Mike Clifton, 1979

Clifton adopted his first boxer in 1990 following a divorce. "I needed a friend and she was there," he says. "She was my travelin’ buddy and that mushy face was great for meeting women."

Clifton did not meet his wife, Claudia, through his dog, however. They met when he was on reserve duty and he happened to stop into a thrift store where she was shopping. He stepped aside to let her pass in the aisle and she commented on his good manners. He thought she had an attitude and was being sarcastic. He overcame this perception problem, and in 1996 they were married.

Claudia, who is a native of Nuremberg, Germany, had been training dogs, since she was eighteen. She trained German Shepherd Dogs and, later, Doberman Pinchers in obedience and Schutzhund for competition in Germany, where dogs in the working classes had to demonstrate ability to work. "I was just playing around in dogs," says Clifton. "She was the serious one with brains and experience." After much discussion, the couple decided that boxers would be their dog and Claudia’s Dobermans were placed in good homes. They chose the name Semper Fi as their kennel name, inspired by the Marine motto Semper Fidelis, which means always faithful.

The Cliftons share the belief, basic to all they do with their dogs, that a dog from a working breed should not only be correct in conformation, it should also be able to work. They like to begin training at an early age and have had some success, especially with their youngest bitch Libby, CH Semper Fi Hue City Liberator, who is the youngest obedience-titled boxer ever.

Libby, CH Semper Fi Hue City Liberator

"Training dogs requires a feel for the dog, if you will," says Claudia. "Each dog is different and you, as a trainer, have to figure out what makes the dog tick. That’s why I do not believe in any one type of training. Whatever works is what we do. It is important to teach the dog in a language that it understands what you want from it and then create an atmosphere of respect for you in order to get the dog to perform reliably under almost all circumstances. And then there is the occasional off day," she says with a grin.

"I guess if we have a method or system it is that all of our agility-titled boxers are also basic-obedience titled," adds Mike. We believe that this is of the utmost importance and is a critical factor in being successful in agility. Not every boxer must be obedience titled, but must be able to heel and do a reliable recall with distractions and they must also do sit and down stays of at least thirty seconds, again with distractions." The two are in agreement early obedience training is essential regardless of whether the dog will show in conformation, obedience, agility, perform handicap assistance or simply be the champion on someone’s couch.

Claudia was the initiator of their adventures in agility. She lived for a time in Houston, Texas, and trained in agility there with the well-known instructor and author Jane Simmons Moake. In Georgia, where they now live, the closest agility class was about 90 minutes away so the Cliftons built their own agility equipment and set it up in the front yard. Originally, Claudia was going to run the dogs in agility but surgery on her neck knocked her out of competition and Mike was commandeered to do the running. "Of course we had nay-sayers," says Mike. "People said we could never be competitive training at home." Claudia, being at least as stubborn as Mike, said, "of course we can."

Bailey going through the tire.

Before long, Claudia instructed Mike to ask for two vacation days. "You and Libby are going to Louisiana for three days of agility shows," she said. Mike was stunned. As with his early experience in obedience, he had never watched an agility competition other than for about ten minutes on television. His only experience beyond his training with Claudia was a seminar-clinic. In his Marine’s lets-go-get-em manner he and Libby earned two legs at that event.

Progress since that time has been nothing short of stunning. Appearing at the 2000 ABC National Specialty just eleven months after beginning agility training, Clifton successfully ran all four of his boxers. But his most special memory is the weekend, not long after ABC, that he and the dogs finished eight titles. Competing that weekend and earning two titles apiece were Shiloh, Semper Fi Esprit de Corps AX, AXJ, CD; Abby, Raineylane’s Magic Moment AX, AXJ, CD; JD, Ch Southgate’s Judgment Day, AX, AXJ, CD, HIC (Herding Instinct Certificate); and Libby, Ch Semper Fi Hue City Liberator MX, AXJ, CD, HIC. Shiloh is a new mom and was back competing just eight weeks after giving birth. She has three MX legs and one MXJ leg. Her first agility trial was the ABC National Specialty. Abby, who was also competing for the first time at ABC 2000, began agility at the age of seven. The Cliftons are retiring her from agility to do something less strenuous, probably tracking. Libby continues to earn her nickname of Wonder bitch. In only four weekends, she has acquired her MX title, eight MXJ legs, seven double qualifiers and enough MACH points to place her in the top five agility boxers in the United States. She is the first AKC conformation champion to attain the Master Agility Excellent title. "Very efficient girl she is," says Mike. "a true once-in-a-lifetime dog."

Eight titles in one weekend!

On the last weekend in July, Claudia sent Mike off to compete for four days in Houston, Texas. Because of their busy schedules, they prefer to enter the longer shows, usually only once a month, where they can get in the most runs in the least amount of time. At the end of the first day of competition, Mike noticed a small bite on his leg. He didn’t think much about it. The next day, there was a thin red line advancing up his leg from the site of the bite accompanied by some pain. By Saturday, the pain had moved up to his thigh and was quite severe. "Claudia instructed me to go to the emergency room," says Mike, "but I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to run with Libby on Sunday so I promised Claudia that right after the last run on Sunday, I would go." On Sunday morning, barely able to walk, he talked things over with Libby. "I told her that we hadn’t driven eight hundred miles to watch and that if she would run, I would too." She picked up her eighth MXJ leg that afternoon.

As he promised, Mike went to the emergency room where they treated him and sent him home. The only problem was that he neglected to mention that "home" was eight hundred miles away! Mike paid for this little lapse in good sense by spending a few days in the hospital (the "small bite" was probably the work of a deadly brown recluse spider). But he has no remorse. After all, they got a leg.

The Clifton’s dog family also includes Puller, who is currently in quest of his last major for his conformation championship. And they are very proud of one of the pups from their recent litters, who was chosen to be enrolled with United Disability Service in Pennsylvania where he will be trained as a service dog. This was their second boxer to be placed as a service-dog candidate. Their first, Keefer, is currently working as a service dog in Kansas. "Breeding dogs that can do this kind of work is at least as gratifying as competing at dog shows," says Clifton. "We want to demonstrate that an American-bred boxer can have beautiful conformation and working ability in one package."

Last year, the Cliftons were overjoyed to welcome a son, Ira, into the family. Ira loves dogs and has learned to walk holding on to Abby’s collar and various other body parts. Mike has two other children as well. Holly, who is twenty, is an artist struggling to find her niche in the art world. Andy, now sixteen, is a high-school junior. In addition to being a starting lineman for his high school’s number eight ranked football team, he holds a black belt and is a three-time silver medalist in Tai Kwon Do at the United States Junior Olympics.

Future goals are ambitious. "I would love for us to have an American-bred boxer compete in Europe," says Mike. "And a top-twenty boxer with a working title would be nice as well."