White Boxer Question

[calimomma]

After reading the sticky about white boxers, I still have a couple of questions: Is deafness the only known "defect" in white boxers? Other than sunburns, are they more prone to skin disorders/illnesses? Are white boxers produced when dogs are bred too close together on the family tree (I've honestly heard this, so I'm genuinely curious)? And if so, is that opening the door to more health problems? I've also read that some less than reputable breeders will drown the whites because it shows the closeness in lineage...

I would like our next boxer, or two!, to be white because I think that they're special (aren't they all though?!?) but I would like to arm myself with as much information as possible before pursuing anything. So I'm sorry for my ignorance. I didn't even know the difference between fawn and brindle when we first brought Abbi home (it was the DH's idea to get one) but have since read as many boxer books as I can get my hands on!

Thanks!

 

[JulieM]

Is deafness the only known "defect" in white boxers?

Deafness is the only health concern for which the white Boxer is more at risk than their colored counterparts. White Boxers are equally at risk for things like AS, ARVC, cancer, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, etc., as fawn or brindle Boxers.

Other than sunburns, are they more prone to skin disorders/illnesses?

No; it would tend to follow that they would be more prone to skin cancer, being more prone to sunburn, but one informal survey showed that the whites were less affected by skin cancer. (That was a small, non-scientific survey, though, so shouldn't be considered gospel.) Skin cancer doesn't seem to be very common at all in the dog, though, so I wouldn't be exceptionally concerned about it. Some white Boxer owners use children's sunscreen if their dogs will be out in the sun for long periods of time.

Are white boxers produced when dogs are bred too close together on the family tree (I've honestly heard this, so I'm genuinely curious)?

No; white Boxers are produced when two dogs, each with at least one copy of the extreme piebald gene, are bred together. (In other words, two flashy Boxers, one white and one flashy, or two whites.) Closeness or looseness of pedigree has nothing to do with the amount of white puppies in a litter.

I've also read that some less than reputable breeders will drown the whites because it shows the closeness in lineage...

Whites have often been euthanized at birth - originally because a bitch was only allowed to raise a certain number of puppies, so if there were excess the whites and mismarks were culled; then the wars came along and whites were not suitable for war work, and so were not provided with rations; and somewhere along the line the myths started springing up that whites were less healthy than their colored littermates. Until about 20 years ago, the American Boxer Club did not permit its members to sell or give away white puppies; they either had to euthanize them or keep them all. The Code of Ethics was changed, I believe in 1987, to allow placement of whites without registration; since that time, we've seen white Boxers living out full lives, and we've had living proof that they are not, in fact, any more prone to diseases other than deafness than colored Boxers. In 2004 the Code of Ethics was changed again to allow limited registration of whites, and sale (for a limited fee) on a spay/neuter contract. The next CoE change, I am quite sure, will place whites on equal footing with their colored non-show, non-breeding littermates - but it may be another decade or so....

 

[gmacleod]

i have read that whites are not more prone to deafness than the colored ones, why would they be more at risk? and what is the reason for not breeding two whites?

You would find the answers to those questions in the sticky thread at the top of this very forum

 

[JulieM]

what is the reason for not breeding two whites?

The increased risk of deaf puppies (all the pups will be white, so odds are more puppies from the total litter will be deaf), as well as some other potential issues with lack of pigmentation in the organs.

our pup's parents were both white (we didn't know better at the time) and i wonder if that has anything to do with the problems he has now as colitis and demodex

The coloring probably does not; however the fact that the breeder was breeding whites (much less two together) means they were probably not aware of or concerned with other health issues, so the odds of an improperly-functioning immune system in the puppies would be higher.

 

[Jan]

what other potential issues should we expect from lack of pigmentation in organs?

I do not believe that is the case. Maybe with an albino boxer, but whites are not a albino.

 

[liamsmom]

two whites here......both deaf

hubby and I happily share our home with 3 boxers.......one fawn (with a tail, i might add)....and two whites; both are deaf.
i haven't seen any major differences in health issues. we volunteer with rescue and I'm a big softy when it comes to the white boxers. I would rescue all of them if i could. that's how we came to have two whites!!!
as for the deafness........to us it's second nature to 'sign' to our dogs. we've had deaf dogs for the last 9 years so all of our dogs, both hearing and deaf, know the signs/signals for everything we teach them.

 

[Ritzertboys]

?

are all white boxers deaf?

 

[gmacleod]

No, nowhere near it. 80% of whites hear in at least one ear (as can about 98% of coloured boxers). But up to 20% of whites are bilaterally deaf due to lack of pigment cells.

 

[SkooterIsMe]

Whites are great.

Honestly, I dont see why people think white boxers shouldnt be bred. My Harley is the best candidate for a stud I've ever seen. He's perfect as far as the physical aspect goes, save for his color. He's got the best temperament of any boxer I've EVER met. He's as healthy as he could possibly be. No deafness, no ANYTHING. Granted, he's only 7 and a half months old, but he's amazingly perfect in every way.

When I take him for walks, or when he rides shotgun while I'm driving, heads turn. People watch him, smile, and point. More people tell me that he's handsome, pretty, or gorgeous. Not CUTE. He's a stud. And people I pass on the street that stop to pet him ask me if I'll be breeding him, and a few people have actually offered to pay me to breed him to their dogs when he's older.

Now I cant say for sure that the info I read was credible, but before I got Harley I did a lot of reading about white boxers. I read that while they are more prone to health problems, they're not at much more risk than colored boxers. Any boxer can be deaf, or go deaf. Any boxer can get cancer. They are not albino, it's just a different pigmentation, just like white people aren't albino.

Harley's litter consisted of FIVE white puppies and four fawn. I talked to the breeder (we keep in touch) yesterday, and all of them are doing great. No problems whatsoever.

My personal vet has a boxer herself, so I trust she knows what she's talking about. She says I dont really need to worry about deafness or blindness or anything else people associate with white boxers. Just sunburn.

I greatly encourage people to get white boxers. It used to be that pretty much all breeders would drown white ones. The more people that have white ones, the less misunderstood they will be.

 

[gmacleod]

Honestly, I dont see why people think white boxers shouldnt be bred.

Does a high risk of his offspring themselves being deaf not figure in your thinking? And their offspring? And so on until pigment is diluted throughout the breed and deafness becomes prevalent. Or that doesn't matter to you? Your dog isn't deaf, so you don't think he can pass on the genes responsible for deafness? LOL - he not only can, but would because he has no alternative genetic options. With the end result that every one of his offspring and future generations would have a higher risk of being deaf.

And if everyone decided to be so irresponsible, in a short space of time the 20% rate of deafness amongst whites would apply to the whole breed. Great, we've just bred a genetic defect into a dog breed. How many of those deaf dogs do you think would end in shelters or euthanised?

It takes a lot more than a good looking dog to make a stud. Genetic health is top of the list - and any dog whose genes would be detrimental to the breed as a whole, as is the case for all whites, is not a breeding candidate. Period.

There are two sticky threads at the top of this forum with detailed information on why whites should not be bred (that includes information from one of the world's leading geneticists, btw) and other genetic health issues relating to boxer breeding. If you honestly don't see why whites must never, ever be used for breeding, perhaps you should read them.