Boxer

[Troy]

The Boxer

ANKC Standard

(from http://www.ankc.org.au/home/breeds_details.asp?bid=163 )

Group: Group 6 (Utility)

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. 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 should be devoted to the head.

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.

Temperament: (See under Characteristics)

Head And Skull: The head imparts to the Boxer a 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 Kennel Club 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 he edge of the lower lip. The repandous (bent upward) part of the under-jaw 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 English Bulldog. The teeth of the under-jaw 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 nor stand off too far from it. The underarm (forearm) 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 ground to the top of the shoulder, giving the Boxer a short-coupled, square profile. The torso rests on trunk-like 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 (stifle) joints should have as much angle as possible. In a standing position the knee (stifle) 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 hindlegs 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: Interim Description

Docked: Set on high previously docked and carried upwards and should, preferably, be not more than 5cm (2 ins) long.

Undocked: Set on high and carried gaily, not curled over back. Of moderate thickness. In overall balance to the rest of the dog.

Gait/Movement: Movement of the Boxer should be alive with energy. His gait, although firm, is elastic. The stride free and roomy; carriage proud and noble.

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 top of the body 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 toe-nails with white feet. It is desirable, however, to have an even distribution of head markings.

Sizes: Dogs: 56-61 cms (22-24 ins) at the withers.

Bitches: 53-58.5 cms (21-23 ins) at the withers.

Heights above or below these figures not to be encouraged.

Dogs around 58.5 cm (23 ins) should weigh about 30 kgs (66 lbs) and

Bitches of about 56 cm (22 ins) should weigh about 28 kgs (62 lbs).

Faults: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Viciousness; treachery; unreliability; lack of temperament; cowardice.

Head: A head that is not typical. A plump, bulldoggy appearance.

Pinscher or Bulldog head. Light bone. Lack of proportion. Bad physical condition.

Lack of nobility and expression. "Sombre" face.

Unserviceable bite whether due to disease or to faulty tooth placement. 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 dew-claws; soft hocks, narrow heel, tottering, waddling gait; hare's feet; hindquarters too far under or 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.)

Notes: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

See Photos of the Boxer

QUESTIONS

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc)

2. Where and why was the breed first developed?

3. How common is it in Australia?

4. What is the average lifespan?

5. What is the general temperament/personality?

6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult?

7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with?

8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods?

9. How much grooming is required?

10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)?

11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of?

12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be)

If you wish to contribute to the knowledge about this breed, please answer the above questions. (Copy and paste them into a new post).

• Please only answer if you breed or own a pedigree example of this breed.
  
• You do not have to answer all questions
  
• Please keep posts limited to answering questions or for asking further questions if you require more (or expanded) information.
  

See Photos of the Boxer

Boxer Breeders

Boxer Puppies For Sale

[NalaCleo]

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc)

First and foremost I am a lover of the breed. They are my #1 dedicated breed and always will be.

I owned my 1st Boxer in 2001 named Nala. She passed away at 5 years old from Cardiomyopathy :D When she was 2 years old I became involved in rescue and decided I had to try and help any Boxers that ended up in the pound or needed a new home so I started a Boxer Rescue website and strated rescuing and rehoming Boxers. I now have a male bobtail Boxer named Costa (Pedigree name: "Telde Cost A Fortune") who is now 2 years old.

2. Where and why was the breed first developed?

"There are many suggestions as to why and how the Boxer as a breed came into existence, but we do know the Boxer was a man made breed in the late 1800's. His ancestors, the "Brabant Bullenbeisser", a Mastiff type dog, were originally bred in Germany.The Boxer was said to originally been used for hunting but then later used as a guard dog, and can acquit himself quite readily to the job if trained to do so, but he is more temperamentally suited for Obedience work and Agility and a protector of the family home"

3. How common is it in Australia?

Boxers are a very popular breed in Australia and finding a reputable Breeder with puppies is quite easy.

4. What is the average lifespan?

Approx 10 years

5. What is the general temperament/personality?

Boxers are a very happy, playful and active breed. They are very loyal and make great family dogs. Some Boxers can be dominant with dogs of the same gender but early regular socialising can help minimise/avoid this.

They are a breed that loves to have fun and make you laugh. They are very cuddly and consider themselves lap dogs and insist on trying to sleep in bed with you.

6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult?

Boxers are an active breed and should be walked or played in the yard with atleast once a day.

7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with ?

Provided the owner was fully aware of the activity level and was willing to put time and effort into early and ongoing training (obedience and/or agility) and the home had adequate fencing and a decent size yard then yes they can be a 1st time owner's breed. I must warn you though... once you own one you can never go back

8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods?Young Boxers need alot of stimulation if left alone for long periods. It is suggested they either have another dog playmate or left with plenty of toys and bones. They love being part of the family so when away from their family they can get very destructive and/or stressed.

9. How much grooming is required?

Very minimal. I wash my boy once a month.

10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)?

Boxers are a "bouncy" breed and can be a bit boisterous and unintentionally knock over small children but they love children and usually just try to lick their faces .

11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of?

Boxers can have hereditary hip and cardiac conditions but with heatlh testing and careful breedring the risks can be minimised.

12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be)

The parents of the puppies for sale should have been heart checked and tested heart murmur free prior to breeding and if they have had their thyroid and hips scored, even better

The puppies should look plump and healthy, with loose pliable skin, clear eyes, loose coat (pull up the skin on the pups back to see if it very loose).

The enviroment where puppies are a kept is clean and comfortable.

The mother should have a very good temperament, playful, not shy or aggressive and looks in good condition (Bear in mind she may be a little thin and her coat may be sparse as she has just gone through feeding and rearing this litter).

[Melbomb]

5. What is the general temperament/personality?

Boxers are a very happy, playful and active breed. They are very loyal and make great family dogs. Some Boxers can be dominant with dogs of the same gender but early regular socialising can help minimise/avoid this.

In regards to early and regular socialising what would this entail? What would you suggest for owners to do and starting at what age, to make sure their boxer is a well adjusted adult?

[NalaCleo]

5. What is the general temperament/personality?

Boxers are a very happy, playful and active breed. They are very loyal and make great family dogs. Some Boxers can be dominant with dogs of the same gender but early regular socialising can help minimise/avoid this.

In regards to early and regular socialising what would this entail? What would you suggest for owners to do and starting at what age, to make sure their boxer is a well adjusted adult?

Puppy preschool is a good option for 1st time owners. Whilst it gives the pup some time to meet other pups and have some playtime, the owners can also learn how to give their pup some basic training. Even just "sit", "drop" and "stay" are essential commands for a bouncy active Boxer to know so they are more manageble. Even a 10 week old pup can show signs og dominance so when around other puppies you can already start to discourage that behaviour in them. My 1st Boxer pup used to pin the other puppies down when we 1st started going. We removed her from the situation and playing with the other pups every time she did it. She eventually learnt if she did that she would not get to play.

Once the puppy is fully vaccinated I would suggest taking it obedience shool. Whilst they are also learning obedience they are also getting used to being around other dogs.

get them used to going to dog friendly parks and even taking them to visit friends and family that have dogs so they can get regular dog socialisation.

[Skye2]

Can anyone explain to me what a natural bobtail is. I know the boxer used to have a docked tail and assume that only dogs with tails can be shown now.

[NalaCleo]

Can anyone explain to me what a natural bobtail is. I know the boxer used to have a docked tail and assume that only dogs with tails can be shown now.

Bobtails can also be shown

Here is a link from the Boxberry website on info about bobtail Boxers:

Bobtail link

[Terujo]

Can anyone explain to me what a natural bobtail is. I know the boxer used to have a docked tail and assume that only dogs with tails can be shown now.

Boxers that were docked pror to the tail docking ban are still able to be shown. WA bred (registered ) Boxers born prior to December '08 can also still be shown. Born after this time they must have a tail if born/bred in Australia.

[Humbolt]

Hello all,

My family and i are buying a purebred boxer but not from a registered breeder. The owners did not get any medical checks done prior to breeding.

Should i be worried??

I am aware of hip problems, the proportion of the head, the condition and temperament of mum, dad and 'our girl' to name a few things.

We are aware of the activeness of the breed and are prepared to do what is best. We have a young family and will love it like a third child.

We are going to participate in obedience training when appropriate.

Is there anything i should worry about more than anything??

thanks for your time

[Terujo]

Hello all,

My family and i are buying a purebred boxer but not from a registered breeder. The owners did not get any medical checks done prior to breeding.

Should i be worried??

I am aware of hip problems, the proportion of the head, the condition and temperament of mum, dad and 'our girl' to name a few things.

We are aware of the activeness of the breed and are prepared to do what is best. We have a young family and will love it like a third child.

We are going to participate in obedience training when appropriate.

Is there anything i should worry about more than anything??

thanks for your time

Some very good questions here Humbolt.

Your questions fill my head with questions!

I guess firstly, why? why buy from a non registered breeder? You seem to be aware of the risks related to this, which is great, you are are obviously thinking ahead. I am unsure why you would then continue down this path.

That aside, hip problems can be an issue but so are heart problems and these do need to be tested and certified clear by a vet.

If any of these problems do occur (or any other for that matter), what support and advice will this ' breeder' offer you? Will they offer to take the dog back and provide you with another?

Will they advise you on feeding, training, general care? Will they offer this support for the entirety of the dog's life?

I would be worried about alot of things.

But you seem clued up enough to ask here, so I am sure you are prepared to ask the 'breeder' now. Alternatively you can go to the boxer puppies page on this website and find a list of registered breeders who will offer all their knowldege for the dog's life!

oh and also, keep in mind that if a dog isn't registered it is impossible to know if it really truely is a purebred. There's no telling what it's grandparents or great grandparents were. Papers provide that assurance. Boxers are great pets/companions and you sound like you are ready for their busyness and would love it as a child Do yourselves a favour and get a good one! :D

[Jed]

Hi Humbolt - there is no proof that an unregistered boxer is purebred. Do you know the reason the pups are not registered, and the breeder is not a member of your state's CC with a prefix? I do realise that registered boxer pups are fairly scarce and you may not wish to wait, which is understandable, or you may have seen and liked these pups. :D

you should try to find out the history of the parents of the pup, to check for things such as ulcerative colitis which can be a problem in some lines, as well as the incidence of cardio myopathy and whether the parents have been holter monitor tested, or heart checked at all. The pup can be checked by the vet for heart, but the parents should be checked for cm

I personally don't believe HD is a big problem in boxers, because of their conformation, but it can happen where the dogs are not bred with regard to conformation.

Don't buy one from a pet shop, the ones I have been in shops have been the poorest quality, lacking in bone and squareness, usually with bad mouths.

And, what Terujo says. Happy boxer owning, there is no better breed but don't tell people who own other breeds, we don't want to insult them

[Humbolt]

I guess there are not a lot of boxer pups out there at the moment and I have always wanted a boxer!!

I have spoken to the owner and all she has is an immunisation card and vet info sheet. Should I try and talk to the vet?? The reason she does not have registration papers for the pups is that she doesn’t have them for the parents.

I realise there is no 100% guarantee she is pure otherwise I would go to a registered breeder.

Her son works at a pet shop but the dogs are at the home. My wife, youngest daughter and I went to look at her. I think you could safely say even though she didn’t come home with us, she was ours :D

It is a present for us for Christmas as a family and my 9 year old son doesn’t know yet. My wife wants a girl and I don’t mind. We are not going to breed or anything like that, we just want a good family friend.

[Melbomb]

Hi Humbolt - there is no proof that an unregistered boxer is purebred. Do you know the reason the pups are not registered, and the breeder is not a member of your state's CC with a prefix? I do realise that registered boxer pups are fairly scarce and you may not wish to wait, which is understandable, or you may have seen and liked these pups.

you should try to find out the history of the parents of the pup, to check for things such as ulcerative colitis which can be a problem in some lines, as well as the incidence of cardio myopathy and whether the parents have been holter monitor tested, or heart checked at all. The pup can be checked by the vet for heart, but the parents should be checked for cm

I personally don't believe HD is a big problem in boxers, because of their conformation, but it can happen where the dogs are not bred with regard to conformation.

Don't buy one from a pet shop, the ones I have been in shops have been the poorest quality, lacking in bone and squareness, usually with bad mouths.

And, what Terujo says. Happy boxer owning, there is no better breed but don't tell people who own other breeds, we don't want to insult them

Jed could you pretty please fill out the question's. Puhlease. Only one person has and it would be good to have some more insight from someone else into this beautiful breed. :D

[Melbomb]

I guess there are not a lot of boxer pups out there at the moment and I have always wanted a boxer!!

I have spoken to the owner and all she has is an immunisation card and vet info sheet. Should I try and talk to the vet?? The reason she does not have registration papers for the pups is that she doesn’t have them for the parents.

I realise there is no 100% guarantee she is pure otherwise I would go to a registered breeder.

Her son works at a pet shop but the dogs are at the home. My wife, youngest daughter and I went to look at her. I think you could safely say even though she didn’t come home with us, she was ours :D

It is a present for us for Christmas as a family and my 9 year old son doesn’t know yet. My wife wants a girl and I don’t mind. We are not going to breed or anything like that, we just want a good family friend.

What happens if your pup ends up with a genetic fault? Have the parents been heart cleared? Is the "breeder" willing to take the puppy back or offer some support to you in this instance? What happens to the puppy in the future if something happens and you can no longer look after it? Will the "breeder" take the dog back? If you get this puppy have you been told the pro's and con's of desexing at certain ages or what could happen if you don't desex? Have you been guided as to training and exercise. What to feed your pup?

Just some things to think about. All of the above would have been covered by a reputable, registered breeder as they should be.

I'm a cautionary tale as to getting a boxer not from a reputable breeder. I love my boy more than anything but he has HD (quite severe in his left side), has teeth all over the place that shouldn't be there, bad feet, and to top it off a not so great temperament with some other dogs. We got him from a petshop and if we had done our research before we got him i have no doubt we would have gone to a reputable registered breeder and wouldn't have to wory about his wonky hips or whether he is going to take a dislike to a certain dog when we take him out.

[Terujo]

Hi again Humbolt, thanks for that additional info.

So I'm guessing that by what you wrote the people who are selling the pup ( how much for again?) have bred it and their son just happens to work in a petshop? Does the petshop have anything to do with this pup?

Yes the lady is right she cannot register the pup because its parents are not registered. I made an anon enquiry to a local backyarder once who told me that she could get the pups registered if she wanted to (even tho neither parent was) but it was just too much red tape and she didnt have the inclination. This is also untrue. For any pups to be registered the breeder would need to be a member of their state controlling body and also be a registered breeder. The sire and dam of the pups would also have to be registered, for the pups to be registered. I'm just letting you know this in case you were falsely led to believe that it was possible to have the pups registered as my local backyarder tried to tell me

Please let me explain to you that the reason we harp on soooo much about getting a pup from a regsitered breeder is not because we are some crazy dog snobs ( although truely I am a dog snob ) but because we love our breed like there is no tomorrow. We have every boxer book on the earth, and breeding book, training book, grooming book, nutrition book and the list goes on. We feed our dogs nothing but the best to do our bit to ensure they are healthy, happy and stong. We get up at 6am every morning to walk our dogs 5kms to keep them fit. We show our dogs and talk with other breeders/ exhibitors about boxers to educate both them and ourselves and we invest massive amounts of time,energy and money to keep our dogs ' up to scratch' health wise, mentally, and socially. They sleep in our houses and sometimes our beds. They watch TV with us at night and greet our guests at the door.

Then.....all too often some backyarder decides to mate their bitch for either some cash, because she is a nice bitch or to let the kids see her having puppies and there has been no health testing, no temperament assessing, no socialising and we get emails, enquiries etc from people saying I have this young pup and it's got xxxx wrong with it what do I do? Don't get me wrong, we love helping people with Boxers, but it can get very frustrating when we are all trying our hardest to produce that perfect, healthy, sound dog and some backyarder comes in and with one fowl swoop stuffs up our boxers and the reputation of our breed.

I hope you understand where I am coming from. It's not that we are snobs.

We have just heard too many sad and frustrating stories where things have gone terribly wrong and to be truthful, its the backyarders that cause the problems!

It is very frustrating that these backyarders have their dogs immunised and therefore claim that they are responsible owners...which if that was the case, their dogs would be desexed :D

It may seem that you can wait sooo long to get a regsitered boxer as opposed to something unregistered, but it's important to consider why. Registered breeders are more slective with their buyers, and I'm not insinuationg that you wouldnt be a good buyer, after all you are asking all of the right questions. Registered breeders dont have litter after litter, they dont saturate breed. They breed carefully.Because of this registered breeders have waiting lists. Now unregistered breeders on the other hand may have a litter from the same bitch every 6 months, they don't screen buyers and they don't have waiting lists.

Sometimes, actually often, it's those ' but I want one now, I don't want to wait- this one will do' decisions that result in the saddest endings.

Personally, I would rather wait and get the right one.

You can ring the Vet if you like, but the vet is unlikely to tell you anything as remember they are paying the vet for his/her services. The vet is unlikely to know of any serious health problems as unless they have been asked to test for these they will not know.

Again how much is this pup? I was quoted by my local backyarder the same amount I paid for one of my registered show dogs She then went on to tell me that registered Boxers were $xxxx which is more than I have ever paid for any of my registered show dogs, and I have 4!

So now that you have your eyes open you can go into this fully aware and if something does go wrong ( which I hope for your sake it doesn't- and your kids most of all because that is devasting for children) you will know that you had all the info, made your choice and decided to wing it. Up to you.

All the best!

[Humbolt]

They want $700 for her.

I am not sure if the pet shop has anything to do with her or not, never asked.

That is some very interesting information, thank you!! And no i don't think you are a snob, just passionate

So do you know of any Boxer pups for sale at the moment??

[Bullbreedlover]

From 1970 to 1993 my parents owned and bred Boxers.

A beautiful breed.

Many good friends back in NZ still own and breed with great success.

My first dog I owned was a Boxer.

For the show ring and obedience.

[Jed]

Humbolt, I understand. $700 is a pretty good price for a boxer and you don't need the papers. And boxer pups are difficult to source.

However, I'd be asking myself why the parents aren't registered. It may be that back a generation or two, a breeder sold a boxer for a pet, and it wasn't supposed to be bred from. Maybe it wasn't up to scratch in the conformation stakes, or maybe the brother or sister had a hereditary problem, and the breeder didn't want the problem passed on. The owner decided to disregard what the breeder said, and breed a litter.

It might also be that a grandparent was 1/2 boxer, 1/2 something else.

So now we are on to the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation where the ancestors of the parents aren't known - and so you have no idea whether there is something to be aware of. You might not know that the grandmother died from bloat for instance, so you will not be aware of the steps you should take to ensure your boxer doesn't suffer from that, or there may be a tendency to skin problems, but you wont know that either. There are a lot of minor but expensive problems which it helps if you know about. And if the parents of the pup are breeding age, it is unlikely that the owners will know much about problems which could occur in middle age.

And if the parents aren't registered either, how close to the boxer standard are they? As a new boxer owner you wont have much idea how a good, fair or horrible boxer looks as a pup, or what the mouth should look like now so the teeth don't stick out in the adult.

Ensure BOTH parents have mellow, friendly temperaments. Breeders do breed for character and temperament, there is nothing worse than a 26kg nasty boxer.

Conversely, you may purchase a perfectly charming pup which grows up to be a lovely health adult.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it!! But it's your decision.

Have you checked out the DOL breeders' pages for pups for sale?

Having said that, I know you are going to buy her, because you like her So make sure you come and join the boxer thread, and all the boxer owners there will give you advice, and help you with problems you may have -- and NO one will say "I told you so". But we want photos.

[Terujo]

They want $700 for her.

I am not sure if the pet shop has anything to do with her or not, never asked.

That is some very interesting information, thank you!! And no i don't think you are a snob, just passionate

So do you know of any Boxer pups for sale at the moment??

ummmmm...what state are you in?

[Jed]

Melbomb, I saw the questions, and kept meaning to get back to them, and thought what a great job Nala Cleo had done, but I see what you mean about a few opinions.

I reckon stonebridge should answer them. How about it, stonebridge? Anyone who has obedienced a boxer is a hero (but only if it passed :D One of mine got couple of big fat 0, the judge just didn't understand boxers )

[Terujo]

Have you checked out the DOL breeders' pages for pups for sale?

Having said that, I know you are going to buy her, because you like her So make sure you come and join the boxer thread, and all the boxer owners there will give you advice, and help you with problems you may have -- and NO one will say "I told you so". But we want photos.

Absolutely! 100% support from me too. The pup may just work out fine and I hope for your sake it does :D