In November 1993 I had the good fortune to judge 190 bitches at a Boxer specialty in Devon, Great Britain. I watched 150 dogs be judged the same day. My impressions of British Boxers are relevant to ours and how we perceive them.
The British Boxer is not as tall as ours. From the most illustrious champions to the young hopefuls in the 12 to18 Month class, males hovered somewhere between 23 1/2 and 24 1/2 inches at the withers, with most closer to 24. Though our standard calls for adult males to be 22 1/2 to 25 inches, how many 22 1/2 or 23 inch champions do you know? Such dogs are dismissed here as "too small."
Though the first words of our standard call for a ". . . medium-sized, square built dog," most male champions here are around 25 inches, many taller, and tend to be longer in back than "square built" would imply. All of this is well and good if that is what we want. When an attempt was made a few years ago to raise the height specifications, ABC members resoundingly voted no, yet breeders will tell you that in order to produce top winners, they strive for considerable height. In males that translates to 26 inches or so as an ideal.
If we are to adhere to our standard, we should not breed Doberman-sized animals and judges should not reward them in the ring, but if greater height is perfectly acceptable, then the standard should be changed accordingly.
In Britain, once the eye grew accustomed to the smaller stature, the meaning of the term "medium-sized" became clear. In addition, it was obvious that there was no loss of masculinity in a 24-inch dog.
The other significant difference between British and American Boxers is that British breeders not only prefer but demand proper head type. There was far less variation in heads than one sees in the US. I did not hear the familiar (to us) assertion that "there are several different head types and it all depends on what you like best." The British almost uniformly strive toward the ideals set forth in their standard, which is extremely similar to ours. Their exhibitors seem to have a far better understanding of the proportion of muzzle to skull, muzzle structure and eye expression. The only variations acknowledged are those that naturally deviate from the absolute ideal.
While I certainly judged many different heads, some superb and some less so, breeders really were aware of the difference! Judges in Britain, with some exceptions, have very little patience with improper heads and expressions.
This article is not meant as a paean to British Boxers. They have their problems, too. Many dogs had so much bone as to appear quite coarse to my eye and many bitches would be decidedly doggy to us. Temperament, too, did not seem quite as waggy and outgoing as on this side of the pond. Health problems (aortic stenosis, cardiomyopathy and cancers) are just as distressing in Great Britain. However, by acknowledging our differences, we may be better able to focus on our ideals and standards, put our dogs in clearer perspective and make changes if they are warranted.
1994 ABC Specialty
All are welcome to attend our yearly Boxer extravaganza at the Holiday Inn North, Newark, New Jersey, May 9 through 13. In addition to the Futurity, regular classes and Top 20 judging, there will be health seminars and a forum for judge and breeder education.
Stephanie Abraham
P. O. Box 346
Scotland, CT 06264
