history of the breed

BoxerLove · 07-25-2008, 09:25 PM

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I wanted to share some history of the boxer breed with everyone. I was interested to find this and see how these wonderful dogs developed.

Quote:

The talented Boxer is another gift to dog owners from Germany. He is cousin to many breeds 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.

In Germany, the Molossian type became the Bullenbeisser, a courageous dog that hunted the fierce aurochs, a wild progenitor of domestic cattle. The Bullenbeisser diverged into two types, known as Danzigers and Brabanters after their areas of origin. The Brabanters were the smaller of the two; the Boxer developed from this branch of the family tree.

By the end of the 18th Century, 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. Somewhere along the way, dogs of this type became known as Boxers, perhaps for the manner of play that resembles a pugilist's sparring, perhaps for their box-like head.

Late in the 20th Century, German breeders took charge and established guidelines for improvement of the breed. In 1895, they founded the first Boxer club in Munich, and in 1904 held their first show. The breed came to the US in 1903, and began to gain in popularity in the 1940s.