is she mixed?

[rachnhaze]

Hi, im new here, and kinda new to the breed. me and my husband really wanted a boxer because of there great tempermant and how the love human companionship. We adopted Carmel from someone who knew someone. Supposedly her mother died at birth but she is "purebred". I dont care if shes mixed or not, just would like to know in case of health issues and such. To me she looks like she may be mixed, she has no droop in her jowls. Maybe im just used to being around pitbulls, but to me she looks like thats what she would be mixed with. Any input would help me!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Rachel11...46302409379618

http://picasaweb.google.com/Rachel11...46291951637618

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink
Theres more pics in the album, feel free to look

[gmacleod]

Hard to say on that one. She is far from correct - that is (as you note yourself) she looks somewhat like a boxer, but a long way from exactly like one - hence you do wonder...

Without going so far as dna profiling to find out, my inclination would be to tend toward the belief that she is probably purebred (though at the same time, I wouldn't risk my life savings in making a bet on it ). The main reason I lean to that opinion is because the first things that seem to go when a pup is mixed (especially mixed with breeds like staffies) is the essential black mask of a boxer. Your puppy still has that, even if its a bit weak - and most mixes don't.

It isn't that easy to tell about her bite from your picture (even though you've got a nice side shot there). So what is it like? Does she have an undershot jaw, or is it more of a scissor bite?

[rachnhaze]

She has an undershot jaw, definitely, like the pics say, shes 9 weeks old, so i dont know if this will grow more predominat or not. Some times i look at her and see boxer all the way, except the droop factor, and other times im not so sure.

[gmacleod]

OK Well, if we add undershot to the photos, then it reinforces my inclination to believe that she's probably fully boxer. I doubt that her snout will ever have exactly the right proportions (and with tip of nose turned up, level with the eyes). But her jowls are likely to develop more with age. In short, she may well become more "boxer-like" as she matures.

[rachnhaze]

Well either way shes got the boxer personality for sure, and we love her to death. like i said we kinda rescued her and i couldnt see the mom cause she died giving birth, but judging from the people they were probably back yard breaders cause they didnt know very much, so she probably just is the results of bad breeding. Next time we get one we will defanantly get one from a reputable breeder, becuase i know bad breeding leads to behavioral issues and such