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THE BOXER – CATCH-DOG OR CLOWN?
By David Hancock

   The first Boxers to be imported into Britain were impressive dogs, with that self-confident look and impressively-powerful build which attracted so many admirers of that type of dog. In the following half-century, I have been saddened to witness their descent, so often, into witless eternally-immature dogs with hyper-extended rear assemblies and foreshortened jaws. Their owners seem to want them to be grown-up puppies rather than a seriously-minded naturally-protective breed, giving an immediate impression of controlled power and calm, if serious, temperament. This is a breed I used to admire when first living in Germany half a century ago. A local scrap-metal and used-car dealer used two black-brindle ones as guard dogs for his property. They looked the part, rarely barking but looking protective in the way that the broad-mouthed breeds so often do. One prolonged stare from them and you moved on! Companion dogs don’t have to be eternally scaring the neighbours but a dog from this background has its roots in controlled ferocity in the hunting field.

  If you look at prints, engravings and paintings of hunting scenes in northern medieval continental Europe, you can soon detect strong-headed, mastiff-type catch-dogs, usually depicted at the kill of the quarry concerned: boar, stag, bison, even aurochs. Such dogs were clearly in wide use and yet few survive as recognised breeds. The boarhound, used as a hound of the chase, lives on as the Great Dane, known in Germany as the Deutsche Dogge or German Mastiff, with the noun being used to denote, not a broad-mouthed dog or killing mastiff/holding dog, but a hunting mastiff or par force hound. The boar-lurcher, one type of which developed into the bullenbeisser of Germany, is arguably represented by today's Boxer, albeit in reduced size. The early show specimens on the Continent were a very mixed bunch, some showing Bulldog heads, others being quite squat and unathletic. Commendably, the breed was stabilized quite quickly.

   The French have their Dogue de Bordeaux, probably a legacy of two hundred years of the English presence there, for Englische Doggen or English hunting mastiffs were widely prized on mainland Europe. But where are the Dutch, Belgian, Danish and Polish catch- dogs of old? We can find references to the Niederlandischer Bollbeisser, the Brabanter Bullenbijter, the Danische Dogge and the Danzigger Bahrenbeisser. The first two may well have become draught dogs, where their power and determination could be exploited; certainly, some went to South Africa with the Dutch colonists to help create the breed of Boerboel. The beissers were almost suicidally brave, being used at the kill against highly-dangerous quarry like bear and boar. Such dogs depended on powerful jaws, for gripping, strong necks for holding on and the muscular anatomy which propelled them into their prey as seizing and holding dogs.

  Breeders of Boxers should be congratulated on breeding out the awful coarseness, and all too often, monkey-faced head, which many 'modified brachycephalic' breeds can so easily display, especially in the head and neck and usually on into the shoulders. The Bullmastiff, purebred for a century and with fewer ingredients than manufactured breeds like the Dobermann, the Rhodesian Ridgeback and the Black Russian Terrier, so often features this undesirable coarseness, which spoils this quite admirable breed. But the lack of substance in the contemporary breed of Boxer, together with too short a muzzle, spoils that breed too. The Boxer should have determination in its eyes, an inner confidence in its nature, muscular strength with athleticism in its build and convey an impression of disciplined power – mental and physical strength. I see far too many that look soft-muscled, wild-eyed and have too light a build.  Playfulness is expected in puppies but can be embarrassing in mature dogs.

   Yet the Breed Standard calls for: strong bone and evident, well-developed muscles; chest deep...ribs well arched; hindquarters - very strong with muscles hard and standing out noticeably under skin. It also asks for a dog that is: distrustful of strangers, with a guarding instinct. Far too many that I see behave as adults like retarded puppies. I do not know of any organisation, even in Germany today, that uses the breed as a guard dog. As I mentioned earlier, when I first lived in Germany, over fifty years ago, the breed had wide employment in this role, usually in a solid dark colour. I can't remember the last time I saw a solid black or black-brindle in Britain; every exhibit seems to feature the white socks, white brisket and white blaze of an apparently desired uniformity. Years ago, a strapping solid dark brindle Boxer was an impressive sight. In his excellent book 'The Boxer' of 1949, a quite outstanding breed book, the American John P Wagner wrote: "In the other extreme, refinement, or just plain raciness predominates at the expense of substance. If the Boxer is developed in this direction he will be high, small-boned and narrow-chested, lacking even sturdiness." This is how I see far too many Boxers in England today. Up until the early 1890s there was still some unwise inter-breeding between English Bulldogs and German Boxers, leading to concerns about the developing breed becoming too low-slung and cloddy. Perhaps the fear of a return to this has led to a contemporary breed which is too light, too finely timbered and under-muscled. The German ancestors of the Boxer were catch-dogs and would not have lived long if they lacked power and substance. Of course, there are many excellent specimens being bred and shown, but it is the steady decline in type that concerns me.

 This breed has found sustained popularity in Britain for some years. Thirty years ago, around 4,000 a year were being registered; in 2007 it grew to over 8,000 a year; then back to 4,000 a year in 2012 and again in 2013. In 2018, 3,400 were registered, illustrating their lasting appeal. These appreciable numbers have usually been matched by quality, with high class dogs being produced each year. The breed seems to breed true to type and keeping in mind the rather coarse dogs that started the pedigree breed, has emerged as a consistently sound, handsome animal. There is, justifiably, concern about health issues in the breed. The eye problems in the breed have been disturbing.

  I am concerned too about two tendencies, one mental, one physical, in the breed; firstly, they all too often for me develop into grown-up puppies, lacking maturity of outlook and a lack of any serious intent - perhaps because they lack a perceived role. Secondly, the show fanciers seem to favour upright shoulders and exaggerated angulation in the hindquarters. The judge at the Southern Counties Championship Show in 2012 reported: "Of course there were some faults...like erratic front movement and some who were a bit long in the loin. Some had too much angulation in the rear and not in balance to the front assembly." The judge at the London & Home Counties Boxer Club Championship Show wrote: "I found quite a few front assemblies where the upper arm was rather more upright than ideal and this affected the overall balance..." These are serious flaws and need rectifying before they become the norm.

  I have judged American Bulldogs that reminded me quite distinctly of Boxers that I saw in Germany half a century ago. They embraced both the solid colours and the so-called ‘Irish-markings’, white facings and white toes, now almost de rigueur for the show ring breed of Boxer. If a brave, serious-minded and breed-loyal fancier truly wanted the proper Boxer back, here is the breeding stock to achieve a return to type and the type related to past function. Both these breeds are recent arrivals, compared to many, but have ancient roots in type. Pure-breeding, so over-rated by fanciers and kennel clubs the world over, is a contradiction, every breed had a mixed origin and at times the past mixture reveals itself - Bulldog blood in the Bullmastiff, for example. When a forgotten past manifests itself too strongly then it has to be countered or you lose breed type. The breed of Boxer has coped well with the abolition of ear-cropping and tail-docking, but some lines do display unsightly, over-the-spine, curly vestiges of the full tail, marring a balanced outline. The eye-problems in the breed are being faced not ignored and with more determined breeding for true type, I can still see a good future for this impressive breed.