In the late 1940s, the Boxer became so popular that it seemed like everyone who had a backyard larger than a postage stamp found a Boxer to put in it. Although popularity often seems like a good thing to the general public, in the world of dog breeding, more is definitely not better. The more popular a breed becomes, the greater the prevalence of puppy mills and backyard breeders, who try to capitalize on the breed's popularity without paying any attention to maintaining the quality and high standards of the breed.

In 1999, the American Kennel Club registered 34,998 Boxers, representing a drop of a little over 1,000 registrations from the year before. That number means that the Boxer ranks tenth in popularity among the 148 breeds the AKC actually registers.

Acquiring "Top Ten" status may cast a warm glow in some circles, but in purebred dogs, it sends a cold chill down the spines of concerned breeders. The last thing Boxer breeders want to see is a repetition of what happened to the breed during the exploitative 1940s.