BOXERS AROUND THE WORLD

THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
NORTH AMERICAN, BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BOXERS

NORTHERN EUROPEAN - BODY TYPE

As the current FCI and British standards have omitted the words SUBSTANCE WITH ELEGANCE - therefore in essence type has changed somewhat!

I have separated the dogs from Northern Europe from the dogs in Southern Europe because even though they all follow the FCI standard I feel there is a difference in the STYLE of dog shown there. Many of the countries in Northern Europe have banned ear cropping and tail docking therefore the style has changed.

The FCI standard puts the emphasis on STRENGH and SUBSTANCE.
The dog is allowed to spar with another dog for photos and in the showring.


This dog conforms to the FCI standard, is well balanced and possesses good breed type.

VIRTUES AND PROBLEMS

VIRTUES IN THE BEST BOXERS
Well boned:	Usually more bone than the English dogs and much more than the Northern American dogs
Well angulated fronts:	Excellent forehand on these dogs, strong moderately broad and with good layback of shoulder and upper arm.
Short backs:	The better European dogs all seem to have short backs with a short loin area and good depth and length of ribcage.
Well angulated rears:	This has been the biggest improvement over the past 10 years, as now most good Boxers have strong rears with good width of second thigh.
Good feet:	The feet, although not as good as the English dogs, are in most cases very good
Short rear pasterns:	Short rears pasterns create good drive and propel the dog forward without effort.
Good tailset:	This here has been an improvment in the past few years as the low tailset seemed to go with the weaker rear.
Excellent temperament:	Excellent show temperament, trained to bait at other dogs, but friendly with people

Summing Up:The northern European dogs have more substance and bone. Fronts and rears are well angulated, and they are usually short in back with great temperaments.

---

SOUTHERN EUROPEAN - BODY TYPE

The top winning dogs from Southern Europe also have substance and bone, but I feel on the whole they have kept more elegance and are smoother.

The Souther European countries also follow the FCI standard putting the emphasis
on STRENGH and SUBSTANCE, but the dog is cropped and docked.
The dog is allowed to spar with another dog in the showring.

This bitch conforms to the FCI standard, is well balanced and possesses very good breed type.

The virtues of the Southern European dogs are the same as the Norther European dogs except I would add ELEGANCE!

---

DEPARTURE FROM TYPE IN ALL EUROPEAN BOXERS
Short necks:	With the emphasis on heads in Europe, in some instances the body has suffered. Many dogs have short thick necks and loose skin - dewlap
Heavy fronts:	The fronts can be heavy and often do not balance with the rear, and although the layback in shoulder is usually very good, the upper arm can be short.
Short upper arms:	This is not as noticible in the showring as the dog is baited forward, but plainly seen when the dog stands naturally.
Deep Chest/Short in leg:	The elbow should be level with the depth of chest. Because of the very deep chests of some dogs the chest is below the elbow making the front legs look short.
Lack of second thigh:	The first thigh is strong but there is no breadth in second thigh - I call this "leg'O'mutton hindquarters."
Insufficient tuck up:	Many dogs have deep flanks and insufficient tuck-up. The underline should curve "elegantly" towards the rear and the flanks slightly cut up.
"Bunchy" musculation:	I find the short bunchy muscles that are often seen in the European dogs are not the musculation that should be in an athlete, which is what the Boxer should be. Short muscles are more like a weightlifter's muscles and tend to make shoulders look loaded and heavy, and hindquarters overdone! Long muscles which are hard but smooth are the more pleasant to look at and are more suitable for our athletic Boxer's purpose in life.

---

Next we will look at the virtues and departure from type of the Northern American Boxers.....