ready to grasp the significance of this pro- posal of Universal Type. Soon enough, in the ‘Home of the Free’, Boxer exhibitors will also likely be faced with the imposition of a ban on ear cropping and tail docking and ultimately in the conformation arena. It shouldn’t be so di ffi cult to imagine how Boxers will then be judged using a more cosmo- politan scope of criterion, but then they should also derive the benefit of passing more freely amongst those countries that already experience the grip of such leg- islation. Considering that all would be made to submit to the crop/dock bans, through legal enforcement as well as ken- nel club compulsion, the present may well be the best time to train those concerned to the notion of a Universal Boxer. Th e impression of a cropped/docked Boxer will someday be a thing of the past. If you can imagine Boxers from your breeding program, or even your peer breeder’s ken- nel, competing successfully in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, etc… then you might be ready for the task at hand. It would certainly not be an e ff ort- less solution—in fact it would take con- siderable attention to detail in the quality control department! Primarily, the thing to focus on would be the characteristics that Boxers share around the world, and those which set them apart. Th en in order to realize this Universal Type matter, we gravitate toward the moderate, balanced, middle ground, where all can be content with the resulting e ff ect of Boxers being shared throughout the world, enlarging the gene pool exponentially, and likely improving the general health benefits of those Boxers retaining that diversity in their heritage. Th ere are many benefits to this gravi- tation towards universal type, but prob- ably the most significant in my opinion would be the ‘gifts’ of health and breed vigor. Th en follows the ability to inte- grate foreign lines with minimum risk of deviation in the first generation. I believe it is commonly accepted by Boxer fanci- ers having observed the cross of North American types with those of foreign types, that the first generations are often much di ff erent then either of their par-
straight, imbalanced rears, could likely make use of some worthy North Ameri- can lines, with their better proportion- ing and overall balance, to add a bit of elegance of posture and gracefulness of movement. t 4PNF CSFFEFST DPODFOUSBUJOH PO mostly North American lines could be impressed with the results of utilizing Boxers from Europe, UK, Australia, with regard to their strength and substance to spare, which o ff er their dogs a chance of becoming dogs with functionality, rath- er than couch and yard ornaments. In addition, the thoughtful working drive disposition can be an asset to the lines more weak in temperament, noted in some imports. t /PSUIFSO BOE 4PVUIFSO &VSPQFBO breeders, with their pedigrees tighter in working dog lines, o ff er intelligence and trainability (through desire to please their humans) to many breeders in need of that influence. Th is virtue of intelligence lends a new Heir to the regal, noble bearing which is a fundamental factor in evaluat- ing a Boxer’s merit. t #SFFEFST GSPN BMM BSPVOE DBO mOE benefits from ‘blending’ (key word) Box- ers with superior head form, as it pertains to all the various standards distinguishing the details of the perfect Boxer head. Few head types in Boxers come without their own deficiencies and carefully intermin- gling those types with the express inten- tion of reinvigorating features distinct worldwide. Clearly, the details of that thought are for a much greater body of work than what I have outlined here, but definitely worth mention. Perhaps, my next challenge will be to prepare a study on the many di ff erent head types and their significant virtues of, and depar- tures from, a recognizable worldwide Boxer type. In summary, though my opinions have clearly taken shape with influences of my personal chronicles in Boxer his- tory, it is my wish that Boxer breeders around the world have the ability to com- prehend my foresight into the future of a breed so dear to my soul, and welcome the idea of a Universal Boxer Type to focus and discuss.
ents, to the point that they often encoun- ter di ffi culty being accepted as dogs of outcrossed type. Th at generation, when bred back to one side or the other, gen- erally produces renovated versions of the linebred part of their pedigree, due to the hybrid vigor which came with the introduction of the outside line’s genetic contribution. Th is observation is inher- ent with firsthand experience of intro- ducing an unrelated dog of a certain “heritage”, finding the first generation, dogs of quality, though with types some- what awkward to categorize. Th en using the result of that outcross breeding back to the more familiar line of comparable quality and noting numerous individu- als that appear to possess quality which exceeds that of both parents. If there were more universal type stud o ff erings conveniently available, it could provide more opportunities for the first genera- tion, instead of the limbo that is encoun- tered waiting for that generation to be committed back to one side or the other. Please, consider that there is much potential to remedy the deviant character- istics of noteworthy calibre Boxers in any region with ‘careful’ (keyword) exchange of other quality examples with our distant comrades joined in improving the Boxer breed. For instance: t#SFFEFSTBCSPBEQSPEVDJOH#PYFSTPG much ‘cobbier’ or stocky type, with heavy fronts (deep chested with short upper and lower arms, tight angles and bunchy musculation) and strong but somewhat
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