Would it be possible to get a crowd of 3,000 to watch a Boxer show in the United States? Rather doubtful. But that many hardy Germans withstood blustering October weather in 1997, and gathered outside the Medieval city of Schwaebisch-Gmuend to view two days of performance competition among the top 32 Boxers in Germany. It was called the National Boxer Performance Championship.
Performance in Germany means obedience work, Schutzhund training, and tracking. All of the features of the American obedience trial at open level are in their obedience trials, but it goes beyond that. There are also protection work and tracking.
Each part was a separate competition, with the champion (Sieger) being the Boxer with the highest point total from all three parts. Mess up one part, and the championship is out of reach. The giant-killer this year was the tracking competition. Rain and high winds made tracking very difficult, knocking several of the best Schutzhund and obedience dogs from championship competition.
For the 1997 championship, the obedience and Schutzhund trials were held on a large field used for track, complete with a covered stadium. The tracking portion took place at another location better suited for the event. To watch a Boxer do a recall of about 75 yards, was worth the price of admission alone. And the hurdle? How about one higher than the dog's head? Then there was the fetch of a huge dumbbell, involving a climb up and over---in both directions---of a steep A-frame structure about seven feet high.
No nitpicking here about a sit that is two inches off. There were plenty of difficult aspects to the obedience competition for the dogs to lose points on without worrying about a perfect heel or sit. But there is no doubt that the most exciting competition was the Schutzhund work.
What a sport we are missing because the AKC considers protection work too aggressive for its support. True, there is a devoted group of Schutzhund followers in the US, but without AKC support it will probably never be a major dog sport in this country. And Boxer owners are the losers, because this is what the Boxer was bred for and loves to do. In Germany, only the German Shepherd breed has more participants in Schutzhund training than the Boxer.
In this German national trial, the winner of the Schutzhund competition was a sweet little bitch who did everything right. When she grabbed the assailant's padded arm, she hung on---no matter how much he leaped around--- until ordered to release. Then she sat and stared at the assailant, waiting for a wrong move, which he, of course, made. She was perfect in every aspect, and when her score was announced, the crowd roared its approval. Is this a dangerous dog? Get real. Afterwards she was walked through the crowd and everyone from three to ninety pet her.
One week later, there was the National Boxer Conformation Championship in Dortmund. To win the coveted Sieger title in this competition the Boxer must have a Schutzhund degree, of which there were twelve fawns and seven brindles competing. But the show consisted of more than the Sieger title, so altogether there were close to one hundred entries. "Most Beautiful in Show" was also awarded, and then there were the greatly desired placings. Every Boxer was graded, and if your dog didn't place, then your next hope would be for an "Excellent" rating-which is also highly desired. Every participant also received the critique sheet containing the judge's evaluations of the entry and a medallion.
German conformation matches have some features that we lack. There is the face-off or sparring, when the Boxers are allowed to face each other and by barking and straining at the leashes, try to intimidate the other dogs. Boxers do that eagerly, and it creates an awful lot of noise when six or eight dogs are all barking at once. But again, it's fun to watch and no harm is done. Actually, Terriers are often allowed to do the same thing at AKC shows.
This year's conformation championship show had a unique Northwoods Boxer Club twist. Cathy Hubert-Markos, a longtime club member, flew her dog Grobi over to Germany and showed him. Cathy and husband George have been over to the Performance and Conformation championships many times, but this is the first time they took a Boxer along.
Since these two great Sieger shows always occur one week apart in October, it would be possible to combine them with a nice two-week vacation in Europe. Something to think about for next year.
100th Anniversary Show
Cal Gruver
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Sparring or facing-off is a big part of any
conformation show in Germany. The purpose
is to determine the dog's courage and
will to dominate. |
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Double handling is everywhere |
Judging at a German show |
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Keeping track of the results |
They start training young |
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Sr. Carlos Ortega, President of the
Board of the Kennel Club of Peru, was the
exhibitor who travelled the longest
distance to the show. |
