The Boxer is a medium-sized, short-haired breed of dog, developed in Germany. The coat is smooth and tight-fitting; colors are fawn or brindled, with or without white markings, and white. Boxers are brachycephalic (they have broad, short skulls), have a square muzzle, mandibular prognathism (an underbite), very strong jaws, and a powerful bite ideal for hanging on to large prey. The Boxer was bred from the Old English Bulldog and the now extinct Bullenbeisser
which became extinct by crossbreeding rather than by a decadence of the
breed. The purpose of the crossbreeding was the wish to eliminate the
excessive white color of the breed, and the necessity of producing
thousands of dogs for one of the most popular breeds in the world. The
Boxer is part of the Molosser
group. This group is a category of solidly built, large dog breeds that
all descend from the same common ancestor, the large shepherd dog known
as a Molossus. The Boxer is a member of the Working Group.
