Expert: Renee Cox - 1/26/2008

Question
We now have our 3rd boxer in 4 years.  We lost our 3.5 yr old boxer in her sleep to heart arrhythmia.  Our 2.5 yr boxer has liver disease and is allergic to duck, daily, chicken and beef.  Now our 10 week old boxer has a heart murmur that is a 3 on scale of 1 to 6.  are we just unlucky or are boxers prone to many health issues.  We are heart broken and absolutely love the breed.

Answer
Hi Kathy. I'm truly sorry that you have had all of these problems. It can be so frustrating. The Boxer is a beautiful, wonderful breed that sadly, is plagued by some serious health problems. Heart issues is one of them. Actually, the Boxer has a heart condition named after it. My best advice would be to find a breeder that health checks for the heart, if you hadn't already. Not all health checks can guarantee that the dog won't have problems, just give it a better chance of being healthy. The next time that you buy a Boxer, if you do, is to ask a lot of questions about the health of not only the parents, but the grand=parents, aunts, uncles, and older siblings. Some lines are well known for carrying certain genetic diseases. Have you spoken to the new puppy's breeder about this? Again, I'm truly sorry. If I can help with anything else, let me know!