The boxer is an iconic breed, and is known for its beautiful brown or striped coats. Though the shades of a boxer’s coat may vary from a soft tan color to a deeper almost red shade (or from thin black stripes to stripes so thick that the dog almost appears to be black), there are occasionally some other variations of color that show up as well. The most well-known of these is the “white boxer”, which is a dog that lacks the pigment necessary to form a brown or striped coat. Some people are quick to think that these white boxers are an albino variant of the standard boxer, but this isn’t actually the case… it’s simply an alternate genetic trait that is similar to the albino trait and which can appear when the white boxer gene is present in both parents.

It is believed that some of the original boxers who were shown when the breed was introduced was white, but the white dogs fell into disfavor as their coloring distracted from their natural camouflage in the dark while the boxers were being used as police dogs in Germany. White boxers weren’t in demand with the police, leading to an emphasis on strengthening the genetics of the brown and striped varieties of the dog while removing the white dogs from registration entirely. This led to a much stronger genetic base for colored boxers but made white boxers all but useless to breeders of the age.
White boxers can make wonderful pets, as they share the same high intelligence and friendly nature of other boxers. Unfortunately, many believe that white boxers also have a much higher chance of being deaf or having other health concerns than standard boxers. Because of this, most professional breeders and international boxer organizations are opposed to the breeding of white boxers since over time it might increase the likelihood of these health problems across the entire breed.

Even proponents of the breeding of white boxers do not generally encourage the breeding of the dogs indiscriminately. Those who wish to breed white boxers will usually only do so with individual dogs who seem to be of exceptionally high quality and who are free of health problems. These dogs may be bred in this selective manner in order to offer more genetic diversity than the breeder might otherwise have access to, and also to produce “flashy” boxers or boxers who have patches of white mixed in with the colors of their coats. Even these breeders do not recommend the breeding of two “flashy” boxers, as they will likely produce white pups which may be prone to health problems that couldn’t be detected in the parents because they were masked by the dominant genes which were inherited from their own colored parents.

The majority of breeders who have white puppies available will only sell them once they have been spayed or neutered (or a contract has been signed by the new owners pledging to get them fixed before they are old enough to breed.) Though there are some who disagree with forcing pet owners to only be able to get altered white boxers, but it is still an improvement over past practices of euthanizing the animals soon after they were born. Altering white boxers before sale allows potential pet owners to get a wonderful dog while protecting future generations from the deafness or other problems that can be carried in the white boxers’ genes.