"Saddleback" Boxer? What the...?

[Chewy's Mom]

Ok, I was in Petsmart this afternoon, and saw a boxer. I of course stopped and talked to the lady that had her, and once I got close enough to look at this little boxer girl, I just didn't quite know what to think. Get this. Her physique and conformation was ALL boxer, but I was quite surprised to see her coloring. She was all fawn except for her back. The color of her back looked *very* much like that of a German Shepherd - kind of like black hairs blended in evenly with the fawn hairs. Don't know how else to describe it. And it was definitely NOT a brindle. I know what a brindle can look like - all the way from light brindle to reverse brindle, and this girl was nothing like brindle. So of course I had to ask the lady about her coloring, and I think she said that the coloring is called "saddleback" or something like that. She said it's no good for showing, and is considered to be a "throw away" color (whatever that means). The lady said she was 10 months old and a pure boxer, and she sure as heck looked all boxer to me except for the weird hair.

Ok, so what's the deal? I could have sworn that there were only fawn, brindle and white boxers. So how is this possible, or is there some explanation?

(By the way, I hope I'm not out of line by posting on this topic. I did check the rules first and only found that discussion of so-called black boxers is not allowed.)

 

[Debbie Magon]

If the dog was a pure bred boxer, then the black hairs you saw are from over pigmentation.
This results in " sooting" and is accompanied by a very black mask, and often black ears.
Did she have this also?
If you pluck red hairs and put them under a microscope you will see they are indeed variations of red and some are indeed black. This is normal.
The french call this "charbonne" and many champions from Europe are "ticked" with black hairs. The black is usually at the very tip of each hair.
I myself have bred 2 red/white boxers with this , but not the saddle. Lilly however has a black smudge on her head and a darkish line running down her centre back.Her whites are almost outlined with black hairs but a lot have gone as she has aged.
As a new borns, both her and Finn were almost black and we had to wait days to see what colour they actually were.
Lilly is not disqualified for her extra blackness, but many judges do not like it and the standard does call for a "clear" red coat colour.
I myself think its very fetching and get a lot of compliments on just how dark these dogs red and black are!
You can view Lilly and Finn in my gallery or on my website.
www.caminoboxers.vze.com

 

[VTbxrFan]

Interesting! My sister and I both have dark fawns with black hairs interspersed -- they are evenly distributed though, but I definitely notice a difference between them and my parents' lighter fawn. Dallas's ears are not black, but I do see now that the ends of his ears are much darker than the rest of his body. Personally I like the look -- both he and my sister's boy have beautiful coats. I've never seen that "saddleback" look that was described, though.

Debbie -- I enjoyed your website. You have bred some truly beautiful dogs! And I especially love all the puppy pics -- they are just so cute that I want all of them!

 

[JulieM]

Fawn Boxers carry a double dose of the ay gene from the agouti series, which is predominantly tan with black tipped hairs or interspersed black hairs. In other breeds, this is called "sable." Like most things, there are modifiers controlling this so some fawns have very minimal black and others have quite a bit - sometimes too much. Novice breeders sometimes mistake the black "guard hairs" along the spine of fawn puppies for brindle stripes, until the pups grow up a bit and the black hairs are replaced with fawn ones. I don't think we see too much of the sooting here in the states - at least we don't hear about it a lot - but we don't usually get the nice dark reds that they do in other countries either. (I don't know if the two are related, but I suspect they might be.)

An actual "saddle" pattern is a different gene, though, and as far as I know is not found in the Boxer breed. (Think Welsh Terrier, although they call it a "jacket".)

 

[Chewy's Mom]

Thanks everyone. Dang, I sure wish I would have had a camera with me. I'm still a bit puzzled by this odd boxer, but perhaps it was just by freak chance that soooo many black hairs congregated just on the back - in that saddle area. It wasn't subtle at all, and would never be mistaken for a brindle. It really looked just like the coloring of a German Shepherd. Hmmmmm.

I know what you all mean about the few black hairs dispersed throughout the coat of a deep fawn boxer. That's how Chewy's coat is, and he's a very deep fawn.

Anyway, thanks, and maybe I'll see her at a boxer bash someday and get some pics! :D

 

[Sycho]

My little boy Sugar has the exact same look. He is fawn with white socks on all feet, 5 months old and about 30 pounds. He has a white chest and some white on his muzzle and running between his eyes. One ear is white and fawn the other is black and fawn. His underbelly and everywhere but his back is a beautiful red. However, his back is what may be called 'saddleback' though I have never heard of this. His back since about 3 months of age developed these black hairs and that is the only noticeable spot.

 

[adeinert]

I am so glad someone brought this up! My first boxer (flashy mahagony in gallery) didn't have any black hairs. Then, my second rescue, Jilly who has many backyard breeder traits had a few black hairs, she also has a rougher coat than the sleek of my others. I thought is was SO weird. Now, Tulley a red fawn with a slick tight coat has one or two. He came into rescue at a few days so in some of his pics it is hard to tell him from his reverse brindle sis in bad light! He had the dark stripe down his back.
I always wanted the reason for these black hairs. I am very happy to have an answer! I love every little hair on their bodies and now I know why they are there!
Ashlie, happy boxer mommy to Jillian, Tulley, and Lily- white foster baby!

 

[Jaelle]

My Igor as a very black mask and also has some black hairs on his feet, ears and on the back. I guess it would be better with only the very dark mask and no black elsewhere, but it must not be easy to achieve?