Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun 1;10(1):6.
doi: 10.1186/s40575-023-00129-w.

Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK

Dan G O'Neill  1 , Alison M Skipper  2 , Kate Barrett  2 , David B Church  3 , Rowena M A Packer  3 , Dave C Brodbelt  2
Affiliations

Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK

Dan G O'Neill et al. Canine Med Genet. .

Abstract

Background: The Boxer is a popular dog breed with a distinctive appearance. However, the breed has been linked with several health conditions, some of which have been associated with its moderately brachycephalic conformation and its white colouration. Anonymised primary-care veterinary clinical records were explored to extract data on the demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxers in the UK in 2016.

Results: The study population of 336,865 dogs included 3,219 (0.96%) Boxers, of which 10.71% were recorded as white. The mean adult bodyweight was 30.43 kg (SD 5.73 kg). Annual disorder counts did not differ statistically between the sexes or between white and non-white Boxers. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders were otitis externa (n = 230, 7.15%), epulis (188, 5.84%), corneal ulceration (161, 5.00%) and periodontal disease (149, 4.63%). Of the 34 most common fine-level disorders, none differed in prevalence between white and non-white dogs. The most prevalent disorder groups were skin disorder (n = 571, 17.74%), neoplasia (457, 14.20%) and ear disorder (335, 10.41%). White Boxers had higher prevalence than non-white Boxers for two disorder groups: dental disorder and brain disorder. The median longevity of 346 Boxers that died during the study was 10.46 years (IQR 9.00-11.98, range 2.76-18.00). Median longevity did not differ statistically between the sexes or between white and non-white Boxers. The most common grouped causes of death were death - unrecorded cause (n = 73, 21.10%), neoplasia (43, 12.43%) and brain disorder (33, 9.54%).

Conclusions: There was minimal evidence of substantial health differences between white and non-white Boxers. Among the four most common disorders recorded in Boxers, two were typically common across all types of dogs (otitis externa and periodontal disease) while two suggested strong predispositions for the Boxer breed (epulis and corneal ulceration), showing the value of eliciting breed-specific disorder patterns for insights for potential health reforms. The overall longevity of Boxer dogs was consistent with other breeds of similar body size.

Keywords: Breed; Dog; EPR; Electronic patient record; Epidemiology; Pedigree; Primary-care; Purebred; VetCompass; Veterinary.

Plain language summary

The Boxer is a medium-large sized, active dog with a short coat and a moderately flat-faced (brachycephalic) skull shape. Despite many decades of popularity in the UK, there is limited published evidence on the overall health profile of Boxers. White-coloured Boxers are thought to be at higher risk of deafness from birth and as a result, white Boxers have traditionally often been culled at birth by breeders.Using anonymised veterinary clinical records collected within the VetCompass Programme at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Boxers made up around 1% of all dogs in the UK in 2016, with an average adult bodyweight around 30 kg. The most common colours were brindle (22.82%), dark red (22.62%) and dark red multi-colour (20.92%), with 10.71% white Boxers. Across the 3,219 Boxers in the study, 73.97% had at least one disorder recorded during 2016. The average number of disorders per year did not differ statistically between female and male Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers. The most common specific disorders in Boxers were ear infection (7.15%), gum mass (5.84%), eye ulcer (5.00%) and dental disease (4.63%). White and non-white dogs did not differ in their risk for any of the 34 most common specific disorders. Only two dogs in the study were recorded with deafness; one white and one non-white. The average lifespan of Boxers overall was 10.46 years. Lifespan did not differ statistically between female and male Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers.This study identifies ongoing popularity for the Boxer in the UK, with around 10% of these Boxers being white. There was minimal evidence of health differences between male and female Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers. Among the four most common disorders recorded in Boxers, two are typically common across all types of dogs (ear and dental disease) while two showed strong predisposition in the Boxer breed (gum mass and eye ulcer), suggesting the value of understanding breed-specific health patterns to prioritise health plans for each breed. The overall longevity of Boxer dogs was typical of other breeds of this body size.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AS is a member of The Kennel Club and currently sits on the Breed Standards and Conformation sub-group of The Kennel Club Dog Health Group. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Jones LF. All About Boxer Dogs - The Complete Guide. Electronic book. Edited by Kevin Winslet. 2013.
    1. The Kennel Club. Breed information centre: the Kennel club limited. 2022 [Available from: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/breeds-a-to-z].
    1. The Kennel Club. Breed registration statistics: the Kennel club limited. 2022 [Available from: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media-centre/breed-registration-statist...].
    1. The Kennel Club. Breed standards: the Kennel club. 2022. Available from: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/activities/dog-showing/breed-standards/.
    1. The Kennel Club. Breed watch: the Kennel club. 2022 [Available from: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/breed/watch/Default.aspx].

LinkOut - more resources