Boxer: A “Head Breed”

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, May 2013 issue.

Boxer: A “Head Breed”

Very few standards are so richly descriptive of the headpiece as the Boxer standard is. The details and harmony between the head parts in this breed create a hallmark of uniqueness which at the same time poses as a challenge to many to properly understand and evaluate it.

A most distinctive feature is the Boxer’s square muzzle. It is broad, blunt and in balance with the skull. Such balance is achieved when the length (the muzzle is half the length of the skull, from stop to occiput when viewed on a profile), width (about ²⁄₃ the width of the skull) and depth are properly developed forming a squarish look. For that to happen, it’s necessary to have thick, well-padded lips; well-developed jawbones and a proper undershot bite.

A most distinctive feature is the Boxer’s square muzzle. It is broad, blunt and in balance with the skull.

The undershot bite is wide with the lower incisors set in a straight line and with lower canines aligned with the incisors making it as wide as possible. The back part of the lower canines sit snuggly in front of the upper corner incisors on both sides—this defines how undershot a Boxer bite should be. In order to properly evaluate the bite, it should be viewed not only from the front but also from both sides so one can get the full picture. Very seldom this is seen being done in the show ring so it should come as no surprise that many Boxers have been rewarded in spite of wry bites and too undershot bites.

In order to properly evaluate the bite, it should be viewed not only from the front but also from both sides so one can get the full picture.

The underjaw should turn upwards thus creating a well-defined chin. This combined with a muzzle of proper length allows for the lips to meet evenly in the front of the muzzle. Neither an overlip (upper lip covering the lower lip) nor an excessively developed chin (too undershot/muzzle too short) is correct for this breed.

The eye is a very important feature as it is crucial to create the proper expression. The current standard, in my view, is both omissive and inaccurate when addressing the Boxer eye. Firstly, it’s omissive in addressing the eye shape—it merely says what the eye should not be “not too small, too protruding or too deep set”. Secondly, it calls for the eye to be “frontally placed” and that is not accurate for this breed. A frontal placement is found in the Pekingese and the Pug—these breeds are extremely brachiocephalic causing the eyes to be truly frontal and leveled with a rather flat face. Boxers, however brachiocephalic too, are not as extreme as the breeds aforementioned. Therefore, the eye placement tends to be frontal, but it is not completely so. The width and length of the head determines eye placement—there is a spectrum of variation on brachiocephalic heads, the more extreme the head the more frontal the eye placement.

As far as eye shape goes, there seems to be a lack of proper, commonly accepted term to describe the Boxer eye. Judy Horton (www.worldwideboxer.com) and other authors have suggested the term “lemon shape”. I find that to be the best description as of yet. Longer headed dogs mostly will have elongated, almond shaped eyes and shorter headed dogs tend to have circular eyes. Boxers sit somewhere in the middle. Boxer eyes are fuller than the almond shape and tend towards the circular yet the outer and especially the inner corners are still well defined.

Until a better term is coined, lemon-shaped remains by far the most accurate. I find it troublesome that the standard for this breed does not describe the eye shape accurately, and it’s a “head breed” nonetheless.

Because it is a brachiocephalic breed and with a certain amount of wrinkling on the head, Boxers often show a tendency for droopy, looser lower eyelids (ectropion). That is neither correct, nor is it healthy.

Boxers must have dark brown eyes regardless of coat colors. Some years ago the standard used to refer to light-eyed dogs as having a bird of prey expression. As standards were changed to adapt to AKC’s guidelines many detailed descriptions of faults became deleted but the relevance of dark eyes and its impact on expression cannot be forgotten.

Wrinkling on the head is required from the lower edge of the stop extending to the sides of the muzzle and will also appear on the forehead when the dog is alert. Excessive wrinkling will detract from the desirable intelligent expression and lack of the above-mentioned wrinkles will ruin the expression completely and usually are associated with long and weak muzzles.

Wrinkling on the head is required from the lower edge of the stop extending to the sides of the muzzle and will also appear on the forehead when the dog is alert.

Ears are set on high and may be cropped or left natural. Both are equally acceptable. When cropped, they should stand erect when the dog is alert and the natural ears should lie close to the head. The new trend of natural ears seems to be coming on strong in this country. Ear crop is man-made and it does not change the breeding value of the dog. However, in order to stand the cartilage should be thin and crisp whereas natural ears, in order to lie properly, should be a bit thicker and softer. This presents a challenge to breeders who must be able to recognize cartilage quality early on in order to properly decide which get cropped ears and which should not.

Boxers must have a black mask. The mask may be partially covered by white markings on the face. In essence, the black mask is an extension of the pigment of the eyelids, lips and nose; therefore, it will gradually fade and blend into the background color. White markings on the head typically occur on the muzzle top and sides and a blaze between the eyes. Also, the chin may be partially white. White markings may sometimes extend over the forehead connecting with the white collar and may extend on the sides of the face in such fashion as to go over the corner of the lip covering the flew.

These markings are referred to by some as “mismarks” but in reality no such description is found in the standard. The standard only states that the white markings should not detract from the intelligent expression. That leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Whether any given pattern of white markings is perceived as more or less attractive, there is no room for artificially changing it by using hair dyes. That is a practice that sadly is seen far too often lately in the show ring.

The Boxer skull is slightly arched and the cheeks are rather flat. Dome-shaped skulls and cheekiness are not desirable for the breed and often come along with excessive wrinkling.

However rich in details, Boxer heads are not so difficult to judge. Getting familiar with the correct expression is likely the best path to understand it as significant deviations in its conformation will always impact proper expression.

In conclusion, Boxers are a head breed and what that means is that a correct head is a necessity for this breed as it implies quality and helps define breed type. However, Boxers are still working dogs and as such, they also need solid conformation, sound gait and proper temperament. So what should we be more forgiving of in this breed? Nothing, I say. We should just expect more from them.