BC
While the origins of the Boxer are
obscure, it is believed to be one of many breeds to have developed from the
massive Molossian Hound, an ancient Greek guarding, fighting, and herding dog.
From Greece to Rome to Europe and Britain, these dogs gave birth to a number of
large, square-headed breeds that assisted men in the hunt and at war.
Middle ages
During the middle ages in England, this basic stock
developed into three principle types. In Germany one Molossian type was know as
the Bullenbeisser (bull-biter).
The Bullenbeisser
The Bullenbeisser was a medium size dog, heavy
built, sometimes with clipped ears and tail. The Bullenbeisser was the only
hunting dog in Germany. The Bullenbeisser diverged into two types, known as
Danzigers and Brabanters after their areas of origin.
The Brabanter
The Brabanters were the smaller of the two and was
bred and trained to hold in check the fierce aurochs, a wild progenitor of
domestic cattle and to obtain a grip on the nose that he held tight, pending
the hunter's arrival. His personality combining watchfulness and intelligence
has remained little changed down to modern times and he has proven himself
eminently suitable for his modern role as a house dog and companion. An early
1800's German writer wrote that these dogs were hunting and baiting bears,
makes good watchdogs, had short noses with black muzzles, protruding lower jaws
and was black and yellow striped in colour.
Bear Baiting
By 1800, the great hunts organized by noblemen had
all but faded into history. Brabanters moved from castles and great manors to
butcher shops, cattle farms, and theaters to ply their new trades of cattle
management and acting. His easy trainability even found him performing in the
circus.
The smaller Bullenbeisser and Brabanter was of
similar type as the British Bulldog of old times, although it is believed that
the German dogs were fawn or brindle, and never any white as the British
Bulldog. About 1830 the white colour began to appear in the Bullenbeisser's,
due to imported English dogs, especially the British Bulldog, who was crossed
with the already existing German Bullenbeisser types.
The start of the modern Boxer
In 1887 George Muhlbahuer Alt imported a (Brabanter)
Bullenbeisser bitch, named "Flora", from France to his home in Munich, Germany.
He mated her to a local dog (Known as Boxl), which produced male called Boxer
de Lechner (Box).
This dog as inbred with its mother (Flora). This
crossing gave two females called Flora II and Alt's Schecken.
Alt's Schencken
The later crossing of an English bulldog called Tom
(property of the Dr Toenniessen) and Alt's Schecken produced a litter on the 26
of February of 1895. One of the dogs produced in this litter was "Mühlbauers
Flocki", a brindle male who was the first dog enrolled in German Stud Book of
the Boxer and winner of the first exhibition of the race.
Flocki
The other was a bitch named Blanka, also pure white
as her father.
Blanca
Blanka was bred with Piccolo.
Piccolo
Blanka gave birth to a litter of puppies. One of her
daughters, “Meta von der Passage” became an important member of the boxer
pedigree. It is thought that nearly all boxers can be traced back to Meta.
Meta von der Passage
The following table explains the preceding
paragraphs in more detail:
|
Female |
Male |
Notable
puppy |
|
Flora |
Boxl |
Box |
|
Flora |
Box |
Flora2 & Schecken |
|
Flora2 |
Box |
Lord |
|
Schecken |
Tom |
Blanka & Flocki |
|
Flora2 |
Lord |
Piccolo |
|
Blanka |
Piccolo |
Meta von der Passage |
In South Germany, systematic breeding of the Boxer
began. Above all, efforts were directed towards the renewed elimination of the
British Bulldog blood.
Guiding principles for breeding were established which became the foundation
for the present Boxer standard. In 1895, at Munich, twenty Boxers (a mixture of
white, black, brindle and fawn) Boxers were exhibited for the first time at a
show, thus receiving official recognition as a breed.
The German Boxer Club was founded at Munich in 1896, and therewith the
perpetuation of the breed was assured. In the short space of ten years our
Boxer was among the breeds consistently having the largest entries at shows,
which continues to be the case to this day.
German Boxer Club 1896
The breed standard development started soon after
the show and was completed in 1902.
Boxers during First Show
The Boxer came to the United States in 1903 through
the Stuttgarter Kennels.
The A.K.C. registered its first Boxer in 1904, before there was a national
parent club.
Rigo von Angertor, a deep red fawn took best of breed amongst 32 boxers in the
1906 show in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He was an outstanding producer.
It was 1911 before the first Boxer appeared in England.
One of the earliest breeders was Fr. Friedrum Stockmann, who did a fabulous job
both in breeding and promoting the breed. Her Kennel, "van Dom", existed from
1911 (when PLUTO v. DOM was registered) to 1974 and the ancestor to all "van
Dom dogs" were "Rolf von Vogelsberg", sold to Fr. Stockmann at the age of
three.
Fr. Friedrum Stockmann
In 1912, the American public's attention was drawn
to the Boxer breed, thanks to the importation of the 1912 Seiger, Dampf von
Dom, by the future Governor of New York and Mrs. Herbert H. Lehman.
In 1914 Ex-Governor Herbert Lehman of New York imported from Germany DAMPF v.
DOM, a son of ROLF v. VOGELSBERG (owned by the Stockmans).
In 1915, Dampf became the first Boxer to receive championship honors in the
United States.
Philip Stockmann (Fr. Friedrum Stockmann husband) set up the German Boxer
training program for the German Army during World War 1.
Philip Stockmann
After demonstrating outstanding working dog
qualities even in the World War 1, Boxers were at long last officially
recognized as Police and Guard dogs in 1925.
The breeders had different opinions of which way the
breed should go, some wanted to follow the Bulldog to the extreme, while others
wanted to have the breed more "normal", and luckily the Boxer followed the more
normal direction. The white colour were prohibited, legalized and prohibited
again. In 1925 it was decided that the black colored Boxer no longer were
allowed. All breeders followed the direction, which led to a quick extinction
of the black Boxer. From the same year also the white colour was permanent
prohibited.
Black Boxers
In 1938 it was decided that Boxers with more than
one third white coat were not allowed. But still today there are born Boxers
with much white on the body, even pure white dogs occur.
After World War II the popularity of the Boxer in the USA reached sky-high, and
American bred Boxers were exported to other countries. Also in England they
succeeded in breeding very good dogs, and the breed got quite popular in the
British Isles. All over the world the Boxer gained popularity, due to its even
temperament and beautiful body structure. Today the Boxer is among the most
popular breeds in the world, for good and for worse.
The rest, as they say is history!