"Rolf Hassia". Picture from ca. 1918.
This German breed can trace their roots to the Bullenbeisser, Barenbeisser and Brabanter of central Europe,
but it is a combination of these breeds and the
British Bulldog who have produced the modern Boxer.
The smaller Bullenbeiser 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 Bulldog,
who were crossed with the already existing German Bulldog/Bullenbeisser types.
In 1887 George Alt imported a bitch, named "Flora", from France, and used her in breeding at his
home in Munich, Germany. The progeny of this bitch were strongly inbreed, and all Boxer's of today can find
these dogs in their pedigrees.
Meta von der Pasage.
Meta von der Passage, a great great granddaughter, of the dog imported from France, were crossed with "Tom", a pure
white English Bulldog. From this litter a bitch named Blanka, also pure white as her father, eventually became the mother
of "Meta van der Passage", who are considered as the mother
of the modern Boxer.
Clearly we can see that much of the blood in the modern Boxer comes from the British Bulldog, as well as the white colour.
The first Boxer exhibited was "Mühlbauers Flocki", at a dogshow in Munich, the same city where the first boxer breed-club
were started in 1896. At that time the only thing set were the name of the breed, who originally was the name "Boxl",
used on the Bullenbeisser in local parts of Germany.
The standard were set in 1905, and from this point in time the popularity of the breed grow in Germany, as well as in other
countries. Early exports followed to all corners of the earth, and the Boxer got a strong foothold in many areas.
Black Boxers in the German Kennel Grandeuz.
Sadly, this colour no longer exists in the Boxer.
The breeders had different opinions of whitch 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 coloured
Boxer
no longer were allowed. All breeders followed the direction, whitch led to a quick extinction
of the black Boxer. From the same year also the white colour were permanent prohibited.
Sigurd van Dom, who dominated the breeding in the 1930's.
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.
One of the earliest breeders was Fr. Stockmann, who did a fabelous job both in breeding and promoting the breed.
Her Kennel, "van Dom", existed from 1912 to 1974 and the ancestor to all "van Dom dogs" were "Rolf von Vogelsberg",
sold to Fr. Stockmann at the age of three.
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.
Picture from "Nic", UK.
Nic's Boxer at left, with his mum and sister, and at right their friend.
