"Scarcely any other dog can produce such inimitable wrinkles upon its forehead as the Boxer, and scarcely any other dog gazes at you so goodnaturedly while furrowing its brow"
Pic above: Milly
Common Breed Standard
General Appearance- The ideal Boxer is a medium-sized, square-built dog of good substance with short back, strong limbs, and short, tight-fitting coat. His well-developed muscles are clean, hard, and appear smooth under taut skin. His movements denote energy. The gait is firm yet elastic, the stride free and ground-covering, the carriage proud. Developed to serve as guard, working, and companion dog, he combines strength and agility with elegance and style. His expression is alert and his temperament steadfast and tractable.The chiseled head imparts to the Boxer a unique individual stamp. It must be in correct proportion to the body. The broad, blunt muzzle is the distinctive feature, and great value is placed upon its being of proper form and balance with the skull. Great nobility, smooth-coated, medium-sized, square build, strong bone and evident, well developed muscles.
Eyes- Dark brown in color, forward looking, not too petite, protruding, or too deeply set. Lively attentive character, combined with the wrinkling of the forehead, gives the Boxer head its unique quality of expressiveness. Third eyelids dark rims that preferably have pigmented rims.
Ears- Set at the highest points of the sides of the skull and raised when alert. The ears should be of moderate size, thin, lying flat and close to the cheeks in repose, but falling forward with a definite crease when alert.
Mouth- The Boxer bite is undershot, the lower jaw protruding beyond the upper and curving slightly upward. Undershot jaw, canines set wide apart with incisors (six) in straight line in lower jaw. In the upper jaw attached to the skull, set in line curving slightly forward. The Lips should meet evenly.
Neck- Round, of ample length, strong, muscular, clean cut, no dewlap(excessive hanging skin). The neck should be distinctely marked arched and elegant.
Forequarters- Shoulders long and sloping, close lying, not excessively covered with muscle. Upper arm long, making right angle to shoulderblade. Forelegs seen from front, straight, parallel, with strong bone. Elbows not too close or standing too far from chest wall. Forearms perpendicular, long and firmly muscled. Pasterns short, clearly defined, but not distended, slightly slanted.
Body- The topline of the breed has a slight slope to it and should be firm and well defined. The chest is deep, muscled with the forechest definition noticible from either side. The ribs of the Boxer should not be barrel shaped but provide a smaooth arch into the rear of the dog. The lower line should have an upward slope moving towards the rear of the dog
Feet- Front feet smaller, with well arched toes, and hard pads; hind feet slightly longer. Usually referred to as socks, when two or more feet consist of white markings above the toes. Males tend to have wider larger feet.
Tail- Customarily docked. However tail docking is being banned in many countries at present. It is not illegal in Ireland at present. Docked: Set on high and carried upward. Undocked: Set on high and carried gaily not curled over back.
Movement- Strong, powerful with noble bearing, reaching well forward, and with driving action of hindquarters. In profile, stride free and ground covering.
Coat- Short, glossy, smooth and tight to body. The Boxers coat is short and shiny and only requires a weekly brushing.
Colour - The Boxer is accepted in two distinct colors, Fawn and Brindle. The fawn can vary from a light tan to a dark almost red color. The Brindle color looks similar to a tiger stripe in that the fawn background is marked with black stripes. The Brindle can range from a few well defined lines to an almost reversal of color where the fawn background is barely seen. The Boxer may have white markings in a way that they are beneficial to the appearance of the animal. White markings exceeding one third of the total body is considered a fault. There has been many debates recently of the acceptance of the all white Boxer for the breed.
