| During
the sixties two sons of Witherford Hot Chestnut
proved to be of extreme value to the breed
in Europe, Ch. Eros v Heideloh and Ch. Carlo
ut Gütsel. They combined the typical
German substance from their dam’s side
through Ch. Pirol v Rosenheim with the overall
elegant appearance of the British bred Witherford
Boxers. These dogs not only brought back style
but also chiselled heads with typical expression,
attributes that were desperately needed at
that time. Carlo’s daughter, Ch. Dunja
v.d. Boxerau was the best example of the combination
of these most important breed characteristics.
Unbeaten for several years in Europe Dunja
not only demonstrated high breed standard
but she proved that quality must not always
go together with spectacular white markings!
Meanwhile
the Italian Boxer scene came into the limelight.
During the second World War the pioneers Mario
Confalionieri and Dr Tomaso Bosi had paved
the way for the first imports from Germany.
Excellent imports of the fifties such as Carlo
v Fels and Eitel v Altenau produced the first
Italian bred winners Ch. Coco Dei Dogi Di
Venetia and World Winner Ch. Oly di Cittanova,
who attracted immense attention all over Europe.
Ch. Carlo ut Gütsel followed them. Like
many Italian Boxers, Carlo and his daughter
Dunja, were successfully promoted by one of
the best Boxer handlers we ever had in Europe,
Joseph Waldhammer, the breeder of Dunja.
Two
outstanding German-bred sons of Carlo ut Gütsel
left their stamp as producers. One of them
was Gayus v Schatzkästlein, a great winner
of all possible champion titles in Europe
and in my opinion one of the top show dogs
of all time. This classy Boxer stood out in
the show ring for his harmonious balance and
showmanship. On his dam’s side he traced
back to Frau Stockmann’s Ch. Godewind
vom Dom. The second son by Carlo ut Gütsel
was Ch. Iko v Springbach. He influenced the
breed in Germany positively by producing excellent
breed type, probably as a result of the half
brother/half sister inbreeding on Witherford
Hot Chestnut: Carlo ut Gütsel/Lira v
Schütting.
The
most important step for the improvement and
strengthening of today’s breeding stock
in Europe was taken when Iko v Springbach
was used on a daughter of Ch. Erasmus v Nassau-Oranien,
a son of Godewind vom Dom out of a Witherford
Hot Chestnut daughter. The outcome of this
mating was the greatest producer since Lustig
v Dom and Witherford Hot Chestnut: Carlo v
Henningshof. When this outstanding young dog
with his classic head type and exceptional
Boxer expression won the World Youth Championship
title he went to Italy from where he was expertly
handled to great success by Joseph Waldhammer.
Carlo v. Henningshof won many titles but his
immense contribution to the breed was simply
his exceptional prepotency, which cannot be
valued highly enough. Carlo not only made
a large contribution to the flourishing Boxer
generations in Italy, his immense impact can
be seen in his progeny which is spread all
over Europe.
Top
reference goes to Carlo v Henninghof’s
prepotent son Ch. Carlino v Nassau-Oranien.
Carlino appealed through his exceptionally
correct forequarter and wonderful expression.
He was very closely bred, combining almost
all important breed lines of the sixties.
Many winners and excellent producers from
this stock carried most of the important breed
characteristics. The double Carlino son, Hoss
v.d. Goldquelle had a large influence, just
like his great grandson, Ch. Xanthos v Bereler
Ries. During the eighties the Italian Tito
and Olimpio Del Colle Del’Infinito were
top producers as well as the French Ch. Athos
de l’Enfert Vert, from which came the
half brother/half sister parents of the German
Ch. Ibsen v Sembacher Flur. Ibsen stands behind
the well-known Ch. Perico Du Val D’Europe.
There is no doubt that the
largest contribution to the modern European
Boxer was made by Teck and David Del Colle
Dell'Infinito. Their progeny is spread all
over Europe. Even in England, where due to
quarantine regulations an individual English
style has developed over the years, breeders
have in the meanwhile become aware of the
Italian predominance. Annual registrations
of Boxer puppies in Italy are the only ones
parallel to those of England with about 10
000 registrations. Considering that many puppies
born are not registered, breeders are very
lucky to be able to select from a very large
gene pool. As a result a tremendous variety
of characteristics is available to attain
breeding goals. It depends on the breeder's
ability to make the most of the stock at hand.
When breeding activities are limited by geographical
distances or club rules, possibilities are
reduced and it becomes more difficult to breed.
To circumvent these limitations, it is necessary
to import suitable dogs from time to time
to expand the genetic diversity in order to
keep the breed viable. In Germany over the
years a wide range of selective tests for
disposition and soundness of the breed were
introduced. This regulation madness unfortunately
led to a very small gene pool with the resultant
loss of breed characteristics.
|
