Black Boxer Dogs
What the color is, how it is bred, and what it means for you.
A purebred black Boxer dog does not exist. The breed carries no gene for a solid black coat, so the black Boxer puppies sold online are either very heavily striped brindles or dogs with another breed somewhere in their background.
Dark brindles are real Boxers, and the standard accepts them as long as the fawn clearly shows through the stripes, however little of it there is. The trouble is the label. A buyer deserves to know which of the two a black puppy is, and this page shows how to tell.
Looking for a Puppy? See Our Other Colors
We have no dark brindle puppies right now. Our fawn and brindle puppies are ready to go home, or tell us what you are hoping for and we will keep you posted.
Is There Such a Thing as a Black Boxer Dog?
Not in a purebred Boxer. The American Boxer Club puts it directly: "the Boxer breed does not carry a gene for a black coat." As the club explains, black is a dominant color, so it cannot hide quietly for generations and pop out in one litter. If a dog has a truly solid black coat, the club's conclusion is that another breed is in its background.
The AKC standard backs this up. It names fawn and brindle as the colors and disqualifies Boxers of "any color other than fawn or brindle." The AKC's own color list for the breed offers brindle, fawn and white, and nothing else. Breeding darker and darker brindles does not change that: however dense the stripes become, the fawn underneath is still there.
Why Does My Boxer Puppy Look Black?
Almost always because it is a heavy brindle. The standard allows brindling so dense that the fawn ground "barely, although clearly, shows through," and the American Boxer Club notes that these dogs, puppies in particular, can look as if their base color is black. In a dim room or a phone photo, the fawn disappears.
Carry the puppy outside on a bright day and look closely. Fawn hairs between the stripes, however few, mark it as a reverse or dark brindle. As the adult coat comes in, that fawn often becomes easier to see.
What Is a Sealed Boxer?
"Sealed" is a sales word for a brindle so dark the fawn seems shut away beneath the black. You will also see "seal," "black brindle" and "reverse" used for the same dogs. The American Boxer Club says responsible breeders do not use "sealed," because it implies the fawn has gone, while the standard requires it to show through. A sealed Boxer, in other words, is a dark brindle and should be described as one.
Were There Ever Black Boxers?
Briefly, early in the breed's history. According to the American Boxer Club, solid black Boxers did appear at one time, and they came from a cross between a Schnauzer and a Bulldog. That line died out by the mid-1920s, around the time the German standard limited the breed's colors to fawn and brindle. Today's Boxers descend from the fawn and brindle lines.
What Should You Ask a Seller Advertising a Rare Black Boxer?
Treat the word rare as a cue to slow down. A few questions sort a dark brindle from a mix quickly:
- Can I see the puppy outdoors in good light, close enough to look for fawn between the stripes?
- What colors are both parents?
- Are any of the littermates fawn or brindle?
- Why is this puppy described as black rather than brindle?
A seller with a well-bred dark brindle will answer all four without fuss. Vague answers, or insistence that the dog really is solid black, are reasons to walk away. Our guide to Boxer health problems covers the breed's main health issues.
How Can You Tell a Dark Brindle From a Black Mix?
Coat is the first clue, but not the only one. A dark brindle shows fawn somewhere if you look in good light, and its parents are fawn or brindle Boxers, at least one of them brindle. A mix may be evenly black from root to tip, with no fawn anywhere, and come from parents whose colors do not add up. Head shape, muzzle and build can also drift away from the Boxer type in a mix. When there is real doubt, a breed DNA test from a reputable lab can show whether another breed is present.
What About Dark Brown and Black and White Boxers?
A Boxer described as dark brown is usually a deep mahogany fawn or a heavy brindle seen in soft light; neither is a separate color. Most dogs sold as black and white Boxers are heavily striped dogs with a white bib and socks, or mostly white dogs with dark patches. Both can be purebred. A solid black dog with white markings is not a purebred Boxer, since the breed has no black gene.
Does a Dark Boxer Need Different Care?
Not much. A dark brindle sheds and grooms like any Boxer, and it hides mud well, though dust and pale fluff show up on the dark coat. The one point worth adding is heat: a dark coat absorbs more sun, and Boxers already cope poorly with hot weather because of their short muzzles, so shade and water matter on warm days.
For the full picture of what Boxers do come in, start with the guide to Boxer colors. When we have a dark brindle puppy, it will be listed on the available puppies page.
Black Boxer Questions
Can two brindle Boxers have a black puppy?
They can have a very dark brindle that looks black, especially while young. A truly solid black puppy would need a black gene that purebred Boxers do not carry.
Is an all black Boxer a mix?
If the coat is solid black with no fawn anywhere, the American Boxer Club's view is yes: another breed is somewhere in the background.
Is a reverse brindle Boxer the same as a black Boxer?
No. A reverse brindle is a heavily striped brindle, and the fawn still shows. Sellers sometimes call reverse brindles black, which is exactly the labeling the breed club objects to.
Can a very dark brindle Boxer be shown?
Yes, provided the fawn clearly shows through the stripes and any white stays within one third of the coat. If no fawn can be seen at all, the dog no longer fits the standard's description of brindle.
Do black Boxer puppies turn brindle as they grow?
No, a dark brindle puppy that looks black was brindle all along, and the brindling becomes easier to see with age.
Why are black Boxers advertised as rare?
Because the word draws attention. A dog that cannot exist in the purebred breed will always be scarce, and the label does the rest. Judge the puppy, its parents and the seller's honesty instead.
Hoping for a Dark Brindle?
Tell us what you are looking for and we will let you know when a puppy like that is ready.