Boxers: the heat is on

New research reveals that body condition plays a critical role in thermoregulation in brachycephalic breeds such as the Boxer, Bulldog and Pug.

“Brachycephalic dogs are at greater risk for heat-related illness, presumably due to the structure of their respiratory tract,” explains Professor Michel Davis of Oklahoma State University in an article on the AKCHF website. “Dogs rely on the respiratory tract to dissipate metabolic heat, and this process is hampered in brachycephalic breeds due to their airway anatomy.”

This makes endurance activities tougher for brachycephalic breeds. But the research found that carrying too much weight may be an even bigger risk. 

“While brachycephaly had an important impact on our research results, body condition score seemed to have a larger impact,” Davis says. “In other words, being overweight is probably more risky than being brachycephalic and a lean brachycephalic dog may not have that much of a risk. The overweight brachycephalic dogs had two strikes against them.”  

Nevertheless, the article goes on to feature Boxers - a breed that in the main is kept pretty lean and so one would think would not suffer so badly.

Not so, according to top Boxer breeders Linda and Skip Abel from Minnesota, who have bred Boxers under the Storybook prefix since 1993.  The Abels are portrayed as being responsible breeders for taking so much care to avoid heat-stress when travelling with their Boxers and for informing their puppy buyers of the risks: "“I caution new puppy owners about these issues,” says Mrs Abel. “A lot of times they are young families or a young, single person who wants to go jogging with a Boxer. I question them about whether a Boxer is the right breed for them."

And then she adds:

"In general, a Boxer is not a breed that spends a lot of time outdoors. These dogs simply can’t lie around in the sun without the heat becoming an issue.”

Wow. Really?

The Boxer was originally bred as a swift and strong hunting dog, capable of bringing down boar.  They were also once used in Germany as police dogs and they would have been utterly useless in either capacity if they were prone to keeling over through heat-stress.

So what happened?

The 'effin show-ring happened.

Here's what Boxers used to look like:

1897

Over the next 50 years, they became more "refined" (as the breeders like to call it). By the 1940s, the distinctive undershot jaw was well-established and I am sure most people would recognise this dog as a Boxer (as opposed, perhaps, to the one above). But the muzzle still had a really good length to it.

1944

And they could have stopped there. But of course they didn't. Here's a modern show dog, photographed in the UK ring recently. They're not all like this, but some are - and it's a type favoured on the continent, including in the breed's country of origin.

Here's another one:

It's a heck of a "refinement", isn't it?

Of course, the Boxer is not (yet) as brachycephalic as other breeds and I am sure I'll be inundated with breed afficionados telling me how fit and athletic their dogs are. I am sure many are. It is also true that there are videos on YouTube of Boxers bred for work that do not have significantly longer muzzles (although I note that most of them are marked by huge nostrils which must help).  

No, my chief objection here is to the description of the breed as "not an outdoor dog" - and the acceptance that it should be so by the very people that have inflicted the need for air-conditioning on the dog, almost as if they weren't complicit in the whole sorry process.  Because therein lies the road to hell.

Make no mistake about it, that short muzzle and undershot jaw are defects (the latter colloquially known as a Hapsburg Jaw in humans, perpetuated by inbreeding in the Hapsburgs - pretty much as it has been in Boxers, too).

In moderation, neither are likely to present huge problems. In other words,  you should be able to have your Boxer and heat it... safely. The problems arise when things go too far - which, clearly, they have done if you are breeding Boxers that aren't capable of going for a jog with their owner on a warm day.

Meanwhile, there are some bonkers show breeders (not in the UK, thank goodness) doing this to the other end of the dog. Apparently it's done in the belief that it makes the dog look like it has "attitude".

Sigh.

You gonna tell me it's just the stack? 'Cos that's how it started with the GSDs.

Have a look at Pietoro's collection of historical pix of Boxers - fascinating (as his collection is for all the breeds).  You can find the Boxer collection here.

And the inside of the Boxer? That's a whole other story... coming soon...