The Boxer: FCI Breeds Nomenclature

The boxer belongs to the medium-sized breeds; it is a smooth-haired, robust dog with a square physique and strong limbs. The boxer is a dog that can best be compared to a strongly muscled athlete, who combines a high degree of strength and speed. The musculature is very dry and strongly developed and must be clearly visible. The movements of the boxer are lively, the gait is firm yet elastic, free and spacious in gait and the posture is proud and noble. As a working dog, he should not lack a certain mass, coupled with strength, as well as elegance as a companion dog with a lot of endurance and an exceptionally good jumper.

All these collective requirements can be united in one body only when each member is individually built for the highest achievement and joined together into a harmonious whole. That is why the boxer should not be plump or heavy with a maximally developed powerful body. The head gives the boxer the character so characteristic; it must be in good proportion to the rest of the body and above all not too light.

The most characteristic of the boxer is the muzzle, where the correct shape and the correct proportion to the size of the skull is most important. When assessing the boxer, one must therefore first consider the overall picture, whether mass and elegance on the one hand and whether the different parts of the body on the other hand are in the most desirable proportion to each other, while also paying attention to the correct color. Only then should these distinct parts be tested for their correct construction and function.
The head

boxer-hoofdThe beauty of the boxer's head rests on the harmonic ratio of muzzle to skull. Whichever direction the head is viewed from, front, top or side, the muzzle should always be in correct proportion to the skull, so it should never appear too small. The closer the muzzle width is to the skull width, the better it is. However, the associated snout depth should not suffer.

The head must be as dry as possible, without excessive wrinkles. The dark mask must be limited to the muzzle and stand out clearly against the color of the head. The lips complete the shape of the muzzle. They are very vigorously developed and end in nicely formed arches that contrast well with the dry neck. The muzzle must be strongly developed, in width, both in depth and length. Its shape is influenced by: the shape of the jaw; the position of the teeth in the jaw and the quality of the lips.

The jaws

Both jaws do not end in a perpendicular plane at the front, but the lower teeth protrude and bend slightly upwards. The boxer has an undershot. The upper jaw is broad at the skull and also extends broadly to the front, barely narrowing. Both jaws are therefore very wide at the front. The canines are as far apart as possible, the incisors in a row, in the upper jaw in a forward curved line, in the lower teeth in as straight a line as possible. The teeth should be strong and healthy and the teeth should be placed as regularly as possible. The lips complete the look of the muzzle.

The lips

Both jaws do not end in a perpendicular plane at the front, but the lower teeth protrude and bend slightly upwards. The boxer has an undershot. The upper jaw is broad at the skull and also extends wide to the front, barely narrowing. Both jaws are therefore very wide in front. The canines are as far apart as possible, the incisors in a row, in the upper jaw in a forward curved line, in the lower teeth in as straight a line as possible. The teeth should be strong and healthy and the teeth should be placed as regularly as possible. The lips complete the look of the muzzle.

The upper skull

t is slightly domed and must be neither spherical nor flat. Furthermore, it should not be too wide and the occiput not too high. The forehead forms the clearly marked stop with the bridge of the nose. The bridge of the nose must not be pressed into the forehead like the English Bulldog, but it must also not fall off. The tip of the nose is slightly higher than the root of the nose and should appear to be slightly raised. The nose is broad and black and slightly curved upwards, the nostrils are wide, between which is the nasal groove. The forehead shows the faintly marked forehead groove, which, however, should not be too deep, especially between the eyes. The cheeks are also strongly developed in accordance with the powerful teeth without, however, as in the bulldog, being too conspicuous. Rather, they merge into the muzzle with a slight curve.

The ears

The ears are set high and should be in harmony with the head in size, rather small than too large, should be thin to the touch and set wide apart. In rest, they lie flat against the cheeks from the upper skull. When the dog is attentive, the ears should fall forward in a clear fold.

The eyes

The darkest possible eye should be neither too small, protruding or lying too deep. It expresses energy and intelligence and should never appear gloomy, threatening and much less grim. The third eyelid should be dark rimmed.

The neck

Round and by no means too short and thick, it must be of good length, muscular and powerful, but dry and without dewlap. The neck runs in an elegant curve towards the back with a clearly marked set on at the neck. The neck should show a lot of nobility.

The body

lichaam boxerRound and by no means too short and thick, it must be of good length, muscular and powerful, but dry and without dewlap. The neck runs in an elegant curve towards the back with a clearly marked set on at the neck. The neck should show a lot of nobility.

The front and the forehand

The chest is deep, reaching to the elbows. Chest depth is about half of the Boxer's entire height. The ribs are well arched, but not barrel-shaped, reaching far back, the flanks short, closed and tense, slightly drawn in, with the belly line extending backwards in an elegant arc. The shoulder is long and sloping, close fitting and as perpendicular as possible, forming a right angle with the shoulder blade. Viewed from the front, both forelegs should be straight and parallel and have strong, tightly joined knuckles. The elbows should not be pressed too tightly against the chest wall, but they should also not protrude. The forearm is perpendicular, long and well muscled. The front knee joint is short and not overly visible. The pastern is short, only slightly sloping and almost perpendicular to the ground. Feet are small, closed and have arched toes (cat feet) with hard soles.

The back and the loins

The withers must be well marked; the entire back is short, straight, broad and strongly muscled.

The hindquarters

It is strongly muscled, the muscles are hard and clearly visible under the skin. The buttocks are broad and arched, not narrow and flat; Croup slightly curved, slightly arched, broad tail set on rather high than too low.

The pelvis

The pelvis must be long and, especially in females, wide, the thigh and shinbone long, the corners at the hip and knee joints should be as little blunt as possible. The knee must protrude so far in its normal position that it is still hit by a perpendicular lowered from the knobs on the cross leg towards the ground. The angle of the hock must be approximately 140 °, the short rear pastern goes to the ground with a slight deviation of 95 ° -100 °, so not completely perpendicular. Seen from behind, the back legs should be straight. The hock is dry, not exaggerated with a strong heel bone, the toes slightly longer than those at the forefoot, further closed and arched (cat's foot).

The hair

The hair should be short, firm and close-fitting. The recognized colors are yellow or brindle. Yellow comes in the most different shades from dark deer red to light yellow, the middle tones are the most beautiful (yellow - red). The brindle color can range from a very light current to a very dark current that looks almost black. The ground color and the black current must be clearly separated; the stripes should be neither too close nor too far apart. The ground color should not be pale; ground color and current should not mix so that the current disappears. White markings are allowed if they do not occupy more than 1/3 of the boxer's total body surface. Also, the white markings must be well placed so that they do not disturb the expression and general appearance of the boxer. A whole or semi-white head is considered undesirable. Boxers with a white ground color as well as black are undesirable and are therefore not allowed at shows.

Size, weight and gait

Size

Males should have a height of between 57 and 63 centimeters. For girls this is between 53 and 59 centimeters.

Weight

The weight for males is 30 kilos at a height of 60 centimeters and for girls about 25 kilos at a height of 56 centimeters.

Gait

The natural gait of the boxer is the gallop.

Character

The character of the boxer is of the utmost importance and deserves our special attention. His affection and loyalty to his boss and his family and his vigilance and fearlessness as a defender and protector are famous from way back. He is reliable in the family but suspicious of strangers. He has a happy and friendly temperament at play but a terrifying one when serious. His intelligence and docility, his contentment and cleanliness make him a great family and companion dog. His character is jovial, not false or underhanded, even into old age.

Faults

A plump or bulldog-like appearance, too little mass, no good proportions, poor condition and the lack of nobility and allure. Bulldog or pinscher type, under-marked stop, bird of prey eye, unpigmented third eyelid, lack of mask or mask too weak. When the mouth is closed, the teeth or tongue must not be visible, defective teeth, too little chin marking, lips too little developed, ears badly carried, dewlap, neck that is too short or too thick, shoulders too steep or loose, legs turned outwards ( French stance), wrists too weak, spreading feet, splayed toes, long back, saddle or carp back, chest too wide, too narrow or flat, poor belly line, sloping croup, too steep fore or hindquarters, cow hocks, saber legs, flaccid hocks , over- or underpinned, waddling gait. Male animals should have two normally developed testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

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