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Gentry Boxers
  • HOME
    • WELCOME TO GENTRY! >
      • ABOUT PAULA
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      • TESTIMONIALS
      • NATURAL REARING
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      • WHY BUY FROM A BREEDER LIKE ME?
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      • CORNEAL DYSTROPHY
      • DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY
      • HEART PROBLEMS
      • HIP/ELBOW DYSPLASIA
      • KENNEL COUGH
      • MANGE
      • SNAKE and VENOMOUS INSECT BITES
      • THYROID PROBLEMS
    • HEARTWORM PREVENTION AND TREATMENT NATURALLY
    • HOMEOPATHIC SUPPORT >
      • HOW HOMEOPATHY WORKS
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      • HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR VACCINE REACTIONS
      • NOSODES
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    • RENT CARDIAC HOLTER
    • SNAKE and VENOMOUS INSECT/SPIDER BITES
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  • SHOPPING
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    • EARLY DEVELOPMENT PUPPY GYM
    • STORE FOR BREEDERS and OWNERS
  • BREEDER RESOURCES
    • ANIMAL WELLNESS COACHING
    • ANXIETY
    • BIO SENSOR FOR PUPPY DEVELOPMENT
    • COEFFICIENT OF INBREEDING
    • CRYSTALS FOR BREEDING ANIMALS
    • CANINE INFLUENZA
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HEART PROBLEMS IN BOXERS

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Boxer Cardiomyopathy (BCM)

Read Dr. Wallner's paper on Boxer Cardiomyopathy
Boxer Cardiomyopathy
Boxers are predisposed to suffer from a heart condition known as boxer cardiomyopathy. According to veterinarian Wendy Wallner, boxer cardiomyopathy is a disorder of the electric impulses of the heart, which causes the heart to beat erratically. Most boxers may not show any symptoms until the disorder is severe. Unfortunately, serious cases can lead to fainting and even death. This condition cannot reliably be detected by listening to the heart with a stethoscope or with the typical 15 minute ECG. Wallner recommends having a 24 hour holter run on your boxer at the ages of 1, 2 and 5. 

The recommended protocol for screening boxers for Cardiomyopathy is to hook your boxer up to an ECG monitor for 24 hours.  Since this condition can manifest at any point in life, best practices would be to run this screen annually from a young age until passing. 

Gentry Boxers have 24 hour holter monitoring sessions annually and their results are published on our web site. We currently use a digital Medata monitoring system with a DogLeggs vest and a printer that allows us to print results immediately.  The OFA does not have a publishing database for Cardiomyopathy at this time, so prospective owners should ask for documentation of holtering sessions.  To date, we have had no positive screens and no reported cases of cardiomyopathy in our breeding program.

Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC)

In 2009, a mutated gene was discovered that causes ARVC by Dr. Kathryn Meurs, DVM, Ph.D.  She had been studying the causes behind this fatal disease for 12 years.  Boxer breeders were very excited about this discovery and many of us now routinely screen our dogs for this gene.  However, Dr. Meurs states "It is highly likely that there is more than one mutation in the boxer dog that will cause this disease in some bloodlines".  This gene test is not the solution, but a valuable tool for a breeder to make wise decisions about which dogs to use.

There are three possible test results for this screen:

Negative Homozygous (2 copies of a normal gene).  Dog does not carry the mutated gene.  To date, all Gentry Boxers have tested in this category.

Positive Heterozygous (1 copy of the mutated gene and 1 copy of a normal gene) Dogs that are positive heterozygous should be carefully  evaluated for signs of disease (Holter monitor and possibly an echocardiogram). 
If an arrhythmia (VPCs) is detected, possible treatment options should be  discussed with your veterinarian. Adult dogs that do not show signs of disease and that have other positive attributes could be bred to mutation negative 
dogs. Puppies may be screened for the mutation and over a few generations,  mutation negative puppies may be selected to replace the mutation positive  parent and gradually decrease the number of mutation positive dogs in the 
population.

Positive Homozygous (2 copies of the mutated gene) I  recommend not breeding the homozygous dogs UNLESS they are exceptional members  of the Boxer community and we need to be sure to maintain their positive attributes in the breed. Dogs that are homozygous for the mutation appear to  have more significant disease and will certainly pass on the mutation therefore  they should only be bred to a negative dog and over 2 generations of negative crosses a negative puppy could be selected as a replacement.
American Boxer Club info on ARVC
American Boxer Charitable Foundation Articles on Cardiomyopathy
ARVC Gene Test  NC University Veterinary Medicine
RENT HOLTER MONITOR FOR YOUR BOXER
Order a Cardiologist Interpretation of your Report
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Copyright 2013-2025 Gentry Boxers LLC - Affiliate disclosure:  Occasionally links are embedded that put a small stipend into our bank to support our natural rearing mission! There is nothing recommended that we don't use regularly here and find to be extremely effective.  Prices are the same as if you purchase without our link. Thank you for your support.
  • HOME
    • WELCOME TO GENTRY! >
      • ABOUT PAULA
      • PHILOSOPHY
      • CODE OF ETHICS
      • TESTIMONIALS
      • NATURAL REARING
      • CONTACT US
      • WHY BUY FROM A BREEDER LIKE ME?
  • PUPPIES AVAILABLE
    • PUPPY APPLICATION
    • BOXERS AVAILABLE
    • BOSTON TERRIER AVAILABLE
    • PUPPY FAQ, PRICING, REFUND AND DEPOSIT POLICY
    • HOW GENTRY PUPPIES ARE RAISED
    • WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN WE'RE EXPECTING
    • HEALTH GUARANTEE INFORMATION
    • DO I REALLY WANT A BOXER PUPPY?
    • EARLY DEVELOPMENT PUPPY GYM
    • CHOOSING A BOXER PUPPY
    • BIO SENSOR SUPER DOG
  • MEET THE GENTRY DOGS
    • THE GIRLS >
      • FLAME >
        • PHOTO GALLERIES
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
      • GRACE >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
      • LAYLA >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • PHOTOS
      • SPICE >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • PHOTOS
        • SPICE PUPPIES
      • TWINKLE - THE BOSTON TERRIER >
        • PEDIGREE
        • HER FAMOUS PARENTS
        • HEALTH SCREENS
      • ZIVA >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
    • THE BOYS >
      • THOMAS >
        • STUD SERVICE
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • THOMAS PHOTOS
        • THOMAS PUPPIES
      • ROBO >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • PHOTOS
      • RYDER >
        • STUD SERVICE
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • RYDER PHOTOS
    • GONE BUT STILL LOVED >
      • GINGER >
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PHOTOS
        • HER PUPPIES
      • SCOTTY >
        • STUD SERVICE
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • SCOTTY PHOTOS
        • SCOTTY'S PUPPIES
      • NALU (The Perfect Wave) >
        • PEDIGREE
        • NALU PUPPIES
      • DASH >
        • STUD SERVICE
        • SUMMARY OF HEALTH SCREENS
        • PEDIGREE
        • DASH PHOTOS
        • DASH PUPPIES
  • PAST PUPPIES
    • BOSTON TERRIER LITTER 2024
    • GRACE - DUSTY LITTER
    • ZIVA-TOBY LITTER
    • GRACE - SULLY LITTER
    • SPICE/MOTO LITTER
    • NALU/RUGER LITTER
    • 2013 PUPPIES
  • BREED FACTS
    • AMERICAN BOXER CLUB >
      • HEALTH SCREENING RECOMMENDATIONS
      • THE BOXER STANDARD
      • HOW TO JUDGE A BOXER
      • HOW TO PICK A SHOW PROSPECT
      • FUTURITY NOMINATIONS
    • WHITE BOXERS
    • MARKINGS IN BOXERS
  • HEALTH and CARE
    • ANIMAL WELLNESS COACHING
    • ANXIETY
    • CRYSTALS FOR HEALTH AND SUPPORT
    • DEATH AND EUTHANASIA
    • EAR CROPPING
    • EATING HEALTHY/RAW DIET >
      • HOW WE MAKE OUR OWN RAW FOOD
      • WHAT ABOUT PARASITES AND PATHOGENS?
    • ESSENTIAL OILS
    • FLOWER ESSENCES
    • HEALTH ISSUES IN BOXERS >
      • CORNEAL DYSTROPHY
      • DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY
      • HEART PROBLEMS
      • HIP/ELBOW DYSPLASIA
      • KENNEL COUGH
      • MANGE
      • SNAKE and VENOMOUS INSECT BITES
      • THYROID PROBLEMS
    • HEARTWORM PREVENTION AND TREATMENT NATURALLY
    • HOMEOPATHIC SUPPORT >
      • HOW HOMEOPATHY WORKS
      • HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES and MUSCLE TESTING
      • HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR DOGS - A QUICK STUDY
      • HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR VACCINE REACTIONS
      • NOSODES
    • MUSCLE TESTING - KINESIOLOGY
    • RENT CARDIAC HOLTER
    • SNAKE and VENOMOUS INSECT/SPIDER BITES
    • VACCINES
  • TRAINING
    • ANXIETY
    • BIO SENSOR SUPERDOG
    • PUPPY TRAINING
  • SHOPPING
    • BOXER MERCHANDISE and CALENDARS
    • EARLY DEVELOPMENT PUPPY GYM
    • STORE FOR BREEDERS and OWNERS
  • BREEDER RESOURCES
    • ANIMAL WELLNESS COACHING
    • ANXIETY
    • BIO SENSOR FOR PUPPY DEVELOPMENT
    • COEFFICIENT OF INBREEDING
    • CRYSTALS FOR BREEDING ANIMALS
    • CANINE INFLUENZA
    • EARLY DEVELOPMENT PUPPY GYM
    • ESSENTIAL OILS
    • DEATH AND EUTHANASIA
    • MICROCHIPPING
    • NATURAL REARING
    • NOSODES
    • RENT CARDIAC HOLTER
    • SAVING PUPPIES
    • TAILS and DEWCLAWS
    • TUBE FEEDING
    • WHELPING PUPPIES
  • BLOG
  • FORENSIC HAIR ANALYSIS
  • PRIVACY POLICY