What Is A Boxer?

Boxers are a great all around breed.

They are a distinguished canine and the coolest, most lovable dog out there! It is a medium-built and strong breed that is so named because of its habit of standing on the hind legs to begin a fight and boxing with the front paws.

By nature, Boxers are working dogs. Throughout history it has been trained as:

- hunting dog
- police dog
- seeing-eye dog for the blind
- guard dog
- circus dog
- courier dog on the battlefields during World War I and World War II
- Fighting dog in the once popular sport of dog fighting.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) categorizes dogs into 7 groups:

· herding
· hound
· non-sporting
· sporting
· terrier
· toy
· working

And the largest breed registered in the working dog category is the Boxer.

No doubt the Boxer breed makes for great utility dog but the greatest advantage to owning one is that a Boxer can be your most outstanding companion on four legs and a great source of personal fulfillment.

By the way, the AKC registered over 150 different breeds totaling nearly one million dogs in 2003. To put that in perspective, the animal shelters in America rescue up to 12 million homeless dogs and cats every year and 25% of these are purebreds.

This little book is meant as a quick guide for Boxer owners like you to better understand your wisely chosen pet, how to take care and love it, make him happy, keep him healthy, so that he will better understand you and listen to you, love you and make YOU a better person during your incredible life journey together!

Devoted and glad owners of Boxers have come up with a long list of attributes and traits of their favorite pet that include:

· Alert
· Boisterous
· Boundless energy
· Brave
· Canine clown
· Courageous
· Devil dog
· Devoted
· Dignified
· Exuberance
· Family dog
· Fearless
· Friendly
· Hearing dog
· Highly trainable
· Intelligent
· Intuitive
· Keen judge of character
· Loving
· Loyal
· Patient with children
· People dog
· Poor swimmer
· Playful
· Quick learner
· Self-assured
· Smart
· Soulful
· Spirited
· Stoical
· Vigilant
· Working dog
· Wonderful pet

And you can add to the list…

The Boxer's history could be traced back to feudal Germany, where it was a small hunting dog that could tenaciously hold onto a bull, boar, or bear till the master arrived. It was also a utility dog for peasants and shop owners, and even a performing dog in circus.

The Boxer as we know it today is a bigger breed – a mixture of the German Boxer with a taller, more elegant English import. The era of this modern Boxer began in the 1880s and became really popular in the United States in the late 1930s-1940s.

Handsome dog: Within the canine world, Boxer is a medium-sized dog standing at 21 to 25 inches at the shoulder for a full-grown female, and weighs some 50 to 65 pounds. The male can be taller and 15 pounds heavier.

It has a striking good look with chiseled head, square jaw and muscled body that make for a very handsome silhouette.
The ears are cropped and erect that enhance its hearing – the Boxer’s most developed sense. It is always alert and vigilant, an instinctive guard dog.

The shortened muzzle makes hot and humid weather uncomfortable for the Boxer.

The coat is short, hard and smooth, and possesses a natural sheen that can be enhanced with rubdowns with a chamois cloth (especially after a bath).

The short coat cannot protect him well from extreme elements of the weather and thus Boxer should definitely not be kept outdoors. It is a housedog, sensitive to temperature extremes, does not enjoy the draft, summer heat or cold.

Boxers come in attractive basic colors of fawn and brindle. The fawn varies from a tawny tan to an especially beautiful stag red. The brindle (clearly defined black stripes on a fawn background) can be sparse, in between or dense.

A beauty standard for Boxers is that their white markings or “flash” should add to their look and may not cover more than one-third of the entire body. Some predominantly or all-white puppies (known as “check”) may be born in a litter.

In the US, however, the American Boxer Club members are pledged not to register, sell or use these “whites” for breeding so as to retain the beauty of the true fawn and brindle colors in the breed.

Personality-wise, Boxer is a cool dog that will not bark without cause. Its expressive face – the furrowed forehead and dark, soulful eyes - is a charming quality that sets the Boxer apart from other breeds.

It can mimic the moods of its master and adopting one could bring you 9 to 11 years of joyful companionship. In exceptional cases the Boxer can live up to 15 years.