All You Need To Know About The Boxer Shepherd Mix

dog with ballboxer with mouth open

The German Shepherd Boxer Mix, one of the most good looking dogs you will ever see in your lifetime, comes to life as a result of cross breeding a Boxer parent and a German Shepherd parent together.

As you’ll be seeing in this article, both the German Shepherd and the Boxer are very similar in many traits (mostly personality traits we’re talking about here, most certainly not physical traits), something which makes estimating how exactly the Boxer Shepherd Mix will turn out to be an easier process.

Appearance

Size, Height & Weight

As far as the Shepherd Boxer Mix’s size is concerned, you can expect this dog to almost always be large sized, given the fact that both its parents (the German Shepherd and the Boxer) are also large in size.

On average, this breed will weigh anywhere between 65 to 95 lbs, depending on certain factors.

But this is the general range that all German Shepherd Boxer Mix dogs tend to fall within.

Many of them reach around 70 lbs of weight as soon as they hit the 1 year of age mark, so their size should by no means be taken lightly.

As for how tall they will get, Shepherd Boxer Mix canines usually grow up to stand at an average height of anywhere between 23 to 27 inches.

Temperament

Exercise & Physical Activity

The Boxer Shepherd Mix will require a fairly high amount of exercise and physical activity on a daily basis in order to maintain a healthy, prosperous life and keep behavioral problems at bay.

boxer ready to play

Besides being a large sized dog, which immediately makes significant physical activity as must, many Boxer German Shepherds can be a little bit too energetic at times and must be given the necessary outlets to channel these energy levels through.

If you’ve built a dog house for them on your yard and have given them access to play around and run freely in that area, then they should already be getting in a decent amount of exercise by themselves, but this doesn’t mean you don’t have a role to do in all of this.

Your role is to take them out for at least one long walk every day.

This is the minimum number of walks you should be giving them, so if you can give take them out on two long walks every day, that would be much better.

Training

The Boxer German Shepherd is a very smart dog with a fairly high level of intelligence, one that’s quite above that of the “average Joe”.

However, one thing that many owners note is that this cross breed can be a little bit too energetic sometimes, which makes it hard for them to focus on the training session in hand and the goals you want to reach from it.

This can be a little bit of a challenge for new pet owners to deal with, but is nothing too challenging for someone who has previous experiences dealing with dogs in their life.

Guard Dog

When we say that this breed’s parents are a German Shepherd and a Boxer, I don’t think we need to even carry on talking about the German Shepherd Boxer Mix’s ability to excel as a guard dog!

Both the German Shepherd and the Boxer are two of the best guard dogs of today, which makes it a guarantee that their offspring will be an excellent guard as well.

Health

As far as the health of the German Shepherd Boxer Mix goes, we have some good news – they are known to suffer from an insignificant number health problems during their lifetime.

german shepherd laying outside

The average lifespan that they will go on to live under the right circumstances is around 10 to 13 years.

One of the most important factors you could look at when trying to get an estimate for how long they will go on to live is their weight.

It’s a general rule of thumb that if your dog weighs 90+ lbs, they’ll live for around 8 to 10 years on average, while if your dog weighs less than 90 lbs, they’ll live for around 11 to 12 years on average.

Living Conditions

Other Pets At Home

In order to properly fit in with other pets you may already have at home, you need to have your Boxer German Shepherd socialized with other animals from a young age so that they’re very much used to being around them when they grow up a few years later.

Don’t forget that we’re talking about an offspring of one of the most powerful and fierce dogs out there, so early socialization will greatly help out with making them friendly when around other pets.

Young Kids At Home

Because they are considered to fall under the category of large breed dogs, and because with a large breed comes excess physical power that can many times be put to wrong use, you should always be careful if you plan to get one of these canines home where young kids reside.

puppy in grass

If you want to be sure that your German Shepherd Boxer Mix puppy will grow up to interact in a very safe way with your kids, then be sure to have them socialized with your kids (and other pets you may have at home, for that matter) when they’re still young puppies.

This way, your puppy will grow up very much used to being around people, interacting with them and just having a good time in general.

Separation Anxiety

If you’re someone that leads a very busy life and can barely spend any time with your dog, and you don’t have someone at home that can keep them company till you get back, then it’s best you don’t get a Boxer German Shepherd, because the circumstances are just not right for you to do so.

These dogs are very well known for having the tendency to be a little bit overly-attached at times, wanting to do nothing but sit right next to their owners, shower them with love and be showered with love right back.

They are notorious for suffering from separation anxiety when left alone for long periods of time with no one to be company by their side, so you may want to go with a different breed that isn’t prone to suffer from separation anxiety as much as the German Shepherd Boxer Mix in such a case.

At the very least, if you’re not able to spend enough time with them on a frequent basis, make sure other family members are able to pitch in and keeping this canine company until you come back.

This problem with this breed and separation anxiety becomes a much more serious one when we consider how large of a dog this cross breed is, meaning that when they decide to voice their loneliness in the form of destructive behavior, this situation can get real serious real fast.

Learn more about separation anxiety in dogs by watching this video!

It’s not like we’re talking about an 8 pound pup that’s going to scratch a little here and there before it tires out, we’re talking about a large sized dog that can cause significant damage in your house if they wanted to.

So, avoid all of this by making sure that they won’t be left alone for prolonged periods of time before you get one home.

Living Care

Grooming

First off, and when it comes to how much the Boxer German Shepherd Mix actually sheds hair, this will vary from one to another quite a bit.

Why? This greatly depends on which coat of its two parents’ they take after, whether they take after their Boxer parent’s coat or their German Shepherd parent’s coat.

If your Shepherd Boxer Mix takes after the coat of their German Shepherd parent, then you can expect some serious shedding to happen, especially when shedding season approaches, which means a strict and frequent brushing schedule must be put in place by you.

However, if they take after the coat of their Boxer parent, it’s safe to assume that the shedding won’t be as much, given the fact that Boxers don’t shed as much hair as German Shepherds do, which means that you can approach this with a more relaxed brushing schedule and you don’t have to do it so frequently.

If you enjoyed this article you might like this one on Everything to Know about the Boxador [Boxer Labrador Mix]

24 COMMENTS

  1. Hi guys, I got a boxer shepherd mix dog from the shelter and I am a bit worried because I live in an appartment. It is a big appartment with a big balcony but as I work until late most of the weekdays I have to keep him in the bathroom (he is 3 months old) until he learns not to chew the furniture. He is adorable and shows me grat affection but sometimes he hets something like a crisis and starts to bark at me and bite me and I do worry about this. I try to socialize him with other people, dogs and children and I must say he is very sociable and kind with them. I take him for a walk on morning time before work and at night time after work. On the weekend and on Fridays I have free time and I spent my days with him, going to the park etc but the rest days of the week I come home late sometimes at six and sometimes at nine. My sister can walk him at lunch time for 20 minutes but that is all. Do you think this is fair for the dog? and is there a chance that he would remain aggressive due to this? I love him very much and I do not want to give him away but I worry and I want to give the life he deserves. What do you think? Could he adapt in the appartment?

    • Hey Stephanie, I have a 4 month old puppy rn and she is very hyper also. I’ve started waking up an hour earlier in the morning to take her on a 2 mile walk or run which has helped keep her calmer during the day. An appt is fine, I stay at my girlfriend’s appt about 3 nights a week and she’s totally fine. I’ve noticed that my puppy is very receptive when being a little stern with her. They are dogs so with regard to the biting, make sure your puppy knows it’s not ok and that you are alpha. My gf struggles with doing that a bit but she doesn’t get bitten anymore. 🙂 hope thia helps

    • I think he’ll ok he’s still young I have one I got him from the pound and he is so loving but I always have someone here while I’m at work. I wouldn’t take anything for him I just love him to death he’s a great dog so I say keep him he will adapt to your living situation and you will love him to the moon and back great dogs to have plus I have a 7 year old Chihuahua she didn’t like him at first but now they get along great best of luck to ya

      • I actually have a Chihuahua and GSD/Boxer mix aswell! They were both adopted at the same age, and are about 7 months old now. The Chihuahua is the one who usually picks on my GSD/boxer lmao.

        As far as the exercise, and aggression, and a couple things that have helped us is 1) A tired dog is a good dog. We live in a trailer, so he doesn’t have much room to run around inside, and must stay on a tie out outside since it’s not a closed in yard. My wife and are both fairly busy, so we actually only take him for a few walks a week. We try to makeup for this by letting him out alot, and he’ll sit in the yard and play all day if we let him. Also with alot of training to keep him focused and refreshed. Teaching new tricks often, and constantly refreshing the old ones. This has worked very well for us, he’s rarely over hyper and is more than happy to nap whenever. 2) socialization. He lives here with my wife and I, his brother Chihuahua, a 7 year old cat, and a hedgehog. I love to wrestle and and play with him, the wife likes to baby and carry him, the chihuahua is always open to beating him up, that cat will play every now and then but only on his terms, and the hedgehog doesn’t want a thing to do with him. It’s important to get him around as many people and animals as possible, and to learn that not everyone wants to play or be jumped on. Luckily because he’s been around so many characters at home, and plenty of other people and dogs growing up we’ve had no issues with aggression at all. The only thing that we’ve had to make a point of working on socialization wise is the jumping on new people. He loves new people and will jump and cry upon meeting strangers, which can be intimating since they don’t know him. We have curbed this by letting people in and making him sit, and not being allowed to get any affection from the new people until he sits still. Even if people say “oh i love when dogs jump on me, it’s okay” you still have to keep him from doing so, so that he learns it is not acceptable behavior.

  2. I’ve owned a German shepherd boxer mix for roughly 5 years now. I will say the section about “wanting to do nothing but sit right next to their owners, shower them with love and be showered with love right back” is very true every night while watching tv she will set on a ottoman with either her head or paw resting on me. I’ve also noticed that she seems to notice when I’m sick. She will only leave my side to go to the bathroom or eat and drink. We call her “nurse Chloe”. I’m wondering what the rate of this mix getting cancer

    • My 8 year old boxer/shepherd has always been the same. Love machine and will lick you to death if you allow it. I don’t and my guy ‘Banjo’ knows this. Very sensitive, easy to train. I don’t even dare raise my voice to him, he is so sensitive you will see the result for days.

    • My 8 year old boxer/shepherd has always been the same. Love machine and will lick you to death if you allow it. I don’t and my guy ‘Banjo’ knows this. Very sensitive, easy to train. I don’t even dare raise my voice to him, he is so sensitive you will see the result for days.

  3. We also have a Boxer German Shepherd mix. He’s a rescue named Buster. We rescued him at 2 yrs and have had him almost a year. My wife and I laugh at times wondering if what we see with regard to his “clingyness” was ever possible. We’ve both had dogs throughout our childhood and adult lives and have NEVER seen a dog as clingy as Buster. He’s a sweetheart. We brought our newborn daughter home from the hospital two months ago and we have joked too calling him “Nurse Buster” as he runs to her side when he hears her cry. He definitely loves her already.

    For all the good we also have concerns. While he’s never shown us aggression he is very protective of us and almost to a fault. Some of our friends and family are afraid of him because he has bitten. I feel his biting is out of fear, fear and protection and being nervous. I feel like he may have anxiety. When we rescued him we learned his previous owner had died and Buster was left with him for three days before the body was found. So he def has a fear of abandonment.

    He’s a huge part of our family. In fact he’s lying right next to me now. He’s such a sweetheart of a dog I just hope we can stop the aggression toward strangers.

    • Have every stranger give him treats. Make sure you have them shake your hand and hug you, keep him sitting and then have the stranger treat him. Hope that helps!

  4. Hi,

    I have a mix breed of boxer and german sherperd. She is 3 month old and her name is LOLA. Very hyper during the day and night. I work from 11am to 7h30pm then I come home and feed her / go outside with her. I have an apartment that’s big for her to run. At 5am she wakes me up and she bites A LOT!!! She hurts me bad. I don’t know how to trainer how to potty and not bite if she can stop bitting me! I need to train her to pee and poo outside I would love that.

    • If you want to keep Lola take her to obedience classes for you both. It will be worth the cost and inconvenience. Good Luck

  5. I’ve got a soon to be six year old Boxer Shepard mix named Tank that I’ve had since he was seven weeks old. He is by far the best dog I’ve ever had the privilege of owning. He is sweet and smart and knows so many commands either verbal or hand gesture that it freaks me out at times. He’s been raised with my son who is 15 and autistic. This breed is phenomenal for special needs children. Alex has run Tank through some hands on situations where I had to wonder how the heck this dog was so tolerant. They love HUGE! He can catch a ball midair and loves that for exercise. He does get separation anxiety if I have to leave for a few days but he knows when I tell him “grandma” is coming over and he gets so excited. Just a fantastic dog and I recommend them to all. They’re just intelligent and you need to work their minds not just their muscles. Make them “find it” as in find their own ball. They are eager to please and all it takes is affection not a treat as a reward. Ps Tank is stunning! Body and fur of a Shepard markings of a boxer.

  6. I have a boxer german shepard mix named bentley who is almost 13 months old who I’ve had for about 2 months now. He is very attached at my hip and whines for me when I leave. He is super energetic but not aggressive at all that I’ve seen so far. He is friendly with my kids and nephews and also with other animals although when he sees a cat and it runs he chases it but never hurts them. My problem is that at night I want to leave him out of his cage to sleep in my bed with me but everytime i try that i end up waking up to something he has chewed up…beds shoes slippers the arm of my ohio state recliner (yeah i was pissed) I have a paper i correct him with and I never use my hands. I’m not sure why everytime i leave him unattended (while im asleep) he gets up out of my bed and chews things up…I’m not sure how to correct this problem so my bentley boy can sleep with me at night without worry of waking up to something else chewed up. He is a very loving and smart dog with so much energy to burn daily which I don’t have a fenced in yard but i do have a big field out back that I chain him out in the middle with a 40. Ft chain so he has plenty of room to play and burn energy along with 3 to 4 walks a day i take him on. He is so smart but at the same time he tests me and sometimes will be a bit stubborn when i try to get his attention to try to teach him new things and right from wrongs. Sometimes he pays attention but other times I can’t get his attention for teaching no matter how hard I try. This is my first time owning a GSD boxer mix but i have had full blooded German shepard before who was way more aggressive and temperamental but ended up being a very very good guard dog for my parents. I also wanted to know if anyone knows how to break him from pawing all the time. He uses his front paws for everything and it gets a bit frustrating at time cause i have no idea where to even begin to train him to stop using his front paws for everything he also likes to jump up on everyone not to be mean but to give kisses or just to get a good look at people I guess. If someone could plz help me with these matters from experience i would appriciate all the help I can get and am willing to try just about anything thanks everyone have a great day.

    • When you allow him to sleep with you, he becomes the alpha. Thinks he can do what he wants. Get a large crate. Place a treat in it at bedtime. Let him have his own space. At first he want like it. He will get use to it after a while. My boxer mix at 3 months goes to her crate at around 9 p.m. which is bedtime. Good luck.

  7. I have a male boxer shepherd mix and he is a 1yr and 2 months and he is wild and don’t listen that much he is from a pound and now he knows who the boss is and he calms down a lot he just has separation anxiety badly but he is training to be come my ptsd serivce dog

  8. Hi, I am thinking about getting a few month old Boxer German Shepard puppy. I have a 7 year old Chocolate Lab and he is very well trained and behaved. I am slightly worried about having the new puppy because my Lab can get a little aggressive around new dogs when he plays. I don’t want this to spark any aggression in the Boxer/German Shepard puppy. My family has always had a dog around the house so I am very familiar with how to train and take care of a dog. I’m hoping to get a female pup, I’ve heard that females and males don’t clash as much as two male dogs. Please reply if you have a similar situation and have any advice.

  9. We foster resuce german shepherd mix puppies. I currenlty have two mix boxer 8 week old. They are highly intelligent and are doing good on the potty pads. You can check them out on Ruff Redemption Animal Resuce. I am working with them on sit and stay and they are doing great. We decided to keep one as our forver puppy!! So excited. I am enjoying their personality. They are very loveable and do need supervised play time during the day. They are okay for about 5 hours alone, but then need to us to come home, play and love on them and go back to work. Great mix for sure.

  10. We have a 12 week old Boxer/German Shepard Mix female. We got her at 8 weeks. She has been a dream. Learned to do steps up and down within 4 days. Sleeps through the night, either in her little bed or snuggled next to me. She is being taught what is acceptable by my other smaller dogs and loves to tear into things. We bought her lots of teething toys and she loves them. She is very active but also very bright and wants to learn. She was able to walk on her leash within 2 days and loves to explore. She pees and poops outside and has only had 1 accident. She knows the crate is for eating food and she goes in as soon as she sees food is being prepared. We did have a slight problem with her having reflux and vomiting, but noticed that stopped as soon as we feed a small serving early at 5:30 am when I wake up and let her out.

  11. My Shepard/Boxer mix is 14 yo this month. After searching we are very lucky to still have her with us. It’s sad to know that she is at the end of her lifespan. I’ve had her since she was like 16 weeks old.

  12. Our sweet Sera Jane is a German Shepard & Boxer mix (According to the shelter). She is now 10 y/o – and the BEST big sister of a cat and puppy of 16 mos. However, she was a HANDFULL for the first 8 years. She has always been sweet – but needed intense work/training/exercising (my husband runs at least 3 miles a day.). If you do not have the energy or time for this mix – I’m afraid things may not end well.

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