Daily Boxer Response: Yes and No.  When I rescued Daisy (my white boxer) she was very thin and malnourished.  I noticed the same thing, very stiff and she ran awkward. She had a slew of other issues so we ended up doing an x-ray and it revealed ‘spinal arthritis’ or Spondylosis.  The vet said that it was very rare in an puppy (she was only 10 months old) and it was presented as if she was around 5 years old (which we knew she was not).  He also told me that it was genetic and irreversible but if she was properly exercised regularly and fed the proper nutrition it might help slow the progression.  In addition, all medium and large breed dogs (including boxers) are prone to injuries and hip issues later in life.  You should have her evaluated by a veterinarian.  Here’s good website that explains it better:  http://www.belire.com/boxer_health_issues.html  The website states:

Hip Dysplasia

Boxers worldwide can suffer from Hip Dyslasia but it is less of a problem than above. Hip dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint leading in later life to osteoarthritis. The hip joint is a ball and socket joint, where the top of the thigh bone (femur) fits into a socket in the pelvis. The bones are held in place by ligaments. Hip dysplasia occurs when the socket is poorly formed or the ligaments are loose, enabling the ball of the femur to  slide part way out of its socket. Over time this causes degeneration of the joint (osteoarthritis) and the dog eventually can suffer pain, depending on the severity and become weak or lame in the back legs.

Spondylosis

Spondylosis   (also known as Spondylosis Deformans) and is a   severe arthritic condition of the spine. Osteophytes form between the vertebrae,   essentially fusing the vertebrae together. Some studies show a higher incidence   in females than males. This condition is irreversible, and   is said to be caused by genetic inheritance, or spinal injury.

The symptoms are stiffness in the back,   lameness in one or more limbs, change of gait, aggression, upset stomach (a   stress reaction to the pain), depression or any combination of these. The   symptoms may come and go, but steadily get worse as the osteophytes grow.    The more severely   affected dogs may also have loss of reflexes.

In a recent Italian study, some 84% of Boxer dogs were found to be effected by  spondylosis to some degree. In 1991 a Norway study looked at 402 randomly chosen boxers from 29 different sires, 91% had some degree of   osteophytes.

Hope this helps, let us know how she does! What are everyone else’s thoughts?

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