What cancers are Boxer dogs prone to, and how can I prevent it?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. While there are no anti-cancer foods, medications, or supplements, we recommend keeping pets at an ideal weight and body condition score (BCS), regularly exercising them, and feeding them a consistent diet. Avoiding human foods or very fatty foods can help reduce the risk of developing diseases such as liver disease or pancreatitis. Do not smoke cigarettes around your pet. That being said, cancer in dogs is unpredictable, and can occur even if you do your very best to keep Oscar as healthy as possible. I recommend at least annual check-ups at the veterinarian, and having him evaluated any time you feel that he is not acting himself! Sometimes subtle clinical signs such as hiding, skipping a couple meals, etc, can be signs of underlying disease. I hope this is helpful!

First off, I'm very sorry that you had to put your dog to sleep this week. Please accept my condolences for your loss. As for Eveegrace, dogs who aren't spayed have a 25% chance of developing mammary tumors (breast cancer). With mammary tumors, 50% are malignant and 50% are benign. Unfortunately it's too late to do anything to prevent it from happening. If you had spayed her before her first heat, then she would only have a 0.8% chance of developing mammary tumors later in life. Even if you spay her now, she still has a 25% chance of developing them. You can prevent future dogs of yours from getting it by getting them spayed before their first heat. In terms of Eveegrace, the best thing you can do is monitor the area for signs of swelling and tumors. Any lump you find, take her into the vet as soon as possible to get it diagnosed. If it's malignant, have it removed surgically if possible. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you. Again, please accept my condolences for your loss.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say for sure what the cause is based on your description. Lymph nodes can become enlarged due to inflammation, infection or cancer. Seeing that Diamond is a boxer breed, is 7 years old, losing weight and has enlarged lymph nodes leads me to suspect something such as Lymphoma (a type of cancer) as the cause. I would recommend having this further worked up with a veterinarian and have further testing done such as a needle aspirate and cytology to help determine what it could be. This test is not that expensive and can tell a veterinarian a lot about the area tested. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello If possible a photograph of this lump would be helpful. It could be a lipoma (a harmless fatty tumor) but Boxers are known for developing mast cell tumors on their skin. Those types of tumors need to be removed as they can cause issues with the GI tract and even anaphylactic reactions.

I'm so sorry to hear about you losing Shadow. There are breeds that are more prone to cancerous/malignant tumors, however there is no dog, unfortunately, that is immune to cancer. Cancer in animals, just like with people does not really have any rhyme or reason to it. In very general terms, larger breed dogs, such as Golden Retrievers are more prone to cancerous tumors. I wish there was a way that no animal or person got cancer. Hope this helps answer your question. Take care.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Twix. Mast cell tumors are one of the most common forms of skin cancer in dogs. If the margins were clean (meaning all of the cancerous cells were removed), then the mass should not recur. However, mast cell tumors are one of the more unpredictable types of cancer. I recommend closely monitoring his incision site at home for any regrowth. It is best to see his veterinarian at least every 6 months for an examination. At this visit a thorough physical examination will be performed to search for other masses or enlarged lymph nodes. Blood work should be monitored as well. Unfortunately, there is nothing that you or your veterinarian can do to prevent further growths from forming. If any new new growth is observed, a fine needle aspirate should be performed as soon as possible to determine the type of mass. If it requires surgical removal, it is always best to have it done while small for the best chance of achieving clean margins. I hope this information helps!

Boxers are very prone to skin and other forms of cancer. While this looks well defined I recommend a veterinary exam and possibly a biopsy to see if it’s cancer. They can remove the bump and check her eyes and the other skin mass at the same time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Diamond.