European breeder??

[Pip-n-Dur]

I am looking for a good breeder internationally and having no luck, I want to go out of the states for a nice show quality flashy reverse brindle pup both akc and ukc ch lines. I am looking for health, agility, temperment and conformation. I really want a pup I can show in conformation, obedience and agilty and if in good health, breed once or twice( only if titles easily and no medical problems. Any suggestions? I would really like an experienceed breeder who shows and does all the prebreeding testing. Any suggestions???

[gmacleod]

Your best bet would probably be to contact the national (or regional) boxer breed clubs in countries that interest you. Just as in the US, they are probably best placed to put you in touch with responsible breeders.

It is worth being aware, however, that you're unlikely to encounter terribly many good breeders falling over themselves to export show quality puppies to the US. The reasons are quite understandable if you think about it: for one thing, responsible breeders usually want to place pups in homes where they can keep something of an eye on them and require that they be returned if (for any reason, or at any time) the new owner cannot keep them. That's not possible to achieve if you ship a puppy half way round the world. And a second reason is that when show breeders place show quality puppies, they usually wish to be able to access those pups in future for their own breeding programs. And that's likewise not possible if you ship to another country. Logical enough - who spends years developing a line and then sends the future generations out of reach? In short, there are significant negatives from the breeder's point of view. And no significant positives.

That's not to say you'll never find someone willing to ship a show quality pup. Just that it probably won't be that easy. And that you shouldn't be offended by it - the reasons are good ones

Do beware of brokers, especially if the pups they're offering come from puppy-mill capitals like Poland or Hungary.

Another thing to bear in mind if you're looking to import is that in much of the world, including quite a few countries in Europe, docking dogs is illegal. From those places, it is impossible for you to get a docked puppy. And currently near impossible in the US to successfully show an undocked dog. Your choice of European country to import from is thus limited if you want to be showing the pup in the US.

Incidentally, you won't get an AKC or UKC registered dog anywhere in Europe (unless it's an American dog imported there, of course). Neither the AKC nor UKC exist outside of the US. The registry used by most countries round the world is the FCI - Fédération Cynologique Internationale or World Canine Organisation. That includes most countries in Europe, though some, such as the UK have their own separate national registries. Any dog registered with a recognised national registry, however, and that is properly exported with an export certificate, should be registerable with the AKC.

[furrykidmom]

Start going to dog shows. We have seen many imports at dog shows.

[carole]

There are a few Scottish breeders that will export a pup to the US. I know that Finn's breeder recently exported one that has recently been made a CH in Canada. Although any pups from the UK will all have tails which you might not be looking for.

[JulieM]

Although any pups from the UK will all have tails which you might not be looking for.

Any pups that aren't bob-tails, and that are born after the docking ban goes into effect (the date of which varies; it's already in effect in Wales, goes into effect Friday in England, and not until April 30 in Scotland).

Some breeders are more willing to export, but generally only when the new owners are working with a few people here in the states that those breeders know well, who are able to keep in contact and may utilize the dogs in breeding programs much as the breeder would. (There's always the possibility there of sending a puppy back to the breeder, as well, should the need arise.)

Gwyneth is quite right, though, that you're very unlikely to find AKC or UKC champion lines in any imported puppies, unless they're quite a ways back. As well, it will in many cases be more difficult (and in some cases, practically impossible) to compete successfully with an imported Boxer, tails notwithstanding - many of the UK-bred dogs are holding their own, but some of the breeders on the European continent are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from North American dogs as far as the standard goes, and look so dramatically different that the judges never give them a second glance. (Not all, but many.) If you just want to get some experience in conformation and don't really care whether you ever win a point, much less a championship, then that doesn't matter quite so much, of course.

[boxerloverbp]

I have imported two boxer puppies from European (continental) breeders and would suggest that you start by taking a look at the past few years of the Atibox results to familiarize yourself with the some of the best lines and breeding combinations. I have found that many of the established and experienced breeders have websites. Language barrier can be an issue though. As for the tail issue, I don't think Italy, Spain or Czech Republic have bans on tail docking but you can easily research that issue. One of my puppies came from the Netherlands and he had a tail . . . which I had docked at the same time as his ear crop. My vet used a laser for both procedures, and obviously anesthesia and did a great job on the tail but it is not the same as docking a 3 day old puppy. Stitches were needed and must be placed well by the vet, to allow for best healing. It was also tricky to care for as bumps on the ground happen frequently and can cause bleeding and additional healing time. My pup did not seem to mind it but it is not something I would choose to do again if I could avoid it.

AKC has information on its webpage about the foreign registries they recognize as well as the requirements to obtain an AKC registration of an imported dog. You should be sure that any pup you import is registered with a registry AKC recognizes or you won't be able to show your dog in the US. Among other things, an export pedigree is required. Also, it can take some time to get the export pedigree. I did not get it until my puppy from the Netherlands was 9 months old. Czech Republic was quicker . . . at about 6 months.