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Ms. Shirley Bell

First let me say what a great honour this judging assignment was for me. I enjoyed every moment of it. It certainly brought back many memories of having won this same event with my Can/Am Ch Bellcrest Just Watch Me, SOM back in 1984. I now know what it feels like to be on both sides, judging as well as exhibiting in the ABC Futurity.

My overall impression of the Boxers shown to me in the 2000 ABC Futurity is that the quality of today's Boxers has improved and is higher than that of some years past. I was particularly impressed with the high quality of the fawns shown to me, as it had been my experience in the past to note that brindles were better. The 9-12 fawn bitch class was chock full of quality. I could have given any one of the first four a first placing.

The weaknesses that I saw and think breeders should be paying more attention to are fronts, toplines, mouths, and movement. There were a few puppies that showed signs of timidness, but hopefully this will improve as they mature and gain confidence.

Fronts are, in my opinion, one of the most difficult faults to correct. I saw very few correct fronts.

Toplines must be level while moving as well as when stacked. Many puppies looked lovely while standing but fell apart when asked to move.

Mouths certainly could stand some improvement. I saw many good mouths, but I also saw a disturbing number that were either wry, too narrow, or far too undershot.

Movement coming and going was adequate in most cases, but many boxers could not cover ground in a smooth and effortless manner while side gaiting.

Judging puppies is a real challenge. Some puppies mature more quickly than others and are ready to win sooner than others. Judging decisions must be made as the puppies appear on the day. My winners closely resembled my visualization of the ideal boxer according to the standard for our breed. I was looking for those puppies that were built correctly with pretty heads, expressive eyes, proper angles, nice necks flowing smoothly into shoulders, level toplines and good tailsets. In many classes I found it necessary to nitpick in order to sort out the placings.

• 6-9 brindle dogs was won by Broadtop's Law and Order

• 6-9 fawn dogs was won by Brookwood's Dream Dancer.

• 6-9 brindle bitches was won by Aracrest's Electra

• 6-9 fawn bitches was won by Standing-O Debut by Yankee

Best 6-9 was the fawn bitch. She was very stunning, with correct angles, and showed well.

Reserve 6-9 was the fawn dog, a similar type to the bitch and also a showman.

• 9-12 brindle dogs was won by Suro's Royal Flush

• 9-12 fawn dogs was won by Harlyn Bee-Vee Heir

• 9-12 brindle bitches was won by Pinebrook's Enya

• 9-12 fawn bitches was won by Raypat's Queen of Hearts

Best 9-12 was the fawn bitch who went on to win Best Puppy and Grand Prize Futurity.

Reserve 9-12 was from the same class, Di Bella's Black Banter. She is another top quality bitch with many of the same outstanding qualities as the class winner to whom she ran a very close second.

• 12-15 brindle dogs was won by Moon Valley That's My Story

• 12-15 fawn dogs was won by Ashaud's Grand Illusion

• 12-15 brindle bitches PJ's Carbonara Diamond Mine

• 12-15 fawn bitches Sirrocco's Toplines Isabella

Best 12-15 was the Brindle dog. He was also the Best Junior in Futurity. He is a very clean headed dog. He was very impressive when stacked, with nice neck, topline and tailset. His movement while side gaiting was outstanding.

Reserve 12-15 was the fawn dog. A smooth fawn dog, who looked as good moving as he did when stacked.

• 15-18 brindle dogs was won by Ch Vancroft-Scarboro Zip Drive

• 15-18 fawn dogs was won by Yankee's Pride at Standing-O

• 15-18 brindle bitches was won by Ch Rosend's Lady Day

• 15-18 fawn bitches was won by Kreyon's On Parade

Best 15-18 was the brindle bitch, a very typey bitch who asked, no, demanded to win. This bitch and her handler made an outstanding team.

Reserve was Nastinan's Kiss me Kate who was second in the class to the Best 15-18 bitch. Another very well handled, pretty headed bitch, who pushed the winner very hard.

Grand Prize Futurity Winner - Raypat's Queen of Hearts.

Needless to say, I liked this bitch extremely well. She has everything I would ask for in a Boxer bitch. Nice clean type of head with dark expressive eyes. Her mouth is perfection, her neck, topline, and tailset are ideal. When she moved she fulfilled the promise that she showed while in a stack. She held her outline, moved effortlessly and was totally at one with her handler. What a pretty picture they made.