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| Great Lakes Boxer Club UKC Licensed Conformation Club #MI-110 |
| Featured Article October, 2008 |
| Loose The Hounds Submitted by Dawn Thompson of Ardenvale Boxers |
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One of the things that I love about UKC is that they try to stress the total dog. The total package. They want to stress the working
ability as well as the structural perfection of a dog, and they have a number of programs to encourage this vision.
There is the Total Dog program, Merit Sires program, Superdogs, and those are just the programs I have heard of. I am sure
there are more.
Our Boxers have trod a long and very diverse path in their history. They have, of course, been used and have distinguished
themselves in war and police work. Further back in their history they have assisted butchers and farmers in moving stock. The
ancestors of our dogs were also used to catch and hold boar, and there are still people to this day who use their Boxers to move
stock on their farms. They have been a true Jack of All Trades. Protecting their families, assisting in the day to day running of the
farm, assisting in hunting by catching and holding game.
Currently there are Boxers that are titled in obedience, and I know that there are Boxers that have passed Herding Instinct Tests,
and I know of at least one Boxer that has a herding title. There are Boxers that are titled in Schutzhund. So we have performance
events that test some of the various working abilities in the Boxer.
One test that is absent is a test for the drive, agility and speed needed to chase and catch prey. This is something that I would
very much like to see added to the performance repertoire that is currently available for our wonderful breed.
There is such a test available, but it is currently reserved for sighthounds. I would like to see Lure Coursing opened up for Boxers
as well.
Our Boxers still possess the high drive needed for this sport. They also possess, in spades, the agility and speed....and perhaps
a little too much smarts...for the sport, though that is good for the hunt.
Currently I do course my dogs. We are lucky enough to have a sighthound club that will have fun runs open to all breeds
occasionally. Our other venue is a camp that we attend every year. But there is no titling event for Boxers in Lure Coursing, and
the places our dogs can run are few and far between.
Now there is no doubt that Boxers cannot keep up with sighthounds. They do not have the sheer speed of the whippets and
greyhounds. But then neither do the terriers, the Rhodesians, or the Basenji’s.
I believe that there is a place for Boxers among these other breeds that course, as they do have the history of being used to
catch and hold prey. That history is not much different that what the Rhodesians have, or the terriers.
When I first started running my dogs, I can remember a collective gasp from the sighthound people around me when I loosed my
dogs. They did not expect the speed and drive that the boxers have, and I guess I cant blame them after the number of dogs that
just didnt have the drive (funnily enough, some of those were even sighthounds!) to chase “the bunny”.
There is something that has long been touted by the sighthound fanciers as one of the keys to their dogs ability to course well.
That is the double suspension run. A double suspension run is the ability of the dog to have all four feet off the ground during
two portions of their gait. Not all dogs can do it. Boxers, however, can do it and do it wel
There is something incredibly beautiful about seeing our dogs in full flight, and it is something that they rarely have the room to
do. Every time I have seen my dogs in full flight it has brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eyes. I urge everyone, if you
have the slightest interest in it, try it. You will be amazed and awed by the physical prowess your dog possesses. The absolute
ability to fly.
ability as well as the structural perfection of a dog, and they have a number of programs to encourage this vision.
There is the Total Dog program, Merit Sires program, Superdogs, and those are just the programs I have heard of. I am sure
there are more.
Our Boxers have trod a long and very diverse path in their history. They have, of course, been used and have distinguished
themselves in war and police work. Further back in their history they have assisted butchers and farmers in moving stock. The
ancestors of our dogs were also used to catch and hold boar, and there are still people to this day who use their Boxers to move
stock on their farms. They have been a true Jack of All Trades. Protecting their families, assisting in the day to day running of the
farm, assisting in hunting by catching and holding game.
Currently there are Boxers that are titled in obedience, and I know that there are Boxers that have passed Herding Instinct Tests,
and I know of at least one Boxer that has a herding title. There are Boxers that are titled in Schutzhund. So we have performance
events that test some of the various working abilities in the Boxer.
One test that is absent is a test for the drive, agility and speed needed to chase and catch prey. This is something that I would
very much like to see added to the performance repertoire that is currently available for our wonderful breed.
There is such a test available, but it is currently reserved for sighthounds. I would like to see Lure Coursing opened up for Boxers
as well.
Our Boxers still possess the high drive needed for this sport. They also possess, in spades, the agility and speed....and perhaps
a little too much smarts...for the sport, though that is good for the hunt.
Currently I do course my dogs. We are lucky enough to have a sighthound club that will have fun runs open to all breeds
occasionally. Our other venue is a camp that we attend every year. But there is no titling event for Boxers in Lure Coursing, and
the places our dogs can run are few and far between.
Now there is no doubt that Boxers cannot keep up with sighthounds. They do not have the sheer speed of the whippets and
greyhounds. But then neither do the terriers, the Rhodesians, or the Basenji’s.
I believe that there is a place for Boxers among these other breeds that course, as they do have the history of being used to
catch and hold prey. That history is not much different that what the Rhodesians have, or the terriers.
When I first started running my dogs, I can remember a collective gasp from the sighthound people around me when I loosed my
dogs. They did not expect the speed and drive that the boxers have, and I guess I cant blame them after the number of dogs that
just didnt have the drive (funnily enough, some of those were even sighthounds!) to chase “the bunny”.
There is something that has long been touted by the sighthound fanciers as one of the keys to their dogs ability to course well.
That is the double suspension run. A double suspension run is the ability of the dog to have all four feet off the ground during
two portions of their gait. Not all dogs can do it. Boxers, however, can do it and do it wel
There is something incredibly beautiful about seeing our dogs in full flight, and it is something that they rarely have the room to
do. Every time I have seen my dogs in full flight it has brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eyes. I urge everyone, if you
have the slightest interest in it, try it. You will be amazed and awed by the physical prowess your dog possesses. The absolute
ability to fly.
Sonny
Bruin
Sonny
Shayna
Jasmine
| Jasmine |