Please educate me - WHITE boxers

[Tornado_Run_Farm]

A guy that works for me on the weekend bought a 6mo white boxer from his neighbor, who had bought the dog a few weeks before that from Craigslist… Anyway, he asked me if I could take the dog in while he and his roommates looked for a house… Well, yes, you guessed it - house fell through and he gave ME the dog. It’s okay, I really like him - very sweet and he fits in and gets along well with the rest of the household. I had him checked for worms & got his shots a couple weeks ago, and he has appt to be neutered next week. (He supposedly already had shots somewhere previously up the line from the other owners, but no paperwork - or tag, sooo…) Otherwise vet confirmed healthy.

Anyway, he’s had really, really soft cowpile like stool and has had several accidents during the night. I’ve been trying to get him out late & up early to avoid those as much as possible. Last night he was scratching and restless and got up, so I tried to head him off at the pass. When I turned the light on I found him totally COVERED from tip of nose to tip of tail with hives - HUGE whelps! Not knowing this dog well and having NO experience with hives in dogs, I called ER vet at 5:30 in the morning, and took him in then just in case it turned out to be serious.

I’ve never owned nor been around a boxer before, but thought I’d done sufficient research when I agreed to take him in. However, I found out while there that hives is fairly common in some breeds, especially boxers, but especially WHITE boxers. I also found out that IBS is also fairly common in some breeds, especially boxers, but especially WHITE boxers…

Please help me:

What do you feed a 6mo boxer with IBS? The vet recommended a Hill’s Prescription special puppy food for sensitive stomachs, but at $22/8lb bag, thought I’d pass for now to see if Taste of Wild mixed with pumpkin I’ve been feeding would eventually have positive impact. I’ve been able to put a little weight on him but he’s still awfully thin - only 39lbs.

What ELSE do I need to know about WHITE boxers? I stress the WHITE because it appears to make a difference. I know about protection from sun, but what OTHER things should I know about boxers “but especially WHITE boxers?”

TIA! I really like this little guy!

[wireweiners]

They are also prone to deafness and eye problems. Reputable boxer breeders normally euthanize solid white pups at birth.

[dacasodivine]

Can’t speak on the white boxer or problems. We had a neighbor with a mostly white boxer but he didn’t have any issues that I know of.

As for Hill’s, it is considered a crap dogfood. Vets have pushed it for years so people think it’s a good food but it’s not. There is a website I’ll try to find that lists dogfoods rate them.

Taste of the Wild is a good food and pumpkin is good for the tummy. If the hives are caused by food, that should help.

Good luck with your new pup.

[Bluey]

Really, do what your vet tells you, not what wild guesses some strangers on the internet invent, without a DVM behind their name.

Allergies are responses of the immune system to certain substances, some proteins in common foods the immune system misreads as foreign and dangerous and fights.
If your dog, as white boxers tend to, has food sensitivity or outright allergies, do feed it the right food to minimize the allergies, like those Science Diet sells thru your vet.

One reason many animals with white pigment high on the head, as some paint horses and dogs, are deaf is because the lack of pigment interferes with the proper formation of some inner ear structures, best I remember.

Your vet may be able to test your dog for deafness, or send you to a specialist that will.
There is a yahoo group just for owners of white boxers and their problems you may want to go read on.

[Ainsley688]

Pumpkin, plain rice, and a good kibble. Also, feed a little less than you think you should! My new dog has a sensitive tummy (had a terrible time when my mother gave her an egg!) and she eats Wellness Large Breed Puppy, with about a cup of the canned pumpkin, and I’ll give her some rice in place of kibble if she’s having a hard time with something. Be very careful about little “tid bits” you might be tempted to give…they will have a bad reaction to the smallest thing!

And just start out simple, so you can tell if you add something in, and the dog has a reaction to it. With Stella, she had BAD diarrhea from the hard-boiled egg she ate…she was up at 4AM and 6AM to go out…

Good luck!

[pinkdiamondracing]

I used to have Boxers— white ones especially. They are truly nice dogs. Not because they are white, but because they are Boxers.

[Sillypony]

As a tech, my experience with white boxers is they are pretty prone to cancer. Boxers in general seem to be very cancer prone, but when you add the white color, it seems to be worse. The saddest was a five year old with a mast cell tumor that morphed very quickly into lymphoma. Check, double check and triple check for any lumps or bumps and make sure to have your vet biopsy them.

[pinkdiamondracing]

My last white Boxer lived to 14— cancer did get him in the end, but Roscoe was healthy pretty much his whole life, up until the year before I lost him— he bloated really bad and barely avoided surgery, only to have to be Euth’d almost a full year later to cancer.

[vacation1]

[QUOTE=Tornado Run Farm;5890858]
I called ER vet at 5:30 in the morning, and took him in then just in case it turned out to be serious.[/QUOTE]

You have just saved my sanity. It’s so nice to see someone who called the vet and then did the pre-dawn drive instead of going onto their 3 favorite forums to ask WWYD? as the horse/dog/cat/whatever gushes blood.

@Tornado Run Farm;5890858

The vet recommended a Hill’s Prescription special puppy food for sensitive stomachs, but at $22/8lb bag, thought I’d pass for now to see if Taste of Wild mixed with pumpkin I’ve been feeding would eventually have positive impact. I’ve been able to put a little weight on him but he’s still awfully thin - only 39lbs.

If financially possible, I’d buy a bag of the SD and see if it helped. I’ve had a good experience with SD’s prescription food (the i/d bland diet); it’s expensive but so was the gastric emergency we went through last winter. Three vet visits in 1 week, all emergency visits, fluids, painkillers (the stomach upset becomes painful for them), and the roughly 10 years it took off my life…

You could ask the vet about nutritional supplements that might help with digestion.

[threedogpack]

get to your regular vet, get a fecal and if the soft stools don’t clear up, check for giardia.

I don’t know much about white boxers, but the fawn/brindle ones I’ve had in class have been incredibly bright, closely bonded dogs who would turn themselves inside out for their owners. I have said for a long time, if boxers came in a mini variety…I’d own one. Exhuberent, lovely, easy to train dogs.

[CdnRider]

or another common parasite is coccidia.

I personally don’t feed Hills food to my dog but seriously ppl, bashing a food that puts more money into research then any other food is just stupid. I have no problem with feeding natural type foods but provide me with the research, clinical trials and data first.

Boxers are awesome, an instructor at school had a White boxer, he was incredible (Chance) as breeder brought him in to be euthanized. Boxers in general also are prone to developing heart conditions as they age. I would agree with them being cancer incubators as well.

Goodluck!

[Pcostx]

@dacasodivine;5890917

As for Hill’s, it is considered a crap dogfood. Vets have pushed it for years so people think it’s a good food but it’s not. There is a website I’ll try to find that lists dogfoods rate them.

You are 100% correct. Hill’s/Science Diet IS not worth the $$$! It may be expensive but that doesn’t mean it’s any better then most of the stuff sold at the supermarket.

Tornado Run Farm, if you want to PM me your address, I can snail mail you an excellent article from The Whole Dog Journal discussing dog foods, how to read the labels, and how to choose ingredients that will suit your dog.

It also explains WHY Hill’s foods are NOT as high quality as the advertising hype would have you believe.

As far as the IBS, I have a dog w/ it. I’ve found digestive supplements to be invaluable. I use this one: http://whole-isticsolutions.com/item.asp?productid=6

I’ve also found the only diet my IBS dog can tolerate is a raw diet. I’m happy to give you more info. if you’d like.

[Pcostx]

One more thing, predominantly white dogs are prone to skin conditions and allergies such as hives, skin infections, etc.

[Tornado_Run_Farm]

Wow - I’m honestly rather stunned. I really had no idea about these issues or potential issues - obviously naively glib about the whole thing.

I always liked boxers, and just googled about the breed in general. I have a friend who adopted a white shepherd awhile back with no issues, so I didn’t give the color (outside of doggy sunscreen over the pink points) much thought at all. Since I’d never seen a white boxer before, I actually thought that the white coloring must be a RARE event. Now I read of all boxer litters born, up to 25% are white and usually euthanized. I knew about potential deafness with dalmations, but thought that was due to a breed thing, not a color thing! The loose stool I attributed to change in diet and only temporary… ugh… No matter - I cringe when I think of this sweet cutie being chained alone in a back yard somewhere - not after running, romping and playing as he’s doing now. 'Til now, his life consisted of being left alone in an apt. for 15 hours out of the day and only going out for bathroom breaks. So yes, even though I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into - it’s still allll gooood.

Bluey, thanks, I’ll check out the yahoo group. Vacation - the i/d bland diet is what ER vet suggested, too. I also found a bland diet recipe using rice & probiotics as others suggested. Pcotx, I’ll PM my address - obviously I have a lot to learn and can use all the help I can get. Thanks to ALL for your suggestions and input. I really, really appreciate it!

[Lynnwood]

As a LVT I’ve seen a number of white boxers and most were No different then their fawn and brindle breed mates. One came in as a ACO abuse case and was covered in deep sores from cronic demodex mange but cleared up just fine with proper support. One was deaf but other then that I think IBS is more a Boxer trait then a “white” boxer trait.

Find a good quality kibble , use what the vet recommends for now and see how he does . My questions are what was he exposed to before the soft stools started , we know change in home , was their a change in diet , etc. Sometimes just a little stress can set them off , maybe fast for a day , then some rice and ID , or SD.

My guess is it is just the stress from changes in diet and maybe an allergy to something in the new food was it a different protein source chicken vs lamb etc… did it have corn or wheat?

It could even been a sensitivity to something hes come in skin contact with, laundry soap , fabric softener , yard spray etc

[wendy]

•What do you feed a 6mo boxer with IBS? The vet recommended a Hill’s Prescription special puppy food for sensitive stomachs, but at $22/8lb bag, thought I’d pass for now to see if Taste of Wild mixed with pumpkin I’ve been feeding would eventually have positive impact.

why do you think he has IBS?
I wouldn’t feed Hills’ anything, the ingredients are bound to make your dog less healthy overall. Most of their prescription diets have a tiny bit of medicinal truth added to a mix of highly over-priced corn, soy, glutens, and by-products. For example, they add fatty acids and joint supplements to a cheap, low-protein diet based on corn and call it “prescription diet for arthritis” and charge lots of money for it.
Not sure which formula the vet pushed at you, but probably it’s just the usual icky Hills’ formula with added fiber. Add some canned pumpkin to a good food and you get the same medicinal effect without compromising the rest of the dog’s health with poor nutrition.
However, TOTW isn’t a very good choice for a puppy; the calcium is too high and might compromise the pup’s skeletal growth.

[dacasodivine]

Here’s a site that reviews dog foods.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Here’s another.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/

[Mosey_2003]

I just wanna say congrats on ‘inheriting’ a Boxer They are special…

Don’t have a lot of help for the hives or IBS, but once he’s decided you’re his human for good you’ll have an inseparable buddy. My Delilah actually cries at me when I come home! On the flip side, if you’re gone much you’ll want to watch out for separation anxiety behaviors, hopefully it won’t be a problem since you have other dogs. But Boxers really are the greatest!

Hope his tummy feels better soon.

[Debbie]

Boxers = Awesome! They are the best, most loving dogs and I can’t wait to have another one.

The increase in white pups is due to the desire to breed losts of flash into the fawns and brindles. The white Boxers I’ve met have been just lovely. I think it’s a shame to euth white puppies though for sure they should be spayed or nuetered.

My two boxers seemed to have sensitive tummies and would occassionally have explosive diarhea for seemingly no reason. A little bit of pumpkin and yogurt mixed into their food seemed to clear it up. I was pretty strict on what they ate - no human food at all, and that helped too. The other issue you’ll find if you haven’t yet is that boxers have notoriously noxious gas. They will clear a room with their stinkiness. We always found it very humorous so learn to laugh at it!

Our two were awesome city dogs and then transitioned seamlessly into awesome farm dogs. I can’t speak highly enough of how much we enjoyed them. I hope you get half as much pleasure from your boy and bless you for changing his life so much for the better!

We need to see some pictures!

[mroades]

I grew up with Boxers…love them. One of my clearest memories is reading James Herriot’s book where he rehomes a boxer with a man who had lost his sense of smell!!! Very nice trait to have with Boxers in the house!