| Foreword |
|
This
article was written in 1912
and for the vast majority of
modern readers it will be the
oldest piece of Boxer writing
they will ever read. These were
times the Boxer breed was still
in its infancy and the Boxer
breeders' imagination was far
ahead of what they had in their
yards. Looking back, every step
they took at those times was
in the name of future development,
not yesterday's glorious win
or today's quick profit. Carving
our beloved Boxer out of quite
rough and unattractive material,
those early breeders were never
satisfied with their current
state of affairs - it seems
that even while they were achieving
an amazingly steady rate of
progress, they always looked
forward to even more wonderful
improvements. I believe that
the qualities those very few
early Boxer breeders possessed
such as perfectionism and
stubborn persistence enabled
them to create the wonderful
dog we have today.
When
I first came across "Judgment
and faults of the Boxer"
five or so years ago, I was
amazed by its applicability
to our current situation in
the breed. Written only ten
years after the appearance of
the first official Boxer Standard,
it was impossible for me to
tell if it was written in 1952,
1962 or perhaps just last year.
As I proceeded through this
complex article, it would not
have surprised me had the author
been commenting on the winners
of the 53rd ATIBOX. I felt as
though he were still here among
us, perhaps I saw him at the
Klubsieger show last month marking
his catalogue from ringside.
I was totally impressed by this
piece of writing, and if I ever
allowed myself to think those
early Boxer people were surely
not as smart in their early
20th century as we are today
with all our precious technology,
by the end of this article I
gave up any of those silly thoughts.
The early guys definitely knew
what they were doing, where
they wanted to go, and they
most certainly knew what the
Boxer was much better than you
or I. There are valuable lessons
to be learned from this article.
Remember that all the modern
Boxer Standards no matter the
country were all drawn from
that very first 1902 Standard,
and nobody has canceled any
of its fundamental requirements.
Each and every part of "Judgment
and faults of the Boxer"
from 1912 that appears basic
in its presentation but is as
complete as anyone might wish
is fully applicable to
our modern population. I find
the only explanation for the
sad fact we still battle the
same issues those before us
did in our lack of proper admiration
and respect for the breed's
creators and their opinions.
Our breed is plagued by young
and not-so-young wannabees who
merrily believe they know it
all and need no guidance. Their
"creative freedom"
or what they call it today is
in fact no more than poor interpretation
of the Standard and a complete
disregard for those without
whom the Boxer would not exist
today. I suggest you read this
article very slowly, sentence
by sentence, sucking in the
essence of the Boxer. After
reading this I realized the
immense responsibility I have
as a breeder to preserve the
breed in its original state,
to carry it through my times
and pass it onto those who will
come in my place in the future,
and I hope with all my heart
that each and every one of you
Boxer people will have similar
thoughts. You are the ones responsible
for the future of the Boxer,
no matter if you breed, judge,
own a stud dog or try to rule
us all in your comfortable Club
positions.
Those who know me long enough
might remember the times I came
to conclusions Boxer was a perfect
mixture of Terrier and Bulldog.
A politically inappropriate
opinion nowadays, I strongly
believe that Boxer is the closest
relative of the Pit Bull and
that these two breeds share
exact same roots. I had to fight
for this opinion with most of
you, modern Boxer people refusing
to accept any Terrier taking
part in Boxer's make-up and
not wishing to acknowledge our
dog's direct ties to those "horrible"
Pit Bulls. Could it be your
sales would start going down
had the general public realized
our wonderful Boxers are direct
cousins of Pit Bulls?.. Well,
sweethearts, take a look at
any of the early Bullenbeisers
pictures and you will see wonderfully
classic Pit Bull shapes. Realization
of Bull-and-Terrier origin of
our breed is of paramount importance
to anyone involved in Boxers
in anything more than a pet
owner role. The very shape and
character of ideal Boxer is
in the exact middle between
the two, and breeding Boxers
is very similar to rope-walking
in that sense. Balance, balance
and balance! I will have to
write a separate piece on this,
and I as well might, but back
to our wonderful 1912 article,
it was something of an amazing
revelation for me to see Bulldog
and Terrier being casually mentioned
in several paragraphs as the
two extremes between which the
correct Boxer sits. Realizing
that my idea was indeed correct
and was probably more of a common
knowledge back then created
more questions as to who when
and how decided to drop the
Terrier part out altogether
and why this article is not
enjoying as great popularity
as it no doubt deserves. The
tracks lead back to Boxer Club
functioners, but I am afraid
I am going to bore my readers.
Despite numerous other wonderful
discoveries I have made with
the help of this article (like
John Wagner borrowing most of
it for Chapter VI of his "The
Boxer"), I am going to
step off the scene for now and
leave it up to you to make your
own.
|
| JUDGMENT
and FAULTS OF THE BOXER |
|
One can begin to judge the
Boxer when one knows
what he should be, Guard Dog
and Companion, I name Guard
Dog first as formerly he was
only that and not the Companion
which he is today.
The unique appearance of the
Boxer indicates his calling
or vocation, his powerful, vigorous
head, his strength, agility
and build all give evidence.
We find that formerly the most
desired qualities for him as
a Guard were those of substance
and keenness.
To mold the old Boxer into the
new some small changes have
taken place, and from the fierce
Cerberus of former times has
developed the kindly flatterer,
and from the muscular but cumbersome
He-man has come an elegant free
moving companion.
In the course of this transformation,
great care had to be taken not
to sacrifice the Boxer characteristics
where it could be avoided. Thus
today we still treasure the
golden character and find the
same medium size, the same typical
head, the same original colors
and the sturdy frame.
The change has come about through
the addition of nobility to
the original working dog, previously
he was only the one, now he
is both.
However, in this very fact lies
the great difficulty in judging,
and there is a danger that one
will want him, as Guard Dog,
to be as heavy as possible,
whilst the other will want him,
as a Companion, to be as tall,
elegant and refined as possible.
These divergent interpretations
may well create two different
types of Boxer and it is therefore
essential that there should
be only one correct assessment
and understanding of the evolution
of the modern Boxer.
The more or less desired
mixture of the old and the new,
a combination of strength and
elegance shows itself in:
|
| 1.
Overall general appearance: |
This
will almost always be apparent
to the judge on first sight, and
despite the later discovery of
faults such dog will remain an
outstanding animal.
Conversely, a dog can be correct
in all individual parts and nevertheless
make an unfortunate impression
because the harmony and proportion
is lacking. This failing is something
which one feels instinctively
but is not always clearly able
to explain.
A common failing in lack of proportion
is that between the Bulldog and
the Terrier, substance and elegance,
power and nobility, but it can
also be between two different
parts of the anatomy, for example,
between the head and the body,
between height, breadth and length,
or between size and weight.
The overdone substance ranges
from a coarse head, through to
a short, fleshy neck, an over-deep
brisket and short legs to outright
fleshiness and fat. Such a dog
possesses to be sure a certain
raw strength, but he lacks nobility,
he carries too much dead weight
and is no mover, he comes nearest
in type to the Bulldog.
When the balance is too much in
favor of elegance at the cost
of substance, then he is the very
reverse, tall, light boned, narrow
chested and carries too little
weight and one is inclined to
scoff at him as being a Terrier.
He is certainly designed to move
but he is no Boxer because he
lacks the sturdiness, the strong
bone, the taut musculation, and
the powerful but nimble figure.
Size alone is no fault, except
when it takes away the nobility,
this is more often the case with
large Boxers than with those of
medium size, such a dog appears
raw.
Nobility manifests itself not
only in the correct construction
of all the individual parts, but
above all in the beautiful outline,
particularly in the neck and both
topline and underline, in the
noble modeling of the head, in
the dry musculation, the taut
thin skin, the fine coat, clear
color and in the proud and open
bearing and the easy reined movement,
particularly when at play.
Dry musculation is that which
is free from fat and connective
tissue and it appears as though
sculpted under the taut skin.
It appears spongy if it is interspersed
with these components, it is soft,
feels doughy and is covered with
a loose stand-off skin and coat.
A dog is in bad condition when
he is either too fat or too thin,
or shows any sign of specific
illness or lack of attention or
cleanliness. |
| 2.
Head: |
Also
loses through lack of balance
between type and nobility. The
type is seen more from the profile
whilst the nobility can be better
seen from the front in the comparatively
narrow skull, in the flat smoothly
arched cheeks and the very broad
muzzle. The most common faults
are skull and cheeks too broad,
the bridge of the nose too narrow
and the muzzle too pointed.
There are many variations in type
as shown in profile, the apple-head
which is round and too short is
very wrong, the thin head with
straight lines, mostly lacking
rise of skull is also wrong.
An unbroken stop, sharply pointed
nose, flews which hang perpendicular,
straight or sloping away are wrong,
these should be more curved and
rounded at the corners.
If the stop is pushed too far
into the forehead then the angle
is too shallow and the head has
too much rise of skull. The opposite
of this is the down-faced head
where the angle of the stop is
too great. The former type of
head is usually also too short,
has too much turn-up of nose and
the underjaw sweeps too sharply
upwards. This is the exaggerated
Bulldog type, and he has too much
chin.
A muzzle has too little chin when
the under jaw is either so short
that the mouth is level or when
the upper lip covers the underneath
one instead of lying lip on lip,
edge on edge. A level mouth never
has enough chin whereas one which
is well undershot can have enough,
in fact a Boxer with a well defined
chin is always undershot.
But indeed a well undershot jaw
and a well defined chin are not
always one and the same for if
the underjaw is too long or the
upperjaw too short it can be the
case that the upper lip fails
to cover the teeth which can then
be seen when the mouth is closed,
a hideous sight which can only
be surpassed by a hare lip.
Heavy wrinkle, overhanging lips,
too deep a furrow between the
eyes, a gloomy, morose expression
as well as the above named faults
all detract from the exclusive
outlook of the Boxer which cannot
be described in words but must
be felt. |
| 3.Body: |
|
Assessment of the body is important
because it is the proof of the
practical capabilities of the
Boxer and difficult because
it calls for knowledge of anatomical
faults and virtues and it is
incomplete if is not also a
proof of movement at all speeds.
Capability for work and a harmonious
overall appearance have the
same basis, namely correct construction.
The Boxer is both a high speed
and a long distance mover, these
are not one and the same and
not every breed is required
to be both, thus great things
are expected of the material,
the bones, muscles and ligaments
of the back the forehand and
the hind quarters.
Above all however, there must
be a deep chest to give ample
room for the intensive workings
of the heart and lungs. It should
not be really broad, such as
that of the heavy draft horse,
nor wide and hanging between
the shoulders as with the Bulldog,
rather should it be well proportioned
in relation to the foreleg height.
It must, however, be deep with
well sprung ribs reaching well
back and the brisket must reach
at least to the elbows.
Great stress is to be laid
upon the assessment of the shortness,
straightness and muscular strength
of the back. The closer together
the individual vertebrae are
joined, the shorter the back
will appear and it will add
to the firmness and smart carriage
that is necessary for the transfer
of power to the hindquarters
in driving forward and for the
upward swing of the forequarters.
Long or soft backs cause the
body to sway thereby impairing
the forward movement. The opposite
is the roached back, one where
the back bone curves upward
and usually combined with a
falling croup. All three faults
are indications of weakness
in the dog and impair his capability
for work.
A soft back is often the result
of heavy and numerous litters
or from continually over filling
the stomach or from disease,
such as rickets. The roached
back on the other hand, cannot
be acquired, it is congenital
and it is a notorious sign of
the relationship with the Bulldog,
it is often found in conjunction
with the straight, weak hindquarter.
For the same reasons as for
the back, the loins must also
be short, strongly muscled and
broad. Long narrow or sunken
in loins are faulty, they should
preferably be lightly arched.
The three parts of the back,
the back proper from the withers,
the loin and the croup must
form a whole picture of a short,
strongly muscled flat surface
without any significant arching
out or sinking in of the bones.
It is that which the standard
calls a short, strong, firm
back.
|
| 4.Rear
and hindquarters: |
The
most important part of the Boxer's
body is the hindquarter and it's
usefulness depends on the strength
and shortness of the back, the
position of the croup and its
specific construction.
The most common fault is steepness,
either as a result of excessively
elastic articular ligaments which
permit the articulations to stretch
beyond the allowed maximum or
as a result of a too obtuse angle
of the joints of the hind leg,
A boxer with weak knee and hock
joints can at times appear to
stand well angulated but at other
times displays the fault so that
the entire hind leg forms one
straight line, for instance when
he stands only on his hind legs,
or in his mincing step or when
he is sparring up to another dog.
The shape of the croup and the
type of tail set are dependent
on the formation of the hip bones
and on how horizontal or sloping
they are.
If the angles of hip, knee and
hock are obtuse so that the bones
approximate a straight line and
if the thigh bone is short, then
the thighs will be narrow, the
knee angle elongated and the entire
hindquarters straight. On account
of this they can appear overbuilt
as they naturally stand higher
behind than ones where the angulation
is more sharply defined. Stiff
hindquarters, resulting from lack
of exercise also identify themselves
in this way, the articulations
do not move sufficiently but are
held rather rigidly and stiffly.
If the thigh bone is set into
the hip joint so that it almost
slopes forward then the entire
hindquarter is pushed forward
under the body and the dog stands
under.
If the stifle joint is such that
the thigh is upright and the tibia
lies at too sharp an angle so
that the stifle lies well to the
rear of a right angle through
the hip joint, then the dog stands
too far back.
Finally, if the angle between
thigh and tibia is correct, the
stifle well angulated the second
thigh of good length but the hock
angle is too acute and is not
at right angles but has the metatarsals
sloping forward to the ground
then the dog is sickle hocked.
This fault is the least serious
of them all, in fact in many breeds
this is not considered a fault,
rather it is a desirable feature.
Seen from behind we have the barrel-legged
stance when the hocks are spaced
too far apart and cow hocks when
they are too close together.
All these stances can be mixed
or combined with flaccidity of
the ligaments. Thus we see dogs
steep behind and at the same time
barrel stanced or they stand under
but are still cow hocked.
Whilst it is that viewed from
the side the shape of the hindquarter
is defined by the bone structure,
it is from behind that the dimension
of desired musculation is to be
seen, showing full, well-rounded
thighs or flat and empty ones.
Strong muscles require accordingly
strong and lengthy bones. |
| 5.Shoulder
and front: |
|
In a correctly made shoulder,
the scapula is long, broad and
sloping, the underarm is correspondingly
horizontal and likewise long.
The scapula is the parallel
of the femur and the underarm
the parallel of the tibia.
With faulty upright shoulders,
the scapula and underarm are
shorter and not so well laid
back forming a wider angle in
the shoulder joint. The drawbacks
to this shoulder in regard to
movement are as follows. Room
for play in the forward movement
is dependent on the length and
layback of the shoulder as this
permits a more spacious pendulum
movement and the foot can then
be correspondingly set down
further forward. With upright
shoulders the foreleg cannot
be swung upward as far as is
necessary for a roomy stride
and the movement becomes jogging
and jerky, particularly when
accompanied by a short, straight
pastern. Whereas with well laid
shoulders, exactly as with well
angulated quarters the shock
is absorbed and the movement
becomes smoother and more elastic.
Boxers with upright shoulders
give themselves away with their
short, bucking, choppy gallop.
Naturally the layback of the
shoulder shows itself in the
outward appearance. With upright
shoulders the forelegs appear
to be placed further forward
than when the layback is correct
and the forechest is then flat
and lacks the refined arch of
the shoulder joint. In many
Terriers this is quite normal.
Frequently faulty musculation
goes with a faulty bone construction
and as a result of a narrow
shoulder blade the muscles are
too weak so that the brisket
sinks between the shoulders
and the blades can be seen through
the skin at the withers, i.e.
loose shoulders. Or the shoulder
blades can be pressed too close
to the chest, i.e. tied-in shoulder.
Or finally the muscles can be
so over developed that we speak
of loaded shoulders as in Bulldog
which impair the speed and give
the dog a raw and coarse appearance.
The loose shoulder is more easily
noticed than the tied one and
at certain times, for instance
when turning the neck in the
opposite direction, the elbow
stands away from the body so
that one can get the whole hand
in the space between.
The influence of the shoulder
construction shows itself particularly
in the set of the neck. With
the immaculate shoulder the
neck rises freely and elegantly
from the body. On its underside
it blends into the shoulder
and chest in a well defined
curve and should follow the
line of the upper curve which
blends into the withers in the
same way. On account of the
sloping shoulder blades the
withers are high set and reach
well back. The carriage of such
a neck is vastly different from
one with steep shoulders, through
which the withers are forced
too far forward. The neck is
short and cannot have such a
proud and upright carriage,
both upper and lower lines being
without curves. lf the withers
are short as a result of the
vertebrae being too short the
neck will appear deeply set
and the entire dog overbuilt,
especially when the hindquarters
are also steep. A barrel chest
and a broad, low front increase
the impression of coarseness.
The forelegs seen from the front
must be straight i.e. parallel
to each other and vertical to
the ground so that they can
swing back and forth like pendulums.
In addition a bowed front, legs
turning either out or in are
also faulty. In the first instance
the elbows are pressed too close
to the chest and the feet are
turned out-as in a ballet position.
In the other the elbows stand
away from the body and the feet
turn in. Elbows standing away
should not be confused with
loose shoulders, both faults
can be either separate or combined.
|
| 6.Feet:
|
| Poor
feet can badly impede movement.
Open feet are the result of sandy
or soft ground. Hare feet can
either be as a result of soft
ground or due to weak ligaments.
Good, tight, well arched cat feet
with hard soles can only be acquired
through exercise on hard ground. |
| 7.Movement:
|
The
Boxer with strong loins, dry thigh
musculation with matching joints
has a springy, elastic gait. The
loins and croup remain firmly
in position without any spontaneous
movement. Against this the one
with weak loins waddles, and every
movement of the hindquarters is
wavering and unsteady. All this
shows itself much more in gaiting
than in galloping which can cover
up many weaknesses.
The easiest gallop and at the
same time the greatest endurance
and speed is always to be found
in the best constructed dog. Fore
and hind action are so effortless,
so strong and rhythmic that there
is absolutely no question of strain.
With the animal with weak loins,
the hindquarters are not driven
by the muscles of the back and
equally strongly propelled forward
under the body, rather they do
this of their own specific strength
(moving solely from the thighs)
and thus the stride is too short,
neither reaching back far enough
behind nor reaching far enough
forward under the body in front,
giving a rather short, fast and
frequent step. Such a mover can
still have endurance provided
he has exceptionally strong thigh
muscles which can only be developed
through a tremendous amount of
exercise.
The opposite of this are those
which stand too far back or are
sickle hocked. The greater length
of the thigh bones adapt themselves
better to cover more ground and
to propel the hindquarters forward
with more drive, they do not suffer
on speed but more on endurance.
The tiredness results not only
through the weakening of the muscles
but also through pain as a result
of the impact of obtuse angulation
and through faulty feet. |
JUDGMENT
AND FAULTS OF THE BOXER article
Extract from The Boxer Stud Book,
Volumes 4 & 5, published 15th
April, 1912
Translated by Mrs.Pat Withers
Foreword by Alexandra Gav
First web appearance by Eurozone
Boxer kennel |
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