Put Up Your Dukes: It’s Time To Meet The Boxer

The boxer is a dog that exudes power and strength with its brut like appearance. They are a medium sized working breed dog. Their body is compact, well muscled and sturdy. They have a block like head with a wide short square muzzle with an undershot jaw. They have high set ears that are either cropped or left natural. When cropped the ears are trained to stand at a point. When left natural they have what are known as rose ears which lay close to the head. The neck is round and strong leading down to a strong chest and straight forelegs.  They also have stout well muscled hind legs. The tail is set high and is usually docked however, in some countries tail docking is illegal. The Breed standard calls for a docked tail.

They have a short smooth coat that fits closely to the body. The coat comes in fawn and brindle with or without white markings. White Boxers are also seen however, they cannot be registered with some clubs. The fawn color can come in varying shades such as tan, mahogany, red, brown, honey and blond. Fawn boxers with white markings usually on the chest, foreleg and face are also know as flashy or flashy fawn. Brindle coats are fawn coats with black striping. A reverse brindle is seen when the coat is heavily striped giving the appearance of a black coat with fawn stripes. However, the dog’s coat is still actually fawn with black striping. White Boxers occur when a dog is born with more than 1/3 of their coat being white. These dogs are still either fawn or brindle but they have an excess amount of white markings. About 10% of white Boxers are born deaf. In the past white puppies were euthanized at birth however, today many breeders will place white Boxers in families agreeing to spay or neuter the dog. Due to breed standards white boxers are prohibited from breeding by almost all Boxer clubs and are not allowed to compete in confirmation shows.

Though physically imposing the Boxer is actually a very gentle, playful, happy-go-lucky kind of dog. They are high spirited and full of energy, they remain puppyish their entire lives. Boxers love to jumo so its best to train them not to jump up on people while they are still puppies. They are intelligent and egger to learn. They are inquisitive about their surroundings and clownish by nature. With their expressive faces it’s almost as if you can tell what they are thinking. They are good with children and bond very closely to their family. They are very affectionate with those they love. Known visitors will be welcomed with a friendly lick and a wag but they are weary of strangers and will protect you and your family if the needed.

The name Boxer comes from the way they stand and box with their front paws. Boxers are almost cat like in the since that they use their front feet to paw at just about everything. The Boxer is a German bred dog and is part of the Molosser group. They descend from mastiff type dogs, such as the now extinct Bullenbeissers and were also mixed with Bulldog type dogs. Boxers were bred to be working dogs and were used for hunting, bull baiting, cattle dogs, drafting, and guarding as well as police and military work. Today they still make excellent guard dogs as well as wonderful search and rescue dogs. Boxers are just great working dogs all round and will do just about anything your willing to train them for.

These dogs stand about 22-25 in high and weigh in at around 60-70 pounds and can live 14+ years. Because they are brachycephallic (meaning they have short nasal cavities) they have a tendency to snore and can be gassy due to the amount of air they take in while eating. They tend to drool due to their large lips. They can be prone to cancers and certain heart problems and hip dysplasia. Due to their high energy level and playfulness they do best having a good size yard to run in. They can be great inside dogs if given the proper exercise. Their short coat is east to groom and they are an average shedder. They only need bathing when necessary.