Boxer — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Hip dysplasiacan shorten life or cause chronic painCommon in this breed
Malformation of the hip joint causing pain, lameness and early arthritis. In Swedish screening of 2,563 young adult Boxers (2007 to 2016), about three in ten had hip dysplasia graded mild or worse (FCI C to E), though only about one in twenty was moderate or severe.
Ask to see: OFA hip evaluation (or PennHIP), on both parents, from 24 months old, under the American Boxer Club's programme
American Boxer Club — Health Screening Recommendations (https://americanboxerclub.org/health-screening/) · Engdahl et al. 2026, Veterinary Record (https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.70224)
Boxer cardiomyopathy (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, ARVC)can shorten life or cause chronic pain
An inherited heart-rhythm disorder that can cause fainting, collapse or sudden death; the breed club's own primary screening tool is not a DNA test but an annual 24-hour Holter monitor.
Ask to see: The club's required screen is an annual Holter monitor on breeding dogs. DNA tests exist for two known markers (striatin/ARVC1, and a second gene identified in 2021, ARVC2), but their predictive value is disputed: a negative result on either or both does not rule out the disease, since not every affected Boxer carries a known mutation, and dogs with only one copy of a mutation often stay symptom-free for years. Treat a clear DNA result as reassuring, not conclusive, alongside the Holter monitor.
American Boxer Club — Health Screening Recommendations (https://americanboxerclub.org/health-screening/) · NC State Veterinary Hospital — ARVC in Boxers (https://hospital.cvm.ncsu.edu/services/small-animals/genetics/boxer-arvc/) · Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy in the Boxer Dog: An Update (PubMed) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28647112/)
Degenerative myelopathycan shorten life or cause chronic pain
A progressive, incurable disease of the spinal cord causing hind-limb weakness and eventual paralysis in older dogs.
Ask to see: Degenerative myelopathy (SOD1) DNA test, on both parents (recommended)
American Boxer Club — Health Screening Recommendations (https://americanboxerclub.org/health-screening/) · Donner et al. 2023, PLOS Genetics (Table S3, Boxer row) (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651)
Brachycephalic airway limitation
The standard's short muzzle, pinched nostrils and short neck restrict airflow; the FCI's own judging guidance for this breed names forced breathing and snoring as a specific area of risk. In a UK study of 79 Boxers given a standard breathing test after exercise, more than half showed no breathing abnormality and few were clinically affected, so the breed was rated at mild risk; dogs with shorter muzzles were more often affected.
Ask to see: No test; ask to hear the dog breathe after mild exercise in warm weather — pronounced snoring or open-mouth breathing at rest is what the FCI's own guidance flags.
FCI Breed Specific Instructions (Nordic Kennel Union) (https://www.fci.be/nomenclature/docs/JUG-BSI-en.pdf) · Tomlinson et al. 2026, PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340604)
Histiocytic ulcerative colitiscan shorten life or cause chronic pain
A severe inflammatory bowel disease that occurs overwhelmingly in Boxers, almost always before two years old, causing bloody diarrhoea and weight loss. It responds well to antibiotic treatment once correctly diagnosed, but there is no way to predict or test for it in advance.
Ask to see: No test exists. Ask the breeder whether they have seen it in litters from this line — it is a young-dog disease, so an experienced breeder would already know.
Histiocytic ulcerative colitis in Boxer dogs (PubMed) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9406626/) · An immunohistochemical study of histiocytic ulcerative colitis in boxer dogs (PubMed) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10684685/)
Aortic / subaortic stenosiscan shorten life or cause chronic painRare in this breed
A narrowing of the outflow from the heart that can range from harmless to a cause of collapse or sudden death; it can develop after a dog has already tested clear once at a younger age. In a French screening programme, 53 of 3,001 adult Boxers examined by echocardiography between 2005 and 2021 had aortic stenosis, about one in 57, and most cases were mild.
Ask to see: Auscultation and Doppler echocardiogram by a cardiologist, on both parents, from 24 months old
American Boxer Club — Health Screening Recommendations (https://americanboxerclub.org/health-screening/) · Chetboul et al. 2023, PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285458)
Autoimmune thyroiditisRare in this breed
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, usually leading to hypothyroidism; manageable with lifelong medication once diagnosed. In UK primary-care records for 2016, 184 of 9,442 Boxers (about one in fifty) had diagnosed hypothyroidism, one of the highest breed risks in that study, and the Boxer is among the ten breeds with the highest rate of thyroid autoantibodies in a large US laboratory series.
Ask to see: Full thyroid panel (TgAA, total and free T4AA, cTSH) annually while breeding
American Boxer Club — Health Screening Recommendations (https://americanboxerclub.org/health-screening/) · O'Neill et al. 2022, Canine Medicine and Genetics (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-022-00123-8) · Nachreiner et al. 2002, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.2002.220.466)
Haemophilia A (F8, Boxer type)can shorten life or cause chronic painVery rare in this breed
An inherited bleeding disorder from a shortage of clotting factor VIII, caused in this breed by its own F8 variant, described in a family of Boxers: affected dogs bruise easily, have nosebleeds and bleed for a long time after surgery or injury. It is X-linked, so it shows in males while their mothers carry it silently. It looks very rare — the variant was not found in any of more than 4,500 Boxers in a large screen.
Ask to see: Haemophilia A (F8, Boxer type) DNA test result, or a factor VIII activity assay — on the dam especially, since carriers are female
Christopherson et al. 2014, Veterinary Clinical Pathology (https://doi.org/10.1111/vcp.12172) · Donner et al. 2023, PLOS Genetics (Table S3, Boxer row) (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651)