Meet the mysterious, controversial, and deeply misunderstood, White Boxer. We are a big fan of the Boxer breed, and today we are looking into the five most persistent myths about these gorgeous dogs.
We’ll get to the bottom and answer whether the White Boxer is a less healthy dog than their fawn and brindle counterparts. As well, we’ll find out what kind of personalities they have and if it’s unique.
White Boxers Are A Rarity
With multiple reports showing that white or mostly White Boxers occurring 18-25% of the time, the White Boxer is not a rare sight to behold. So don’t let a breeder talk you into a higher price for one.
In fact, White Boxers do not meet the American Kennel Club and American Boxer Club standards, and this has resulted in some breeders euthanizing the puppies or throwing them into shelters because they don’t want them.
They are not considered a breed standard, cannot be shown, and only in recent years has it even become possible to register them under certain conditions. They are not considered good breeding material because of the color and were banned from competing in any AKC events for many years.
So if anything, a White Boxer pup should cost less due to their being less demand for them.
White Boxers Are Albino
White Boxers are not a result of albinism. Albino is defined as a lack of pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes, which results in white skin, white hair, and red eyes. White Boxers very much do have pigment in their skin, often have blue eyes, and will likely develop black spots.
The white coloring of the White Boxer is the same kind of white you see in any other white dog. For the Boxer, the white coloring is a recessive trait that they’ve carried over from their ancestor the bulldog. Whenever you have recessive genes in both parents, the odds of that trait showing up in puppies is much higher.
In fact, In the early days, the majority of Boxers were white, but breeders bred the color out of them because it made these guard dogs too easy to spot. In more recent years, since the late 1990s, more people have been seeking white boxers because of the way they look and because they’ve been slightly taken in at the thought of their dog being more unique.
While we’ve debunked that myth of rarity, the dogs are very pretty and eye-catching. This has caused them to gain favor in some circles again.
The fact that more people are trying to find white boxers is what has caused breeders to begin charging more for the dogs. It’s a bit like price-gouging. These were largely unwanted puppies that were not worth anything that are now being ‘hoped-for’ in litters so that breeders can charge more for them.
This is a trend that also began when designer dog breeds started to come into favor. People are now seeking dogs that are poodle mixes or other specialty breed mixes, for the purposes of having pets with traits from two specific breeds. Often the goal is a dog that sheds less or causes fewer allergic responses in people.
WIth white boxers, the goal is simply a beautiful and eye-catching dog that has the breeding, temperament, and personality of the boxer, while not looking like the garden variety boxer.
White Boxers Are More Prone To Health Issues
Deafness at birth occurs slightly more often in all white Boxer puppies than it does in fawn and brindle boxer puppies. Besides this, White Boxers do not see more health issues than their counterparts.
Old-time breeders would often humanely dispatch white puppies at birth, believing that they would always be deaf and sometimes blind as well. We now know this isn’t necessarily true and those puppies are now given a chance at life.
It was this process of culling at birth that earned the white pups the nickname of ‘lethal white’ pups.
Likely, it was this culling at birth that led people to believe that white puppies were rare. Breeders new that they weren’t rare, they just weren’t wanted.
You sometimes see people say they are more prone to allergies, but there isn’t concrete evidence for this. Their white coat can make them susceptible to sunburn, however.
White Boxers Have A Different Personality / Mean Temperament
White Boxers do not have a different personality than their brindle and fawn brothers and sisters. Boxers are high-spirited, energetic (super bouncy), friendly, and love playing. They make great family pets, though they may knock over the little ones with all the bouncing they like to do.
They are very patient and obedient, which has long made them an exceptional choice as a guard dog, though they are a bit better as just watch dogs due to their friendless and low affinity for barking.
