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Boxer Dogs - Popular Among Popular
By Richard Cussons
Boxer dogs are popular dogs, right? From the day they were first
exhibited, Boxer dogs amazingly gained the hearts of many dog
lovers. With over 33,000 new dog registrations, they placed
sixth most popular breed of dog in the United States based on
the 2007 American Kennel Club statistics. They are definitely
lovable dogs that will steal your heart and will make you want
to have one to cuddle, to play with and to be your loyal
companion. Some particular dog of this breed make use of their
fine qualities that made them gain popularity among the others.
Answers To Questions About Boxer Dogs
By Richard Cussons
It is evident that a lot of people are revealing interest on
Boxer dogs. Proof of this breed's popularity is the 2007
American Kennel Club statistics in which they placed sixth as
the most popular breed of dog in the United States. As more and
more people are becoming interested on Boxer dogs, a lot of
questions have been raised about them. Here are some of the most
commonly asked questions and answers to those questions:
Managing
The Health Of Boxer Dogs
By Richard Cussons
If one is in search for dogs that are easy to own, boxer dogs
will definitely be included in the list. Boxer is one among a
number of short-haired breeds that shed a little. With boxer
dogs, you will seldom experience the fuss bathing a dog brings
since they do not generally need frequent bathing. You can use
your nose to tell if it is time to bath your dog.
Boxer
Dogs - Time To Trim The Nails
By Richard Cussons
Notice those horribly long nails of your Boxer dogs? Have you
been dying to trim those nails but just can't get a hold at
them? Some dog owners, especially inexperienced ones find it
hard to trim the nails of their dogs. Trimming the nails of a
dog is probably one of the most challenging tasks every dog
owner may encounter. But as much as it is challenging, it is
also an important part of grooming that must be done regularly.
Human
Foods Poisonous To Boxer Dogs
By Richard Cussons
As owner, it is your responsibility to maintain the maximum
health of your Boxer dogs. Maintaining your dog's health can be
done in a lot of ways. One of the most effective ways is by
feeding the right kind of foods.
Plants
Poisonous To Your Boxer Dogs
By Richard Cussons
Is your garden safe enough for your Boxer dogs to wander?
Puppy-proofing the house is always important before taking home
a new puppy.
Discover
More About Boxer Dog Breed
By Richard Cussons
The Boxer dog is actually a descendant of two breeds, the
English Bulldog and the now extinct Bullenbeisser. Having these
two breeds as ancestors, the crossing resulted to an intelligent
and strong Boxer dog that works best as guard dog, service dog,
guide dog for the blind, therapy dog and police dog in K9 units.
Boxer Dog Facts and Information
Developed in Germany,
the Boxer is a breed of stocky, medium-sized, short-haired dog.
The coat is smooth and fawn or brindled, with or without white
markings. Boxers are brachycephalic, and have a square muzzle,
mandibular prognathism (an underbite), very strong jaws and a
powerful bite ideal for hanging on to large prey. The Boxer was
bred from the English Bulldog and the now extinct Bullenbeisser
and is part of the Molosser group.
The Boxer was first exhibited in a dog show for St. Bernards at
Munich in 1895, the first Boxer club being founded the next
year. Based on 2007 American Kennel Club statistics, Boxers are
the sixth most popular breed of dog in the United States—moving
up from the seventh spot for the first time since 2002—with
33,548 new dog registrations during the year..
The head is the most distinctive feature of the Boxer. The breed
standard dictates that it must be in perfect proportion to the
body and above all it must never be too light. The greatest
value is to be placed on the muzzle being of correct form and in
absolute proportion to the skull. The length of the muzzle to
the whole of the head should be a ratio of 1:3. Folds are always
present from the root of the nose running downwards on both
sides of the muzzle, and the tip of the nose should lie somewhat
higher than the root of the muzzle. In addition a Boxer should
be slightly prognathous, i.e., the lower jaw should protrude
beyond the upper jaw and bend slightly upwards in what is
commonly called an underbite or "undershot bite".
Boxers were originally a docked and cropped breed, and this
tradition is still maintained in some countries. However, due to
pressure from veterinary associations, animal rights groups and
the general public, both cropping of the ears and docking of the
tail have been prohibited in many countries around the world.
There is a line of naturally short-tailed (bobtail) Boxers that
was developed in the United Kingdom in anticipation of a tail
docking ban there[4]; after several generations of controlled
breeding, these dogs were accepted in the Kennel Club (UK)
registry in 1998, and today representatives of the bobtail line
can be found in many countries around the world. In the United
States and Canada as of 2008, cropped ears are still more common
in show dogs. In March 2005 the AKC breed standard was changed
to include a description of the uncropped ear, but to severely
penalize an undocked tail.
An adult Boxer typically weighs between 55 and 70 lbs (25 and 32
kg). Adult male Boxers are between 22 and 25 inches (57 and 63
cm) tall at the withers; adult females are between 21 to 23½
inches (53 and 60 cm).
Coat and colors
Boxers are either fawn (middle frame) or brindle (bottom frame),
with or without white markings, which, when excessive are
conventionally called "white" Boxers (top frame).
Boxers are either fawn (middle frame) or brindle (bottom frame),
with or without white markings, which, when excessive are
conventionally called "white" Boxers (top frame).
The Boxer is a short-haired breed, with a shiny, smooth coat
that lies tight to the body. The recognized colors are fawn and
brindle, often with a white underbelly and white on the front or
all four feet. These white markings, called flash, often extend
onto the neck or face, and dogs that have these markings are
known as "flashy". "Fawn" denotes a range of color, the tones of
which may be described variously as light tan or yellow, reddish
tan, mahogany or stag/deer red, and dark honey-blonde. In the
UK, fawn Boxers are typically rich in color and are called
"red". "Brindle" refers to a dog with black stripes on a fawn
background. Some brindle Boxers are so heavily striped that they
give the appearance of "reverse brindling", fawn stripes on a
black body; these dogs are conventionally called "reverse
brindles", but that is actually a misnomer - they are still fawn
dogs with black stripes. In addition, the breed standards state
that the fawn background must clearly contrast with or show
through the brindling, so a dog that is too heavily brindled may
be disqualified by the breed standard. The Boxer does not carry
the gene for a solid black coat color and therefore purebred
black Boxers do not exist.
White Boxers
Boxers with white markings covering more than one-third of their
coat - conventionally called "white" Boxers - are neither albino
nor rare; approximately 20-25% of all Boxers born are white.
Genetically, these dogs are either fawn or brindle, with
excessive white markings overlying the base coat color. Like
fair-skinned humans, white Boxers have a higher risk of sunburn
and associated skin cancers than colored Boxers. The extreme
piebald gene, which is responsible for white markings in Boxers,
is linked to congenital sensorineural deafness in dogs. It is
estimated that about 18% of white Boxers are deaf in one or both
ears, though Boxer Rescue organizations see about double that
number. In the past, breeders often euthanized white puppies at
birth; today, most breeders place white puppies in pet homes
with spay/neuter agreements. White Boxers are disqualified from
conformation showing by the breed standard, and are prohibited
from breeding by every national Boxer club in the world. They
can compete in non-conformation events such as obedience and
agility, and like their colored counterparts do quite well as
service and therapy dogs.
Temperament
Boxers are a bright, energetic and playful breed and tend to be
very good with children. They are active dogs and require
adequate exercise to prevent boredom-associated behaviors such
as chewing or digging. Boxers have earned a slight reputation of
being "headstrong", which can be related to inappropriate
obedience training. Owing to their intelligence and working
breed characteristics, training based on corrections often has
limited usefulness. Boxers often respond much better to positive
reinforcement techniques such as clicker training, which affords
the dog an opportunity to think independently and to
problem-solve.
The Boxer by nature is not an aggressive or vicious breed, but
it does need socialization. Boxers are generally patient
with smaller dogs and puppies, but issues with larger adult
dogs, especially those of the same sex, may occur. Boxers are
generally more comfortable with companionship, in either human
or canine form.
History
The Boxer is part of the Molosser group, developed in Germany in
the late 1800s from the now extinct Bullenbeisser, a dog of
Mastiff descent, and Bulldogs brought in from England. The
Bullenbeisser had been working as a hunting dog for centuries,
employed in the pursuit of bear, wild boar, and deer. Its task
was to seize the prey and hold it until the hunters arrived. In
later years, faster dogs were favored and a smaller
Bullenbeisser was bred in Brabant, in northern Belgium. It is
generally accepted that the Brabanter Bullenbeisser was a direct
ancestor of today's Boxer.
In 1894, three Germans by the name of Roberth, Konig, and Hopner
decided to stabilize the breed and put it on exhibition at a dog
show. This was done in Munich in 1895, and the next year they
founded the first Boxer Club, the Deutscher Boxer Club. The Club
went on to publish the first Boxer breed standard in 1902, a
detailed document that has not been changed much to this day.
The breed was introduced to other parts of Europe in the late
19th century and to the United States around the turn of the
century. The American Kennel Club (AKC) registered the first
Boxer in 1904, and recognized the first Boxer champion, Dampf
vom Dom, in 1915. During
World War I, the Boxer was co-opted for military work,
acting as a valuable messenger dog, pack-carrier, attack dog,
and guard dog. It was not until after
World War II that the Boxer became popular around the world.
Boxer mascots, taken home by returning soldiers, introduced the
dog to a much wider audience and it soon became a favorite as a
companion, a show dog, and a guard dog.
Breed name
The name "Boxer" is supposedly derived from the breed's tendency
to play by standing on its hind legs and "boxing" with its front
paws. According to Andrew H. Brace on his "Pet owner's guide to
the Boxer" this theory is the least plausible explanation. He
claims "it's unlikely that a nation so permeated with
nationalism would give to one of its most famous breeds a name
so obviously anglicised".
German linguistic sciences and historical evidence date from the
18th century the earliest written source for the word Boxer,
found in a text in the "Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch" (The German
Dictionary of Foreign Languages), which cites an author named
Musäus of 1782 writing "daß er aus Furcht vor dem großen Baxer
Salmonet ... sich auf einige Tage in ein geräumiges Packfaß ...
absentiret hatte". At that time the spelling "baxer" equalled
"boxer". Both the verb ("boxen") and the noun ("Boxer") were
common German language as early as the late 18th century. The
term "Boxl", also written "Buxn" or "Buchsen", in the Bavarian
dialect means "short (leather) trousers" or "underwear". The
very similarly sounding term "Boxerl" is also Bavarian dialect
and an endearing term for "Boxer".[18] More in line with
historical facts, Brace states that there exist many other
theories to explain the origin of the breed name, from which he
favors the one claiming the smaller Bullenbeisser (Brabanter)
were also known as "Boxl" and that Boxer is just a corruption of
that word.
In the same vein runs a theory based on the fact that there were
a group of dogs known as "Bierboxer" in Munich by the time of
the breed's development. These dogs were the result from mixes
of Bullenbeisser and other similar breeds. Bier (beer) probably
refers to the Biergarten, the typical Munich beergarden, an
open-air restaurant where people used to take their dogs along.
The nickname "Deutscher Boxer" was derived from bierboxer and
Boxer could also be a corruption of the former or a contraction
of the latter.
"Boxer" is also the name of a dog owned by John Peerybingle, the
main character on the best selling 1845 book The Cricket on the
Hearth by Charles Dickens, which is evidence that "Boxer" was
commonly used as a dog name by the early 19th century, before
the establishment of the breed by the end of that same century.
The name of the breed could also be simply due to the names of
the very first known specimens of the breed (Lechner's Box, for
instance).
Health
Boxers are prone to develop cancers, heart conditions such as
Aortic Stenosis and Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular
Cardiomyopathy (the so-called "Boxer Cardiomyopathy"),
hypothyroidism, hip dysplasia, and degenerative myelopathy;
other conditions that may be seen are gastric dilatation and
torsion (bloat), intestinal problems, and allergies (although
these may be more related to diet than breed).[20][21] Entropion
is occasionally seen, a malformation of the eyelid requiring
surgical correction, and some lines have a tendency to develop
spondylosis deformans, a fusing of the spine.[22] Responsible
breeders use available tests to screen their breeding stock
before breeding, and in some cases throughout the life of the
dog, in an attempt to minimize the occurrence of these diseases
in future generations.
Boxers are an athletic breed, and proper exercise and
conditioning is important for their continued health and
longevity. Care must be taken not to over-exercise young dogs,
as this may damage growing bones; however once mature Boxers can
be excellent jogging or running companions. Because of their
brachycephalic head, they do not do well with high heat or
humidity, and common sense should prevail when exercising a
Boxer in these conditions.
Uses
Boxers are friendly, lively companions that are popular as
family dogs. float|right|thumb|Wonderful companions, this fawn &
white enjoys boating on Lake Lanier, SC.]]Their suspicion of
strangers, alertness, agility, and strength make them formidable
guard dogs. They sometimes appear at dog agility or obedience
trials and flyball events. These strong and intelligent animals
have also been used as service dogs, guide dogs for the blind,
therapy dogs, police dogs in K9 units, and occasionally herding
cattle or sheep. The versatility of Boxers was recognized early
on by the military, which has used them as valuable messenger
dogs, pack carriers, and attack and guard dogs in times of war.
Boxers have an average lifespan of 10-12 years.
Links
American Boxer Club
Boxer art desktop wallpaper |
