| What
in your opinion the health problems the breed
has in general?
Generally speaking the biggest problem I think
is CANCER in all departments.
What
is your opinion about white Boxers?
We shall have to live with them.
What
is your opinion about ear cropping/tail docking
bans?
For old breeders as I am, who lived a life
time with cropped ears and docked tails it
is very difficult to adapt these silly laws.
So many of us gave up and as far as Germany
is concerned the development suffers a great
deal.. Many good dogs dropped out of the breeding
scheme, at the same time registrations and
other club activities are reduced. Personally
I have come to terms with the somewhat foreign
outlook, as long as the overall appearance
is typical, which glosses over the cosmetical
changes.
Do you think health tests are necessary
in Boxer breeding? Please give reasons and
examples. Is there something we would miss
if we did not health test? Is there anything
we miss when we refuse a wonderful dog who
failed one of the tests?
The
different health tests can help breeders to
evaluate the overall situation. With each
dog the outlook mostly is different. As the
genetic scientists declare that we can only
fight against two faults at a time, we should
choose the two most important defects or shortcomings.
Overall I would say as long as the results
are tolerable a wonderful dog should not be
refused.
Do
you feel current show exhibitors are ethical
and show enough sportsmanship? How, in your
opinion, do the exhibitors of today compare
to those who were showing Boxers years/decades
ago? Do they appear to have different goals
and methods or not?
Everybody
is chasing after the big win, there is no
difference between those exhibitors who were
showing years ago or those of today. There
shall always be a tough competition. But what
I cannot stand today is the way people are
performing in the ring just ignoring the simple
ethical rules of behaviour. There is no respect
and sportsmanship at all. They do not hesitate
to show their disapproval of the judge´s
decision by screaming or explicit leaving
the ring.
What
qualities of character do you think a good
Boxer breeder must have?
A
good Boxer breeder should love the breed,
he must know the breeding tools and techniques.
He should be honest and discrete, always fair
and honest against the pros and contras of
the dogs. He must avoid discrimination against
other people and their dogs.
What
is your opinion about dog shows? Do you think
they help breed better dogs or the opposite?
Do people care too much about winning or is
a normal part of being a breeder? Is it possible
to be a good breeder without attending shows?
I think breeders and judges need shows in
order to find out what is going on in the
breed. By comparing one dog against the other
we learn to differ between the good and bad
points. Usually the newcomer searches the
big winner, no matter whether he is a well
bred dog and what he already produced, no
matter whether he suits the pedigree and outlook
of the bitch. A good breeder should judge
by the offspring of the dog which he is planning
to use. That´s why shows are a must,
especially for beginners. Breeding without
shows can only be done by those individuals
with long experience who are used to responsible
and independent breeding principles.
What
would be your message and advise to the young
breeders that just come to the breed now?
Try
to learn by watching judges and listening
to the experienced people. Avoid the know-all
persons. Learning by doing is the best advice.
Looking
at the new generation of Boxer breeders and
judges, do you have any fears for the future?
The
new generation is convinced that they know
everything better and will not request the
experience and advice of the previous generations.
It seems to me that there is not much interest
in the development of the breed, the goal
is winning, no matter in which way. Under
these circumstances I feel sorry for the future.
What,
in your opinion, are the five most important
things the Boxer breeders of today must pay
attention to?
Boxer
breeders of today first should have a good
look round, compare his bitch with the requirements
of the Standard, study her pedigree. If he
finds her good enough from outlook and brains,
he should let have done the health tests,
slight deviations should be tolerable. On
the other hand the dog with a severe defect
should not be used for breeding.
What
in your prognosis the breed will become in
50 years from now. How the breed will be developed?
Progress or regress? Do you think the “golden
age” of Boxer has passed or is it waiting
for us in the future?
The
breed is fluctuating continuously. At the
moment the phase is not very encouraging But
I reckon there will always turn up good dogs
again, which will help to improve the situation.
The anti-dog campain spread all over the countries
is very harmful. So what will be in 5O years
from now we cannot foresee. The “Golden
times”of the thirties and sixties will
not come back - as long as there is no other
LUSTIG or HOT CHESTNUT on the horizont.
With
experience, every breeder learns more about
certain negative traits such as cleft palate,
cryptorchidism, narrow nostrils, bad temperaments,
etc, and which lines or dogs tend to carry
a particular faults. Some breeders choose
to keep this information discreet and use
it for their own benefit, while others don’t
mind sharing their findings with other breeders.
Please tell your personal position on this.
There
will always arise disappointing results. In
Germany these are controlled and reported
so that breeders cannot keep them discreet.
The only danger I see in this procedure is
that newcommers concentrate too much on these
negative lists so that they can easily loose
the general view on the breed, which can mean
loss of type.
Do
you think that negative traits such as cleft
palate, cryptorchidism, narrow nostrils, bad
temperaments, health issues, etc can be completely
eliminated?
NO,
bearing in mind that the forerunners Bullenbeißer
and Bulldogs were of unknown origin, we can
only try to limit the negative traits by careful
planning
What
is your opinion on “kennel blindness”
and how would you suggest breeders escape
this trap?
Narrow-minded
breeders mostly do not want to learn, they
easily loose the eye for their own stock.
They can only escape this trap by looking
around as far as possible comparing the other
dogs with their own dogs. I fear there are
far too many in this trap.
Doing Boxers can sometimes be heartbreaking,
expensive and very demanding hobby. What keeps
you motivated?
LOVE
TO THE BREED keeps me motivated. If you do
not love the Boxer, and you are not prepared
to go through your hobby with all the above
mentioned problems, you will soon loose interest
and leave the breed.
Having
witnessed the birth and the death of so many
generations of the Boxer breed, do you feel
we as breeders have made any serious mistakes
during this period?
I
think there are far too many people, who are
not aware of the fact where the breed is going,
ups or downs always depend on how much the
gene pool is refilled. The biggest mistake
is when breeders do not realize the situation.
Unfortuntely this happens far too often, a
great many breeders in Germany are beginners.
They give up too quickly, when there is no
success.
It
is relatively easy to notice that the Boxer
breed has evolved significantly over the past
twenty years, so much that many people feel
winners from that time would have no success
in the ring had they been able to be shown
today. What is the reason of this? Can we
speak of the breed progress or should we think
about the fact we have deployed from the original
Standard?
I
think that the breed has deployed from the
original Standard enormously over the past
twenty years. The OVERTYPICAL Boxer of the
TWO EXTREMES are in the MAJORITY, a Boxer
of balanced characteristics is the exception
and therefore he mostly has no chance. Judges
and breeders are to blame, but I fear they
cannot realize the alterations, simply because
they were not there in those days.
We
have all been witnessing that very often a
personal preference of a breeder or a group
of breeders influences the breed dramatically.
Do you find that personal preferences have
place and say in the Boxer breeding and are
merely a part of the creativity many breeders
show? On the opposite, do you feel that personal
preferences have no place and say in breeding
as they often take the breed into the wrong
direction?
There
might happen some influences through “politics“
of certain breeders, stirring up the crowd,
but fundamentally they cannot effect the breed
deeply. Breeding and judging to a certain
extent always will be subjective, so part
of personal creativity should be accepted,
as long as we follow the basic principles
of the standard.
What
were the best producing stud dogs that you
remember? Which qualities had their passed?
Apart
from HOT CHESTNUT there were the two CARLO
v. HENNINGSHOF and CARLINO NASSAU-ORANIEN
from former times, Later came TECK and DAVID
del Colle dell'INFINITO and PERICO DU VAL
DÉUROPE: alltogether dominant stud
dogs outstanding in head type, bodywise here
and there lacking in strength behind.
If
Frau Stockmann and other great Boxer breeders
of the past could see the breed today, do
you think they would approve of which direction
we are taking it?
Already
during the sixties I saw FRAU STOCKMANN-refrain
from discussing the development of the breed.
I presume nowadays she would not see a chance
of coming back to normal
proportions and circumstances.
Bremen, 02/O5/2004. Karin Rezewski |
