanky shopping areas. The puppy was a show stopper, he was 4 months old. His name was Nestor. The big brindle was a calm sophisticated shopper. The little in your face brindle was the only Boxer that acted like an American Boxer…totally out of control. Carla was a wiggling, licking, ball of energy. She must have been imported from the U.S.

Estancia La Bamba

A hours outside of Buenos Aires in an area called San Antonio de Areco, Estancia La Bamba nestles into the trees and the wide open spaces of the Pampas. It’s a working cattle ranch that was established in 1835 as a stagecoach stop. Now a days visitors from around the world can make the journey and stay on an Estancia. It’s an authentic experience run by a family that has owned La Bamba forever. Guests can ride horses or just relax and be pampered in the Pampas. We spent a few days there with a handful of other guests from the UK, Italy and Argentina. There were no Boxers at La Bamba but the ranch dogs deserve to be included. Bruno is the 4 month old Labrador puppy. He was everywhere and got into everything. Jacko is the long haired ranch dog that was calm and a trusted partner of the Gauchos. Cata is the little Jack Russel that led every horse, cow or tractor out of and into the ranch. He never stopped working. He is shown with Simon, who is a 4 year old mini-gaucho. His family own this magical ranch which we highly recommend visiting in your lifetime.

Parque de Random

These are random Boxers from many different parques in the city. The brindle that appears to be bird watching was cruising alone in near the Zoo. The others continue to be examples of how social and well behaved the Boxers of Buenos Aires are. They have their own harmony with all the other dogs of the city. The group hanging out under the tree shows one of the few Boxer mixes sighted. Everyone enjoys their daily outings to various city parques.

Tails of the City

With all the Boxers we saw in Buenos Aires most had natural ears and cropped tails. We did see one guy with cropped ears and this munchkin was the only Boxer we saw with a tail. He was with his Paseaperro having a great time with his Boxer pal and others in their group. They were charged by a really big black lab loose in the park but no one went beyond barking. You can see that if anyone was going to react it was the two Boxers. But they didn't. The brindle guy with the tail had such a unique look but was definitely 100% Boxer.

Blanco Boxers

We saw boxers of all sizes, ages and colors. It’s good to know that white Boxers are adored in Buenos Aires along with the other colors. No AKC rules are followed here and it does not matter if you are three quarters or all white, you are a loved Boxer. The two dogs were in Parque Las Hadas along with the big white guy. The single white Boxer was spotted in the beautiful gardens of Plaza Francia.

Uruguay

A ferry ride from Buenos Aires, across the Rio del Plata, you arrive on the shores of Uruguay. A beautiful long drive north of the port and you arrive in paradise: Jose Ignacio. Miles from everyone and everywhere. There is only one 10 room hotel in town, 2 restaurants and a few shops all accessable by bicycle. This is paradise and we have definately gotten away from it all. But who do we meet the first time we hit the local beach front restaurant, yep, a Boxer.

He was a confident handsome guy so we named him Santiago after our suave hotel manager. It was a cold day so Santiago snuggled into the sand outside the restaurant. He did get a little frisky with a fancy Schnauzer on a leash who dared walk onto his beach. Like other South American Boxers Santiago only got frisky, not agressive. He came running when he saw food in hand. He ate half my fish for lunch. He was not wanting for food and must have lived nearby. Santiago was something else, very macho with a heart of gold. We never saw him again after this very, very long lunch at La Huella in Jose Ignacio.