Do you know what color Boxer you have? Do you know what colors are out there? Have you seen rare or oddball colors or markings and wondered how someone got a Boxer that color? Let’s explore!
*This is meant to be an educational and fun exploration of canine coat colors. I’m well aware that some are not “standard” and some are considered frowned upon if not within breed standards. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and this post is not a debate! We’re simply taking a dive down the rabbit hole that is coat colors in dogs and their inheritance.
Standard Colors
Standard colors refer to the acceptable colors noted in the breed standard. Although standards can vary slightly between kennel clubs, the colors are agreed upon. Per the Boxer breed standard set by the American Boxer Club, there are two colors; fawn and brindle. However, most registries also recognize white, just as a non-standard color. More than likely, you have a Boxer in one of these colors!
“Black” Boxers
Chances are, you’ve seen a black Boxer! This is such a controversial topic in the Boxer world, because it’s not a “standard” color and also because it’s not 100% understood as to the cause of the color. Again, I’m not getting into the debate nonsense, but I AM going to explore these colors!
These black Boxers are often referred to as multiple things: black, reverse brindle, sealed, or seal. Genetics aside, all of these terms are used in the Boxer community to describe these black beauties. Flipside: genetically speaking, these are NOT your average brindle Boxers. Whether they’ve come from countless generations of breeding dark brindle Boxers or crossbreeding long ago in the breed’s history, these black Boxers have a little more to them.
Dark brindle, reverse brindle, or “sealed” would refer to a brindle dog that has very heavy striping. The difference is simply the amount of brindling the dog has. The term “sealed” came about with these super dark brindles. The idea was that there was so much brindling, that the fawn background was essentially “sealed” out of visibility. If you truly have a brindle like that, you will still clearly see the fawn background somewhere…even if this appears as just a couple of stripes (or lack of stripes).
When you see a true black Boxer, there are no stripes on the coat. It is completely black and believed to be caused by the dominant black gene, or, the K-Locus. This is the same gene that causes brindle! Like brindle covers a fawn coat in stripes, dominant black blankets the entire fawn coat in black.
The Dominant Black gene, the K-Locus, controls the amount of black (or lack of) that’s expressed in your dog’s coat. Previously thought to have just two alleles (Ky responsible for fawn/lack of black pigment, and KB responsible for brindle), it’s agreed that there’s actually an additional allele that separates brindle from black: (Ky for no black pigment, Kbr for brindle, and KB for black. Black (KB) is dominant over brindle (Kbr), which is dominant over fawn (Ky). This explains why you only get black puppies if a black parent is involved. Dog Coat Colour Genetics is a GREAT site that explains a lot of this in-depth, yet in simple terms.
Seal is a completely different coloration. It is a variation of the dominant black coat that also covers the base coat in black pigment. The difference is these dogs often appear brownish in the sunlight or appear to have their undercoat (fawn in Boxers) “leaking through”. These dogs are genetically dominant black (KB), but have an additional modifier to their coat somewhere that causes the seal coloring.
Current research suggests that “black Boxers” are indeed black or seal. Although this coat was not originally present in the breed, it’s a very real thing and a very popular color! There’s ongoing research into the seal coat, and although the K-Locus is suspected, currently it’s undetermined as to what gene is responsible for it.
Since there’s currently no genetic test to differentiate KB from Kbr, all black or seal dogs do actually test as brindle with modern DNA tests.
White Boxers
Did you know that if you have a white Boxer, it’s actually fawn or brindle? The white coat is caused by the S-Locus, or spotting/piebald gene. This determines most of the white spotting in canine coats, which causes a lack of pigment. Genetically, your dog still carries a coat color. It’s just covered by one giant spot! This is why when you see a Boxer incompletely covered in white (spots of color, eye patch, etc.) you will see the fawn or brindle that’s really hiding in their coat.
Exotic Colors
There are a handful of other colors that you might see in the Boxer community. These are probably the most controversial since they’re “not natural” or “true to standard”, however to each their own. At the end of the day, these are all simply variations in coat colors. The colors and patterns below have all come about by either crossing a Boxer with another breed at some point and then backcrossing to Boxers, or a gene mutation that was found and exploited. Bred responsibly, these dogs should be the same dog you know and love, just in a different color!
Tan-Point/Tri-Color Boxers: This is a color combination of black and tan and results in a black dog with tan (fawn/sable) markings. A tan-point dog has tan markings typically appearing as two spots above the eyes, marks on the muzzle and down the cheeks, patches on the front of the chest, and tan markings on the feet creeping up the legs. Tricolor just refers to a tan-pointed dog that also has white spotting, resulting in 3 coat colors.
Merle: Merle is a complicated and stunning pattern characterized by random and irregularly shaped patches of the coat being diluted to a lighter color. Patches are all shapes and sizes and can be located anywhere on the dog. The merle pattern can affect any coat color, so you’ll see a variety of colors and combinations. The most widely recognized example of the merle pattern is probably an Australian Shepherd.
What’s Next?
People love rare colors and patterns in dogs, and Boxers are no exception. It’s likely that more rare and exotic colors are in store for this breed’s future. You can already find examples of blue, cream, and chocolate Boxers with a simple internet search. Will these colors and other rare combinations become popular as well? Only time will tell. It all boils down to personal preference and what you’re looking for in your next dog.
As long as they’re healthy and happy puppies, I couldn’t care less what color your wigglebutt is! Have you ever seen an ugly Boxer? 😉