Hi, i'm asking this on behalf of a friend of my hubby who has a male Brindle Boxer, he is not looking to use his dog as a stud, but did not know that boxers are prone to Health problems, (same as us till we joined this Group) i was wondering if you very knowledgable ppl on here could tell me of any health probs regarding male boxers or books and i can print it out for him and pass it on to him, as he was shocked to hear about cancer and heart problems, and also thats the reason why we will never try to breed our female boxer Kim,because this is where i heard of all the scarey stories and to be honest a Real wakeup call NOT to breed our dog, so any advice would be very very helpfull, Thankingyou all in advance
Rose

Hi Rose,

Hip Dysplasia affects many breeds, including the Boxer.

Tumours - Boxers tend to get various lumps and bumps. Many are not serious but all should be checked as Boxers are prone to various cancers.

Gingival hyperplasia - gums overgrowing the teeth.

Hypothyroidism - incidence seems to be increasing in Boxers.

Aortic stenosis (SAS) - a deformity in the heart valve

Cardiomyopathy - enlargement & weakening of the heart muscle.

Progressive axonopathy - I think this has almost been bred out now.

Corneal recurrent erosion - inability of the cornea to heal after injury.

Canine folicular dysplasia - hair becomes brittle and/or falls out.

Bloat.

Epilepsy.

Degenerative myelopathy - neurological condition leading to paralysis.

For more info. see http://americanboxerclub.org/health/healthfr.htm
Or do a Google search on any of the above terms +Boxer.

Hope things are going well with you now.

Another potential health problem reported in the dog papers breed notes
awhile back was
Von Willebrands (vWD).
At present there have not been many cases reported in the UK.
But it's something that should be considered and tested for.
Also another one is Spondylosis.

I think that the above list that Shadowboxer has included is quite comprehensive.
Health tests can be done for vWD, Thyroid,Hearts, Hips, eyes, spine.
Cancer is a common occurrance in the veteran Boxer and can happen in the breed at any age :(

Hi Rose,
Yes cancer does seem to be the biggest killer.I lost my wonderful George last year to it aged 8 1/2.I was most heartened though by someone I met the other day who was telling me all about her 14 year old female and she said was in great health and as lively as her pup!
They also have very sensitive digestive systems(you have proberbly noticed that)and can react badly to insect stings(lumps all over body).
I have a few Boxer books but my favourite is "Boxers by Jo Royale" it has so many wonderful photos and is about Boxers as opposed to any breed and just fill in the name differently(which I find alot of breed books do).
Hazel