Boxer Dog Breed Origin and History

Boxer Dog Origin

The Boxer dog breed originates from Germany and finds its early ancestor to be a mastiff type dog, the large Molossian Hound. Later, this dog evolved into what was called the Bullenbeisser. The Bullenbeiszer's roots go back to Belgium and these ancestors were known as great hunting and working dogs. 

Originally used to hunt wild boar and later used for working with cattle these dogs eventually diverged into different types, the smaller of which were called the Brabanter Bullenbeiszer. After mixing with a forerunner of the English Bulldog, the dog became what is known today as the Boxer breed around the mid to late 19th century. The Boxer dog origin and history becomes well documented at that point as Boxer dog breed clubs were formed in Germany in the 1860s.

Boxer Dog Breed History

What we know of as the Boxer today can be traced to the 1830s when a breeder crossbred the Brabanter Bullenbeiszer with the English Bulldog, but the Boxer dog breed history really begins in the 1860s as breeders began to establish and develop guidelines for the breed. In 1895 the Boxer Club was formally formed and further improvements were made to the standards of the Boxer dog breed.

Although initially the Boxer dog breed was generally white, by 1925 white was not accepted as a proper color for the breed. In fact, the color of choice now is fawn and brindle and any dog with more than a third of its coat white will be disqualified in AKC events.

The Boxer dog breed came to the United States around the beginning of the 1900s but did not become a popular dog breed until the 1940s. The breed was first registered by the American Kennel Club in 1904 and the first Boxer Champion was recognized in 1915. In 1949 a famous Boxer dog, Bang Away, won Best in Show at the Westminster and went on to win 121 more Best in Shows over the course of six years. 

Bang Away became a famous dog, appearing on the front of magazine such as Life and Esquire. Due to the success of this one dog, the Boxer dog breed became very popular in the United States at the time and continues to be one of the 10 most popular breeds as determined by the American Kennel Club.

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