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We are a few Norwegian Boxer owners who prefer going to the Swedish Boxer Club’s summer camp to any other kind of summer holidays. Some of us had learned of the camp from Swedish breeders, some from Norwegian participants in previous camps, and some had read about the camp on the Internet’s Boxer Mailing List.

The age-composition of the participants encompasses all age groups, from teenagers to people beyond the retirement age, and some of the oldest are among the most competent. In dog sports, experience and dedication -- and above all the interplay with the dog -- are more important than agility and speed.

The participants on the camp bring at least one Boxer each, and some brought two. During camp week, one becomes so accustomed to seeing those unique Boxer mugs everywhere, that one has a hard time afterwards believing ones eye’s when meeting dogs with pointed noses! Both newcomers and very experienced dog people come to the camp. The largest group, however, are middle-of-the-road dog owners who want to improve their dog’s everyday obedience, and perhaps compete in one of the dog sports from time to time, just for the fun of it. Even the dogs vary in age; both puppies and greying Boxers were present. The puppies had their own group in obedience, where they were taught good manners and basically slept a lot!

The last two years the camp has taken place in Kosta Skjutfalt, a military camp in the forests in Smaaland, where most of the famous Swedish glass huts are situated. The accommodations are narrow bunks in very small rooms, and there are but two showers on a whole corridor. The food is frugal - Swedish soldier fare.

The grounds in the forests surrounding the Kosta military camp are level and very beautiful, with green moss between the tall trees. A glimpse of a sparkling lake is sometimes seen in the distance, tempting dogs and humans to go swimming after training hours. The area is very well suited to tracking and searching, and several groups could be out in the forest simultaneously without interfering with each other.

The driving force behind the Swedish Boxer Camp is a Swedish Boxer breeder, Erika Blomberg from Skutskaer. She is a friendly, but determined lady, keeping order and system in both people and dogs. She says it is difficult to find a place that will accommodate this assembly, because most places will not allow dogs in the rooms. And Erika says that no Boxer owner will accept having their dog sleep in an outbuilding!

There were 10 instructors on this year’s camp, divided between obedience, tracking and searching. Most of them have Boxers themselves, and they have competed in obedience and dog sports on the highest levels. This year two of the winners from the Swedish Boxer Championship were instructors: Sune Halvarsson won obedience with his bitch Pepsi, and Britt-Marie Jalmberger won search with her dog Gross. These highly experienced instructors are immensely helpful to the more inexperienced among us.

The days are long at Boxer Camp, and very demanding, both physically and mentally. On the registration form one chooses which discipline one wants to attend: obedience, tracking or searching. Many of us chose to divide the days between obedience and tracking, but the more advanced participants mostly chose to spend the whole day on one discipline - for instance, searching - where each exercise may take many hours. In the evenings we listened to lectures, and afterwards enjoyed a barbecue and drinks at the Boxer Camp’s own bar. This year the weather was lovely and warm, and the dark, velvety evenings resounded with conversation and laughter.

It is great fun to train with instructors that have Boxers themselves. They will have none of the nonsense one hears elsewhere about Boxers not being able to do obedience! The point is that the different breeds are indeed different, and Boxers cannot be trained as if they were German Shepherds or Border Collies, the two breeds that often dominate in the obedience ring. The Boxer is independent and usually has its own opinion as to how exercises should be carried out, which the audience may find greatly amusing and the poor owner finds embarrassing. When the Boxer is bored and stops working, you know that you should have stopped a little earlier, in order to end the session with something successful.

The obedience instruction in Boxer Camp is based on learning one element at a time, and putting them in sequence later. The desired behavior is rewarded, the undesired ignored. Much of the instruction is about teaching the dog’s owner to reward properly! A very effective reward is the "Swedes’ Secret Weapon" – Mamma Scan Meatballs. The local shops are warned that during the week of the camp, an enormous consumption of meatballs will take place, and that they must stock accordingly. Basically, the simple exercises are rewarded with small bits of meatball, while the more difficult exercises, like jumping over a hurdle or full stop on recall, takes a series of whole meatballs thrown at the dog. And it works! As Sune puts it, the exercises will look better when the dog is motivated by expectation.

Tracking and searching imply pleasant hours in the forest, interspersed with very demanding periods. Several of us had experienced difficulties in the training with our dogs at home, but those competent instructors gave us advice and help individually. They reminded us that the dogs really know how to do it - it is we, the dog owners, who get mixed up!

Some of the dogs were particularly demanding or unruly. The owners received sound and well informed advice as to how their individual dogs should be treated. It was a relief to several of us to be with people who knew and accepted that some dogs sometimes do lunge at other dogs. That felt wonderful after various experiences in parks with small dogs and their owners, who always think that the Boxer is to blame!

The week at the camp is also an opportunity for breeders to make contact with other breeders, without the pressures of exhibiting or competing. When people work side by side in the forest, they become part of a tightly knit group, where everyone helps and encourages each other. During the relaxed gatherings in the evenings, friendships are made, as well as ties between breeders and breeding lines.

Till next year!

Eva Storsveen with Simba, in Oslo, Norway