I have often wondered what their original "use" was.. Guard dogs? Fighting? And if so, what is the squashed face for? Curious!!
Got this from a website The Boxer is a powerful, muscular, playful dog that was originally bred as a guard dog and to bait bulls in Germany. A working dog, the Boxer was bred from Bullenbeisser mastiffs and bulldogs in the 1850's. This fearless and intelligent dog is used as a seeing-eye dog and as a companion dog. It was given the name Boxer because when it fights, this dog strikes with its front feet, much in the manner of a boxer.
They are part of the working group and were originally bred for bull baiting/hunting and guard/police dogs in germany the squashed face comes from the bullenbeiser and bulldogs which are in their ancestory.
Lovely dogs i looked after one for a friend she was called molly and so nice tempered always putting her front paws on my shoulders trying to lick me
The 'squashed' face: the undershot jaw, the tip-tilted nose and the facial folds are a legacy from their bull and bear baiting days. The undershot jaw gives them a better grip. The set back nose enables them to breathe whilst they are hanging on to the animal. The folds provide channels for the blood to drain away, so it does not get in their eyes or up their nose. Very useful features for both baiting and pit fighting (which they were also used for).
As a lover of the breed and an owner of two boxers, they have also been used as search and rescue and snifferdogs in Germany. If you see a boxer out and about you will sometimes see them with there noses close to floor as they are walking along, when they pick up a sent they follow it untill it comes to a end
That is so true... I aways say my boy should have been a sniffer dog, as once he gets a scent of something , he will not give up till he finds what he is loking for..........if he looses a ball in the bracken, he is relentless in his search for it.
