CHARACTERISTICS:
The character of the Boxer is of the greatest importance and demands the most
careful attention. He is renowned from olden times for his great love and
faithfulness to his master and household, his alertness and fearless courage as
a defender and protector. The Boxer is docile but distrustful of strangers. He
is bright and friendly in play but brave and determined when roused. His
intelligence and willing tractability, his modesty and cleanliness make him a
highly desirable family dog and cheerful companion. He is the soul of honesty
and loyalty. He is never false or treacherous even in his old age.
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
The Boxer is a medium sized, sturdy, smooth haired dog of short square figure
and strong limb. The musculation is clean and powerfully developed, and should
stand out plastically from under the skin. Movement of the Boxer should be alive
with energy. His gait, although firm, is elastic. The stride free and roomy;
carriage proud and noble. As a service and guard dog he must combine a
considerable degree of elegance with the substance and power essential to his
duties; those of an enduring escort dog, whether with horse, bicycle or carriage
and as a splendid jumper. Only a body whose individual limbs are built to
withstand the most strenuous "mechanical" effort and assembled as a complete and
harmonious whole, can respond to such demands Therefore to be at its highest
efficiency, the Boxer must never be plump or heavy. Whilst equipped for great
speed it must not be racy. When judging the Boxer the first thing to be
considered is general appearance, the relation of substance to elegance and the
desired relationship of the individual parts of the body to each other.
Consideration, too, must be given to colour. After these, the individual parts
should be examined for their correct construction and their functions. Special
attention to be devoted to the head.
Head and Skull:
The head imparts to the Boxer, an unique individual stamp peculiar to the breed.
It must be in perfect proportion to his body; above all it must never be too
light. The muzzle is the most distinctive feature. The greatest value is to be
placed on its being of correct form and in absolute proportion to the skull. The
beauty of the head depends upon the harmonious proportion between the muzzle and
the skull. From whatever direction the head is viewed, whether from the front,
from the top or from the side, the muzzle should always appear in correct
relationship to the skull. That means that the head should never appear too
small or too large. The length of the muzzle to the whole of the head should be
as 1 is to 3. The head should not show deep wrinkles. Normally wrinkles will
spring up on the top of the skull when the dog is alert. Folds are always
indicated from the root of the nose running downwards on both sides of the
muzzle. The dark mask is confined to the muzzle. It must be in distinct relief
to the colour of the head so that the face will not have a "sombre" expression.
The muzzle must be powerfully developed in length, in breadth and in height. It
must not be pointed or narrow; short or shallow. Its shape is influenced through
the formation of both jaw-bones, the placement of teeth in the jaw-bones, and
through the quality of the lips. The top of the skull should be slightly arched.
It should not be so short that it is rotund, too flat, or too broad. The occiput
should not be too pronounced. The forehead should form a distinct stop with the
top line of the muzzle, which should not be forced back into the forehead like
that of a Bulldog. Neither should it slope away (downfaced). The tip of the nose
should lie somewhat higher than the root of the muzzle. The forehead should show
a suggestion of furrow which, however, should never be too deep especially
between the eyes. Corresponding with the powerful set of teeth, the cheeks
accordingly should be well developed without protruding from the head with "too
bulgy" an appearance. For preference they should taper into the muzzle in a
slight, graceful curve. The nose should be broad and black, very slightly turned
up. The nostrils should be broad with a naso-labial line between them. The two
jaw-bones should not terminate in a normal perpendicular level in the front but
the lower jaw should protrude beyond the upper jaw and bend slightly upwards.
The Boxer is normally undershot. The upper jaw should be broad where attached to
the skull, and maintain this breadth except for a very slight tapering to the
front.
Eyes:
The eyes should be dark brown; not too small or protruding; not deep set. They
should disclose an expression of energy and intelligence, but should never
appear gloomy, threatening or piercing. The eyes must have a dark rim.
Ears:
Some American and Continental Boxers are cropped and are ineligible for
competition under NZKC Regulations The Boxer's natural ears are defined as,
moderate in size (small rather than large), thin to the touch, set on wide apart
at the highest points of the sides of the skull and lying flat and close to the
cheek when in repose. When the dog is alert the ears should fall forward with a
definite crease.
Mouth:
The canine teeth should be as widely separated as possible. The incisors (6)
should all be in one row, with no projection of the middle teeth. In the upper
jaw they should be slightly concave. In the lower they should be in a straight
line. Both jaws should be very wide in front; bite powerful and sound, the teeth
set in the most normal possible arrangement. The lips complete the formation of
the muzzle. The upper lip should be thick and padded and fill out the hollow
space in front formed by the projection of the lower jaw and be supported by the
fangs of the jaw. These fangs must stand as far apart as possible and be of good
length so that the front surface of the muzzle becomes broad and almost square,
to form an obtuse (rounded) angle with the top line of the muzzle. The lower
edge of the upper lip should rest on the edge of the lower lip. The repandus
(bent upward) part of the underjaw with the lower lip (sometimes called the
chin) must not rise above the front of the upper lip. On the other hand it
should not disappear under it. It must, however, be plainly perceptible when
viewed from the front as well as the side, without protruding and bending upward
as in the Bulldog. The teeth of the underjaw should not be seen when the mouth
is closed, neither should the tongue show when the mouth is closed.
Neck:
The neck should be not too thick and short but of ample length, yet strong,
round, muscular and clean-cut throughout. There should be a distinctly marked
nape and an elegant arch down to the back.
Forequarters:
The chest should be deep and reach down to the elbows. The depth of the chest
should be half the height of the dog at the withers. The ribs should be well
arched but not barrel-shaped. They should extend far to the rear. The loins
should be short, close and taut and slightly tucked up. The lower stomach line
should blend into an elegant curve to the rear. The shoulders should be long and
sloping, close lying but not excessively covered with muscle. The upper arm
should be long and form a right-angle to the shoulder-blade. The forelegs when
seen from the front should be straight, parallel to each other and have strong,
firmly articulated (joined) bones. The elbows should not press too closely to
the chest wall or stand off too far from it. The underarm should be
perpendicular, long and firmly muscled. The pastern joint of the foreleg should
be clearly defined, but not distended. The pastern should be short, slightly
slanting and almost perpendicular to the ground.
Body:
The body viewed in profile should be of square appearance. The length of the
body from the front of the chest to the rear of the body should equal the height
from the ground to the top of the shoulder, giving the Boxer a short-coupled,
square profile. The torso rests on trunk-like straight legs with strong bones.
The withers should be clearly defined. The whole back should be short, straight,
broad and very muscular.
Hindquarters:
The hindquarters should be strongly muscled. The musculation should be hard and
stand out plastically through the skin. The thighs should not be narrow and flat
but broad and curved. The breech musculation should also be strongly developed.
The croup should be slightly sloped, flat arched and broad. The pelvis should be
long and in females especially, broad. The upper and lower thighs should be
long. The hip and knee joints should have as much angle as possible. In a
standing position the knee should reach so far forward that it would meet a
vertical line drawn from the hip protuberance to the floor. The hock angle
should be about 140 degrees; the lower part of the foot at a slight slope of
about 95 to 100 degrees from the hock joint to the floor; that is, not
completely vertical. Seen from behind, the hind legs should be straight. The
hocks should be clean and not distended, supported by powerful rear pads.
Feet:
The feet should be small with tightly arched toes (cat feet) and hard soles. The
rear toes should be just a little longer than the front toes, but similar in all
other respects.
Tail:
The tail attachment should be high. The tail should be docked and carried
upwards and should not be more than 5 cm (2 in) long.
Coat:
The coat should be short and shiny, lying smooth and tight to the body.
Colour:
The permissible colours are fawn, brindle and fawn in various shades from light
yellow to dark deer red. The brindle variety should have black stripes on a
golden-yellow or red-brown background. The stripes should be clearly defined and
above all should not be grey or dirty. Stripes that do not cover the whole of
the top are not desirable. White markings are not undesirable, in fact they are
often very attractive in appearance. The black mask is essential but when white
stretches over the muzzle, naturally that portion of the black mask disappears.
It is not possible to get black toenails with white feet. It is desirable,
however, to have an even distribution of head markings.
Weight and Size:
Dogs: 55.8 - 60.9 cm (22 - 24 in) at the withers Bitches: 53.3 - 58.4 cm (21 -
23 in) at the withers Heights above or below these figures not to be encouraged.
Dogs around 58.4 cm (23 in) should weight about 29.9 kg (66 lb) Bitches of about
53.3 cm (21 in) should weight about 28.1 kg (62 lb).
Faults:
Viciousness, treachery, unreliability, lack of temperament; cowardice.
Head: A head that is not typical. A plump bulldoggy appearance. Light bone. Lack
of proportion. Bad physical conditions. Lack of nobility and expression.
"Sombre" face. Unserviceable bite whether due to disease or to faulty tooth
placement. Pinscher or Bulldog head. Showing the teeth or the tongue. A sloping
top line of the muzzle. Too pointed or too light a bite (snipy).
Eyes: Visible conjunctiva (Haw). Light eyes.
Ears: Flying ears, rose ears; semi-erect or erect ears.
Neck: Dewlap.
Front: Too broad and low in front; loose shoulders; chest hanging between the
shoulders; hare feet; turned legs and toes.
Body: Carp (roach) back; sway back; thin, lean back; long narrow, sharp-sunken
in loins. Weak union with the croup, hollow flanks; hanging stomach.
Hindquarters: A falling off or too arched or narrow croup. A low-set tail;
higher in back than in front; steep, stiff or too little angulation of the
hindquarters, light thighs; cow-hocks; bow legs; hind dewclaws; soft hocks,
narrow heel, tottering waddling gait; hare's feet; hindquarters too far under to
too far behind.
Colour: Boxers with white or black ground colour, or entirely white or black or
any other colour than fawn or brindle. (White markings are allowed but must not
exceed one-third (1/3) of the ground colour).
Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended
into the scrotum.