Puppy First, Health First
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The big picture
Boxers typically live 10–12 years.
Most Boxers whose hearts and elbows are checked get normal results. Like every breed, they have a few health problems that run in the family, and most are easier to manage when caught early.
A few everyday habits do a lot of the work.
Worth knowing
Each entry starts with a condition the breed is known to be prone to, then what you might notice and what helps.
This list is not exhaustive or official. Keep asking your veterinarian as your puppy grows.
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a heart-muscle disease of adult Boxers that upsets the heartbeat.
Fainting, weakness or tiring quickly are signs to take to your vet.
A yearly heart-rhythm recording, called a Holter, picks up irregular beats early, starting in young adulthood. Many dogs do well on medicine for years.
Subaortic stenosis is a narrowing just below a heart valve that a puppy is born with.
A vet hears it as a murmur, sometimes only as the puppy grows.
A heart scan (echocardiogram) checks any murmur, and mild forms allow a normal life. Soft, harmless murmurs are also common in puppies and usually fade.
Cancer is the leading known cause of death in Boxers, and skin tumors called mast cell tumors are common.
Look for any new lump on or under the skin.
Check the skin every month, and have your vet sample any new lump. Boxers often get the lower-grade form of mast cell tumor, so finding one early helps.
The Boxer ulcer is a sore on the clear front of the eye that does not heal normally, which vets call SCCED (spontaneous chronic corneal epithelial defect).
Watch for squinting or tearing, often in middle age.
See your vet promptly, because a minor procedure usually treats it. A yearly eye exam by a veterinary eye specialist tracks other eye changes too.
An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is often caused by the body's own immune system.
Signs include a thinning coat, weight gain and tiredness.
A daily hormone tablet manages it, and a blood test keeps track of it.
Hip dysplasia is a hip joint that forms loosely or poorly as a puppy grows.
Watch for limping, which usually shows between 4 months and a year.
Keep your puppy lean, and skip forced exercise while its bones are growing. Hip X-rays can check the joints once your Boxer is grown.
Less common
Degenerative myelopathy slowly weakens the hind legs late in life, without pain, and a DNA test shows a puppy's risk.
Granulomatous colitis is a gut problem of young Boxers that causes bloody diarrhea with mucus, and the right antibiotics usually clear it.
Lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells, also runs in the breed.
Brain tumors mostly affect older Boxers, and a first seizure in a grown dog always needs a vet.
Eyelids that droop (ectropion) or roll in (entropion) turn up in some Boxers, and a yearly eye exam finds them.
The American Boxer Club says Boxers seem prone to long-term kidney disease, and it pays for research on it.
Studies disagree on whether Boxers are prone to bone cancer (osteosarcoma).
The short muzzle gives Boxers a mild risk of a blocked airway (BOAS), so skip hard exercise when it is hot.
White Boxers are more likely to be deaf in one or both ears, and their pale skin burns easily in strong sun.
The Boxer form of hemophilia A, an inherited bleeding problem, mostly affects males, and a DNA test can find it.
DNA tests
A cheek-swab DNA test works at any age and checks for a few inherited conditions in Boxers.
Each result is clear (no copies of the gene change), carrier (one copy) or at risk (two copies).
A carrier is healthy.
An at-risk result means a higher chance, not a diagnosis. Among Boxers with degenerative myelopathy results sent to OFA, about 1 in 2 were at risk. This disease starts late, and many at-risk dogs never show signs. For your dog, an at-risk result is a reason to watch the hind legs in the senior years. Tests are also available for an ARVC marker, the Boxer form of hemophilia A and congenital macrothrombocytopenia. A positive ARVC marker shows a higher risk only, so the yearly Holter stays the main heart check.
Checkups your dog will get
Care plan by life stage
The breeder's licensed vet checks your puppy before it goes home. The vet follows PetPay's exam standards, and the results go in your puppy's Veterinary Health Report.
Focus
Heart
Heart murmur, and how loud it is (grade)
02
Breathing
How open the nostrils are · Coughing or congestion
03
Temperature, pulse and breathing rate
Temperature · Pulse · Breathing rate
04
Eyes
Discharge · Vision problems · Eyelash problems · Cherry eye
05 Focus
Ears and hearing
Debris or discharge · Ear mites · Signs of infection · Hearing
06 Focus
Mouth and bite
Teeth and jaw alignment · Bite (overbite or underbite)
07
Skin and coat
Fleas and ticks · Hair loss · Signs of infection
08
Kneecaps
Kneecaps that slip, and how much (grade)
09
Hips
Hip pain
10
Hernias
Belly-button (umbilical) hernia · Groin (inguinal) hernia
11
Soft spot on the skull
An open soft spot, and its size
12
Body condition and weight
Body condition score · Weight
13
Reproductive organs
Both testicles in place (males) · Extra skin folds around the vulva (females)
14
History of vomiting or diarrhea
Any history of vomiting or diarrhea (reported, not examined)
15
Stool test for parasites
Fecal flotation test, with any treatment given
16
Past surgery and notes
Any past surgery · The vet's explanation of anything abnormal
The vet listens to the heart for a murmur and notes its grade.
Soft, harmless murmurs are common in puppies and usually fade, while a narrowing present from birth (subaortic stenosis) may only be heard as the puppy grows. That is why your own vet keeps listening at the first visits.
For a white or mostly white puppy, the vet checks how it responds to sound.
White Boxers are more likely to be deaf in one or both ears.
The vet checks the mouth, including that the lower canine teeth do not strike the roof of the mouth and that no baby teeth are retained.
An undershot bite is normal for the breed.
The vet listens to the heart for a murmur and notes its grade.
Soft, harmless murmurs are common in puppies and usually fade, while a narrowing present from birth (subaortic stenosis) may only be heard as the puppy grows. That is why your own vet keeps listening at the first visits.
For a white or mostly white puppy, the vet checks how it responds to sound.
White Boxers are more likely to be deaf in one or both ears.
The vet checks the mouth, including that the lower canine teeth do not strike the roof of the mouth and that no baby teeth are retained.
An undershot bite is normal for the breed.
Puppies grow and change quickly, and their immune systems are still developing, so no exam can find everything. The Veterinary Health Report is a strong early look at your puppy and a written starting point that your own vet builds on.
Health guarantee
Every Pawrade puppy comes with a health guarantee administered by PetPay, independent of the seller. The terms are on the health guarantee page.
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Frequently asked questions
The conditions that run in the breed include two heart problems (ARVC and subaortic stenosis), hip dysplasia, an underactive thyroid, the Boxer ulcer of the eye and degenerative myelopathy. Granulomatous colitis and several cancers, including mast cell tumors, lymphoma and brain tumors, are on the list too. A lean weight, a monthly skin check and a yearly exam that covers the heart help you stay ahead of them.
Some do, because Boxers are known to be prone to ARVC, a heart-rhythm disease of adults, and to subaortic stenosis, a narrowing present from birth. A yearly heart-rhythm recording (Holter) from about 12 months and a heart scan for any murmur help catch them early.
A murmur is not always a problem, because soft, harmless murmurs are common in puppies and usually fade. Because subaortic stenosis may only become audible as a puppy grows, a murmur is followed up with an echocardiogram, especially before surgery.
Cancer runs in the breed, including skin tumors called mast cell tumors, lymphoma and brain tumors. Boxers often get the lower-grade form of mast cell tumor, so a monthly skin check and sampling any new lump pay off.
It is a sore on the clear front of the eye that does not heal normally, and it usually appears in middle age. Vets call it SCCED (spontaneous chronic corneal epithelial defect). Squinting and tearing are the signs, and a vet usually treats it with a minor procedure.
Cheek-swab tests cover degenerative myelopathy, the Boxer form of the bleeding disorder hemophilia A, an ARVC risk marker and congenital macrothrombocytopenia. A carrier is healthy, and an at-risk result means a higher chance, not a diagnosis.
Degenerative myelopathy slowly weakens the hind legs, without pain, starting in middle or old age. A cheek-swab DNA test shows a puppy's risk, but an at-risk result is not a diagnosis, and many at-risk dogs never develop the disease.
Boxers typically live 10–12 years.
Book exams twice a year, with heart and lump checks and dental care. Watch the hind legs for dragging feet or wobbling, and treat a seizure or collapse as urgent.
Keep your Boxer lean, check the skin for lumps every month and book a yearly exam that covers the heart, eyes, thyroid and skin. Brush the teeth often, and keep your Boxer cool in hot weather.
White or mostly white Boxers burn easily, so keep them out of strong sun. They are also more likely to be deaf, so ask your vet about a hearing check.
