04/10/2025
This is what a āblackā boxer- aka sealed or reverse brindle boxer- coat looks like up close. They arenāt black. Technically they are brindle dogs with a very tight brindle - and their background coat is very dark red brown. But most of the time, (especially when theyāre moving around so much š
) they just look like black dogs.
Totoro here you really only can see his coat color on the top of his head and his legs. His sides you can see the *very* tight brindle but you have to be in the right light and ofc he needs to be laying still.
This coat color is pretty cool, but itās an AKC disqualification for conformation showing and against the American Boxer Clubās code of ethics for breeding. It isnāt harmful for the dog in any way, and they are still purebred boxers.
They are controversial. Since itās historically been somewhat rare of a coat color, some unethical breeders have cross bred the boxer to other black bully breeds to get what they call āblack boxersā to sell them for $$$$. This is why many preservation breeders will insist today that all āblackā boxers are mixed breed. In *most* cases, this isnāt the case and instead it is achieved by simply breeding boxers with dark brindle to other boxers with dark brindle. Our understanding of coat color genetics is much better now than it was even 20 years ago, and a simple cheek swab can show which dogs are likely to produce what results.
It is rare, however, to find reverse brindle (black) Boxers with
breed standard conformation. If a breeder breeds for type, health, *and* conformation, usually they wonāt select for colors that their breed clubs shun & that they cannot show.. There are breeders out there that will select the best dog for their program no matter what color they may be.
We may or may not produce reverse brindles in the future. Ive gotten a lot of requests about them! Coat color honestly just isnāt high on my list of priorities when considering the future of my program. Stay tuned. āļø
European Boxers. Goals: Breeding and training IGP, PSA PPD working Boxers to preserve the breed standard.
