American Boxer Club - Official Standard for the Boxer
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 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 to which attractive color and arresting style contribute.
Next is overall balance with special attention devoted to the head,
after which the individual body components are examined for their
correct construction, and efficiency of gait is evaluated.
Size, Proportion, Substance:
Size: Adult males 22 1/2 to 25 inches, females 21 to 23 1/2 inches at
the withers. Preferably, males should not be under the minimum nor
females over the maximum; however, proper balance and quality in the
individual should be of primary importance since there is no size
disqualification.
Proportion: The body in profile is of square proportion 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 their female counterparts.
The beauty of the head depends upon harmonious proportion of muzzle to
skull. The blunt muzzle is 1/3rd 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 folds 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, not too small, too protruding or too deep-set.
Their mood-mirroring character combined with the wrinkling of the
forehead, gives the Boxer head its unique quality of expressiveness.
Ears:
Set at the highest points of the sides of the skill are cropped, cut rather long and tapering, raised 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 and should taper into the muzzle in a slight,
graceful curve.
Muzzle:
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.
Nose:
The nose should be broad and black.
Jaw:
The upper jaw is broad where attached to the skull and maintains this
breadth, except for a very light 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.
Bite:
The Boxer bite is undershot, the lower jaw
protrudes beyond the upper and curves 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 incisors is slightly convex with the
corner upper incisors fitting snugly back of the lower canine teeth on
each side.
Faults:
Skull too broad. Cheekiness. Wrinkling too deep (wet) or lacking (dry).
Excessive flews. Muzzle too light for skull. Too pointed a bite
(snipy), too undershot, teeth or tongue showing when mouth closed. Eyes
noticeably lighter than ground color of coat.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck: Round, of ample
length, muscular and clean without excessive hanging skin (dewlap). The
neck has a distinctly marked nape with an elegant arch blending
smoothly into the withers.
Topline: Smooth, firm, and slightly sloping.
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.
Back: The back is short, straight and muscular and firmly connects the withers to the hindquarters.
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. Tail is set high, docked and carried
upward. Pelvis long and in females especially broad.
Faults:
Short heavy neck. Chest too broad, too narrow or hanging between
shoulders. Lack of forechest. Hanging stomach. Slab-sided rib cage.
Long or narrow loin, weak union with croup. Falling off of croup.
Higher in rear than in front.
Front and rear quarters
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.
Faults:
Loose or loaded shoulders. Tied in or bowed out elbows.
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 long. Leg well angulated at
the stifle with a clearly defined, well "let down" hock joint. 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.
Faults:
Steep or over-angulated hindquarters. Light thighs or overdeveloped
hams. Over-angulated (sickle) hocks. Hindquarters too far under or too
far behind.
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 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.
Faults:
Unattractive or misplaced white markings.
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 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.
Faults:
Stilted or inefficient gait. Lack of smoothness.
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.
Faults:
Lack of dignity and alertness. Shyness.
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.
Approved March 14, 1989
Effective, May 1, 1989
Copyright The American Kennel Club, Inc., 1992