I just got Medusa yesterday. The previous owner told me that she is a full bred Boxer, but that the house next door had great Danes running around. I would just like to see you guys' input, but she looks full blooded to me. Oh and I saw her dad he is a beast Boxer. The mother supposedly died while giving birth to this generation litter. Medusa is the 6th generation according to the previous owner. She is 10 1/2 weeks.
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What a beautiful girl, what looks like excellent Boxer bloodlines are very evident in her. I don't think there's any Great Dane in her, but run an online image search using the two breeds as your search term to see several pages of images of puppies from a cross breeding.
Tbh, from the angle of the photo and 40+years as an AKC Boxer breed combined with doing almost as many years breed rescue I think if there's a cross in her gene pool, it's with a Bloodhound. She looks like a perfect 50-50 mix but could be as much as 3/4 Boxer and 1/4 Bloodhound if one or both parents have Bloodhound a few generations back - this does happen with un-papered Boxers (see below about hunters trying to create 'the perfect hunting dog').
There is something around her eyes and jowls strongly suggesting the cross is a very well bred Bloodhound. Use the search term - boxer-bloodhound cross puppies - for an online image search and I believe you'll see what I mean.
If both parents were as well bred as I think your puppy's parents were, the resulting puppies will be quite large (sometimes causing difficult deliveries that end with Mum not making it through the births) and look very like your dog does.
It could just be the angle the photo was taken from, though, but if the Boxer-Bloodhound image search turns up images of puppies you feel look like your dog, check with your vet to confirm, and then try to find out everything you can about both breeds so you know what to expect as she grows up.
It happens, accidentally and on purpose. I did see several Boxer-Bloodhounds over the years I was doing rescue in the US South as both breeds are popular in that part of the US, and the dream of any hunter is to come up with the next spectacular breed. Crosses with these two breeds throw as really handsome dogs, stunners, really - fairly big with bigger bones, and a lot of the Bloodhound personality in combination with the Boxer playfulness and love of family (and being on the sofa in your lap:).
Bloodhounds - what little I know of them, tend to be big and mature completely earlier than a Boxer does - Boxers, especially females, tend to be smaller, sexually mature by around 8 months (so have her spayed to avoid the Boxer female tendency to uterus prolapse and some other breed specific health concerns) but not mentally mature until around aged three years - expect puppy behaviours from this cross, then, until at least two years if not longer, it all depends on which breed will be dominant in her maturation and personality traits.
Both breeds are working dogs, Boxers usually as guard and other 'official' type work (sniffer, police, guide, although not as often as in the past owing to the shorter 7-9 year average lifespan), and Bloodhounds as hunter and tracker dogs - they make wonderful rescue dogs, for example.
To make your's and your dog's home-life easier you'll need to work your Boxer-Bloodhound in play, for example 'tracking/hunting' a special toy or even another member of the family - your local Leisure Services probably has a number of different course you and your dog can take to learn ways to 'work' so you have ways to satisfy your dog's breed specific needs and thereby avoid a frustrated dog who thinks eating a sofa or door is the way to let you know she's bored. I learned this one the hard way back when I first started raising Boxers:)
Your local library and bookstore, the Internet, and especially your vet are all great breed-specific info and training resources. Too, there may be a Bloodhound cross group in your area who meet regularly for group training - if your vet agrees this gorgeous puppy in your life is indeed a Boxer-Bloodhound, the group could be a real help in keeping your dog happy and healthy.
I hope you'll update when you determine if she is a cross with a Bloodhound, and how you're getting on. She's a really lovely looking dog!
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