Before you purchase a Boxer puppy and bring it into your home, you need to know and understand the breed's temperament and needs.  We have used the following information from About.com, AKC.com, and our own personal experience,  to help you become more familiar with the Boxer breed.  We hope that this will help you determine whether or not you and your family are capable of maintaining the needs of a Boxer puppy into its adult life.
 Thank You for taking the time to consider all the facts!

Temperament:  Boxers are extremely intelligent and easily bored. A boxer is a dog that needs a task, or entertainment to keep his sharp mind from getting him in trouble. While training is necessary, it must be done with a 'firm, but fair' attitude.  Over-correction and harsh treatment will get no response with this breed. Firm vocal commands or clicker-training are much more effective in training this breed, as they bond strongly with their owners and aim to please.

Boxers are a lighthearted working breed, more suited to living as companions than guards or watchdogs.  They do not have the 'working' temperament many working breeds are known for. Boxers are best described as canine comedians.  They don't take things too seriously and when being trained it's best to keep it fun for the dog.  Many boxers are very food motivated.  Boxers excel in activities like obedience and agility.  Some are also trained in tracking, police dogs, and as guide dogs. When bored, boxers can become destructive and will invent activities and games to amuse themselves. Figuring out how to open cabinets and get into things is a specialty, so crate training this breed is a must.

The Boxer by nature is not an aggressive or vicious breed, but it does need socialization. Boxers are generally patient with smaller dogs and puppies, but issues with larger adult dogs, especially those of the same sex, may occur. Boxers are generally more comfortable with companionship, in either human or canine form.

Energy: Boxers are very 'high energy' dogs, to the extreme. This is a breed that remains very puppy-like in attitude and behavior for most of its life. They love to run, play, pounce, and be generally active. Most people either decide they love the boxers high activity level or they dislike it immensely, which is often the reason so many boxers end up in rescue organizations.  Owners were not prepared for owning this high energy breed.  Boxers need daily exercise and entertainment from their owners.  This helps them to connect with the family and recognize that it has its place in the "pecking order".

Attitude: Fun loving, young at heart, playful and exuberant are just some of the best words to describe the Boxer. This is a breed who is a great companion to adults and children, as a shorter distance running companion or just to simply cuddle with. They get along well with other pets, provided they are properly introduced.   They love children more than anything.  Males and females in this breed are very similar in temperament. If you want to own more than one, its best to have two of opposite sexes. Intact males, as with many breeds, can show aggression to other males but females are not immune to being dog aggressive as well. It takes a dominant owner to keep multiple boxers of the same sex in their home with no problems.  For some people, this isn't a problem and no fights arise but for others, multiple dogs can be a challenge.

Coat & Colors:  The Boxer is a short-haired breed, with a shiny, smooth coat that lies tight to the body. The recognized colors are fawn and brindle, often with a white underbelly and white on the front or all four feet. These white markings, called flash, often extend onto the neck or face, and dogs that have these markings are known as "flashy". "Fawn" denotes a range of color, the tones of which may be described variously as light tan or yellow, reddish tan, mahogany or stag/deer red, and dark honey-blonde. In the UK, fawn Boxers are typically rich in color and are called "red". "Brindle" refers to a dog with black stripes on a fawn background. Some brindle Boxers are so heavily striped that they give the appearance of "reverse brindling", fawn stripes on a black body; these dogs are conventionally called "reverse brindles", but that is actually a misnomer - they are still fawn dogs with black stripes.

Appearance:  The head is the most distinctive feature of the Boxer. The breed standard dictates that it must be in perfect proportion to the body and above all it must never be too light. The greatest value is to be placed on the muzzle being of correct form and in absolute proportion to the skull. The length of the muzzle to the whole of the head should be a ratio of 1:3. Folds are always present from the root of the nose running downwards on both sides of the muzzle, and the tip of the nose should lie somewhat higher than the root of the muzzle. In addition, a Boxer should be slightly prognathous (ie: the lower jaw should protrude beyond the upper jaw and bend slightly upwards in what is commonly called an underbite or "undershot bite").

Boxers were originally a docked and cropped breed, and this tradition is still maintained in some countries. However, due to pressure from veterinary associations, animal rights groups and the general public, both cropping of the ears and docking of the tail have been prohibited in many countries around the world. In the United States and Canada as of 2008, cropped ears are still more common in show dogs. In March 2005, the AKC breed standard was changed to include a description of the uncropped ear, but to severely penalize an undocked tail.

An adult Boxer typically weighs between 55 and 70 lbs (25 and 32 kg).  Adult male Boxers are between 22 and 25 inches (57 and 63 cm) tall at the withers; adult females are between 21 to 23˝ inches (53 and 60 cm).

History:  Boxers as we know them, originated in Germany, in the late 19th Century when the formal standard for the breed was drawn up. Much of this original standard remains in todays written standards around the world.  The Boxer is part of the Mosseler group, developed in Germany in the late 1800's from the now extinct Bullenbeisser, a dog of Mastiff descent, and Bulldogs brought in from England. The Bullenbeisser had been working as a hunting dog for centuries, employed in the pursuit of bear, wild boar, and deer. Its task was to seize the prey and hold it until the hunters arrived. In later years, faster dogs were favored and a smaller Bullenbeisser was bred in Brabant, in northern Belgium. It is generally accepted that the Brabanter Bullenbeisser was a direct ancestor of today's Boxer.

In 1894, three Germans by the name of Roberth, Konig, and Hopner decided to stabilize the breed and put it on exhibition at a dog show. This was done in Munich in 1895, and the next year they founded the first Boxer Club, the Deustscher. The Club went on to publish the first Boxer breed standard in 1902, a detailed document that has not been changed much to this day.

The breed was introduced to other parts of Europe in the late 19th century and to the United States around the turn of the century. The American Kennel Club (AKC) registered the first Boxer in 1904, and recognized the first Boxer champion, Dampf vom Dom, in 1915. During World War I, the Boxer was co-opted for military work, acting as a valuable messenger dog, pack-carrier, attack dog, and guard dog. It was not until after World War II that the Boxer became popular around the world. Boxer mascots, taken home by returning soldiers, introduced the dog to a much wider audience and it soon became a favorite as a companion, a show dog, and a guard dog.

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