BOXERS AROUND THE WORLD

THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
NORTH AMERICAN, BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BOXERS

I repeat the question...
Are we breeding and judging to the standard as laid down by the forefathers of the breed?

Today breeders and judges really do have a Dilemma!

Do they adhere to the TYPE as written in the Standard, or do they breed or judge for the STYLE of dog that is currently showing/winning today?

• Most judges visualise in their mind the perfect Boxer, usually based on a combination of reading the standard and what they have seen in their country, unless they have had the opportunity to travel and see many Boxers around the world.
• If they don’t find that particular style of dog they have to compromise by putting up the best of what is being shown on the day, and hopefully that is the dog that best fits the standard.

I will take a minute here to explain the differences between Type and Style...

TYPE V STYLE

TYPE

The STANDARD is TYPE and type should not change unless the standard is changed!

The Standard is the law for our breed. Everyone, judges and breeders alike should abide by it!

STYLE

STYLE is what sets us apart from another country, or our fellow breeders! It can be a slight variance in head... still keeping within the standard, or a little more elegance or substance, or even the richness of colour of the dog - perhaps a little longer neck, anything that stays within the standard - this is TYPE!

Just look at certain very good heads in our breed and you even when you can guess from which country they came, and they have their differences in style, they are still "typy".

A big problem with TYPE occurs when BODY STYLE changes dramatically and Boxers in any region have....too much elegance or too much substance!

Too much elegance

Too much substance

TOO MUCH ELEGANCE

TOO MUCH SUBSTANCE

Many breeders in the States and Canada believe that to get elegance you need to breed a fine boned dog that is high on leg. Those that have been in the breed for longer know that elegance doesn’t have to be defined in that way, a Boxer with enough substance can also be elegant if it has the right carriage, smoothness and air of quality.

Because of the omission of the word "elegance" from the current FCI and British standard some breeders are breeding dogs that are far too heavy in bone and are losing sight of the reason the Boxer was first developed. He was to be a medium sized, enduring escort dog whether with horse, bicycle or carriage and a splendid jumper. A dog of 25 inches and 30-32.5KG KG (65 - 70lbs) can do this effortlessly. Over this he starts to get cumbersome. There are many cousins to our breed such as the Dogue De Bordeaux or Bullmastiff that have this substance if people want a heavy guard dog!

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• The problem at the moment is that STYLE is becoming the TYPE in many areas!!
• Many breeders are not prepared to look at dogs outside their own area in order to improve type.
• Many breeders and judges think that the dogs outside their own area are not of correct type... this is particularly true of some of the European Counties and to some extent the USA, although this is slowly changing for the good.

So the answer is….

....breeders may believe they breed to the Standard but they pay more attention to the Boxers seen regularly at the shows and in the local magazines, rather than the actual words in the STANDARD!

MOST BREEDERS UNFORTUNATELY BREED TO THE STYLE THEY SEE WINNING AT THE TIME, AND JUDGES FOLLOW SUIT!    THEREFORE 3 VERY DIFFERENT TYPE OF BOXER ARE DEVELOPING!

Continued.....