[Guest]

Hello all,

Out of curiosity, I would like to get some feedback on the oldest boxer you are aware of.  From what I have understood, the life span is generally between 5-10 years.  I am sure this is incorrect, so feel free to correct me.

We recently lost our "baby".  He was 14 years old.  We have had other types of dogs in the past, but NOTHING even compares to him.  We can not remember a single time in 14 years he EVER gave us any problem.  He would go on family vacations with us and basically anytime we would go somewhere in a vehicle, he would be ready to go.  The last 6 months of his life, he was still ready to go.  We had to construct a ramp for him to walk inside the car since he could no longer jump.  His last 6 months was hard on everyone.   Prior to him getting sick and at the age of 13 years old, he would still do something he did at the beach as a young'n.  When we would go on vacation, the only thing he wanted to do was get on an empty beach and run and do circles in the air.  He did this up until he was 13 years old.

He died last year in our arms of cancer.  We never really considered putting him to sleep.  We felt he wanted to stay with us as long as he could.  We could have let him go I think and we would have if we felt he was suffering, but we really felt deep down, he wanted to stay with us.  Two weeks before he passed, we were laying with him in the Gazebo in the woods and were 100% sure he was taking his last breath.  Suddenly he got his second wind somehow and walked out and I guess decided to stay with us a little longer.  The day he died we were again in the gazebo holding him and listening to music.  His breathing was bad and he struggled pretty much the whole day.  We told him it was ok, he could leave us.  This was the first time we ever told him something like that.  Immediately after we said that, he slowly lifted his head, opened his eyes and looked at us for about 10 seconds.  He layed his head back down and closed his eyes and stopped breathing.  20 seconds after we told him it was ok, he passed away.

This was the best dog we ever had and I can say we will never have one as good again.  We have yet replaced him, but I am sure one day we will with another boxer, but it is going to be hard to not compare.

Anyway, love to hear some ages of other boxers.

 

[JeepKuntry]

My wife's grandparents had two from the same litter.  I believe they were 11 and 12.  But boxers are prone to things like cancer can shorten there lifespan.  10 is considered a good life for them IMO.

 

[Skylar]

My husband had two boxers that lived to be 11yrs. My girl, Skylar, that just passed was 10.5 yrs. Wow, 14 yrs is the longest I have heard so far.

 

[samsonsmom]

How blessed you were to have him for that long...My Samson turned 11 last month and the years are starting to catch up with him..He had a seizure(first) a few weeks ago, his front teeth are totally receded into his gums, arthritis has started taking it's toll in his back knee, his eyes are starting to get cloudy but he's the same sweet, loving guy that I got when he was 6 yrs old..He makes game attempts to romp with Angel, but some days he wants nothing more than to just snooze....

Actually you are right about the life expectency, Boxers are not long lived, sadly. Which I guess is why we tend to get a bit over board about health testing and such regarding breeding....We need to find solutions for some of these health issues and a good start is proper testing...

Thank you for sharing that story about your "baby". I shed a few tears reading it, but it gives me hope as well

 

[iheartmyboxer]

Oh my god, I'm crying in my office... What a sweet/sad story that is.

I'm sorry for the loss of your baby. This is my first boxer, and I get upset when I even THINK about him getting sick!

I have a friend whose boxer is now 10 and still acts like he's 1.

 

[Guest]

We have heard 14 years was super long for a boxer.  We got him as a puppy in 1992 and he died in the summer of 2006.  For his whole life, he never wanted to leave our site and we think he simply did not want to leave us.  He stayed with us an extra 6 months even after the cancer was diagnosed near his heart.  He would have fluid buildup around his neck every other day that we could control with medicine.  He was so loyal, he simply would not let go.

 

[Majorsdad]

I had one or 14 years as well.  He was born a month after I was, my parents got him when he was 8 weeks, and I grew up w/ him.  But yea, he lived 14 years.  14 is the longest I've heard of for boxers though.  Usually it's around 10 or so.  maybe 12.

 

[Guest]

samsonsmom,

you tell samson he has 4 more good year left in him.  Our dog experienced a few seizers as well in his early years.  We got a checkup and they stopped, nothing ever came from them.  We changed his diet a bit and he never had another one.

 

[samsonsmom]

[quote="kfern\";p=\"85790":2x78dv1k]samsonsmom,

you tell samson he has 4 more good year left in him.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

I am so sorry for your loss.  When I was reseaching boxers, I think that was the only thing that bothered me was the shorter life span.  Now that I have Kiah I hope that it will be at least 14 year for her too.

 

[Guest]

wow...   these things always get harder to read.  i cried reading that story...     about to start up again trying to write my post.

He sounded like he was a great dog and had an amazing full happy life.  

I honestly don't know the life span boxer's have.  Mine are only 9 months and 9 weeks old.  I have heard around 10..  even 12.  14 sounds better to me though  

 

[mylittledeers]

What a sad and beautiful story about your boy. How unselfish and kind of you it was to tell him it was ok to leave, my heart breaks for you. Our beloved Sophie lived to be around 12, she was adopted so we're not sure of exact age. She passed from cardiac and other complications and we miss her every day. Couldn't stand the quiet after her passing so now we have 2 and it's NEVER quiet My sincere condolences on your loss, someday if you'd like to share we'd love to see pics of your special senior.

 

[sharonL]

Put one to sleep today that was 13 years old!  Great grey faced man!

 

[g00dgirl]

Oldest I have met was 12 years old.. the little (large) old lady was at the dog park, having fun. I hope Delilah lives as long.

 

[FREDOSMOM]

and once again...i'm in tears at my desk. I am truly sorry for you loss. How lucky to have 14 wonderful years. We had to put my yorkie down at 15, about 2 years ago and not a day goes by that I don't think about him.

 

[southerngirls]

14 is a very long time!! i am sorry for the loss of you boxer. the oldest one i had heard of was 12

 

[Doodle-Doggie]

My good ol' boy, Bud, lived almost 14 years, he was one week away from his birthday when we finally had to let him go.  He had congestive heart failure, but we were able to control it with meds for about 4 years.  Then he got a sore in his mouth that wouldn't heal.  The vet took a sample of it and said that it was cancer, although a slow growing one.  He had his right cheek removed at 11-1/2.  Everytime we went to the vet afterwards they would tell us he could die at anytime.  We thought he was a gonner for sure when he swallowed a fish hook and had to have sugery, but he came through it like a champ!  I truly think he would have lived even longer, but our other dog, a border collie mix that he had been with for 12 years died and he went into a serious depression.  He didn't get up off of the rug for a month except to eat and go outside.  He lost so much strength that he could barely get himself up onto his feet.  I came home from work one day and found him lodged between the toilet and the tub, he had fallen and couldn't get himself back up.  He was so big i had to call my sister over to help me get him out of that spot.  About three months later he stopped eating and drinking.  We were taking shifts being up with him at night, then he poo'd blood (lots) and we knew it was time to let him go.  

OMG, this was 8 years ago and i'm about to cry.  You never forget how much love they give, and how much we give in return!

On a happier note, word got around that Bud wasn't doing well, and you wouldn't believe the amount of people that we had lost touch with over the years (mostly high school friends) that heard the news and came to say good bye to him.  To this day i believe he had more friends than we did.  They touch more lives than just their owners.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing your story

 

[HannaBanana]

http://www.geocities.com/apexboxers/dou ... tclub.html


Daniela From Apex Boxers developed this website for the "Double Digit Club"   Its a listing of all those who wanted to brag about their seniors!

 

[boxerlove]

I am so sorry for your loss.  It is so hard to be without our best friends.  

Our Calli was one month shy of 15, she was half boxer/half pit.  She was extemely healthy her whole life.  The worst she had was two cuts she got on her side (from something outside......we never did find out how she cut herself on her side) that required stitches.  Other than that she only needed her yearly check ups at the vet for 14 years.  

In her last year she had pnemonia twice and had to have surgery on her stomach....the vet found a lump of hair and a few other things mixed in with it and removed it.  He didn't think she would make it out of surgery at her age and was just amazed when a week later she was walking back in to get checked and to have her staples looked at.  He said he would always remember her.

She died about two weeks after getting pnemonia the second time (which was about two months after her surgery).

She was with out a doubt the best dog we have ever had.  She was just amazing and I know we will never find another one like her.