Exterior Look of the Boxer
The perfect Boxer is a middle-sized dog with
square shape of the body, short back, strong limbs and short
tight hear. His well-developed muscles and agility make him a
good guard, working or companion dog. Due to his free and proud
stride he looks very elegant.
Peculiar size for Boxer is 23-25
inches for males and 21.5-23.5
inches for females. Ideal body proportions for Boxer are
when the horizontal line from the front of the forechest to the
rear projection of the upper thigh equals the vertical line
length from the top of the withers to the ground. Male Boxers
are usually have better musculature and are larger boned than
females.
The head is that exact
exceptional feature that differs the Boxer from the other dogs.
It looks like a shortened Mastiff's head with less number of
wrinkles. Ideal Boxer head depends on the balanced proportions
of the snout to the skull. The
snout is the part of the head from the occiput to the
tip of the nose and it must make up 1/3 of the total head
length. The other 2/3rds are the skull width. It should look a
little bit angular from the each side and have clear outlines.
It is peculiar for the Boxer when its snout comes forward,
creating at the front a wide quadrangular plane with straight
parallel lines. The forehead is
prominent and high.
Boxer's eyes have dark
brown colour, they are not too small, too deepset or too
prominent that makes Boxer's look impressive and persuasive.
Boxer's ears are usually
cropped, set at the highest points of both skull sides. Cropped
ears have rather long and thin cut and when the dog is alarmed
he raises them. Uncropped ears have moderate size and lie flat
close to the cheeks, falling forward with a crease when there is
an alert.
The upper part of the skull
is a little bit arched, not rounded, flat and not noticeably
broad, the occiput is not strongly pronounced. There is a
small deepening on the forehead between the eyes. The cheeks are relatively
flat and not bulge, thus, saving clear skull's shape as they
form a graceful curve tapering into the snout.
In accordance with the standard of 1902, perfect Boxer must have
higher and lower jaws
absolutely parallel and equaly-sized, they shouldn't come
forward or fall back. You can also recognize the Boxer by its scissor-type bite teeth. The lips complete the
formation of the snout and they should meet evenly in front. The
upper lip is thick and soft and on both sides is supported by
the fangs of the lower jaw. The
nose is wide and black with straight bridge.
Boxer's neck expresses
power and magnificence. It is round and very muscular without
excessively hanging skin. The neck should have distinct arch and
elegant nape smoothly turning into the withers. Boxer's back is also very
muscular, straight, short and smooth.
Short, smooth and tight fawn or brindle hair is peculiar to this
Breed. These colours are considered to be the best for Boxer.
They can vary from light tan to the reddish-brown. There also
occur dogs with black or white stripes and spots. However, it is
an undesirable hair colour and it shouldn't make more than 1/3
of all coating.
Saying in general, Boxer is very harmonious and intelligent dog.
Though he is far from being a bully, due to his high strength
and agility, Boxer is always ready to come into fight with any
enemy. It makes him a perfect guard and a good friend to his
owner.