The Boxer derives its name from its now extinct ancestor, a dog breed known as the Brabanter which during its heyday went by the nickname “Boxl” or “Boxeln”. An alternative and somewhat far-fetched theory has it that the Boxer got its name from an Englishman who was so impressed by the manner with which the dogs used their front legs to spar like human boxers!

Whatever the origins of its name, the ancestors of the Boxer included the following:  the English Bulldog; the German Bullenbeisser (Bullenbeisser means bull-biter); and the Brabanter which was a smaller more streamlined and faster version of the earlier Bullenbeisser.

For centuries the Bullenbeisser in some form or another performed admirably as the German hunting dog breed of choice. The dog would run down its large prey such as bear, boar and deer and once it had cornered the prey, the Bullenbeisser would clamp its jaws around its prey’s nose until the hunters arrived on the scene.

Like the Boxer the Bullenbeisser sported a recessed nose that allowed the dogs to breathe efficiently while they had their jaws clamped around the nose of their prey.

By the early 19th century German hunters started a concerted effort to refine their hunting dog breeds. They wanted a faster, smaller, more athletic hunting dog as opposed to the large breeds that had been popular for so long. The breeding program ultimately led them to crossbreed the large German mastiff dogs with English bulldogs and various terrier mixes.

In 1894 the Boxer dog breed standard was “tentatively” adopted by three Germans named Roberth, Konig and Hopner. In 1895 to further cement the new breed standard they displayed specimens of Boxer dogs that epitomized their new breed standard at the Munich dog show. The following year they founded the first Boxer Dog Club.

The ensuing years however were not smooth sailing for the development and progression of the Boxer dog breed. If anything the period was rife with discord, contention and rivalry!  Multiple rival clubs sprung up, all of them claiming their own breed standard as the best and each trying to outdo the other.

Finally in 1910 the various rival Boxer clubs coalesced into a single entity and a uniform breed standard was agreed upon. Though its heydays of being a hunting dog were largely over (once hunting was generally banned) with the outbreak of World War I the Boxer found new employment as a messenger dog and pack carrier.

The Boxer dog’s rise to fame really started after World War II following their introduction to a new worldwide audience by returning soldiers from the warfront who took them home as mascots.

Since its recognition by the AKC in the early 1900s the popularity of the Boxer dog breed has gone from strength to strength  and today the Boxer ranks as the sixth most popular dog breed in America!

boxer dog

Article on Boxer dog breeds written by Kayye Nynne