5 Common Health Hazards Of The Boxer Dog Breed

Some dog breeds are more susceptible to certain health problems than others. The Boxer dog breed, unfortunately, is also prone to several potential health problems.

Knowing what they are will help you to better monitor your Boxer's health and to gather the pertinent information, in case of an illness, that would assist your veterinarian to administer the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Below are some common afflictions of Boxers.

--Alapechia (Lost of hair on the trunk)

Seems to be more common in male Boxers. One, which died at the age of 12 years and 4 months, was diagnosed with seasonal alopecia. “He used to go bald once a year but the hair always grew back on,” said its owner.

--Bloat

Gastric torsion or GDV or bloat in your Boxer can be life threatening so bring him to the veterinarian immediately.

The stomach gets filled with air and twisting and this can happen suddenly. The symptoms include restlessness, drooling and nausea and the stomach is bloated (distended abdomen). Your Boxer may vomit and continue to retch but nothing would come out.

--Cancerous and benign tumors

Boxers are highly prone to cancer. So any time you see a bump on your Boxer, you should check it out. About 20 out of 100 cases are cancerous.

Watch out for both external and internal lumps, eye ulcers or cherry eye as they called it, as well as dermodicosis or skin sores. Mast cell tumors are malignant and they do not occur very often but can form either in the skin or within the body.

The related disorders reported along such tumors are round raised masses in the skin of your Boxer, lack of appetite, vomiting and abdominal pain. Check for tarry stools due to bleeding in the upper intestinal tract.

Boxers of any age can develop mast cell tumor but older ones, above 8 years, are more prone to it.

Never take tumors in your Boxers lightly, even a small one! The veterinarian would usually have them removed immediately because of their high susceptibility to cancer.

One owner noticed her Boxer had a bump the size of a mosquito bite that did not go away even after 10 days. The vet diagnosed it a malignant tumor and removed it the very next day. The owner felt so relieved that the tumor was removed before the cancer had a chance to spread.

Another owner found both his Boxer females had lumps and had it checked out immediately. The vet removed the lumps due to their breed and the Boxers were all fine now!

Yet another owner was not so lucky. “I have had the pleasure of raising two great Boxers but both passed away much too young of cancer. The last one, Nick, died one week after being diagnosed with anal cancer. It spread rapidly and he was only 7 years old”

--Cryptorchidism is peculiar to male dogs and a condition present at birth.

The testicle/s, which developed in the abdomen, fail to descend into the scrotum. The usually underdeveloped and non-functional testicle/s should be removed, as it could turn cancerous later in life.

If the condition remains after the puppy is more than 2 months old, then the chances are it will remain so permanently.

--Eye ulcers, if caught early, are easy to treat. Late treatment can be expensive for you as well as painful for your Boxer.

If you see any evidence of these health problems in your Boxer dog breed, contact your vet immediately for treatment. You don't want to waste one minute!