Boxer

Official U.K.C. Breed Standard. Revised April 1, 1998 HISTORY -- The Bulldog is an ancestor of the Boxer; various terriers were also part of its make-up, which gives the brood its speed, agility and more graceful body. The term "boxer" is British, but the most recent home country for the breed is Germany. "Boxer" seems appropriate since it has a mannerism of using its front legs in combat, much as a man would in fighting. The breed was virtually ignored until World War II, when it was brought into use as a military or police dog. This helped to insure instant popularity with returning servicemen, and the breed became in demand in the United States. The Boxer was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1948. GENERAL APPEARANCE -- The Boxer is usually shown with a docked tail and cropped ears, but cropped ears are not mandatory. The breed is muscular and noble appearing. It has a short, smooth coat. The square, bulldog-type muzzle quickly identifies the dog and its ancestral link. Faults: Racy appearance; lack of proportion; lack of elegance and nobility; light bone; bad condition; dull expression; expression too somber or lacking in nobility. CHARACTERISTICS -- The Boxer is an active and courageous guardian with alert behavior. A firm hand may be required to modify its playful, robust behavior. HEAD AND SKULL -- The head is clean, showing neither deep wrinkles nor dewlap. Folds do normally spring up on the top of the skull when the ears are held erect, and there are wrinkles running from the root of the nose downward on both sides of the muzzle. The muzzle must be powerfully developed in length, breadth and depth, and must always appear in correct relationship to the skull, never appearing too small. The top of the skull is lightly arched. The upper lip is thick and padded, filling out the hollow space in front formed by the projection of the lower jaw and is supported by the fangs of the lower jaw. The fangs should be wide apart and of good length, to give the front surface of the muzzle a broad and almost square appearance. The lower edge of the upper lip should rest on the edge of the lower lip. The underjaw, or chin, must be plainly preceptible, both from front and side views, but must not rise above the front of the upper lip. The tongue and the teeth of the underjaw must not be seen when the mouth is closed. The occiput must not be too pronounced in the adult dog, though it is very pronounced in the young puppy. Faults: Heavy, bulldoggy, too light or non-typical head; teeth or tongue showing when mouth is closed; down face or snipiness; drooling; skull too round, too flat, too broad. TEETH -- The Boxer's normal bite is undershot. The lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper and bends slightly upward. The canine teeth are widely separated. The line of the incisors in the upper jaw is slightly concave; in the lower jaw, the incisors should be in a straight line; making both jaws very wide in front. The bite should be powerful and strong. Fault: Poor bite. EYES -- The eyes are dark brown, and have dark rims. They are set wide apart. The eyes give an expression of intelligence, energy, and alertness. Faults: Deep-set eyes; protruding eyes; light eyes; visible conjunctiva (haw). NOSE -- The tip of the nose lies somewhat higher than the root of the muzzle, but must not show a definite "lay-back." EARS -- The ears are set high. If cropped, they come to a point, are fairly long, and the shell is not too broad. The ears need not be cropped. NECK -- The neck is clean, firm, and gracefully arched, blending into the shoulders. The length is in proportion to the body. It is muscular and without dewlap. FORELEGS -- The forelegs, when seen from the front, are straight and stand parallel to each other, and have strong, firmly jointed bones. The elbows do not press too closely to the chest wall, nor do they stand off too tar. The pasterns are short and slightly slanting, but when standing are almost perpendicular to the ground.
Faults: Turned legs and toes. BODY -- The body is square-built, compact and short-coupled. The chest should be deep, reaching to the elbows. The depth of the chest should amount to half of the height of the dog at the withers. The ribs are well arched extending well to the row. The loins should be short, close and taut and moderately tucked up. The shoulders are long, sloping, and close-lying, but are not excessively covered with muscle. The upper arm is long, forming a right angle to the shoulder blade.
Faults: Roachback; swayback; thin, lean back; long, narrow, sunken-in loins; weak union with croup; body too broad and low in front; loose shoulders; chest hanging between shoulders; hollow flanks; hanging stomach; barrel-shaped ribs. HINDQUARTERS -- Musculature is well-developed. The croup is broad and flat. The pelvis is long and especially broad, especially in females. HIND LEGS -- The stifles are strong and well-angulated. The hocks are straight. The thighs are broad and curved.
Faults: Turned legs and toes. FEET -- The feet are small, with tightly arched toes and hard soles. Cat-footed.
Fault: Hare feet. TAIL -- The tail is docked, set high and carried upward. COAT -- The coat is short and shiny, and lies smooth and tight to the body. COLOR -- Acceptable colors are fawn and brindle. The fawn is found in various shades, from light yellow to a deep dark red. The brindle variety has black stripes on a golden yellow or red brown background. The stripes are clearly defined.
White markings are permissible and desirable, if attractively distributed. A black mask is absolutely required. When white stretches over the muzzle, that portion of the black mask disappears. However, there must not be so much white on the muzzle that all the black is displaced. Serious faults: Grey or dirty appearing brindle stripes. Stripes that do not cover the whole top of the body. Disqualification: Albinism. HEIGHT -- Males: 22½ to 25 inches. Females: 21 to 23½ inches. It is preferable that males not be under the minimum height or females be above the maximum height. Proper balance and individual quality are of primary importance. GAIT -- The gait is alive with energy; firm, but elastic. The stride is free and roomy. The carriage is proud and noble. DISQUALIFICATIONS -- Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness or extreme shyness. Any color other than fawn or brindle. Dogs whose white markings exceed one-third of the entire coat. Albinism. AKC Standard is on page 2.

AKC Boxer Breed Standard

General Appearance. The ideal Boxer is a medium-sized, square built dog of good substance with short back, strong limbs, and short, tight-fitting coat. His well developed muscles are clean, hard and appear smooth under taut skin. His movements denote energy. The gait is firm, yet elastic, the stride free and ground-covering, the carriage proud. Developed to serve as guard, working and companion dog, he combines strength and agility with elegance and style. His expression is alert and temperament steadfast and tractable. The chiseled head imparts to the Boxer a unique individual stamp. It must be in correct proportion to the body. The broad, blunt muzzle is the distinctive feature, and great value is placed upon its being of proper form and balance with the skull. In judging the Boxer, first consideration is given to general appearance to which attractive color and arresting style contribute. Next is overall balance with special attention devoted to the head, after which the individual body components are examined for their correct construction, and efficiency of gait is evaluated. Size, Proportion, Substance Height--Adult males 22½ to 25 inches; females 21 to 23½ inches at the withers, preferably, males should not be under the minimum nor females over the maximum: however, proper balance and quality in the individual should be of primary importance since there is no size disqualification. Proportion --The body in profile is of square proportion in that a horizontal line from the front of the forechest to the rear projection of the upper thigh should equal the length of a vertical line dropped from the top of the withers to the ground. Substance--Sturdy with balanced musculature. Males larger boned than their female counterparts. Head The beauty of the head depends upon harmonious proportion of muzzle to skull. The blunt muzzle is 1/3 the length of the head from the occiput to the tip of the nose, and 2/3 the width of the skull. The head should be clean, not showing deep wrinkles (wet). Wrinkles typically appear upon the forehead when ears are erect, and folds are always present from the lower edge of the stop running downward on both sides of the muzzle. Expression--Intelligent and alert. Eyes --Dark brown in color, not too small, too protruding or too deep-set. Their mood-mirroring character combined with the wrinkling of the forehead, gives the Boxer head its unique quality of expressiveness. Ears--Set at the highest points of the sides of the skull are cropped, cut rather long and tapering, raised when alert. Skull The top of the skull is slightly arched, not rounded, flat nor noticeably broad, with the occiput not overly pronounced. The forehead shows a slight indentation between the eyes and forms a distince stop with the topline of the muzzle. The cheeks should be relatively flat and not bulge (cheekiness), maintaining the clean lines of the skull and should taper into the muzzle in a slight, graceful curve. Muzzle--The muzzle, proportionately developed in length, width and depth, has a shape influenced first through the formation of both jawbones, second through the placement of the teeth, and third through the texture of the lips. The top of the muzzle should not slant down (downfaced), nor should it be concave (dishfaced); however, the tip of the nose should lie slightly higher than the root of the muzzle. The nose should be broad and black. The upper jaw is broad where attached to the skull and maintains this breadth except for a very slight tapering to the front. The lips, which complete the formation of the muzzle, should meet evenly in front. The upper lip is thick and padded, filling out the frontal space created by the projection of the lower jaw, and laterally is supported by the canines of the lower jaw. Therefore, these canines must stand far apart and be of good length so that the front surface of the muzzle is broad and squarish and, when viewed from the side, shows moderate layback. The chin should be perceptible from the side as well as from the front. Bite --The Boxer bite is undershot; the lower jaw protrudes beyond the upper and curves slightly upward. The incisor teeth of the lower jaw are in a straight line, with the canines preferably up front in the same line to give the jaw the greatest possible width. The upper line of incisors is slightly convex with the corner upper incisors fitting snugly back of the lower canine teeth on each side. Faults-- Skull too broad. Cheekiness. Wrinkling too deep (wet) or lacking (dry). Excessive flews. Muzzle too light for skull. Too pointed a bite (snipy), too undershot, teeth or tongue showing when mouth closed. Eyes noticeably lighter than ground color of coat. Neck, Topline, Body Neck--Round, of ample length, muscular and clean without excessive hanging skin (dewlap). The neck has a distinctly marked nape with an elegant arch blending smoothly into the withers. Topline--Smooth, firm and slightly sloping. Body --The chest is of fair width, and the forechest well defined and visible from the side. The brisket is deep, reaching down to the elbows; the depth of the body at the lowest point of the brisket equals half the height of the dog at the withers. The ribs, extending far to the rear, are well arched but not barrel shaped. The back is short, straight and muscular and firmly connects the withers to the hindquarters. The loins are short and muscular. The lower stomach line is slightly tucked up, blending into a graceful curve to the rear. The croup is slightly sloped, flat and broad. Tail is set high, docked and carried upward. Pelvis long and in females especially broad. Faults--Short heavy neck. Chest too broad, too narrow or hanging between shoulders. Lack of forechest. Hanging stomach. Slab-sided rib cage. Long or narrow loin, weak union with croup. Falling off of croup. Higher in rear than in front. Forequarters The shoulders are long and sloping, close-lying, and not excessively covered with muscle (loaded). The upper arm is long, approaching a right angle to the shoulder blade. The elbows should not press too closely to the chest wall nor stand off visibly from it. The forelegs are long, straight and firmly muscled and when viewed from the front, stand parallel to each other. The pastern is strong and distinct, slightly slanting, but standing almost perpendicular to the ground. The dewclaws may be removed. Feet should be compact, turning neither in nor out, with well arched toes. Faults--Loose or loaded shoulders. Tied in or bowed out elbows. Hindquarters The hindquarters are strongly muscled with angulation in balance with that of the forequarters. The thighs are broad and curved, the breech musculature hard and strongly developed. Upper and lower thigh long. Leg well angulated at the stifle with a clearly defined, well "let down" hock joint. Viewed from behind, the hind legs should be straight with hock joints leaning neither in nor out. from the side, the leg below the hock (metatarsus) should be almost perpendicular to the ground, with a slight slope to the rear permissible. The metatarsus should be short, clean and strong. The Boxer has no rear dewclaws. Faults --Steep or over-angulated hindquarters. Light thighs or overdeveloped hams. Over-angulated (sickle) hocks. Hindquarters too far under or too far behind. Coat Short, shiny, lying smooth and tight to the body. Color The colors are fawn and brindle. Fawn shades vary from light tan to mahogany. The brindle ranges from sparse, but clearly defined black stripes on a fawn background, to such a heavy concentration of black striping that the essential fawn background color barely, although clearly, shows through (which may create the appearance of "reverse brindling"). White markings should be of such distribution as to enhance the dog's appearance, but may not exceed one-third of the entire coat. They are not desirable on the flanks or on the back of the torso proper. On the face, white may REPLACE part of the otherwise essential black mask and may extend in an upward path between the eyes, but it must not be excessive, so as to detract from true Boxer expression. Faults--Unattractive or misplaced white markings. Disqualifications --Boxers that are any color other than fawn or brindle. Boxers with a total of white markings exceeding one-third of the entire coat. Gait Viewed from the side, proper front and rear angulation is manifested in a smoothly efficient, level-backed, ground covering stride with powerful drive emanating from a freely operating rear. Although the front legs do not contribute impelling power, adequate "reach" should be evident to prevent interference, overlap or "sidewinding" (crabbing). Viewed from the front, the shoulders should remain trim and the elbows not flare out. The legs are parallel until gaiting narrows the track in proportion to increasing speed, then the legs come in under the body but should never cross. The line from the shoulder down through the leg should remain straight although not necessarily perpendicular to the ground. Viewed from the rear, a Boxer's rump should not roll. The hind feet should "dig in" and track relatively true with the front. Again, as speed increases, the normally broad rear track will become narrower. Faults--Stilted or inefficient gait. Lack of smoothness. Character and Temperament These are of paramount importance in the Boxer. Instinctively a "hearing" guard dog, his bearing is alert, dignified and self-assured. In the show ring, his behavior should exhibit constrained animation. With family and friends, his temperament is fundamentally playful, yet patient and stoical with children. Deliberate and wary with strangers, he will exhibit curiosity but, most importantly, fearless courage if threatened. However, he responds promptly to friendly overtures honestly rendered. His intelligence, loyal affection and tractability to discipline make him a highly desirable companion. Faults--Lack of dignity and alertness. Shyness. The foregoing description is that of the ideal Boxer. Any deviations from the above described dog must be penalized to the extent of the deviation. Disqualifications Boxers that are any color other than fawn or brindle. Boxers with a total of white markings exceeding one-third of the entire coat.