C
cindy
Guest
I have permision from Jim to copy this to this board. I hope you all enjoy the info that he has found
My recent request for opinions on why certain colors dominated among
Boxers in Service Dog (SD) work had a great response from the lists.
Thank you one and all. I'll be posting the results on the color question
shortly. However certain "myths" also reared up in the "survey' and I'd
like to clear up some misconceptions.
MYTH: Boxers are too aggressive for SD work.
TRUTH: Boxers were one of the first breeds, some say the very first
breed, used for SD work. In fact after World War I, Boxers who had been
"War Dogs" with the Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian armies were
retrained as Guide Dogs for vets blinded by poison gas. These one time
"killer dogs" had long and safe working lives in their second "careers".
Boxers are by nature social dogs. They love being out and about. That is
one of the Boxer's many attributes that make the Boxer a perfect SD.
MYTH: Boxers have life spans that are too short to justify the expensive
training that SD work requires.
TRUTH: Even during the terrible recent period regarding Boxer longevity,
Boxers continued to be SDs. Certain bloodlines seemed to produce
healthy, long lived Boxers. Today over 25% of all Boxers working as SDs
are over 8 year old. There is one "old timer", a Guide Dog, who is still
going strong at age 15. He has been working since age 2. The average
working life of any SD is 8-10 years. Healthy bloodlines produce many
Boxers capable of giving that service time. Boxers in SD work are tested
and monitored for health issues more than any members of the breed. They
have to be. A sick or disabled SD is a major problem for the human
partner of the team.
MYTH: Brindles are perceived by the general public to be "scarier" than
other colors.
TRUTH: Among those people who are afraid of a Boxer's appearance, black
faced fawns, with cropped ears are the Boxers who get a "wary" response
from most people who don't know the breed. When asked, the reason given
most often for this response was "the eyes" of the black faced fawn
Boxer. There is no judgement here. This is simply the result obtained.
Obviously the ears have something to do with it. Interestingly, children
and older people are the ones least frightened by a Boxer's appearance.
Adults in the 25-60 year old range seem to have the negative reaction
most often.
The Final MYTH: Boxers are too stubborn, too untrainable, to make good
SDs.
TRUTH: 387 Boxers are currently working as SDs. The most demanding SD
"job" is being a Guide Dog for the blind. Boxers have been doing that
since at least 1912. The Seeing Eye Inc., in Morristown NJ, the oldest
SD program in the USA, is on record as stating that they love to use
Boxers, they can't get enough. A Boxer possesses all the skills needed
to be the perfect Service Dog. It's finding the individual who
understands the breed and who can refine those skills to the level
needed that is the problem.
JIM
Any way i thought that some of these myths were interesting and if the need ever came for me to need a service dog, I would do my darnest to use my favorite breed, the boxer.
------------------
cindy corl
Lacie f-flashy brindle with natural ears 6-17-99
My recent request for opinions on why certain colors dominated among
Boxers in Service Dog (SD) work had a great response from the lists.
Thank you one and all. I'll be posting the results on the color question
shortly. However certain "myths" also reared up in the "survey' and I'd
like to clear up some misconceptions.
MYTH: Boxers are too aggressive for SD work.
TRUTH: Boxers were one of the first breeds, some say the very first
breed, used for SD work. In fact after World War I, Boxers who had been
"War Dogs" with the Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian armies were
retrained as Guide Dogs for vets blinded by poison gas. These one time
"killer dogs" had long and safe working lives in their second "careers".
Boxers are by nature social dogs. They love being out and about. That is
one of the Boxer's many attributes that make the Boxer a perfect SD.
MYTH: Boxers have life spans that are too short to justify the expensive
training that SD work requires.
TRUTH: Even during the terrible recent period regarding Boxer longevity,
Boxers continued to be SDs. Certain bloodlines seemed to produce
healthy, long lived Boxers. Today over 25% of all Boxers working as SDs
are over 8 year old. There is one "old timer", a Guide Dog, who is still
going strong at age 15. He has been working since age 2. The average
working life of any SD is 8-10 years. Healthy bloodlines produce many
Boxers capable of giving that service time. Boxers in SD work are tested
and monitored for health issues more than any members of the breed. They
have to be. A sick or disabled SD is a major problem for the human
partner of the team.
MYTH: Brindles are perceived by the general public to be "scarier" than
other colors.
TRUTH: Among those people who are afraid of a Boxer's appearance, black
faced fawns, with cropped ears are the Boxers who get a "wary" response
from most people who don't know the breed. When asked, the reason given
most often for this response was "the eyes" of the black faced fawn
Boxer. There is no judgement here. This is simply the result obtained.
Obviously the ears have something to do with it. Interestingly, children
and older people are the ones least frightened by a Boxer's appearance.
Adults in the 25-60 year old range seem to have the negative reaction
most often.
The Final MYTH: Boxers are too stubborn, too untrainable, to make good
SDs.
TRUTH: 387 Boxers are currently working as SDs. The most demanding SD
"job" is being a Guide Dog for the blind. Boxers have been doing that
since at least 1912. The Seeing Eye Inc., in Morristown NJ, the oldest
SD program in the USA, is on record as stating that they love to use
Boxers, they can't get enough. A Boxer possesses all the skills needed
to be the perfect Service Dog. It's finding the individual who
understands the breed and who can refine those skills to the level
needed that is the problem.
JIM
Any way i thought that some of these myths were interesting and if the need ever came for me to need a service dog, I would do my darnest to use my favorite breed, the boxer.
------------------
cindy corl
Lacie f-flashy brindle with natural ears 6-17-99