Known for standing up on its hind legs to duke it out with an opponent, this dog breed can appear to box with its front paws. In fact, when developed in Germany in the 19th century, boxers were used for dog fighting as well as to restrain large game like wild boar until a hunter arrived, according to the AKC.
Officially recognized by the AKC in 1904, the boxer breed has been pushed down a couple spots, eking out the No. 10 on the most popular breeds list in 2015. (In 2014, the blunt-nosed doggie snagged No. 8 and the year before that No. 7.) The medium-sized dog has an active, fun-loving and bright personality, according to the AKC.
The boxer has the honor of getting its genome sequenced. By looking at the boxer’s genome as well as those of other modern dogs and wolves, scientists found that dogs are more closely related to each other than they are to wolves, regardless of geographic origin. That study, detailed online Jan. 16, 2014 in the journal PLOS Genetics, revealed that dogs and wolves shared a common ancestor between 9, 000 and 34, 000 years ago.
