Boxer

Other names/Nicknames:
  • None
Country/Date of origin:
  • Germany
  • Late 1800′s
Height:
  • Females: 21-1/2 to 23-1/2 inches
  • Males:  23 to 25 inches
Weight:
  • Females:  55 to 65 pounds
  • Males:  60 to 70 pounds
Personality:
  • Highly intelligent and willing to please.
  • Loyal and affectionate to family.
  • Suspicious of strangers.
  • May be too possessive.
History:

This is a breed whose exact beginnings are known.  In the 1880′s, George Alt, who lived near Munich, created a new working dog by crossing a Bullenbeisser (a mastiff type dog that is now extinct) with an English Bulldog.  The first dog to be considered a Boxer was a second generation of that mixture.  The breed is one that combines power and agility.  There is also a good head on the Boxer’s working shoulders.  It is so suited to doing man’s bidding that it has been a favorite of police departments, military trainers, and guide dog organizations.  Boxers in the United States are lighter and more refined than those in Europe.  The first Boxer was registered by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1904, but the first champion didn’t finish until 1915.  Boxers have had a slow and steady climb in popularity.  They are now firmly fixed in the top-twenty breeds.

Body Type:
  • Strong, muscular, athletic build.
  • Has an undershot jaw and an upward-tipped muzzle.
  • Ears are usually docked in the United States and are carried erect.
  • Docked tail is carried high.
Coat:
  • Smooth, shiny, and short.
  • Colors allowed are brindle or fawn, generally with white markings and a darker face or mask.
  • An all white dog is disqualified in the show ring.
  • Minimal grooming required.
Health and Wellness:
  • Hip dysplasia.
  • Autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • Gastric dilatation and volvulus syndrome (GDV, also commonly called bloat).
  • Calcinosis circumscripta.
  • Subaortic stenosis.
  • Pulmonic stenosis.
  • Cryptorchidism.
  • Histiocytomas.
  • Congenital deafness.
  • Metabolic bone disease.
  • Lymphoma.
  • Mast cell tumor.
  • Boxer cardiomyopathy.
  • Granulomatous colitis.
  • Idiopathic colitis.
  • Idiopathic epilepsy.
  • Atopy.
  • Food allergy.
  • Demodicosis.
  • Ulcerative keratitis.
  • Follicular dysplasia.
  • Muzzle pyoderma.
  • Steroid-responsive meningitis.
  • Cushing’s syndrome (PDH and AT).
  • Epulis.
  • Neoplasia (Glial cell tumors, thyroid tumors, osteosarcoma, aortic body tumoris, testicular tumors).
  • Cauda equina syndrome.
What you should know:
  • Snores up a storm.  A condition shared by almost all the short faced breeds.
  • Very popular.
  • Because of ear cropping and tail docking, this breed is usually costly to purchase.
  • Long lived.
  • A good family dog.
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