Boxers Past and Present

 

So many changes have occurred with this magnificent breed. In time this beautiful breed has gone through many changes and has improved and become more beautiful. We hope you
will take the time to look at some of the founding Boxers as well as the Boxers that now bless us with their beauty. 
    

The Boxer is part of the Molosser group, developed in Germany in the late 1800s from the now extinct Bullenbeisser, a dog of Mastiff descent, and Bulldogs brought in from England. The Bullenbeisser had been working as a hunting dog for centuries, employed in the pursuit of bear, wild boar, and deer. Its task was to seize the prey and hold it until the hunters arrived. In later years, faster dogs were favored and a smaller Bullenbeisser was bred in Brabant,

in northern Belgium. It is generally accepted that the Brabanter Bullenbeisser was a direct ancestor of today's Boxer.

In 1894, three Germans by the name of Roberth, Konig, and Hopner decided to stabilize the breed and put it on exhibition at a dog show. This was done in Munich in 1895, and the next year they founded the first Boxer Club, the Deutscher Boxer Club. The Club went on to publish the first Boxer breed  standard in 1902, a detailed document that has not been changed much to this day.

The breed was introduced to other parts of Europe in the late 19th century and to the United States around the turn of the century. The American Kennel Club (AKC) registered the first Boxer in 1904, and recognized the first Boxer champion, Dampf vom Dom, in 1915. During World War I, the Boxer was co-opted for military work, acting as a valuable messenger dog, pack-carrier, attack dog, and guard dog. It was not until after World War II that the Boxer

became popular around the world. Boxer mascots, taken home by returning soldiers, introduced the dog to a much wider audience and it soon became a favorite as a companion, a show dog, and a guard dog.

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Early genealogy

The German citizen George Alt, a Munich resident, mated a brindle-colored bitch imported from France named Flora with a local dog of unknown ancestry, known simply as "Boxer", resulting in a fawn-and-white male, named "Lechner's Box" after its owner. This dog was mated with his own dam Flora, and one of its offspring was a bitch called Alt's Schecken. George Alt mated Schecken with a Bulldog named Dr. Toneissen's Tom to produce the historically significant

dog ''Mühlbauer's Flocki. Flocki was the first Boxer to enter the German Stud Book after winning the aforementioned show for St. Bernards in Munich 1895, which was the first event to have a class specific for Boxers. The white bitch Ch. Blanka von Angertor, Flocki's sister, was even more influential when mated with Piccolo von Angertor (Lechner's Box grandson) to produce the predominantly white (parti-colored) bitch Meta von der Passage, which, even bearing little resemblance with the modern Boxer standard (early photographs depicts her as too long, weak-backed and down-faced), is considered the mother of the breed. John Wagner, on his The Boxer (first published in 1939) said the following regarding this bitch: "Meta von der Passage played the most important role of the five original ancestors. Our great line of sires all trace directly back to this female. She was a substantially built, low to the ground, brindle and white parti-color, lacking in underjaw and exceedingly lippy. As a producing bitch few in any breed can match her record. She consistently whelped puppies of marvelous type and rare quality. Those of her offspring sired by Flock St. Salvator and Wotan dominate all present-day pedigrees. Combined with Wotan and Mirzl children, they made the "Boxer".

 

Boxer genealogy chart

 

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More history:

In 1895 in Munich a dog named Floki was enrolled experimentally in a dog show. That dog was born out from a mating between Brabanter Bullenbeisser  - Montitore di Tori, a dog which was used for the hunting of bears and wild pigs, and an Bulldog. Thus, from this mating, for a show, the dog known as Boxer, was born. The first club for this breed was established in January 1896, just one year after Flocki’s appearance. Therefore, its descendance is German but its name is purely English. From 1902 to 1905 the first standards of breed were registered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two males, Flock and Wotan st Salvator and two females, Blanka and Metaare regarded as founders of the breed.

 

At the beginning of the 20th Century Boxer crossed the German borders, and at the end of 1925 it became a member of the dog’s family whose characteristics were defense and guardianship/protection, things which made Boxer famous all over the world. After World War II the German army started to make it known in the conquered countries and areas. I n 1930 the breeding farm Von Dom was set up by Lusting Von Dom. Earl Douglas Scott, the doctor Tomaso Bossi and the breeding farm Virmar offered a lot to the breed in Italy.
 

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            Ch. Lustig v.Dom                                     Frau

 

Historically, the boxer was created and used for martial and military purposes. In addition, it became an excellent guide dog in need of disabled people. The criteria of boxers are the written proof of the perfect boxer.