The Boxer has so much more to offer than the typical brindle and fawn colour. When you think of Boxer dogs, you probably imagine them in their iconic brindle or fawn, perhaps with that black mask around their eyes, bandit style. But what other colours do they come in?
While the American Kennel Club has pretty clear criteria for what colour combination the perfect Boxer dog should be, the truth is each Boxer’s coat can come in a variety of combinations. Keep reading to find out about all the other colour options for this vivacious breed.
The most common Boxer coat colours are fawn and brindle, with fawn ranging from light tan to a deeper reddish hue, while brindle features a fawn base with darker stripes.
White Boxers are also prevalent, often with fawn or brindle markings, but they can also be predominantly white. Although solid white Boxers are not as common, they are recognised by breed standards. Breeders typically focus on these traditional colours, making non-standard shades less frequent. Regardless of colour, Boxers are cherished for their lively and affectionate nature.
The Boxer coat is typically brindle or fawn, though shades within these colours vary. You might occasionally spot white Boxers too, and black Boxers? Well, let’s save those for last.
Few Boxer dogs have a solid coat, so expect your fawn or brindle Boxer to accessorise with that essential black mask, black stripes, or white markings.
The brindle coat is not so much a colour as a pattern. Brindle Boxers tend to have a brown base coat with dark brown and black streaks. The shade of the base coat splits brindle Boxers into:
The thickness and regularity of streaks can be divided into three types:
Brindle Boxers often have patches of white or black, commonly on their face or chest.
The perennial classic colour for this dog breed. The fawn Boxer coat colour ranges in shades from pale, almost yellow colour to buff, all the way to a darker chestnut brown.
A fawn Boxer will often have flashes of white markings on its face, chest or paws – this latter placement gives the impression of wearing socks! These fawn dogs regularly sport that black mask around their eyes and a black muzzle.
Ah… the wildcard. White Boxers have been subject to rumours and myths over the years, which have made them somewhat undesirable among many Boxer breeders. There has even been the suggestion that white Boxers are albino, which is not true since their eyes are deep brown.
In fact, white Boxers are actually fawn or brindle dogs with extra-large white markings, which account for most of the coat.
A white Boxer might appear to have brindle or fawn markings, but in reality, this is the base colour. The brindle or fawn background colour can be seen if there is a break in the white markings.
There is no such thing as a black Boxer dog since the purebred breed simply does not carry the gene for a black pigment base coat.
In fact, the black colouration is an illusion, and what you are actually seeing is a thick, black or dark brown brindle on a fawn coat.
The Australian National Kennel Council recognises dogs in fawn and brindle.
The breed standard does not include the supposed black Boxer nor the white Boxer dog despite 25% of Boxer puppies being born white.
This depends if you are planning to ‘show‘ your Boxer dog. If you hope to enter your dog in a show, then brindle or fawn Boxers are the way to go, with the iconic black mask and smaller white markings.
If you are not looking to show, then there really is no reason to choose a specific colour for any other reason than your preference.
If you are looking for a Boxer rescue dog, then colour probably isn’t a factor, and if you are adopting a puppy, consider a white Boxer pup since white puppies often struggle to find a home.
Boxer puppies are the colour they will always be when they are born. So no, your white Boxer pup is not going to turn brindle.
The shade might darken with age, though. Around the age of 3 or 4 years, expect to see your fawn or brindle dog maybe get a little darker in colour.
Some Boxer puppies are born with minimal pigmentation on their nose and face. Expect the white colour to be thin and a black muzzle or eye mask to encroach onto it.
A Boxer dog is recognised in three coat colours: brindle, fawn or white. Although, really, the white pups are brindle or fawn with big white markings and as for the supposed black Boxers? Those are just a big, brindle optical illusion!
There is no reason to favour one colour over another, so unless you plan to show your pooch, go ahead and adopt the one that feels right.
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