A few months have now passed since I returned to the UK having judged a
decent entry of Boxers at the Somerset Hills Kennel Club in New Jersey. During this period
I have been reflecting on how different the US show system is from our own and certainly
how different our two Boxer communities have become.
I suppose the first thing that always
strikes me when visiting the US is how the modern American Boxer has become so insular. It
certainly is difficult to identify many people using foreign bloodlines and it is very
difficult to find much interest in anything that takes place in the Boxer world beyond
American shores.
As one example, I recall visiting a very
famous American show recently with the owner of the bitch who holds the record as the Top
Winning UK Boxer of all time (by some considerable margin). Her owner had a number of
photos since she thought, quite understandably, that people would like to see her. After
all - she is a superstar! Indeed, the Boxer I am talking about is a beautiful bitch who
undoubtedly is one of those rare animals who conforms very, very closely to the Breed
Standard. And yet, any interest in seeing photographs of her was strictly limited from the
local American breeders.
This bitch has no American breeding
anywhere close up in her pedigree, so none of the names would be familiar; she is probably
of a slightly different style to the Boxers that the American audience would be used to
seeing (though she did win under some well known American names, including Rick
Beauchamp); and she obviously had uncropped ears. All of this appeared to be enough to
switch most people off - not rudely, you must understand - but it was very obvious that
they really weren't all that interested.
Now, before any of you issue a warrant for
my immediate arrest, I am not for one minute suggesting that Americans are alone in this
trait. I know from personal experience that the average UK enthusiast would probably
exhibit similar characteristics if the same thing happened in reverse. I am also convinced
that there are other European countries where the Boxer enthusiasts genuinely believe that
they have the 'God-given' right to assume that their Boxers are the ultimate in breed type
and that no one else really knows what they are doing with the breed. Such people probably
find the Anglo-American style of Boxers a complete mystery. Again, just like we probably
do in reverse!
However, my point is not over who is right
and who is wrong but, as I wrote in my book a couple of years ago, I do find it depressing
that in the closing days of the 20th Century, each National Boxer scene is becoming more
and more isolated with each country believing that they have the 'best' Boxers in the
world. It is even more depressing to record that the people who make statements like this
are usually the ones who have never traveled outside of their own country or if they do
travel, they do so with a closed mind.
In 1999, the world is smaller than ever:
show results are zapped around the internet at the speed of light just a few minutes after
the rosettes are handed out; international travel has never been cheaper; language
barriers continue to fall ... and yet, each country is increasingly doing its own thing as
far as the Boxer is concerned and variations in national type are consequently becoming
far too pronounced. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be to reliably
re-establish the center ground where true breed type probably lies.
It is an interesting exercise to dig out
photographs of the three Best in Show Winners at the National Breed Clubs (or equivalent)
in the United States, the UK and Germany. If you look at these three in 1959 and then look
at the three in 1999 you will see just how diverse breed style has become. There was
certainly a much greater similarity between the 1950s winners (perhaps not surprising when
you consider breed history.)
I suppose the point of this article, such
as it is, is to ask whether we all need to use the end of the Millennium as a good time to
sit down and re-evaluate our own interpretation of breed type. After all, every version of
the Boxer breed standard demands the same type of dog and there should be no excuse for
the national variations that currently exist.
Maybe we all need to open up our minds and
acknowledge the simple fact that each country's Boxers have their good points and their
bad points. And it may just be that the healthiest way forward for all of us will be to
cherry pick the qualities from many different sources. But first of all, you probably have
to change your mindset. Subscribe to every Boxer publication you can get your hands on
(there are loads of them!); go to as many shows around the globe as you can get to;
appreciate the virtues and become a true breed enthusiast - it is simply not good enough
to be a 'UK' Boxer breeder, or a 'German' Boxer breeder or an 'American' Boxer breeder. We
all need to think a bit wider than that.
Tim Hutchings |
