"Responsible Breeders?" I need opinions PLEASE!

[Rozdog]

So I was on the pedigree site reading their information about boxers. It says that "All responsible breeders put any white Boxer puppies down at birth, as they have been proven to have a higher incidence of deafness and serious health problems. In Australia, white Boxers are also more prone to contracting skin cancer because of the climate."
I just wanted to know your opinions because I disagree with the "All resopnsible breeders put any white Boxer puppies down at birth" statement.

http://www.pedigree.com.au/breeds/de...p?b=36&p=b&pp=

[bruinsBoxers]

I missed this earlier .

16 years ago when I first strted in boxers some still did put white puppies down at birth. Most here in the U.S. do not do that anymore . Part of the reason was because it was against the ABC regulations to sell or register any white puppy . That has been changed to allow the sale of white puppies , for the cost associated with raiseing the puppy .

It has been researched that the only difference in whites is an increased risk of deafness because of the lack of pigment in the inner ear - but that can be easily tested for with BEAR esting .While it may be harder to place a deaf puppy it is not impossible. But since breeders do not BAER test colored puppies to see if they hear in both ears it is difficult to say what percent of whites vs. colored puppies are deaf .

And cancer can be higher -again because of the lack ofpigment . That also can be dealt with by putting sunscreen on them and keeping them out of the sun during the hottest part of the day . Just like a person would do with their children .

[Rozdog]

Yeah thanks.
I don't think many people put them down anymore, the breeder we got Sugar from refused to. She was going to keep her unless she found someone willing and able to look after a boxer properly. She makes sure that the buyers know what they're doing and stuff, didn't take her long to agree to let us have Sugar as we already had Tinny and Ceaser had not long passed away.

God I love them Dad won't let us get another one Lol.

[GiGi's dad]

I read somewhere the other day that they estimate approximately 18% of white boxers are deaf.

[Mia]

The colors are fawn and brindle. Fawn shades vary from light tan to mahogany. The brindle ranges from sparse but clearly defined black stripes on a fawn background to such a heavy concentration of black striping that the essential fawn background color barely, although clearly, shows through...
...Disqualifications Boxers that are any color other than fawn or brindle. Boxers with a total of white markings exceeding one-third of the entire coat.

Certainly in the US, the AKC does not go so far as to state that White Puppies ought to be destroyed!!! While the Breed Standard Disqualifies White Boxers as SHOW DOGS, the puppies can be registered with the AKC like any other "purebred" dog. The White Boxer is NO LESS a WONDERFUL PET than any other Boxer. The elevated rate of deafness is there, AND as others have said-- sunscreen is required. Where I personally believe one of the problem lies is with a Breeder who is COUNTING ON the Naive Customer. This Breeder charges $700 for his puppies, instead of $1000-- the same for everyone, including the Whites! Financially, there IS a difference between a "Show" & "Pet" quality animal-- nevermind one who every ethical lover of the breed believes you SHOULD NEVER BREED! ...and most people DO agree that White Boxers ought not be bred. BY THE WAY: "HI!!! Hello! I'm Mia and I'm new here-- but am a 20 year lover of Boxers! I never want a different breed of dog!"

[Rozdog]

Yeah, I agree that white boxers shouldn't be breed but they shouldn't be put down for being white and/or deaf....

[bruinsBoxers]

This Breeder charges $700 for his puppies, instead of $1000-- the same for everyone, including the Whites! Financially, there IS a difference between a "Show" & "Pet" quality animal-

All puppies require the same vet care and expenses , the same cost for food and the same time , attention and love .
It costs the same to raise a white vs a colored . Coat color does not mean the puppy got less of anything. The same goes for pet vs show , they are all raised and cared for the same way . The same health testing was done on the parents .

I know of may breeders who charge the same for whites vs colored and pet vs show .



AKC is nothing but a registry , they do not create, enforce or change the breed standards . The ABC is responsible for that . It is only in the last 5 years that the ABC has begun to allow limited registration of whites and for them to be able to be sold . Before this they were only to be given away . That is if you are an ABC member.


And there ARE many advocates out there who are talking of a change to allow whites to be bred - to plains only .After all the German boxer club will be allowing whites to be bred. This would produce no whites just flashy marked puppies . Many feel there are so many diseases that are to be screened for that we are eliminating way too much of our gene pool just because of the overly white marked puppies .
Only about 14 % of the boxer gene pool is clear of DM , why throw away a DM clear white boxer if it can help reduce the spread of DM - which will eventually cause death .

[Rozdog]

Hmmmm, fair enough. I wonder if we have the same kinder thing over here in Australia, we got Sugar for free cause she's deaf... I suppose it may depend on the breeder.

[Boxer diva]

When ever we have a white puppy come out we always give them to family for free we figure that if something is wrong with puppy they will have to spend money on them to care for them properly, We always screen people and pick out a potential family and then have them spend 2 weeks coming over every day to see how they are with the puppy and if it is a good fit. But that is just the way we do it

hope this helps

[Rozdog]

The breeder we got Sugar from done something similar to that with us, aswell as making sure we could handle having a boxer.

But yeah, I just started this because what the pedigree website said, pissed me off badly. They've taken it off I think, cause I couldn't find it last time I looked.