Bullenbeisser, Barenbeisser & Boxer

The Bullenbeisser (Bull Bitter) and Barenbeisser (Bear Bitter) were two strains of a molosser type dog that existed in central Europe until the early 1900's. They were used to hunt large game and protect the family home as they were notorious for being extremely strong and agile. It's believed that these breeds were descendants from the old Roman war dogs that the Romans left scattered all over Europe. By the mid 1800's the traditional Bullenbeisser was becoming increasingly rare as it was being used to create a new German show breed, the Boxer. The first Boxers were believed to be about 50% Bullenbeisser and 50% English Bulldog, however there is also suggestions that Spanish Alanos were used to create the Boxer. The Boxer breeders continued adding further Bullenbeisser blood to the Boxer to achieve a mixture of about 70% Bullenbeisser and 30% English Bulldog as they preferred the taller legged dog. Due to the large amounts of Bullenbeissers used in the creation of the Boxer and the popularity of this new breed it meant that there were fewer Bullenbeissers and less interest in keeping the old breed. The last examples of Bullenbeissers died out during World War one. — Bullenbeisser, Barenbeisser & Boxer