Is there such thing as a “Black Boxer Dog”?
The Black Boxer
The Black Boxer Dog is quite a mysterious creature.
It is hard to believe that that big, energetic, dark thing jumping up and delivering big slobbery wet kisses all over the place really doesn't exist, but it's true. Technically, there really is no Black Boxer Dog....
In fact, in the Boxer World, there is no such thing as "black and white", just various shades of fawn and brindle. (Well technically, "white" exists, as the collateral damage of many ‘responsible breeders' programs- more below)
Very, very Brindle
The stripes in a brindle boxer can be dark enough to look black.
The stripes can also be wide enough to give the impression that the lighter fawn color is actually the "stripes". In such cases, the boxer is classified as a "reverse brindle": Rather than looking like a fawn dog with dark stripes, he looks like a dark dog with fawn stripes.
When a dog is "extremely" reverse brindle, he can give the appearance of being a "Black Boxer Dog". The technical term for these dogs is "Brindle Sealed".
Some Breeder Hypocrisy
We at BPfS smile a bit when we see many 'proper' breeders lambast "back-yard" or "cowboy" breeders for selling Boxer puppies as "black".
Technically, the black boxer doesn't exist. But here is the point: any breeder KNOWS this.
People who buy "black" boxers do so because they look black.
These owners probably don't care what the dog's genes look like.
This doesn't excuse a cowboy for lying- there is never an excuse for lying- but the self-righteous amongst the breeder world should bear in mind, that owners who buy "black" boxers do because they think the pup in question looks good.
And frankly, a Boxer that is so sealed so as to look black is both rare and good looking... (No! BPfS do not sell 'black' puppies- this is just our opinion).
But the reason these "real" breeders make us smile to keep from crying, is that while they are lambasting cowboys for engaging in dodgy, but long-term insignificant practices, these same "true breeders" are engaged in breeding programs that attempt to produce "flashy" show boxers. .... and these programs actually produce (as a 'by-product') an inordinate number of white boxers with all of their associated genetic defects.
Unlike the supposed "Black Boxers" (which are showable and genetically intact)- white boxers are genetically bad for the breed and should not be bred.
It is time for these "proper" breeders to grab a hold of their own noses, for they, (like their inbreeding predecessors that nearly destroyed this wonderful breed in the era before the 1970s) are the real problem of today's Boxer.
It is these 'proper' breeders that are THE reason the list of genetically predisposed diseases are longer for the Boxer than for ANY OTHER domesticated dog breed (that we have found).
The mom or pops breeder who make an extra 100 bucks for selling a pup as black, is small fries when compared to the damage many "show breeders" are doing to the Boxer breed.
Conclusion
Where does that leave us, advice-wise?
Frankly, if you are willing to pay a premium for a Boxer Dog that looks black, go for it.
Just recognize going in, that the dog is NOT black genetically, and is therefore not predisposed to produce black(ish) puppies. Though his brindleness is a dominant trait (so you can expect some brindle pups from him).
Other than that, if both parents are true boxers, his color is an acceptable one by boxer standards. He is an example of a "reverse sealed" Boxer.
What IS important to assure, is that the breeder is in fact selling you a Boxer.
Some of the breeders we have seen on line seem to be selling Boxer mixes as 'pure'.
Now, THAT practice is criminal... and I shouldn't do business with such breeders just out of principle.