With a Boxer in your family, you'll always have an eager companion for walks, runs, and romps in the yard. The Boxer is a strong, highly energetic dog with a short muzzle, the lean, muscular build of an athlete, and a distinctive underbite. Though they can look worried with their downturned mouths and wrinkled foreheads, they are actually a playful, spirited, and inquisitive breed. Their curious natures are underscored by their big, brown, attentive eyes.
Other Names
Boxers are also known as German Boxers and Deutscher Boxer.
Boxer Mixes
Boxer mixes are among the most common mixed breeds found in shelters and rescues. Boxer mixes can share traits with any number of other breeds, but will likely resemble Boxers in some physical characteristics and personality traits. Because many shelters do not have genetic evidence of a dog's background, breed heritage often cannot be stated with certainty.
While most shelters and rescues cannot determine a dog's exact breed, some facilities may utilize DNA tests to determine the genetics of a mixed breed dog, and AKC registered Boxers may be surrendered to a shelter. Even with proof that a dog's heritage includes Boxers—and though the dog may show the physical characteristics of the breed—the individual dogs' personality traits may differ from the breed standard.
Common Boxer mixes include Labrador, Boston Terrier, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Bulldog, and American Staffordshire Terrier, often called the Pit Bull.
While a Boxer mix may appear to have Boxer characteristics, shelters may categorize the dog first by the less common breed if it exhibits obvious physical characteristics or personality traits of that breed.