German vs NA Boxers

[gmacleod]

Originally Posted by cmachk

Again, just my opinion so please dont yell at me

LOL - you're quite entitled to an opinion And at least you've actually clapped eyes on a german-bred boxer or two before launching into speech... Most people who wax on about the "differences" haven't, and have no idea of what the average boxer on the street looks like (just what they heard at the dog park or see on websites - which, frankly, is often the extremes and put there to promote the supposed superiority of one or other type (whichever the website is selling)).

I don't personally find the average boxer in Germany to be particularly stocky (certainly not as compared to some other countries/regions). But they are perhaps, on average, a little smaller than some and less long (ie. squarer). There is quite some variance however, so it pays to be cautious with stereotypes

[dazsAngel]

JulieM. I was checking out the links you have in the signature space of your post, and found that the last one no longer works. Just an FYI.

[SorcasMa]

I did go back and re-watch the Boxer show. What it mainly said, by an American breeder/handler, was that over here they have been bred to have thinner ear leather because the ears are usually cropped. That was the reason, and the only reason, that I was interested in looking at one. Don't anyone get upset, but I just thought that it would be nice to finally have a Boxer with the thicker ears so they would lay nice. For me personally, I just don't believe in cropping the ears, and I wanted to see the thick ears. It did show in the program that there was a Boxer winning shows with the uncropped ears. That wouldn't make me not want a puppy, as I have already fallen in love with a little baby girl and the breeder wrote back and said her ears are thick and sent me a picture of her. I knew from the first picture I receved that she was meant to be my baby, and I get to go see her next weekend!

[gmacleod]

Possibly true... although I'd note that the vast majority of boxer pictures in the galleries on this site are natural eared American-bred dogs. And funnily enough, the vast majority of ears sit perfectly correctly

Cropping was made illegal in Germany comparatively recently - in 1998 (extremely recently, in terms of any impact that might have on ear leather). One would expect far greater variation from those countries where ear cropping has been illegal for 100 years or more

[SorcasMa]

My family used to show and breed Goldens, so I am still learning a lot about the Boxer breed. I was just looking for nice laying ears, comparing them to both of the ones that we have owned. That also could be they didn't come from good breeders, but that my parents bought them out of ads from the paper. Neither had nice laying ears, but they both are/were great family members. Probably were from backyard breeders, maybe that is why the puppy I am looking at now is different.

By the way, gmacleod, I saw the pictures of Henri in your gallery, he is just beautiful!