Health Concerns in Boxers 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I STRONGLY believe in Health Testing!  

This page lists many of the health concerns found in todays Boxer and the tests that can be preformed to prevent them from being carried on to future generations.


ACEPROMAZINE WARNING
by Wendy Wallner, DVM

"There is one drug used in anesthetic protocols that probably should not be used in the boxer. That drug is Acepromazine, a tranquilizer that is often used as a preanesthetic agent. In the boxer it tends to cause a problem called first-degree heart block, an arrhythmia of the heart. It can also cause profound hypotension (severe lowering of the blood pressure) in many boxers that are given the drug. Recently on the Veterinary Information Network, a computer network for practicing veterinarians, an announcement was placed in the cardiology section entitled "Acepromazine and Boxers." This described several adverse reactions to the drug in a very short time span at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital. All the reported adverse reactions were in boxers. The reactions included collapse, respiratory arrest and profound bradycardia (slow heart rate, less than 60 beats per minute). The announcement suggested that Acepromazine should not be used in dogs of the boxer breed because of breed related sensitivity to the drug.

WARNING:
This drug is the most commonly prescribed tranquilizer in veterinary medicine. It is also used orally and is prescribed for owners who want to tranquilize their dogs for air travel. I would strongly recommend that boxer owners avoid the use of this drug, especially when the dog will be unattended and/or unable to receive emergency medical care if needed."

Please inform your vet and have "NO ACE" written on your Boxers File! It is written in RED and highlighted on all my Boxer's Medical folders.

XYLITOL WARNING

Reported in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, there is clinical evidence indicating that canine consumption of Xylitol can cause precipitous drops in low-blood sugar, bleeding disorders and severe liver damage, including liver failure. In the data collected, every dog that accidentally ingested Xylitol grew ill, and some had to be euthanized due to the severity of the damage.

Xylitol is a sweetener commonly found in sugar-free food products, like chewing gum, baked items and candies, as well as toothpastes. You will want to take particular care not to leave these products within the reach of your companion animals.

Authors of the report stressed that all members of families with dogs should be aware of the possible negative health consequences.  Consumers should be aware that any product claiming to be sugar-free may contain xylitol. The researchers also noted that there was no information available as yet to indicate the same kind of reaction in cats."

BOXER CARDIOMYOPATHY
by Wendy Wallner, DVM
Atlanta, GA

What is boxer cardiomyopathy?

Boxer cardiomyopathy as we know it consists primarily of an electrical conduction disorder which causes the heart to beat erratically (to have an arrhythmia) some of the time. If the erratic beats occur infrequently and singly, the dog will probably not have symptoms of heart disease. If the erratic beats occur in sequence, weakness, collapse or sudden death may result. These arrhythmias may or may not be detected by listening to the heart with a stethoscope. Whether or not they are detected depends on the frequency of the abnormal rhythm. If frequent, they can easily be heard with a stethoscope. The arrhythmia usually consists of VPCs (ventricular premature contractions) that are heard as an extra beat or a skipped beat that do not have a corresponding pulse. To identify these, the listener must therefore have one hand on the stethoscope holding it to the chest and one hand feeling for a pulse (usually at the femoral artery on the inside of the hind leg). In the normal functioning heart, there is a pulse for every beat that is heard. When a VPC occurs, a beat is heard through the stethoscope (and it sounds like a stutter as it is not in the normal rhythm sequence of the sinus beats), but there is no pulse to go with it. These VPCs have a characteristic pattern on an ECG and this is the way they are confirmed. Often this is the first abnormality noticed in a boxer with cardiomyopathy. Usually the dog is having no symptoms of heart disease when these are noticed by a veterinarian during a routine exam. If the frequency of these irregular beats increases, the animal may suffer "fainting" spells (called syncopal episodes). This happens because these abnormal beats do not pump the blood effectively (no corresponding pulse) to the vital organs like a normal beat does and the brain becomes oxygen deprived while the abnormal beats are occurring. Usually when an animal faints, they are having what is known as a run (several in a row) of VPCs. If the heart corrects itself, the animal regains consciousness in a matter of seconds to minutes. If the run of VPCs continues, this is termed ventricular tachycardia and can lead to the development of ventricular fibrillation that is fatal if the rhythm is not converted. This ventricular fibrillation (V-fib) is the cause of sudden death in most boxers with cardiomyopathy. There is no blood being pumped through the body when the animal is in V-fib. Cardiomyopathy can also be responsible for sudden death associated with anesthesia. Now, just because a boxer has VPCs does not absolutely mean it has cardiomyopathy IF there is another disease process at work. I have seen animals with severe infection or cancer have VPCs that resolved completely once the infection was cleared or the malignancy removed. If, however, VPCs are seen in an otherwise healthy boxer, one would have a high index of suspicion for cardiomyopathy because of the prevalence of the disease in the boxer breed.
Some boxers with cardiomyopathy will enter another phase of disease where the ventricles of the heart start to dilate. At this time it is unclear whether this is a progression of the electrical conduction disorder, a separate disease more like that seen in other large breed dogs, or a subset of boxer CM that is not necessarily a progression of the previously arrhythmic dogs. With this condition, the walls of the heart become thin, the heart muscle weakens and these animals can show symptoms of heart failure such as coughing (from lung congestion) and/or fluid retention in the abdomen (ascites) depending on which side of the heart is most affected. In time as the heart becomes very enlarged it begins to be an inefficient pump and dogs so affected may require numerous medications to keep the heart functioning well enough to sustain life. Still, most boxers affected with cardiomyopathy will ultimately die of their arrhythmia, not of congestive heart failure. The only way to definitively make the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy is to have a veterinary pathologist evaluate tissue samples from the heart muscle after death.

How is boxer cardiomyopathy diagnosed?

The best way to evaluate a boxer for arrhythmia is to use a 24-hour ECG called a Holter monitor. While an ECG can pick up arrhythmias if they are very frequent, the Holter is much better at doing so. It will tell you if your dog has VPCs, whether they are frequent or infrequent, single or multiple, from a single focus in the heart or from several sites. Not enough boxers have been studied to know if a small number of VPCs may be normal, but what is known is that most boxers that go on to die of cardiomyopathy have many VPCs in a 24 hour period (hundreds to thousands) and that they have runs of ventricular tachycardia. The Holter monitor allows us to identify dogs that may have problems due to these runs of VPCs. For example, most asymptomatic animals have single VPCs interspersed with their normal beats throughout the 24-hour period. If a Holter shows many clusters or runs of VPCs, this means that this animal may be at higher risk for syncope or sudden death and can affect how the dog is treated (with anti-arrhythmic drugs, for example). Comparing statistics for ECG and Holter, it becomes evident why the Holter is superior in detecting subtle arrhythmias. The average 3 minute ECG provides the cardiologist with only 240 beats compared with 90,000 to 110,000 on the average Holter tape. Studies from human medical literature claim that individuals with more than 3000 VPCs in 24 hours have a 29% chance of having a normal random ECG, those with 1000-3000 VPCs in 24-hours have a 50% chance of having a normal random ECG and those with less than 300 VPCs have almost a 100% chance of having a normal random ECG. This is why so many affected boxers have normal random ECGs. ECG data is meaningless unless it is abnormal! 

All of our Boxers are fitted with a 24 hour Holter Moniter Prior to Breeding. 

Familial Ventricular Arrhythmias (FVA)

AORTIC STENOSIS / SUB-AORTIC STENOSIS
( AS/SAS )
 Aortic Stenosis is the narrowing of the aorta located below the aortic valve. This forces the heart to work harder to supply blood to the body. A reduced blood flow can cause a boxer with Aortic Stenosis to  faint or die suddenly. This disease is inherited and is one of the most common heart conditions in Boxers, however, its mode of transmission is not known at this time. Aortic Stenosis develops as the dog’s heart grows, so assessing a young dog can be misleading. Many puppies have innocent murmurs, often referred to as ‘puppy murmurs’ or ‘flow murmurs’ - most disappear by about 16 weeks of age. Even if the puppy murmur persists there may be no cause for alarm so long as they are quiet - genuine "flow" murmurs are not associated with heart disease in the adult. On the other hand, a pup that is free of murmurs at 8 weeks of age, may develop a serious murmur by the time it is mature. A recent recommendation is to have dogs checked over 24 months old as murmurs have been found to develop only after sexual maturity. If a heart murmur is detected diagnosis must be made by a veterinary cardiologist. Boxers intended for breeding should be properly screened for this disease and those affected must be altered. 

Doppler Echocardiogram can be used to diagnose AS/SAS. This is an ultrasound of the heart that detects abnormal flow velocities and allows for the diagnosis and quantification of the severity of Aortic Stenosis. A clear Doppler after the dog is 24 months of age is considered conclusive (the dog does not have AS). Some studies show that Aortic Stenosis is a polygentic (cause by several genes) disease, so two clear parents can produce affected offspring.


Boxer Colitis
Race Foster, DVM

Colitis describes an inflammation of the colon. The cause may be bacteria, stress, parasites, etc. However, there is usually no detectable reason for the inflammation.

What are the symptoms?

Most dogs with colitis look and feel normal. They simply have frequent mucous and occasional flecks of blood in their feces. In severe cases, vomiting may occur. Some dogs and cats will experience severe pain when defecating because of inflammation of the colon, and may actually try and stop the defecation process, thereby, resulting in constipation. There may be constipation or diarrhea, but invariably there will be an abnormal defecation process.

Some breeds are prone to developing colitis. Boxers are very susceptible, but it is not known why this is so. Deep ulcers may develop in the colon wall, and the condition is called "Boxer ulcerative colitis."

What are the risks?

Most dogs have no serious health risk. When deep ulceration of the colon develops, the situation is more serious. Some dogs, especially Boxers, develop chronic colitis and need long-term treatment.

What is the management?

A rectal exam coupled with a biopsy of the colon wall will generally confirm a diagnosis. Fecal exams for colon parasites such as giardia should be performed in all cases. Bland diets such as cottage cheese and rice will help the colon rest and heal. Sometimes the dog must be placed on a bland, easily digestible diet for the rest of its life. Antibiotics will help control bacterial causes. Sulfa-containing drugs can be used long-term to control or treat chronic colitis. Azulfidine (sulfasalazine) is one such drug commonly used to control chronic colitis. In some animals, steroids such as prednisone may be used.

Article courtesy of Drs. Foster & Smith's 


Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
Hip Dysplasia
Hypothyroidism
Demodecitic mage (Demodex)
Cancer
Bloat - Gastric Dilation Volvulus (GDV)
Allergies
Indolent eye ulcer
Pancreatitis
Irritable Bowel Disease
Cushings Disease
Cruciate Ligament Tears
Kidney disease - Renal Dysplasia
Eye issues - varying kinds