nor should it be too long as to have the upper lips cover the underjaw when seen on a profile. Th e correct muzzle will have the upper and lower lips meet evenly. In order for the above to happen, the proper undershot bite will come from lower canines placed right in front of the upper corner incisors on BOTH sides. It also requires a wide and straight line of lower incisors placed between the lower canines. Very common deviations are nar- row underjaws, curved or misaligned lower incisors and wry bites were one side is more undershot that the other or crooked when seen from the front. Th e only way to evalu- ate the Boxer bite properly is by not only looking at it from the front but also from both sides. Very few judges do this in the rings nowadays. In a correctly built headpiece, with ade- quate proportions and balance, a skin fold will be present extending from the inside corner of the eye towards the corner of the lips on both sides. Also, when the dog is alert, wrinkles will naturally form on the forehead, in front or the ears. Th e placement of the Boxer eye is rather (although, not completely) fron- tal. Again, as selective breeding alters the length of dog’s heads, the placement of the eye is a ff ected along the way. Th ere- fore, breeds with extremely short heads like a Brussels Gri ff on or the Pekinese will have eyes that are placed in the frontal plane whereas dogs with elongated heads will have a more lateral position of the eyes. Placement of the eye, width of skull and amount of loose skin will greatly influence the shape of a dog’s eye. Longer heads will typically have an almond shape or triangular shaped eye whereas short- er heads will tend towards the circular shape with a fuller eye. Th e Boxer eye is NOT almond shape and is NOT circular either. Even though the Boxer is a notori- ous “head breed”, it is the ONLY breed in the Working group where the standard does not describe the shape of the eye. It merely says what it should not be. Th ere is a great website about judging the breed by the Australian Boxer authority Ms. Judy Horton www.worldwideboxer.com. Th ere, Horton suggests that the Boxer eye is shaped like a lemon. I like that
!"#$%&'&()*+,*)-&*&.&/*012)-*+,*345##* $(2*$'+5()*+,*#++3&*341(* !"##$%&'()#*$"+,#-'+.'$)/'$ 0/(1'$2,$($32%40$'*'56
192 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J UNE 2014
Powered by FlippingBook