Pictorial of Boxer colors & markings

I hear alot of people asking about different colors and markings of Boxers. This will be a pictorial page of all the "packages" that Boxers come in including fawn, brindle, dark brindle; white, check; flashy, plain, semi-flashy; cropped ears, natural ears, ; natural (long) tail, docked tail, etc.

I have included pictures at the bottom of this page to help you see the differences.

REMEMBER: NO MATTER what "package" your Boxer comes in....a Boxer is a Boxer is a Boxer. If you do not have a "show" dog...one that is conformationally correct, it does not mean that you have less of a dog than one who does.......

underneath all the colors..ears...and markings is still a BOXER! A wonderful breed!

(please be patient while pictures load)

FAWN: this color can range from a "washed out" tan to a deep red. The darker fawns are preferred.

BRINDLE: this color or pattern is a fawn dog with black "stripes" all over its body. These stripes may be very sparse, (with as little as only one stripe on the dog. Some people have even registered dogs incorrectly as they did not notice the brindling on the dog and was registered as a fawn dog instead.) or very dense, (with the dog appearing to be black. But, upon close examination..you will find the fawn color) This color is also referred to as "BLACK or REVERSE BRINDLE" So named because the dog APPEARS to be black with fawn stripes. There is NO such thing as a true black Boxer. It is preferred that the brindle stripes appear distinctly even over the entire body.

WHITE: This does NOT mean an albino. A white Boxer is all white or they may even have patches of fawn or brindle of one or more places; ears, around eyes, top of head, on the back or even the base of tail, but rarely on the side of the body and no more than 1/3 (which is fairly much). The color is called extreme white piebald spotting. The genetics is sw sw. This color is the only permitted color in breeds such as Sealyham Terriers and Great Pyrenees and is a common color in English Setters. The white Boxer does not have the typical black mask.

CHECK: this is a term for a brindle or fawn dog with approximently 50% (1/3 - 2/3) white. The white will be on the same places as on a flashy Boxer, but to a greater extent. They may have white on the thighs going all the way accross the back, or white collar that goes over on to the shoulders and back or accross the forehead to meet the white on the face. It may even be that the colored patch on the back resembles a "saddle" with white all around it. This color is called piebald spotting and is found in other breeds such as Saint Bernards and Beagles. The genetics is sp sp or si sw. The si gene may have been found in historical Boxers, but is probably extinct now. If there were born several check Boxers from one sire or dam, this could be an indication of its existance.

FLASHY: this terms refers to a fawn or brindle Boxer with white markings covering up to 1/3 of the body ideally, but sometimes a little more. The white markings can be found as one or more of these: white chest, white collar, white between eyes and on the muzzle, white socks and a white tipped tail for those who have long tails. This color resembles the Irish Spotting found in Collies, Basenjis and Welsh Corgis, (and has been called "pseudo Irish Spotting" by Little) The difference is in the genetic makeup. The Irish Spotted animals are are si si, and all their offspring will have the same marking pattern. The flashy Boxer is S sw and will only produce 50% with the same marking pattern.

SEMI-FLASHY: this is not a technical term, but rather a term in which breeders/exhibitors in the US refer to a dog who may only exhibit white markings on the face, chest and legs. Or exhibits a partial collar with white feet and plain face. There can be many variations. (To be correct....this would be referred to as a flashy dog)

PLAIN: this term refers to a fawn or brindle Boxer with little or no white. If there is any white, it will appear on one or more of these places: spot on the chest, tips of toes, but rarely the whole foot, or a stripe on the muzzle. This color is called Solid SS and is found in such breeds as the Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler and Chow Chow.

CONCLUSION: To complicate the picture somewhat, there are modifying genes working on extension of the color of the coat. The Boxer breeders have, in some countries, like the US and Great Britain, selected for modifying genes, resticting the extent of the fawn and brindle in the coat and producing flashy animals with alot of white, almost in the check range, and certainly more than the 1/3 allowed. The plain animals in these same countries have, in some cases, quite alot of white. SO much that they are borderline flashy (or semi-flashy). Some have whole white feet and some even have a patch of white on the neck (which should be a sure sign of the presence of the sw gene). In the continental European countries they have not had this selection and the flashy animals from these countries have very little white, some even less than the plain animals from the US-yet they produce white puppies, and are genetically S sw.

Therefore, we must conclude that there are two alleles of the white spotting gene present in the modern Boxer; s and sw, and they can produce three different phenotypes or "looks":

SS - solid, plain Boxer

S sw - "Pseudo Irish spotted", flashy Boxer

sw sw - extreme white piebald spotting or white Boxer

***I would like to thank Cecilie Stromstad-Norway-Boxerhaven for contributing to the PLAIN, FLASHY, CHECK and WHITE Boxer descriptions as well as providing pictures of her natural tail Boxers and a "conclusion"!***

NATURAL EARS: self-explanatory...the ears are left natural. In some countries it is illegal to crop ears.

CROPPED EARS: this is a procedure done at about 12 weeks of age. Length and shapes vary.

TAILS: the AKC Standard requires the tail to be docked if showing in conformation, however some pets in the USA have natural tails. In some countries docking of the tail is illegal and is left long to fit their Standard. If tails are docked, it is done at about 3 days old along with the removal of the dewclaws.

"CASSIUS" -natural ears/flashy fawn