Is my German Shepherd at risk for mouth cancer? Causes and prevention.

Any dogs can get any type of cancer. Boxers are prone to Mast Cell Tumors, Lumphoma, Hemangiosarcoma and Osteosarcoma. Cancer can affect the dog at any age however it typically affects middle age and senior dogs. Lastly, cancer is a genetic disease and there is not a great way to prevent it. It is important to make sure to feed a high-quality dog food that is packed full of antioxidants. I recommend Royal Canin. They even make a diet for boxers! Also make sure to get your pup checked out anytime something seems abnormal. Also get any skin masses or tumors examined by the veterinarian. Early detection is key. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This could be a ringworm lesion(fungal disease), a vitiligo lesion (where the pigment of the skin is lost), or a wart or other tumor. This will need to be examined in a hands-on matter, the skin needs to be palpated, a possible skin scrape or brush sample taken or a fine needle aspirate, in order to properly diagnose this condition. Once a diagnosis is made it will be clear whether treatment is necessary or not and if so, what kind of treatment. Please schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam.

An average life span of a GSD is 12-15 years. Health issues in GSDs include hip dysplasia, bloat, pancreatitis insufficiency, epilepsy, and cancer. Cancer is a middle aged to older dog disease, but it's really hard to see at what age they die from illness as it can vary within the breed. Some GSDs can live longer than others. It's important to make sure Bruno is a health weight, he is exercised daily, is kept up to date with his vaccines, and if you have any health concerns or questions, take him into the vet right away.

Yes, GSDs are prone to GDV (gastric dilatation volvus). This is because they are large breed, deep chested dogs, which research has shown have an increased risk for GDV. It has been reported in puppies, but risk increases with age. It is life threatening, and it requires immediate medical attention as the dog will die if not treated. That being said, because a GDV is so serious, there is still a risk of death even with being treated. The treatment is to decompress the stomach, and surgery to fix the stomach to the thoracic wall using the ribs to prevent it from happening again. As a preventative measure, you have have surgery done on Bruno to fix his stomach to his thoracic wall now, which would prevent GDV from happening. Yes, I have seen this in GSDs, and when it does occur, it is an emergency.

I'm sorry to hear this is happening. Unfortunately, bone cancer tends to be aggressive. I would recommend first having radiographs done to verify that a tumor is present. If there is in fact bone cancer, talk to her vet to see if surgery makes sense. Many times these tumors have already spread by the time clinical signs show up. The lump could have other origins as well so the first step is to find out what it is. I hope this helps!

There is no known cause to this disease but does seem to be a genetic (inherited) problem in German Shepherds. Surgical removal of the affected areas is typically the best option to get rid of it as stated in your pathology report. This is hard to do in the mouth though and recurrence is possible if not completely excised. Usually the lesions stop progressing as the dog gets older. Antibiotics may be needed if the lesions are infected though along with a different diet if it is painful for him to eat. Apoquel, food trials and topicals are unlikely to help with this disease process

The most common diseases seen in the [German Shepherd](https://www.petcoach.co/breed/german-shepherd-dog) breed that can cause death are [hemangiosarcoma](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/hemangiosarcoma/) (cancer of the spleen) or [osteosarcoma](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/osteosarcoma/) (bone cancer). However, there are lots of disease processes (i.e. [Addison's Disease](https://www.petcoach.co/article/addison-s-disease-hypoadrenocorticism-in-dogs), [Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/exocrine-pancreatic-insufficiency/), etc) that can afflict this breed and shorten the lifespan. While [hip dysplasia](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/hip-dyspasia/) is common in the breed, it is rarely fatal but can greatly affect quality of life. This is just what I commonly have seen in my professional experience, it is by no means an all inclusive list. Also[ German shepherds](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-facts-you-should-know-about-german-shepherds) average life span is about 9-13 years of age. Technically, they are considered senior dogs once over the age of 8.