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It does not seem that it has been seventeen years since
I owned my first boxer. Is my philosophy different now as a breeder than
my philosophy back then? You bet it is! Back then in the early '80's I had
one human mouth to feed-----mine, and it did not require nearly as much as
it does now. Today I have five human mouths to feed, and they ALWAYS are
my priority, though my wife might say otherwise.
When I began breeding and showing boxers, I
thought that developing a line and breeding best-in-show animals would be
quite easy. I had come from a background in cattle and horses and had
extended my education past an undergraduate degree. Boy, was I in for a
rude awakening. I tried to be patient and wait for the best bitch I could
buy to come along, but I was in my early 20's. How patient are we at that
age? Fortunately I managed to buy my first bitch from one of the most
respected breeders in the world, but most importantly I developed a long
distance relationship with her that still proves beneficial to me today.
This brings me to my first point. If a breeder desires to become
successful, start with the best bitch possible and surround himself with
the most experienced and honest people available. No matter how
knowledgeable we think we are, someone else always knows more. A
successful breeder never reaches the point where he thinks he has all the
knowledge necessary. When he reaches that point, I would think he then
ceases to be successful. I only seek advice from those who have been
successfully breeding for many years, and who have champions that have
positively contributed to the breeding program of others.
Looking back, perhaps I would not breed quite
as much as I did in the past. A breeder who desires success should be
selective about what he breeds to and why he allows a breeding to take
place. My advice would be to breed only if you think the breeding will
improve the breed and provide you with something to show. Those that think
there is money to be made are
sadly misled. In my experience
that thought almost seems comical. Thus my second point would be to
SELECTIVELY and SELDOM breed. Quality far surpasses the value of Quantity
in this arena.
My third point deals with pedigrees. Early on a
very wise breeder who now also judges told me not to let the pedigree wag
the dog. I have found that her statement is laced with wisdom, though I am
a definite believer in only breeding dogs and breeding to dogs with a good
pedigree. That does not mean that each dog in the pedigree must be a
champion for there are
many champions that have gained their
title and notoriety only because of persistence and publicity backed of
course by ph(f)unds. It does mean that the pedigree consistently lists
good sound dogs who could have been very worthy of a championship. This
would require a knowledge of the dogs in the pedigree. A word of caution
though, just because a dog is considered a champion does not mean he would
be good for your breeding program or even
that he meets the
standard of the breed.
If you are a breeder or intend to be one,
expect to face much heartache as well as joy. The heartache will come as
you see that the best of your plans sometimes are laid to waste by man and
mother nature, but the pride and joy always surpasses the heartache when
that long ago breeding you chose to allow turns into an adult that brings
joy to his owners and/or becomes a standard bearer for our breed, possibly
carrying the title of champion.
In conclusion, if you choose to
breed,
One more thing-----remember your priorities,
please--------family ALWAYS comes first. Got to go break up the latest
brawl between brother and sister (humans of course). TTYL
Greg Bullock
Cgblk@aol.com
For further information about the writer you can visit
Bullock's Boxers at
http://www.boxergallery.com/breeders/bullock
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