Author J.M. Barrie might not have had a Boxer in mind when he
created the character of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up,
but he certainly understood the spark of youthful exuberance and
playful rebellion that defines the character of this breed. In
Boxer: An Owner’s Guide (HarperCollins, 1996), author Dr. Peter
Neville writes: “They seldom ‘grow up’ and most never lose their
puppyish disposition.” While Boxers are elegant in appearance,
athletic and courageous, they love to play the fool, find fun in
everything they do, and just generally resist taking things too
seriously. Just where the Boxer learned this “forever young”
philosophy is not really clear. From huge mastiff-type dogs used
to tackle large game and guard property, the Boxer’s immediate
ancestor, the Brabant Bullenbeisser (literally “bull biter”),
was developed in Germany specifically for the then-popular sport
of bull baiting, a cruel and gory spectacle that set dogs to
fight against bulls. Like the English Bulldog and several other
breeds,