It Will Break Your Heart

I haven't really written about my constant companion Lucy lately. She turned ten this past fall and can now officially be considered a senior citizen. Her mind is still as sharp as it ever was. She is still very playful and has a lot of heart and wants to go everywhere. While she has the heart she just doesn't have the legs for it anymore.

She is experiencing what many dogs go through in their later years. She has developed a lack of strength in her hindquarters. While we still go for occasional walks, it saddens me not to be able to take her on the big outings that we use to go on together. The trails behind our home are quite steep and rugged. If we do take one of them, it is at a pace that doesn't challenge her physical state. I say that, yet I do find myself helping her with obstacles from time to time. Her wellbeing is always at the forefront of our activities together. This is part of the daily routine when helping an aging friend enjoy life.

Stiffness and discomfort is part of what she is experiencing in the aging process. One of the things I do for her to ease her stiffness and discomfort is massage. This takes place first thing before she goes to bed at night and then again the first thing in the morning to get her up and moving. It seems to help, I just wish I could do more. We've spoken with the Vet about different things that might be done for her condition but there are no real solutions to the problem. The best advice the Vet gave us was "let her do the things she wants, she'll tell you when she not up to it, just pay attention to what she's telling you. It will break your heart, but she'll let you know!"

I guess the next step in the evolution of my aging boxer is a doggy wheel chair. At least this will provide her a means to get bit of quality outdoor time and exercise. The newly designed chairs actually exercise the hind quarters while the dog uses its front legs to propel themselves. I'm a bit apprehensive as to how accepting to the chair Lucy will be. Only time will tell... Stay tune for the new adventures of Lucy the White Boxer Dog with her new wheels. Until next time... Peace be with you and enjoy the time you have with your favorite critter and friend.

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Don’t let your boxer get too much sun!

I just read an interesting article discussing the fact that boxers are particularly prone to the development of mast cell tumors, lymphoma and brain tumors. The white boxer and colored boxers with white markings should be protected from the sun as they are liable to develop skin cancer if allowed to burn. This hit me like a ton of bricks!


Lucy is an incredibly active boxer. We’ve known about the sun burn issue for some time but never knew that she was predisposed to skin cancer until recently. We try to monitor the amount of outdoors activity that she receives but it is difficult at times. We actively try to protect and guard against sunburn. One safeguard we’ve used in the past and still use when available is spray on sunblock, especially when we’re going to have her outdoors on trips or hikes. This seems to be working thus far.

Our daughter’s boxer Matty, has had some issues with mast cell tumors. She possesses a splash of white but not to the extent of being what is known as a bright boxer (boxers possessing a white splash covering more than 20% of their body mass). Matty is screened regularly and is currently undergoing treatment for the decease and is responding quite well as of this posting.

The bottom line of this post, I guess, is to make folks aware of the predisposition of boxer to the decease of cancer. Boxers should be screened for all types of cancer on a regular basis. There are tests that can be performed on boxers for all types of congenital predispositions. Breeders should perform these tests on all dogs that they are considering breeding. Regardless, get your boxer screened for cancer on regular intervals.