White puppies put down?

[TheOriginalP]

I am interested in getting a boxer puppy, so I'm a bit of a newbie here. A breeder that I visited seemed very good, except, she told me that they put down the white puppies at birth if they do not have a buyer who specifically requested one, which I find quite disturbing. Her explanation was that white boxers are more prone to certain health risks (deafness and sun) and that they are harder to place in good homes.

Is this what "culling" is? Is it common for breeders to do this? Can anyone comment on the increased health risks for these dogs and present some cold hard scientific facts?

 

[Jan]

Yes, that is what culling is. Fortunately, it is not very common anymore. Most breeders will place their white puppies as pets on non-breeding contracts. White boxers can be prone to sun burn and you should use suncreen, especially on their ears and noses. There is also a higher incidence of deafness in whites, but that is something that can be tested for fairly easily. Apart from that, they are just as healthy as any other boxer and will live just as long. They are just as much a boxer as any other colour! You can't show them in conformation, but there is no reason why you can't do agility, and obedience etc.

 

[TheOriginalP]

Thanks for your replies. I will be getting a boxer for companionship, so color is not really an issue for me. The issue is making an informed choice and being a compassionate citizen and a responsible consumer (that sounds sort of cold, but hey, money talks!). I probably will not purchase ANY puppy from that particular breeder as she has not convinced me of the merits of culling.

Here's where I get on my moral high horse ... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I've read that culling originated from when boxers were bred as guard dogs. White dogs do not camouflage well in the dark and guard dogs make lousy pets. However, boxers are no longer guard dog material and pets have little reason to camouflage themselves (except when they chew up your favorite shoes).

I have yet to locate conclusive scientific evidence that supports the pro-culling claims of health risks, deafness and increased chances of being abused, neglected or otherwise mistreated. The only increased health risks so far as I can tell are skin irritation and sun burn. This makes sense to me (I'm blonde - I know sunburn!) but these are not insurmountable.

I've been told that no studies have been done on deafness in colored dogs, so I'm not sure what the "increased" incidence of deafness in whites is compared to. There is some evidence that deafness due to hair loss in the ears is caused by lack of pigment, so this type of deafness could be higher in dogs with white ears. This sounds plausible to me. I've not seen any stats on blindness.

I've surfed a lot of rescue and humane society pages over the last few months and it doesn't seem to me that the number of whites is disproportionately high. This is not scientific, only my observation. The number of people wanting to adopt a boxer in Canada seems to outnumber the number of boxers needing homes. That is encouraging, but doesn't tell me that white puppies specifically are doomed to a hellish existence of pain and suffering.

My point to all of this is that this practice does not seem to have a place in modern times and it is unfounded perceptions that perpetuate it. At the very least, it needs further study. We do live in a free society and this practice is not illegal, but like I said, I will probably seek out another breeder who does not practice culling.

 

[Cleo_is_my_BABY]

This is very angry making.

That really stinks. And I'm not sure this is true, but I heard that you can't regester a white boxer in the AKC. Not that I would care, I don't regester my pets, but still, They just MIGHT be deaf. That's no reason to put them down, colored boxers MIGHT be deaf too. Mine has an eye problem.
That's just not right.

 

[Lava Linda]

Rumors and myths

When I was a complete newbie, shopping for boxers back in 1995, I heard rumors that white boxers are unhealthy, and that breeders cull them at birth so no one will know that their boxers "carry the white gene".
Imagine my surprise when I learned from this board that 25% of pups born to flashy x flashy matings will be white!!!

I'm afraid there are still a lot of people out there propagating these myths about whites being sickly, or being rare and especially valuable. They're just another color of boxer!

How someone could euthanize a newborn boxer pup is completely beyond my comprehension. :(

 

[Dodgn_AK]

Originally posted by TheOriginalP
I will probably seek out another breeder who does not practice culling.

Good for you. I can not tell you how much this issue saddens me. A boxer is a boxer no matter what. I would love my boxer if he was green. Love sees no color In my eyes, euthanizing a helpless puppy because of color is animal cruelty. I wish there were better laws on this sort of thing, and better enforcement for that matter. Good luck on your puppy search. I am sure you will find the right one.

Tara

 

[Alisha Mobley]

Re: This is very angry making.

Originally posted by Cleo_is_my_BABY
but I heard that you can't regester a white boxer in the AKC.

Whites can be registered w/ AKC. Not that it means much but some just want the papers.

 

[JulieM]

Yes, the AKC does not care if you register whites or not (although you have to call them to get the color code, as it will not be on the registration application).

The American Boxer Club prohibits registration of white Boxers at this time, so if you are (or want to be) a member of the ABC or any if it's member clubs (the local Boxer clubs), you cannot register white Boxers. Also, if you want to be able to say you abide by the parent club Code of Ethics you cannot register a white Boxer.

You can get an ILP number from the AKC, which allows participation in all AKC events except conformation. (White is a disqualification in the conformation ring, anyway, so that's no biggie.)

 

[Christian C.]

Georgie was part of a flashy-to-flashy litter, and fully half of the pups were white. A ratio that high is unusual, but can happen. The breeder was prepared for the white puppies and never once thought about culling. She had lined up homes for them in advance, and when she got more than she was expecting she worked hard to find the perfect homes for them too. One of the four whites was deaf, but she managed to place him as well. (BTW, she did not sell these dogs and they went out with the same spay/neuter contract as the pet puppies from the litter). The practice of culling is becoming less common but still does happen. I admire your moral position, but since you've said you just want a pet, perhaps if you can get over your anger with the breeder you've spoken to, you could be the person to offer to take a white puppy and thus save a life.

We are a long-time boxer family, having had 14 over the past 50 years. Ironically, it was a white boxer who would have been a victim of culling that became my father's first pet. Friends of their family had brought boxers back from Germany after WWII and when they bred them they happened to mention casually to my grandparents that they would be following the German custom of culling the whites. My grandparents were horrified and convinced them to let them have any white puppies that they ever bred. And so Jezebel and Toro joined the family...and we've kept up the tradition with Piglet, a 2 year old female belonging to my uncle. He didn't go out looking for a white boxer from her litter, but she chose him. It goes without saying that a white dog is every bit as loving and devoted as the colored dogs. So good luck on finding the perfect pet!

[Edited by Christian C. on 05-09-2001 at 08:01 PM]

 

[AWHarrison]

Please, let the breeder know why you won't buy a puppy from them! I believe culling is cruel, but there are some breeders out there who do still cull the whites because they always have. After getting to know me and my old white boxer Lady, a few of the Calgary breeders are not culling anymore!

I never found that she had any health problems (actually less than my fawn, Jazz) until she started going blind and deaf (except when food was involved!) and arthritic around 9 years old. Any boxer, coloured or white, is going to start developing problems as they age - we do too!

In Canada, whites can be registered with the CKC and they are eligible for obedience, agility, etc. They are disqualified from conformation, but if you just want a loving boxer you will still have a lot of fun events to choose from.