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Working Group
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.
In judging the Boxer first consideration
is given to general appearance and overall balance. Special attention is
then devoted to the head, after which the individual body components are
examined for their correct construction, and the gait evaluated for
efficiency.
Size
Adult males 23 to 25 inches; females 21˝
to 23˝ inches at the withers. Proper balance and quality in the individual
should be of primary importance since there is no size disqualification.
Proportion
The body in profile is square in that a
horizontal line from the front of the forechest to the rear projection of the upper
thigh should equal the length of a vertical line dropped from the top of
the withers to the ground.
Substance
Sturdy, with balanced musculature. Males
larger boned than females.
Head
The beauty of the head depends upon the
harmonious proportion of muzzle to skull. The blunt muzzle is 1/3 the
length of the head from the occiput
to the tip of the nose, and 2/3rds the width of the skull. The head should
be clean, not showing deep wrinkles (wet). Wrinkles typically appear upon
the forehead when ears are erect, and are always present from the lower
edge of the stop running downward on both sides of the muzzle.
Expression
Intelligent and alert.
Eyes
Dark brown in color, frontally placed,
generous, not too small, too protruding, or too deepset. Their mood-mirroring character, combined
with the wrinkling of the forehead, gives the Boxer head its unique quality
of expressiveness. Third eyelids preferably have pigmented rims.
Ears
Set at the highest points of the sides of
the skull, the ears are customarily cropped, cut rather long and tapering,
and raised when alert. If uncropped,
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.
Skull
The top of the skull is slightly arched,
not rounded, flat, nor noticeably broad, with the occiput not overly pronounced. The forehead
shows a slight indentation between the eyes and forms a distinct stop with
the topline of the
muzzle. The cheeks should be relatively flat and not bulge (cheekiness),
maintaining the clean lines of the skull as they taper into the muzzle in a
slight, graceful curve.
Muzzle and Nose
The muzzle,
proportionately developed in length, width, and depth, has a shape
influenced first through the formation of both jawbones, second through the
placement of the teeth, and third through the texture of the lips. The top
of the muzzle should not slant down (downfaced),
nor should it be concave (dishfaced);
however, the tip of the nose should lie slightly higher than the root of
the muzzle. The nose should be broad and black.
Bite and Jaw Structure
The Boxer bite is undershot, the lower jaw
protruding beyond the upper and curving slightly upward. The incisor teeth
of the lower jaw are in a straight line, with the canines preferably up
front in the same line to give the jaw the greatest possible width. The
upper line of the incisors is slightly convex with the corner upper
incisors fitting snugly in back of the lower canine teeth on each side.
Neither the teeth nor the tongue should ever show when the mouth is closed.
The upper jaw is broad where attached to
the skull and maintains this breadth, except for a very slight tapering to
the front. The lips, which complete the formation of the muzzle, should
meet evenly in front. The upper lip is thick and padded, filling out the frontal space created by
the projection of the lower jaw, and laterally is supported by the canines
of the lower jaw. Therefore, these canines must stand far apart and be of
good length so that the front surface of the muzzle is broad and squarish and, when viewed
from the side, shows moderate layback. The chin should be perceptible from
the side as well as from the front. Any suggestion of an overlip obscuring the chin
should be penalized.
Neck
Round, of ample length, muscular and clean
without excessive hanging skin (dewlap). The neck should have a distinctly
arched and elegant nape blending smoothly into the withers.
Back and Topline
The back is short, straight, muscular,
firm, and smooth. The topline
is slightly sloping when the Boxer is at attention, leveling out when in
motion.
Body
The chest is of fair width, and the forechest well-defined and visible from the
side. The brisket is deep, reaching down to the elbows; the depth of the
body at the lowest point of the brisket equals half the height of the dog
at the withers. The ribs, extending far to the rear, are well-arched but
not barrel-shaped.
The loins are short and muscular. The
lower stomach line is slightly tucked up, blending into a graceful curve to
the rear. The croup is slightly sloped, flat and broad. The pelvis is long,
and in females especially broad. The tail is set high, docked, and carried
upward. An undocked tail should be severely penalized.
Forequarters
The shoulders are long and sloping,
close-lying, and not excessively covered with muscle (loaded). The upper
arm is long, approaching a right angle to the shoulder blade. The elbows
should not press too closely to the chest wall nor stand off visibly from
it. The forelegs are long, straight, and firmly muscled, and, when viewed
from the front, stand parallel to each other. The pastern is strong and
distinct, slightly slanting, but standing almost perpendicular to the
ground. The dewclaws may be removed. Feet should be compact, turning
neither in nor out, with well-arched toes.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters are strongly muscled,
with angulation in
balance with that of the forequarters. The thighs are broad and curved, the breech musculature
hard and strongly developed. Upper and lower thigh are long. The legs are well-angulated at
the stifle, neither too steep nor over-angulated, with clearly defined,
well "let down" hock joints. Viewed from behind, the hind legs
should be straight, with hock joints leaning neither in nor out. From the
side, the leg below the hock (metatarsus) should be almost perpendicular to
the ground, with a slight slope to the rear permissible. The metatarsus
should be short, clean, and strong. The Boxer has no rear dewclaws.
Coat
Short, shiny, lying smooth and tight to
the body.
Color
The colors are fawn and brindle. Fawn
shades vary from light tan to mahogany. The brindle ranges from sparse but
clearly defined black stripes on a fawn background to such a heavy
concentration of black striping that the essential fawn background color
barely, although clearly, shows through (which may create the appearance of
reverse brindling).
White markings, if present, should be of such distribution as to enhance
the dog's appearance, but may not exceed one-third of the entire coat. They
are not desirable on the flanks or on the back of the torso proper. On the
face, white may replace part of the otherwise essential black mask, and may
extend in an upward path between the eyes, but it must not be excessive, so
as to detract from true Boxer expression. The absence of white markings,
the so-called "plain" fawn or brindle, is perfectly acceptable,
and should not be penalized in any consideration of color.
Disqualifications Boxers that are any color other than fawn or brindle.
Boxers with a total of white markings exceeding one-third of the entire
coat.
Gait
Viewed from the side, proper front and
rear angulation is
manifested in a smoothly efficient, level-backed, ground covering stride
with a powerful drive emanating from a freely operating rear. Although the
front legs do not contribute impelling power, adequate reach should be
evident to prevent interference, overlap, or sidewinding (crabbing). Viewed from the front,
the shoulders should remain trim and the elbows not flare out. The legs are
parallel until gaiting narrows the track in proportion to increasing speed,
then the legs come in
under the body but should never cross. The line from the shoulder down
through the leg should remain straight although not necessarily
perpendicular to the ground. Viewed from the rear, a Boxer's rump should
not roll. The hind feet should dig in and track relatively true with the
front. Again, as speed increases, the normally broad rear track will become
narrower. The Boxer's gait should always appear smooth and powerful, never
stilted or inefficient.
Character and Temperament
These are of paramount importance in the
Boxer. Instinctively a hearing guard dog, his bearing is alert, dignified,
and self-assured. In the show ring his behavior should exhibit constrained
animation. With family and friends, his temperament is fundamentally
playful, yet patient and stoical with children. Deliberate and wary with
strangers, he will exhibit curiosity, but, most importantly, fearless
courage if threatened. However, he responds promptly to friendly overtures
honestly rendered. His intelligence, loyal affection, and tractability to
discipline make him a highly desirable companion. Any evidence of shyness,
or lack of dignity or alertness, should be severely penalized.
The foregoing description is that of the
ideal Boxer. Any deviation from the above described dog must be penalized
to the extent of the deviation.
Disqualifications
Boxers that are any color other than fawn
or brindle. Boxers with a total of white markings exceeding one-third of
the entire coat.
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