Boxers

I have a friend with beautiful boxers she shows in conformation, agility, ob and rally.  Her comments indicate cardio problems are rampant.... She indicated health history and health testing are critical as she lost a dog in his first two years (who appeared quite healthy as a puppy).  Testing on the parents (grandparents and beyond if possible) and prior litters may help your chances.  A health guarantee of replacement (not necessarily with return of the puppy) or refund would be a must in my mind.

PS  the cardio is not the screening evaluation done over the telephone... it is the full blown cardio exam, under anthestesia and stress.

A roommate of mine had a boxer and she was such a sweetheart.  They are great family dogs but do have a ton of energy. As far as health concerns, well, a vet I knew would call them "cancer factories".  I know that sounds a bit harsh and maybe a bit bias to the breed but unfortunately there are far too many boxers who do suffer from cancer and at very early ages.  That is something I would defiantly bring that up with a breeder.  Avoid breeders who want to breed white boxers, many white boxers are born blind, deaf and/or have a load of health problems.  Ear and tail docking would be a good subject to bring up depending on what your brother's preference is.

Good luck to your brother. Everyone hit the nail on the head. Can have alot of energy and also the camcer/heart issues. When I was working at the vets in GA we had two brother boxers come in with cancer. One white and the other fawn with alot of white. Once he does get his pup post a pic because tehy sure are cute babies!

  The health issues have been pretty well covered - heart problems are probably the main concern and I don't think there are any lines that are totally free of them. They are also more prone to cancer and at younger ages than the average dog. I know a long time Boxer breeder who has said that with Boxers, 10 is an average life expectancy and they are considered "seniors" at around 8. Obviously some live longer but some don't even make it to 10. Someone else I know who has gotten into Boxers more recently has already lost two under the age of 6 to cancer :(

  Personality wise, be sure your neighbor is up for a very active, overly exuberant dog. As youngsters Boxers are wild and extremely physical dogs. They will leap, jump up and body slam you with enthusiasm. Their play style is offense to many other dogs because it is very rough. Most Boxers do seem to settle a bit once they hit four or so but some never really do. They can have serious issues with same sex aggression and some still retain guarding/territorial instinct.

Thanks guys, I will definately mention this to my brother. 

 Stacey a friend up the street has a young boxer.  They got him as a pup because they had done rescue for two previous boxers both of whom died prior to age 5; one at 2.5 of cardiomyopathy and the other at 4 from cancer.

The pup was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at 6 months.  He is fairly stabilized on meds for it now but it certainly will effect his life expectancy and he is more limited activity wise than a healthy pup.  Good breeders should be doing the now available dna test for CM.  Its been up and running for a while now and all owners are encourage to send in dna to help track the flaw.

Campbell is a handful in other ways too - he is reactive and even with Bugsy he is a bit much in greetings.  He jumps on people, dogs all the time although he is slightly better now (age 2.5 on heart and seizure meds).  She has taken him to umpteen classes and worked with him a ton.  None of it seemed to help, he would go nuts when he saw a human or another dog.  He's actually a fun dog but the pouncing is very unpleasant and Bugsy got a point he wanted nothing to do with him. He lives with two doxies and was really rough with them too.

I think boxers are great looking dogs and I love that they are athletic but the health issues and behavioral issues are significant. I have met some lovely boxers but most have been pouncers, I think that training them is a significant task.

I hate sounding so down on a breed especially one that I really do like but they do have intense health issues and potential owners should be aware of the common behavioral issues

I'm going to mention one more thing in addition.  And I *am* a boxer lover -- Ms. Socks was a boxer/pit mix.  And I grew up next door to the most awesome boxer in the world (and Duchess was probably THE smartest dog I've ever known).

In **today's** society -- boxers are automatically put in that "dangerous dogs" category.  They have that "bully" look and can unfortunately appeal to the "macho" idiots who wouldn't know "training" from the railroad train that shoulda hit them.  *sigh*

But because they have this rambunctious streak it's reinforced it -- BUT that translates to them being one more dog where you can really have problems depending on where you live. 

 Tell them BEFORE they get one to check their homeowner's insurance -- make sure boxers (or any other breed) aren't going to be uninsurable, and also is there any breed-ban legislation where they are that may impact this?

Ms. Socks was the most gentle soul on the planet.  She looked FAR more boxer than pit and yet more than once we were approached and told that she 'wasn't allowed' specifically calling her a "dangerous dog".  About the only 'dangerous' thing about her was that if she didn't get to go "out" quick enough after she started to cough her diaper/jeans might leak and your shoe might get wet!  *rolling eyes*  She just didn't have anything other than gentleness in her.

It's a simple fact that they have a "don't mess with me" type of face and make sure your family has thought of this first.

 Also, btw -- demodex can be a big boxer problem as well. 

Thank you guys so much for all the info.  It basically reinforces what I had briefly heard/knew about the breed.  I have never looked into boxers myself as a potential breed for me, so I did want to make sure what I had thought/heard was true and not internet misguidings. 

My brother is very set on getting a boxer, they are going to meet the breeder again today and see a couple females that she has available.  They might be coming home with the dog today, more likely than not.  While I have my reservations with him and his fiance getting a boxer because of their health issues, it is obviously their choice and I am trying not to be too obnoxious in my "advice" I offer them.  Apparently I am a bit too blunt sometimes.  LOL.  I did offer help with finding a breeder, but they are set on this breeder as well.  All I can do is stand back and politely offer some questions they might want to ask the breeder and hope for the best from there.  if I am too pushy, they won't listen or talk to me at all.  That much I know.  I sure hope everything goes well.  I would hate to see them lose a dog at a very younge age.

If finane is a concern, pet insurance would be a good idea with this breed especially since he's starting with a puppy with no pre-existing conditions.  I'm not really sure what's out on the market right now but contact a vet clinic as ask what they suggest.  Usually how it works with pet insurance is the owner has to pay the vet cost up front and then submit a claim to be reimbursed for the fee.  I would also suggest keeping an emergency credit card set aside just incase a situation did come up were finances are involved.

Great idea Xebby!  I will definately tell them to ask their vet about pet insurance available in Canada.  I completely forgot about it! 

I am a first time boxer owner, Bella is now 4 years old.  She is a wonderful dog and this will be a breed that I always have in my home.  Yes, there are many health issues to take into consideration.  But you can look into every "pure" bred breed and you will find some sort of health issue to be aware of.  The biggest consideration is to purchase from a reputable breeder who does the correct health testing. 

As far as temperment, I have not found the breed to be any more of a handful than any other dog I've ever owned.  I have a very good training facility near me.  She is the first dog that I've taken for any type of training other than a puppy class.  I did this not because I felt she needed it but because we have fun!  She passed her CGC class before she was 1 year old.  She is also registered with TDI as a therapy dog although we have not done anything to date.  I really took her to the test on a whim, I wanted to see what she would do.  Low and behold, she passed!  We take her everywhere with us.  She loves to go to the store and we've taken her on vacation with us as well. 

If you don't have room for them to run, daily walks are a must.  If you have somewhere to go off leash, be ready for the boxer burn!  Basically they will take off running, hell bent for election!  Bella will be standing still and then all of a sudden, off she goes, fast as she can in big laps around the house.  They also have a movement called the beaning.  When happy they will bend their body into the shape of a kidney bean, U-shaped butt to nose.  Bella did this the first night that we had her.  I didn't know it was a boxer trait and was afraid that I had gotten myself a defective puppy!  But they are also very much cuddlers and lap dogs.  They are extremely lovable and smart as a whip.

Once you are around one for any length of time, you will be hooked!

My boss bred boxers for years and years.  She's in love with the breed, but is the first to admit that they are plagued with awful health problems.  Her dogs have all been show boxers and have been bred from great lines, but they've almost all had some sort of health problem or another. 

She's lost quite a few dogs at a young age to heart-related problems.  She also said that if she doesn't lose them young to heart problems then she usually loses them to cancer when they get older.  All of her dogs are EXTREMELY well taken care of, she spares no expense at the vet, and yet she still has to go through heart problems and cancer with almost every dog. 

She loves the breed so much, I'm sure it just tears her up to know that they are this prone to health issues.  She currently only has one boxer left (she's getting older and is getting into smaller dogs, she has a french bulldog as well as the boxer :) ).  That dog has been to the vet every few months for the past three years that I've known her.  She has had cancer scares, she has numerous fatty tumors, she's been going through this whole skin issue, she's on heart medication....the list goes on and on, and this was a championship dog!

My boss said this is the oldest boxer she's ever had and the dog is, I believe, 11 years old.  Most of them just die young of either heart problems or cancer.  It's very sad, and because of the prevalance of so many health issues it scares me away from ever owning one of these gorgeous dogs, at least until they start getting all of these problems under control.