Boxer breeders.

A serious Boxer breeder leads with cardiac screening. The breed has known prevalence of Boxer cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and aortic stenosis, and responsible breeders produce annual Holter monitor evaluations and echocardiograms from a board-certified cardiologist on every breeding dog. They produce OFA hips and a thyroid panel, plus DNA tests for ARVC (the breed-specific cardiomyopathy mutation) and degenerative myelopathy. They ask about your home, your activity level, and whether anyone is home during the day, because Boxers are intensely people-oriented and develop separation anxiety in households that leave them alone for long stretches. A breeder who places a Boxer with a first-time owner without a long conversation about exercise and separation is the wrong breeder.

Typical price range.

A Boxer puppy from a responsible breeder usually costs between fifteen hundred and three thousand dollars in the United States, with European lines and titled working prospects running higher. Anything under eight hundred dollars almost always means the breeder skipped the Holter monitor evaluation, and that is the one screen you cannot skip with this breed. Ask exactly what is included: shots, microchip, dewormer, vet check, AKC paperwork, ear-crop guidance if the breeder crops, tail-dock paperwork, and the lifetime take-back clause.

Health checks worth asking about.

The American Boxer Club CHIC requirements are an annual Holter monitor and echocardiogram by a board-certified cardiologist (testing for both ARVC and aortic stenosis), OFA hips, a thyroid panel, an annual CAER eye exam, and DNA tests for ARVC and degenerative myelopathy. Many breeders also run mast cell tumor history because Boxers have the highest breed prevalence of mast cell tumors of any AKC breed. A breeder who can hand you all of the above on both parents and discuss longevity and cancer history in their lines openly is giving you the most useful signal.