THE HEAD

Eyes

The shape of the eye is not described fully in any standard around the world. Most say "The eyes should be dark brown; not too small or protruding; not deep set. " or words similar.

Enno Myer in his book "Judging the Boxer" said about eyes:

"Size, shape, setting and color share equal responsibility in creating the correct Boxer expression even though it is true that these qualities overlap in influence, each upon the other.

The normal Boxer eye is dark brown and luminous. It radiates energy, amiability and intelligence. It breathes trust as opposed to any semblance of craftiness or beligerence.

The eye TOO LARGE is is definitely not Boxer; ordinarily it protrudes, and it has a vapid look which would indicate almost a lack of mental capacity.

The SMALL, DEEPLY SET eye goes to the other extreme. If dark it may have a threatening or piercing expression, foreign to the normal character of the breed. If it is light in color, it often incorporates a certain degree of shrewdness as if the dog must make up in cunning what it lacks in real brain power."

Normal

Large and protruding

Small, deeply set

I took the liberty of adding three more that I think have crept in over the past 30 years....

Loose bottom eyelid

Eye socket larger than eyeball showing white around the eye

Bottom eyelid loose showing the inner haw

This is a drawing of my interpretation of the correct shape and frontal placement


(After drawing this shape I think it resembles a lemon!)

Below are examples of typical well shaped Boxer eyes

Notice there is a softness in the bottom lid,
but the eye is reasonably tight and the haw does not show.

NB: These eyes are a little loose in lower lid, placed too far apart and the eyes are not as frontally placed as the ones above. (The above two photographs are of the same dog... I have corrected the unpigmented third eyelid only!)

Unpigmented third eyelids (nictitating membrane) can spoil the expression, but are purely a COSMETIC FAULT only, (in the same vein as uneven head markings, uneven brindling, etc).

Some dogs have a large membrane which can look to cover a large part of the eye; others have smaller ones which go almost unnoticed, particularly if the dog has tight eye rims.

(Note:Most breeders prefer a dog to have two dark "haws", but will accept one or both upigmented eyes on an otherwise good dog. Although it is possible to have fully pigmented eyes with white head markings, the incidence of unpigmented third eyelids occuring is more common in these dogs, than in dogs with "plain" faces.)

Therefore as a judge, if the dog in front of you is a better specimen STRUCTURALLY, than the other dogs in the class, the unpigmented eye/eyes should be ignored.

Wrinkling on Skull

The head should be "clean", and free of wrinkle. Furrows will appear on the top of the head only, when the dog is alerted. (Wrinkles or furrows appearing on the sides of the skull, should be penalised.)

Excessive wrinkling leads to a "heavy" looking head - not clean as the standard requires.

The skin must be thin, not be thick, as thick heavy skin not only makes the head look wider but allows the flews to be too deep and heavy, pulling the eye sockets down and spoiling the expression.

Wrinkles or small folds will be evident on each side of the muzzle which fills in the break between muzzle and skull.
(See History and Purpose )

Slight, but not excessive "quilting" is also evident over the bridge of the nose helping to pad out the muzzle.

Ears

If the ears are cropped they should stand firmly erect, if uncropped they are medium sized, and high set, carried slightly lifted and tilted forward towards the side of the cheeks.  In both cases the ears are very mobile.

Head Markings

The dark mask is confined to the muzzle area and should not extend too far upwards on the skull creating a sombre expression. The mask must be as dark as possible and not diluted!

A dark shading is always evident around the eyes, but a small break of coat colour should be evident on the side of the head between this shading and the mask on the actual muzzle area. This is more evident in fawn Boxers than in brindle Boxers.

Athough the dark mask is required in the standard, many dogs have white markings across their muzzle and between their eyes. These markings can look attractive, as long as they do not cover the dark mask entirely.

Plain black faces are also very attractive and equally acceptable in the show ring.

Don't ever let "off centre", or uneven head markings distract you from appreciating an otherwise good head.  These markings are very common and quite acceptable on a Boxer.