Boxer 

 

      

 

 
Devotees of the Boxer need to be fit to stand up to their charges, a gentle, meek Boxer does not exist, extrovert and energetic are two adjective which spring to mind as soon as the breed is mentioned, along with loyal and fun loving. Once converted to Boxerdom, owners never give it up. A guarding breed of a high order, Boxers are very intelligent, patient, firm and tractable, but they need to be convinced of the rightness of what they are asked to do. On the other hand they will enter into the spirit of the most riotous of family games. Hardy and full of stamina, their idea of a country walk is to get as wet and muddy as possible, but the shortness of the coat permits cleaning with ease. A good trencherman, he is rarely finicky or faddy. Truly a delightful breed, he is not quick to pik a fight but ready to prove that he is slightly pugnacious face with its upturned chin can be backed to the hilt.

                                                                

General Appearance*** The ideal Boxer is a medium sized, aquare build dog of a good substance with a short back, strong limbs, and short, tightfitting coat. His well developed muscles are clean, hard and appear smooth under taut skin. His movements denote energy. The gait firm, yet elastic, the stride free and ground covering, the carriage proud. Developed to serve as gaurd, working and companion dog, he combines strength and agillity with elegance and style. His expression is alert and temperamental, steadfast and tractable. The chiseled head imparts to the Boxer, a uique individual stamp. It must be in correct proportion to the body. The broad, blunt muzzle is a 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 componets are examined for their correct construction, and efficiency of gait is evaluated.

Size,Proportion,Substance

Boxer 9 months old.

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 .. The brisket is deep reaching down to the elbows, the depth of the bodyat the lowest point of the brisket equals half the height of the dog at the withers.
Height*Adult**  males 221/2  to 25 inches, females, 21 to 23 1/2 inches at the withers, perferably, males should not be under the minnimum 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 and skull** Head imparts its unique, and the beauty of the head depends upon harmonious proportion of the muzzle to skull. The blunt muzzle is 1/3 the length of the head from the occiput to the tip of 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 aways present from the lower edge of the stop running downward on both sides of the muzzle. 

Expression*Intelligent** and olso alert. Eyes dark brown in color, not too small, too protruding or to 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, well the 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 distinct 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 cure,

 

 

 

Head

The muzzle should equal 2/3 the width of the skull.
Muzzle** The muzzle, proportionately developed in length, width and depth, has a shape influenced firts 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 frotal space created by the orojection of the lower jaw, and laterally is supported by the canines of the lower jaw. Therefore, these canises 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 percepible from the side as well as from the front.

 

Head

The blunt muzzle is 1/3 the length of the head from the occiput to the tip of the nose
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 skul. Too pointed a bite snipy, too undershot, teeth or tongue showing when mouth closed. Eyes noticeably lighter than ground color of coat.

 

 

Boxer Bite demonstrat by a dog at 9 moths old.
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, extenfding, far to rear, are well arched but not barrel shaped. The back is short, straight and muscular and firmly connects the withers to the hindquarters. The back is short, and muscular. The lower stomach line is slightly tucked uo, blending into a graceful curve to the rear. The croup is slightly sloped, flat and brpoad. Tail is set high, docked and carried upward. Pelvis long and in females especially broad. 

 

 

NECK,TOPLINE, BODY
Faults** Olso** 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 the croup. Higher in rear than in front.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 shoulders blade. The elbows should not press too closly 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. Teid in nor bowed out elbows.

 

 

Strong, powerful with noble bearing
Hindquarters*** The hindquarters are strongly Muscled with angulation in balance with that of the forequarters. The tings are broad and curved, the breech musculature hard and strongly developed. Upper and lower thing long. Leg well angulated at the stifle with 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 rear dewclaws. 

 

Hindquarters
Faults** steep or over angulated hindquarters. Lighs thighs or overdeveloped hams. Over - angulated sickle hocks. Hindquarters too far under or too far behind. Unattractive or misplaced withe markings.

Coat ** The colors are fawn and brindle.

Color** 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 berely, although clearly, shows through which may crete 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.

Short, shiny lying smooth and tight to the body.

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 freely operating rear. Although the frond 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 allthough 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 oncreases, the normally broad rear track will become narrower, Faults Stilted or inefficient gait. Lack of smoothness.

 

 

Strong, powerful with noble bearing, reaching well forward, and with drivingaction of hindquarters. In profile, stride free and ground covering.

 
Character and Temperament** Equable, biddable, fearless, self assured. There are 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 the children.

Note**  Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

 

 

 

 

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