Boxer Talk

I have an 8 year old Boxer Dog called Oscar and we have discovered today that his brother has died to authritis (dont know if i have spelt this correctly)!

However he experiences quite alot of lameness in his front shoulders and has always seemed to have a slight skip in his step which indicates perhaps a problem with his back hip and has on occasions tucked his leg up and hopped??

Can any one advise if this could be perhaps signs of Authritis? and whether adverts i have seen for magnetic collars would help?

Everytime we take him to the vets it always seems to stop so the vet looks at me as if im going mad and that there is nothing wrong with Oscar?

Also is there a nice girlfriend out there that would like a sexual relationship with Oscar..!! I never got Oscar neutered and would dearly love to breed from him, he is a full pedigree Brindle Dog from breeder Sue Harvey of Faerndorn Kennels in Leicester
I live in the Warwickshire area..

many thanks

Hello Folks! I'll post in sort of reverse order.

Hey Wendy, Arthritis can be pretty debilitating for sure you can't die from it. Unless do you mean the dog had to be put down due to the debilitation?

I've seen a few Boxers with the hopping thing but I don't think it necessarily means a hip problem or is something to worry about.

Do you notice any obvious discomfort in Oscar? Difficulty standing or walking? If not, if he seems to have the same attitude as always, why worry? Vets are pretty good at diagnosing arthritis.

My Jason has it and his back legs are pretty weak. You'll see his back end sinking toward the floor when he stands still for extended periods. But he still runs around and is active. He's about 12. I'd say Oscar, going on what you say, is ok just now.

Magnetic collars, My aunt swears by them, so much that despite being a cynic I got Jason one recently. Not seen any difference in him yet but it's early days.

As for a girlfriend, well I'll leave that to others to answer.

I could be well wrong about Oscars problems but a vet is the best person to ask Wendy. Perhaps you could try a different one?

Thanks for posting.

Hey Debbie!

Miss Pearl sounds lovely and I'm sure she'll be with you for many years to come. I'm sorry you got struck twice with brain tumours. That bites.

Take care!

Hiya Margaret!

Good to see you as always. Really sounds as if Boris is coming out of his shell good and proper.

Jason's one for trying to get into the bed too, hardly ideal but I normally let him get away with it My own fault for indulging him when he was a puppy really.

How does Boris get on with the cat now?

Take care you and the your family, speak to you soon.

Paul

Hello,

don't know if you still access this, but what gorgous dawgies! My boy, Alfie, is 8 and a bit, and of course wonderful. He can rear german shepherd puppies too!!!

Hi Liz,

Yeah I still keep track of the comments here and reply to every one. I just don't necessarily reply immediately like I used to.

Hey I might even remove myself from eternal procrastination and update the site one day. I have got some plans for that but they have been on the back burner for about a year. :/

So I can't say with any certainty that they will ever come to fruition. They basically involved a redesign, update of content and the adding of a forum to replace this glorified guest book. Whilst at the same time trying to keep the feel of a small more intimate site.

I'd need to get a bigger hosting plan for that too as my main site eats up 90% of the resources I currently have.

Like I say who knows. I'd certainly lie to as soon as there is the time needed to do it.

Anyhow I'm rambling, It's still always very nice to see people post here and hear them talk about their dogs.

Your Alfie does sound peculiarly talented and clever for a Boxer I might say.

Thanks for the comments about my dogs Liz.

Take care and hey, why not pop back every now and then, there can be some interesting posts from folks at times.

Paul

I loved looking through your site. My parents and I have been lucky enough to have had 4 boxers. The first, Bonnie, way back in 1963. She was joined towards the end of her life by Sheenagh, Dad was given her by one of his schoolboys who wasn't allowed to keep her. A few months gap before Madam arrived September 1985. I left home in 1986 and really missed having a companion but Madam was only a few miles up the road when I get desperate.Then in 1988 I bought one of my own. Ceilidh was 18 months, a pretty little brindle - very like Madam to look at, and actually named Kylie at the time! She saw me through the darkest times of my life, when my lovely Dad suffered a severe stroke in 1993 and I realised something was wrong with my Mum - she has Alzheimer's type dementia. I had to have both Madam and Ceilidh put to sleep at the end of their lives and stayed with them to see them on their way. Ceilidh died just a month before my Father. They are all in the garden (I had to move back to take care of my parents), the dogs are all buried, together with Smudge our very first dog - a black mongrel, and Dad's ashes were scattered all around his lovely garden. I love boxers and miss them dreadfully but it wouldn't be fair to have another at the moment but I have my photos and now I am online I see I can have other peoples as well. Many thanks, Cynthia x

what a lovely site - such lovely dogs. i have recently created a web site about my family and boxers, mainly due to the fact that i am looking for a boxer puppy ready at the end of july, so thought a head start to find the right dog was a good idea and people could log on and find out about me and my suitablility for a puppy. you have lovely dogs and a lovely web site. if you want to leave a link on mine please let me know. bye for now x

Hi Cynthia!

Thanks for dropping by and telling us about your dogs. It's always interesting, happy and sad to hear such stories.

I'm sorry your dad's passed on. I've not had to deal with loosing apparent as yet and hopefully will not have to for a long, long time.

I do have experience with Alzheimer's. My gran had it too and it can be very distressing. Certainly looking after someone with that condition can be a full time job. Very difficult on a lot of levels.

So I understand what you mean when you say it would be difficult to have another dog now.

I'm glad you get some happiness looking at pictures and reading about them though. So do I!

Best of luck Cynthia, thanks and take care.

Pippa hi there!

I'll not say too much to you here as I posted over at your site. Thanks for the nice comments though and regarding a puppy.

Having been to your site I can't see why you wouldn't be suitable for a puppy. You have experience of dogs, experience of boxers, experience of two at once and a lo0veing attitude to your dogs.

Perhaps your not telling us about training them as assassins or something eh?

As I say, I'm sure you are suitable. Hope you're able to get one.

About the link if it suits you sure, there's really no need though. If you'd like one here just email, you should have my email over at your site.

Paul

I have had 3 boxers all from puppies - Ben a beautiful dark brindle son of Desperate Dan (a well known champion) who was the cleverest boxer of all. Next came Bodie a lovely red and white chap who shared 5 years with Ben and lived until he was 12. Ben himself lived until he was 12 and a half.
Next we had Boris a magnificent brindle who cost us a fortune in vets fees - he suffered from everything imaginable but we managed to keep him until he was nearly 12 much to the amazement of our Vet.
I am Boxerless at the moment and hating it but at 67 I wonder whether it is fair to get another who I might leave orphaned! Will see how long I can live without one - there are dogs and there are Boxers!! Maybe I can find an older boxer needing some TLC.
Will let you know - your site is lovely. Nearly as good as curling up with Frau Stockmann's book on her "Life with Boxers"

I love that you have donated so much to the white boxer!! I grew up raising boxers, my female was a brindle and was with me for 14 years. Now raising my own four children I would have no other breed around them to be a part of our family. The loyalty, protectiveness and love that they show my children is unmatchabel. We have a 8 year old female fawn, a 3 year old white male, and a 8 month old white female. Neither of our whites have shown a tendancy to be sick, mean or deaf. And considering their beautiful sitting, graceful walking and wonderful attitudes, I am sickened that they are not allowed to be shown for their inidividual beauty and grace.

We have a boxer, a white female, named Trudy. We love her and almost lost her due to a very SEVERE case of colitis. She is 4 years old and is a joy to have. My family could not imagine not having her in our lives.

I love your site and think it is great that you have a site dedicated to your beautiful dogs...for those that are with you now and those who have crossed over Rainbow Bridge.

The McNeely Family---Martinez, GA

I HATE WHITE BOXERS! I MEAN DID YOU
KNOW THEY HAVE THE MOST SKIN PROBLEMS

Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but this time, I'm fairly sure that I'm getting a faint "anti-white boxer" vibe from you Linda, I might be wrong tho! But, anyway, here's some good news; I've got the perfect advice for you...DON'T GET ONE.! I've gotta tell you tho, you'll be missing out in a big way; My last boxer was a little white girl, and I loved her for 9 years, and she loved me back just as much as any other boxer I've had. She wasnt blind, deaf, stupid, or any of the other things that whites are unfairly accused of, it's just that she had more white fur than any of her (same pedigree) litter mates. Then again, some of them had too much brindle to make them a good show dog and not enough white,..that's the only difference. She was just as much of a clown, and when she saw me, she wagged her tail so much, her entire ass went round in circles, just like any boxer does. Your comments are like saying that all brindles have drooling problems, or all reds are vicious, or anything along those lines. In short, a white is still a boxer, some are brindle, or red, or long legged, or short, but in the end, the only real diff is the markings. If you dont like whites, dont get one..end of problem.!

Probably no one noticed, still if you did apologies of for the this being down yesterday. Whilst removing duplicate comments i inadvertently removed the whole database.

My inadiquacies know no bounds. Still thankfully it's all back now.

----------

Hey Steve, as usual nice post. You're a star. I guess Linda really must dislike white boxers. I mean hate is a strong word and to make the exact same point in the same words three times.

To think there's war, pestilence and famine and this is what Linda just had to post about.

In any case welcome Linda.

Hey Terri!

So Glad to hear that Trudi made it ok. As I'm sure you've noticed some of us love white boxers and will be very pleased she's doing fine now. Thanks for popping by!

Hello Misty!

Another white boxer lover, restores your faith in humanity really. I agree with you pretty much. I'm quite happy for the current standard to be what's aimed at and what wins awards etc. However I would like white boxers to be officially recognised as Boxers.

In any case I'm glad you and your family are getting so much out your dogs Misty. How much we get out of them and they our of us. Is in the end the most Important thing I guess.


Hey Sheila!

Very nice of you to drop by and talk. Sounds like you know a lot about Boxers Sheila. So you know that with an older one you still have a very good chance of outliving the dog.

I think what's important is that both your quality of life and that of the dog will be improved in whatever years you have left.

So providing you feel capable of looking after a dog gain, I think you should go for it. Perhaps you have family that could help too?

Well I hope you are able and will have another Sheila. As you say, "There are dogs and there are Boxers!".

Thanks for the read all,

Paul

Loved your site. Proud mum of a gorgeous 11 yr old who i rescued 6 yrs ago. Getting very nervous as she has many probs, mast cell tumours X 7. Been on treatment for 4 years now and she still acts like a puppy. My bestest friend in the world, everything about her i love deeply. She is red and white but i would have a white baby any day. ( had to add last comment as read comments above!!!!)

HI JUST BEEN LOOKING AT ALL YOUR GREAT PHOTO'S . I HAVE A 5 YEAR OLD CALLED TYLER. HE LOOKS LIKE YOUR TROY.I HAVE HAD A BAD FEW MONTHS. BACK IN NOV 2005 HE STARTEDTO HAVE FITS SO WE TOOK HIM TO THE VET . HE IS NOW ON TABLETS{EPIPHEN } FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.IT IS NOT A NICE THING TO SEE YOUR DOG GO THOUGHT,AND TY IS MY BABY. AFTER A FIT HE HAS GOT TO BE TOUCHING HE WOULD NOT LEAVE MY SIDE AND I WOULD NOT LEAVE HIS SIDE.
2 WEEKS AGO HE CHANGED, HE DOES NOT BARK ANY MORE , HE LOOKS SAD ,WHEN WE COME HOME HE DOES NOT RUN TO MEET US. HE WILL LOOK UP AND JUST GO BACK TO SLEEP. WHENE HE IS AWAKE HE JUST WALKS AROUND AND AROUND IN ONE SPOT. HE HAS START GOING TO TOILET IN THE HOUSE SOMTHING HE HAS NEVER DONE. BUT THE THING THET IS BREAKING MY HEART IS HE HAS GONE FOR ME AND MY HUSBAND.WHICH IF ONLY I COULD SOME HOW PUT IT IN TO WORD HOW SOFT AND LOVING TYLER REALLY IS. I HAVE BEEN BACK TO THE VET AND HE HAD TO PUT HIM OUT TO EXAMAIN HIM. HE HAS A INNER EAR INFECTION AND HAS A 2 WEEK COURSE OF TABLETS. WE THINK THAT WHY HE WENT FOR ME I HAD TOUCHED HIS EAR. AS I WAS CLEANING HIS MOUTH. THE VET ALSO TOLD US IT COULD ALSO BE A BRAIN TUMOUR.
IT IS NOW 6 DAYS INTO THE MED AND I WAS OVER THE MOON LAST NIGHT WHEN HE GOT UP NEXT TO ME AND WENT TO SLEEP ON ME THATS THE TYLER I KNOW AND LOVE. HE IS STILL FAR FROM BEING RIGHT. BUT HE GAVE ME A BIT OF HOPE. I WILL KNOW MORE IN 8 DAYS TIME. WHEN I GO BACK TO THE VET. IT IS GOING TO BE A LONG 8 DAYS.HE IS ONLY 5 AND HE HAS HAD HIS PROBLEMS. AND I HAVE COME OUT OF THE VETS IN TEARS MORE THEN ONCE., BUT I WOULD NOT SWAP HIM FOR THE WORLD. SORRY THIS IS SO LONG ITS JUST I FEEL THAT I AM GOING OFF MY HEAD.

Hi Cerianne.

I'm sorry things have been so bad for you and of course Tyler too. I really do feel for you and I've got my fingers crossed that vet will come back with good news.

I'm glad you've got a little bit of hope back, there's always hope. It's not always easy to see or recognise or what we want but I'm glad you have some now.

Be realistic too though so that should the worst happen you have some measure, however small, of preparedness.

I've got my fingers crossed for you and Tyler, Cerianne.

Come back and let us know how things go,

Take care,

Paul

Hi Kate! Nearly forgot you when posting to Cerianne. What's a mast cell tumour Kate? Is it malignant? I think in many ways it sounds like your girl is doing pretty well for he age. Though obviously the 4 years of treatment sounds serious. The fact she still acts like a puppy sounds great though. Thanks for popping by. Paul

Hi!

I have a 1.5 year old Boxer called Kim.
She is the highlight of our lives but at times can be rather adventurous!!
We have just had to replace our whole fence around our garden as she took a liking to the film "The Great Escape" and started by jumping it then decided it was much less energy to simply chew through it. Now we have the new fence, problem solved!
Does anyone have a problem with their dog swimming? Kim does a very good impression of a windmill when swimming and has a vertical swimming position, is that normal?
Cath x

I know they do swim, but i've yet to have a boxer that likes water at all if it's more than "elbow" deep. I've taken all mine to the beach over the years, but once they realise it doesn't taste nice, and it moves as well, they dont want to know. When I had Charlie, I even carried him into the sea once til it was as deep as my chest; his legs were going like the clappers so I let go of him. Instead of swimming tho, he just sank like a stone and ran along the bottom, out of the water and back onto the towel ! Funniest thing I ever saw.!

Hi Hovig,

Put it this way, my Boxer has been the soppiest thing Ive ever seen. She loves other dogs and other dogs tend to even put her in her place (including tiny little terriers). I think boxers grow up however you bring them up, Boxers are incredibly playful dogs and can be boisterous but I've never met a vicious or nasy one before. Even around children she is very wary that they are only small, but I think due to their very playful nature they should be watched around very small kids. As long as your ready for a lot of hard work I would absolutely reccomend a Boxer!
Cath

Hi Steve

I've been taking Kim to the river and she hated it to begin with, but my friends dogs swim like fish and she didn't like being left out so she'll go in now.....just now very well bless her! Dont think it would be a good idea to take her to the sea tho....dont think I would ever see her again!

Hi Paul, haven't been talking for a while but am back now. Boris is great and we have news we are getting another boxer on the 16th March, this is a little white girl named "Pixie". She will be thirteen weeks old when we get her, she will be the first boxer pup we have had as you know Suzy was about five when we got her and Boris about eighteen months. We are so excited at the prospect, we have only seen a photograph of her but she is beautiful, completely white with a brown patch over her right eye. We think that Boris could do with the company, he is on his own a lot during the day (except for the cats, love/hate relationship still going on there) and we thought that this would be good for both of them (and of course for us). Anyway that's the plan so keep your fingers crossed for us that everything goes well. Nice to talk again. Margaret.

Hi there its kate again. So nice that you replied. Mast cell tumours are very common in boxers but are hard to grade as they are very unpredictable. As meg has many she is graded higher. Some are malignant and can spread. Luckily megs are all skin tumours but she is still on chemo as they can also spread. I am a vet nurse and was lucky to know an excellent vet at cambridge university who was studying a drug combination. Meg is in partial remision which is all i can hope for after this length of time. I think she was rehomed because of this condition and the fact that she is urinary incontinent.
This is such a lovely site to visit. Most of my time at work is spent boxer watchng!!

Hi Cathryn!

Except for once I can't remember any of my dogs really swimming. Most of them are/were quite happy to play in water right up to their necks but I've not really got a memory of any swimming through choice. Necessity yes.

With Lily if you flung things in the water she would put her head under and blow bubbles. Which was pretty funny.

Nowhere near as funny as Steve's story that really cracked me up. I even quoted you else where. Cheers for the laugh Steve!

Margaret! It's always great to hear from you and this is really great news. I'm sure you've made a good decision.

Boris ill love it to have a little friend. I think its a good combination too. An older male and female pup. Keep us updated!

Hey there Kate, welcome back!

Well, I certainly knew that boxers are prone to a lot of lumps and bumps as they get on in age. Much like us really. The vast majority being benign.

These would be the mast cell tumours?

I'm sorry things are so tough. How does the chemo effect dogs? Any differences with humans? Is the dose high enough for Megs to loose hair for example?

I guess it's probably pretty similar.

You've certainly got your hands full with her. I admire you, not everyone can take that sort of situation.

Best of luck Kate, let us know how Megs goes.

Paul

all of everyones stories got to me i was crying im sorry for those who lost there dogs