Boxer is a medium size dog with a square strong built. Male and Female boxers differ in sizes somewhat.  Boxer standard states males are 23‐25 inches tall and weighs 65‐80 Lbs.  Female are 21‐23 ½ inches tall and weighs 50‐65 Lbs.  Many rescue Boxers are smaller in size, but some are much larger.  Boxers are energetic but some can be ok in small living quarters with proper exercise.  Life expectancy is about 8-14 years.

History

Boxers were bred in Germany in the late 1800’s. First boxer club was formed in Munich in 1895. Boxers ancestors are thought to be “Brabant Bullenbeisser”, a mastiff type dog that are now extinct. Boxers were bread to assist human in hunting – for holding down prays. They wanted strong, energetic dogs with shorter nose. Shorter nose was for breathing while holding down the pray for a long time. The wrinkles on his muzzle were for the purpose of keeping the prey’s blood away from the eyes. Boxer breed became popular in United states around 1930’s. The American boxers differ somewhat from the European boxers in that they are generally more slender and sleek compared to the European counterpart that are bread to have stockier appearance.

Boxers at the first Boxer exhibition in Munich, Germany 1895

Appearance

Coat and Colors:

Bridle Boxer with dark mask

Boxer coat is short and smooth. There is really only one coat color in Boxers – fawn. Brindle is a black stripe pattern on fawn. Fawn ranges from golden or buff to dark red. Brindle ranges from dark strips on lighter background to “reverse brindle” that looks almost black. Boxer with more than 1/3 white are called “mismarked” or “parti-colored” since it does not fit within the Boxer standard. White Boxers check Boxers, which is white with significant patches of fawn or brindle also is not within Boxer standard. Please see “About White Boxers” to read more about white boxers.

Ears:

Flash fawn Boxer with cropped ears

Ears are either left natural or cropped for show purpose. Cropping of the ears are done when they are young puppies, and taped and bandaged so that they will stand up straight for months.  Although in U.S. cropping of the ears is it no longer required for shows, judges generally tends to favor cropped ears over natural years still. However, this is slowly changing even in U.S.  In Europe and many parts of the word ear cropping is illegal, and we hope that U.S. will eventually make it illegal as well, since it is painful for the young pups, and it only serves a cosmetic purpose.

Tail:

In the United States, tail of a Boxer is generally docked. Boxers with natural tails have long, slender tails. In many European countries tail docking is illegal.  Dogs use their tails to communicate with each other.  By docking their tails we are taking away one of their best communication tool.  We hope that American Boxer Club as well as American Kennel Club will allow dogs with tails to be show in the near future.  We also hope to see more natural tail Boxers in general public population.  We currently see around 10-15% of Boxers with tail in our rescue.

Boxer with natural tail vs. docked tail

Mask (face):

Black or “plain” mask or flashy (white marking on face). White boxers do not have dark masks.

Character and Temperament

White Boxer with a check marking

Boxers are very affectionate and require companionship. They are kind of dogs that wants to be on your lap all the time. They are generally great with children when they are trained to be not overpowering around the young children. They are clean dogs and are known to lick themselves clean like a cat. Most are good with other dogs. Many are not so great with cats.

• Affectionate
• Playful with sense of humor
• Loyal
• Protective
• Love children
• Intelligent
• Expressive
• Outgoing

Health

Reverse Brindle Boxer

Like many purebred dogs, there is several heath issues associated with boxers. Many of the health conditions are influenced by genetics. If purchasing a boxer by seeking responsible breeders, problems such as Boxer Cardiomyopathy, Hypothyroidism, Hip Displasia and Degenerative Myelopathy can be avoided using genetic tests as well as other tests.

• Cancers
• Aortic Stenosis
• Arrhythmogenic Right Venticular Cardiomyopathy (Boxer Cardiomyopathy)
• Hypothyroidism
• Hip Displasia
• Degenerative Myelopathy
• Spondylosis Deformans
• Corneal Ulceration (Boxer Ulcer)
• Bloat
• Colitis and sensitive stomach
• Demodex mange
• Sensitivity to Acepromazine (sedative used prior to anesthesia)
• Sensitivity to heat (cannot be an outside dog left in heat)
• Sensitivity to cold (cannot be an outside dog left in cold)

In conclusion, Boxers are wonderful companion dog for an individual or family who can commit to life time of training and love.  They require a lot of attention compared to other breed of dogs due to their loving nature.

This great article was originally published on WestCoastBoxerRescue.org