Every year on January 17th we celebrate National Boxer Day in honor of this beautiful and loyal breed.
With their powerful bodies, expressive faces, high energy, and intelligence, Boxers are the full package. They are everything you want in a dog.
This National Boxer Day, we’re giving boxers the love and recognition they deserve.
The Boxer’s ancestors, the war dogs of the Assyrian empire, go back as far as 2,500 B.C. But what we think of today as a Boxer can be traced to Germany of the late 1800s and early 20th century. The breed is thought to have been bred down by German dog fanciers from a larger, heavier German breed called the Bullenbeisser (“bull biter”).
In medieval times the Bullenbeisser was Germany’s premier big-game hunter, used by noblemen to run down, catch, and hold such formidable opponents as bear, bison, and wild boar on vast ducal estates. By the early 1800s, the political situation in the German states was changing. German nobles were out of favor. Their estates were broken up, and the cherished tradition of lavishly appointed boar hunts came to an end. By 1865, the mighty Bullenbeisser was out of a job.
Through judicious crosses to a smaller, mastiff-type breed from England, the obsolete big-game hunter gained a new lease on life. By the late 1800s, the modern Boxer—a sleeker, more elegant dog—had come into focus. (The English name Boxer refers to the way the breed spars, like a prizefighter, with their front paws when playing or defending themselves.)
Over the years, Boxers have done many jobs: athlete, cattle dog, police dog, war dog (in both world wars), watchdog, protection dog, and guide dog for the blind. The AKC registered its first Boxer in 1904, but the breed’s U.S. heyday began in the 1950s, when a Westminster-winning Boxer named Bang Away became a national celebrity.
Since that time, Boxers have reigned as one of America’s top 10 most popular breeds.
Boxers are stocky, muscular and powerful.
Males grow to about 25 inches and weigh from about 65 to 80 pounds (30 to 36 kilograms); females grow from about 21 to 25 inches and weigh from about 50 to 65 pounds (22 to 30 kilograms).
Boxers have regal, distinctly shaped square heads. Their jaw is undershot and the muzzle blunt. They have a broad, deep chest and a relatively short, strong back. Boxer's ears fold over naturally, but traditionally, their ears have been cropped to stand erect. Their tails generally are docked and carried high. Their feet are compact and the toes are arched.
The boxer's coat is short and sheds moderately. Some boxers are a rich, fawn color and others are brindle. Their face or mask is usually black, but many have white face markings and white on the chest and paws. 20% of boxers are all white.
content from AKC