| Iwein
v Dom brought good size, power and type to
the breed. He was bred in 1925 by Mrs Stockmann
from Zwiebel v Dom, a granddaughter of Rolf
v Vogelsberg bred to Buko v Biederstein. Buko
was tightly bred on Rolf Walhall. Buko’s
sire was Cäsar v Deutenkofen, who was
out of the Rolf Walhall son, Moritz v Goldrain.
Buko’s dam and Moritz were siblings.
Iwein was a tall dog with great depth of chest
and a wonderful head, with an especially broad
and powerful muzzle. Mrs Stockmann tells the
story that his aggressive nature, despite
his good points, robbed him of every success
in the show ring. He was the only non-champion,
who produced two champions: Thea v Isebeck
and Sigurd v Dom.
Sigurd’s
head was not quite as noble as that of his
sire but he had a model body. He was the grandson
of a half brother/half sister mating out of
Cäsar v Deutenkofen. Sigurd was able
to transfer the prepotency of Cäsar exceptionally
well to his progeny. It is well known how
Sigurd influenced the Boxer breed in Europe.
He influenced the breed in the USA on an even
broader base when he was sold there at the
age of 5 years. His remarkable influence is
endorsed by the 321 champions in America,
in the period 1940 to 1947, which traced back
to him.
In
Germany Sigurd left behind two noteworthy
males, the World champion Immun v Neu-Drosedow,
who in general appearance was very close to
his sire, and Zorn v Dom.
Zorn
did not become a champion, however he was
very prepotent, especially as regards his
excellent head type. Zorn, not only through
his sire, Sigurd, but also through his dam,
traced back to the immensely important Cäsar
v Deutenkofen.
In
1933 Mrs Stockmann produced once more a great
litter of which every breeder can only dream
of. Out of Zorn and Esta v.d. Würm, the
half siblings out of Sigurd, a male was born
who, in the history of the Boxer breed, is
noted as the greatest Boxer of all time: Lustig
v Dom.
Lustig
was a lovely Boxer with the best type characteristics.
He combined good substance with nobility added
to which was a perfect model head with chiseled
skull and enormous muzzle.
With
the two legendary males Sigurd and Lustig,
Mrs Stockmann had, without a doubt, the greatest
part of the absolute high point in the breed
in the 1930’s. If we compare the dogs
of this period with the original dogs, this
progress was the most important that the development
of the breed had ever experienced. From the
small, plump Boxer with dissimilar heads,
a tall, elegant dog evolved.
Whereas
relatively few good bitches where available
for Sigurd in the USA, Lustig was able to
produce 41 champions. Lustig also remained
unbeaten in America, a proud dog of noble
bearing up to the ripe old age of 12 years.
Utz
von Dom, Lustig’s brother out of a later
litter, played an equally important role in
America. Utz had come to America shortly before
the war broke out, and within a year he produced
9 champions out of six different bitches,
which speaks for itself. Utz produced a total
of 37 direct American champions.
Dorian,
the only brindle male in this quartet of outstanding
stud dogs, had at the age of 2 years already
left Germany in 1936. Like Lustig, he was
unbeaten in the show ring. He was of medium
size, very typey and noble in general appearance.
His perfect conformation and phenomenal movement
created history in America. Although, he was
not used at stud as often as Lustig, he produced
37 direct American champions. Dorian’s
dam was a daughter of Check v. Hunnenstein,
who went back to the dominant Cäsar v
Deutenkofen. Dorian’s sire was Xerxes
von Dom, a son of Sigurd. Xerxes, on his dam’s
side went back to Cäsar v Deutenkofen.
Planned
linebreeding with the progeny of Dorian, Lustig
and Utz assisted the American Boxer breed
after World War 2 to triumph over the whole
world. Already at the beginning of the 1930’s
Ch. Check v Hunnenstein brought our Boxer
in America into the limelight. The American
Boxers today have taken up a preferential
place on the various Continents. In South
America, South Africa, Australia, in the Scandanavian
countries and in England new breed combinations
are brought out. In 1955 Ch. Bang Away of
Sirrah Crest held the phenomenal record of
100 wins as the Best Dog of All Breeds. The
extraordinary popularity of the American Boxer
can be ascribed to Bang Away, just as the
predominance of the German Boxer breed belongs
to the great four, Sigurd, Lustig, Utz and
Dorian. Without these males the Boxer would
have not achieved this success in the World.
When
the Nazis came to power in Germany, dog breeding
more or less became a state matter. Breed
regulations were tightened, so that one of
the parents had to have a working qualification
and the number of puppies was limited to six.
Only a dog with a Schutzhund qualification
could become a champion. With effect from
1941 white and check puppies had to be euthanased
immediately after birth. Bi- and unilateral
cryptorchids were not to be bred from.
During
the difficult years of war, a special selection
ordinance was established to enable one to
get food rations for dogs.
The
Boxer breed in Germany revived very slowly
after the end of the war in 1945. Partly the
breed was still at a good level but a lot
of classy dogs like the lovely Lustig son
Karlo v.d. Wolfsschlucht went abroad. However,
other well-known progeny of Lustig remained
and were available to the German Boxer breed:
Danilo v. Königssee, Buten v. Elbufer,
Ajax and Arno v.d. Holderburg, Heiner v. Zwergeck,
Droll v. Täubenhäusl, the grandchild
Rex v. Hohenneuffen as well as the great grandchild
Dixi v.d. Karlsschlucht and Edler v.d. Fuhlenburg.
In
the difficult years after the war, when the
nation experienced great shortages, many litters
were produced which, due to the great demand
by the occupation soldiers, were swapped for
foodstuff and cigarettes. 848 litters with
a total of 3684 puppies were bred in 1948.
Litters were also bred from inferior dogs.
As there were only a few shows, it was impossible
to orientate oneself or to determine the state
of the breed.
In
addition to this, at the beginning of the
1950’s one tried to eradicate the white
inheritance from the breed. This campaign
had a negative impact on Boxer type. In a
relatively short time one managed to reduce
the number of whites in that stud dogs that
were prepotent for whites were avoided. However
the decrease in quality was soon noticeable.
Many Boxers lacked substance and looked strange.
As
we know, the white colour was introduced into
the genetic make-up of the Boxer by breeding
to the Bulldog. During the course of the years,
one has always found that puppies with white
markings not only have better pigmentation
but also are stronger than their plain coloured
siblings. Looking at this, the Boxer breed
continually finds itself on a narrow edge.
On the one side the Standard requires that
the breed typical characteristics such as
the stop and overbite, the vitality and pigmentation,
are fixed. On the other hand the characteristics
coupled with the Bulldog, such as loose forequarters
and steep hindquarters, are to be avoided.
Unfortunately one often sees that when the
type characteristics are exaggerated to the
extreme this results in health problems such
as breathing difficulties and lack of mobility.
It depends on the adroitness of the breeders,
to ensure that the balance between breed type,
health and working ability is kept on an even
keel.
|
