Breed History

Originating in Germany around the 1900s, the Boxer received it’s name after on-lookers noticed that the breed stood up on their hind legs and “batted” with their opponents with their two front paws, oddly similar to the sport of Boxing. This breed is believed to be from the Mastiff and Bulldog bloodlines being crossed with the Bullenbeiszer and Barenbeiszer bloodlines. This breed was used for fighting until the sport was outlawed, later being used for farm work, circus acts, and pinning Wild Boar alive until gathers were able to arrive. Today, they make wonderful companions, guard dogs and competition dogs for agility and obedience.

Breed Appearance

This breed is a large breed with both males and females measuring 22-24 inches in height and weighing 55-70 pounds in weight. Males and females may be smaller or larger than show standard and still be purebred. This breed is built large and lean. They have a single layer coat that is pin straight and tight to their body; their coat should always demonstrate a natural shine. Their coat color is available in fawn, brindle, tan, red, black with white markings, and white. This breed has two large triangular ears that hang 3/4 folded down alongside of their face when not cropped. When cropped, their ears are triangular in shape and stand firm on the top of their head. This breed generally has their tail cropped to only be 2-3 inches in length. Their face is square in shape with a rectangular muzzle. Their large nose is commonly dark brown or black in color.

Breed Temperament

Though a wonderful breed, the Boxer isn’t typically for everyone. This breed is specifically known for how well they are with children of all ages, as well as their fantastic characteristic of being goofy. However, this breed is extremely active, outgoing and energetic throughout almost their entire life. Their “puppy energy” doesn’t really ever fade away, and because of this, some people aren’t the proper owners for this breed. The Boxer is extremely loyal, loving and obedient. They make wonderful dogs in Obedience competitions as well as agility. This breed is generally known for getting along well with other dogs and pets, and especially being wonderful when living in a household with one or more Boxers as siblings. This breed is always alert and ready to go. They should always be monitored around felines as well as any other small animals. This breed is known to jump, so during play time, it is best to keep small children out of their way. This breed is not known for being aggressive, however they are known for being excellent watch and guard dogs to their home and family. This breed will absolutely approach any strangers at their home entrance. Due to their nature to jump, it is highly important to teach your pup at a young age not do to this, as it can injure your as he or she grows into full size. This breed requires a long daily walk or jog, as well as a good amount of outdoor activity and play time. This breed cannot be left home alone or caged for hours at a time. They are active and need to be in a family where they are included in as much as possible, include trips and activities. As always, only positive reinforcement training methods are recommended.

Breed Grooming

Brush daily and bathe when needed. This breed does shed.

Special Notes

Please note most white Boxers are born deaf. This breed is prone to heart issues, cancer, food and environmental allergies causing skin and yeast issues, and chance of developing tumors more so than other breeds. This breed also is prone to back and knee issues. Please fully educate yourself about the Boxer prior to adding one to your family. Do not add one to your family unless you are able to make the commitment to provide physical and financial care for the life of your new pet. A proper and secure fence is highly recommended prior to adopting or purchasing your new pup. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.

Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2024. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.