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This
German breed can trace their roots to the Bullenbeisser, Barenbeisser
and Brabanter of central Europe, but it is a combination of these
breeds and the British Bulldog who have produced the modern Boxer.
The smaller Bullenbeiser and Brabanter was of similar type as the
British Bulldog of old times, although it is believed that the German
dogs were fawn or brindle, and never any white as the British Bulldog.
About 1830, the white color began to appear in the Bullenbeisser's,
due to imported English dogs, especially Bulldog, who were crossed
with the already existing German Bulldog/Bullenbeisser types. In 1887
George Alt imported a bitch, named "Flora", from France,
and used her in breeding at his home in Munich, Germany. The progeny
of this bitch were strongly inbred, and all Boxer's of today can find
these dogs in their passage.
Meta von der Passage, a great great granddaughter, of the dog imported
from France was crossed with "Tom", a pure white English
bulldog. From this litter a bitch named Blanka, also pure white
as her father, eventually became the Mother of "Meta van der
Passage", who are considered as the mother of the modern Boxer.
We can see that much of the blood in the modern Boxer comes from
the British Bulldog, as well as the white color. The first Boxer
exhibited was "Mühlbauers Flocki", at a dog show
in Munich, the same city where the first boxer breed-club was started
in 1896.
At that time the only thing set were the name of the breed, who
originally was the name "Boxl", used on the Bullenbeisser
in local parts of Germany. The standard were set in 1905, and from
this point in time the popularity of the breed grew in Germany,
as well as in other countries. Early exports followed to all corners
of the earth, and the Boxer got a strong foothold in many areas.
The breeders had different opinions of which way the breed should
go, some wanted to follow the Bulldog to the extreme, while others
wanted to have the breed more "normal", and luckily the
Boxer followed the more normal direction. The white color were prohibited,
legalized and prohibited again. In 1925 it was decided that the
black colored Boxer no longer were allowed. All breeders followed
the direction, which led to a quick extinction of the black Boxer.
From the same year also the white color were permanent prohibited.
Sadly, this color no longer exists.
In 1938 it was decided that Boxers with more than one third white
coat were not allowed. But still today there are born Boxers with
much white on the body, even pure white dogs occur. One of the earliest
breeders was Fr. Stockmann, who did a fabulous job both in breeding
and promoting the breed. Her Kennel, "van Dom", existed
from 1912 to 1974 and the ancestor to all "van Dom dogs"
were "Rolf von Vogelsberg", sold to Fr. Stockmann at the
age of three. After World War II the popularity of the Boxer in
the USA reached sky-high, and American bred Boxers were exported
to other countries. Also in England they succeeded in breeding very
good dogs, and the breed got quite popular in the British Isles.
All over the world the Boxer gained popularity, due to its even
temperament and beautiful body structure. Today the Boxer is among
the most popular breeds in the world, for good and for worse. The
Boxer is a family dog. They are playful, loving and enjoys being
together with its master. They are "always" happy and
love to play, with its master or the children of the house. The
Boxer is trustworthy and devoted to its master, intelligent, loyal
and can even do well at obedient-classes. The breed can, however,
be reserved to strangers, and some Boxers do very well in protection
training.
The medium sized body are square build with well-developed musculation.
The neck not to short, musculated, the head not to broad, with a
well marked stop. The muzzle short, deep and broad in all its length.
Undershot, but teeth's and tongue must not be seen when the mouths
are closed. The colors of the shorthaired Boxer are always fawn
or brindle, white patches are allowed but must not exceed one third
of the body color. The size of the male boxer is 57-63,5 cm. (22,4-25
in) at the withers. The females 53-59,5 cm. (20,8-23,3 in).
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