Dogs Worldwide

Boxers are a breed of stocky, medium-sized, short-haired dog with a smooth fawn or brindled coat and square-jawed muzzle.

Boxers have very strong jaws and a powerful bite. They were developed in Germany in the mid-1800s. An adult boxer typically weighs between 25 and 32 kg (55 to 70 lb) and is between 53 and 63 cm (21 to 25 in) tall at the withers. Cropping of the tail and ears remains popular, although it is now prohibited in most European breed standards and is slowly becoming banned in many other countries.

In color, boxers are typically either fawn or brindled with a white underbelly and white on the front or all four feet. The whiteness, called ‘flashiness,’ often extends onto the shoulders or face, and some boxers are entirely white, though white boxers are occasionally deaf. Conversely, some brindled boxers are so dark as to appear black. In the UK, fawn boxers are typically richer in color and are called Red.

Temperament

Boxers are a bright, energetic and playful breed and tend to be very good with children if trained correctly. It’s best if obedience training is started early since they also have a strong personality and therefore can be harder to train when older. It is also equally true that Boxers have a very long puppyhood and adolescence. They are not considered fully mature until age three, one of the longest times in dogdom, and thus need the early training to keep their high energy from wearing the owner (and the owner’s shoes) out.

Health

Boxers can develop skin cancers, heart murmurs, and ailments of the joints, such as arthritis and hip dysplasia. Although most good breeders test their breeding stock before breeding and the incidence is slowly decreasing.

Uses

Boxers make excellent, friendly, lively companions and as such are often a family dog. However, they have also made appearances at dog agility trials, flyball. These strong and intelligent animals have even been sometimes used as guide dogs for the blind and police dogs in K9 units in place of the typical German Shepherd.

Written by: Kevin Hart

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 14:26 and is filed under Breeds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.