Why you shouldn't breed white boxers:

[Bec]

I wanted to add also that just because there is A white puppy in the litter does not mean that they are bad breeders or bad dogs, but it is the ones that focus on how rare and cool it is to have a white "whatever" breed of dog, in this case boxer.

 

[Cara]

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It is because the white coloration adversely affects the health and 'usefulness' of the dog; there's no sense in knowlingly breeding dogs with health issues and they refuse to encourage it.


The same issue applies to merle dogs; if you breed merle to merle you will often end up with deaf or blind puppies.

 

[Rogue_Woman]

You are all spot on! Especially when trying to achieve "flashy" boxers, whites are often a product of this. Good breeders will sell them fixed at a DISCOUNT as pet quality, and never breed a white boxer. Breeders who specifically try to breed for whites are doing the entire breed and the dogs themselves a huge disservice. It makes my blood boil to see people with no knowledge of dog genetics and the problems they come with (boxers are tumor factories as it is) breeding dogs that are going to end up with health problems, abandoned or euthanised so they can make money. I prefer to call them hoarders.

 

[hooligan]

You don't know how many 'thugs' have come up to me when walking Sinatra asking if I would stud him out bc of his coloring and the fact he has blue eyes....'uh yeah sure, let me go back to the vet and get his testicles so we can produce more inferior dogs'....

With white hair and blue eyes he needs to stay out of the sun or wear his Doggles plus just about ANY flea control will cause him to lose his hair...and he has flea allergies LoL

 

[GwenFarms]

She is a nice dog. I don't know much about this in boxers, but I know this is a big problem in Australian Shephards. Some good friends of mine were breeders and every now and then they would have a lethal white born. Most of the time the mothers would push them out of the litter in the beginning and we would try to nurse them to health, but usually lost them. I remember one that lived, but it was both blind and deaf..really sad.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

There are many breeds that this applies too.

This is bad for a majority of reasons. Not only does the color accompany problems, but people start breeding specifically for white. Which leads to extreme inbreeding.

We have the same problem with White German Shepherds. Our White Shepherd has seizures, a problem the breeder never let us know was going on in their bloodlines. Dad had hoped to breed her, but after she had her first seizure, we immediately realized, there will be no pups for us.. She is about 7 years old now, and the old lady of the house. LOL

*grumbles* It's stuff like this that makes me wish people had to apply for licenses to breed dogs.

-Kim

 

[dogzrule5]

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I agree with every word of this and couldn't have said it better myself!

Where did you get your bumper sticker? I want one too!

 

[FlockEweFarm]

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I have had the same issue with my Mastiff, Fergus. He has a "Dudley"nose, which in Mastiff breeds, is a fault, and is sometimes accompanied by temperment issues including, an almost bi-polar personality. Lucky for me, Fergus is a sweet doll, but since I took the time to educate myself on what the potential issues could be with him, (he is what is called an "Ultimate Mastiff" a mix of Dogue de Bourdeux and Neopolitan mastiff) and at 11 months old, I have already dislocated my shoulder breaking up a fight over territory between him and my bloodhound, I went and had him and the bloodhound both neutered. I have had several of the "thug" types give me grief over getting that done, and one guy even said that he would have paid me for letting Fergus mate with his pit female, and I told him that I took in Fergus from a bad situation, and I would not let him be used to produce more. His nose was so sunburned from the ride in the back of a pickup truck on the way up here, it peeled and bled for over a week, and I had to treat it with salve several times a day. He is nearsighted, and has gas that peels the pain off the walls, and I have to constantly remind him that I am in charge and the alpha of the pack, so that he remembers that all of the creatures here are mine, and he cant eat them. Bad or uneducated owners are the reason soo many dogs suffer horrible ends in this country, I have spent weeks un-teaching Fergus "shake hands" because a 160lb over 6ft tall dog that wants to "shake" with a toddler is bad news, but his previous owner thought it was cute. He called me to see how Fergus was doing, and to arrange a visit, funny how fast he lost interest when he was told that I had gotten him neutered.

 

[Haviris]

Dolly is adorable! And she's got quite abit of color on her head for a deafie!

You could never eliminate white boxers complete, flashy is a big trend w/ boxers, and that leads to white puppies. Somewhere around 25% of boxers born will be white, and about 25% of those will be deaf. A responsible breeder will place them in good homes w/ a spay/neuter contract.

Although I disagree that they are any less healthy then their colored siblings. Other then a higher chance for sunburn (I don't consider deafness to be a health issue), but that should be true w/ any pink skinned dog. For example I own two great danes, a harlequin from a questionable breeder, and a well bred white, my harlequin has had his share of health issues, my white has been the picture of health. She has a great coat, and great skin (the harl has allergies), both can be sunburned, but it's not a problem unless we are going to be spended ALL day in the sun. Right now it's over 100 degrees and we just came in from spending a few hours out there. To my knowledge the only thing white boxers are more prone to would be deafness,sunburning, and possibly just more sensitive skin.

With double merles (which are completely preventable) they are prone to deafness, blindness, and more prone to seizures, but oddly the breed of dog seems to make a difference.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

Your dog is lovely, but I agree that one should NEVER breed dogs with known genetic weaknesses. However, when I first read this subject line, I thought it said "Why you shouldn't breed IN white boxers"!