Breeding Decisions: From Lardi, Pammy to PJ and Beyond
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CH Boondox Polo L ROMX (Sting ex Treasure)
When I got started raising Longhair Dachshunds, I really loved the look that many of these dogs had. I, of course, was spoiled by the quality of some of these young dogs and bitches and the effect they would have on the generations that they had coming down from them. One litter, in particular, caught my eye and I wanted to discover what made the difference in a couple of these young dogs and bitches and what needed changed when I started breeding them.
CH Kemper Dachs Bad Habits ROMX (Jourdan ex Rainey Jane)
There were two, a dog and a bitch, that I really liked a lot and had much to offer even though both were not as good in front as their mother.This litter was bred by Dee Hutchinson and was sired by the great Longhair standard CH Kemper Dachs Bad Habits L ROMX (who was sired by CH Bayard le Jourdan L and out of a CH Kemper Dachs bitch) and out of Dee’s first Champion that she bred, CH Rose Farm’s Ginger Girl L ROMO, who was sired by CH Trailblaze’s Red Baron (who was a double grandson of the former DCA Longhair WB/BW CH Hasten Bayard Marianne) and out of the great bitch, Delldachs Blackberry Girl L littermate of CH Delldachs Bentley L, DCA BV and BB winner (both were sired by the great CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO and out of Delldachs Mercedes Benz L, litter sister of two time DCA Longhair BV and BB CH Delldachs Rolls Royce L ROM).
This is Beezer winning BV at Westminster under a great Judge, Basset breeder Joan Urban.
I was interested in two of them, Beezer (CH Rose Farms Merrakesh Express L ROM) and Pammy (CH Rose Farms Country Girl L ROMX) and wanted to see how they were affected by what they were bred to. First, I looked at the dog, Beezer, and what he had to offer. I loved his style and the presence that he had and loved the way he held himself and how he was basically a great looking Dachshund that really covered the ground he stood over and demanded attention. There was one thing about him that I didn’t like and that was the way he was wide coming back to you and that made him not move out as I liked to see on the go-round. I am sure that was, in some way, front-connected and so I wondered what you would have to breed to him to fix that aspect of the motion. I know he was used on a nicely fronted bitch I bred, CH Rose Farms Delilah v Boondox L ROMO, and I liked about half of what he had produced like Dee’s multiple BIS winner, CH Rose Farms Xavier L, and the younger show girl, CH Rose Farms Lady of the Night L ROMX. With a dog you are picking out to breed to, you have to be careful because if that dog is not set under themselves in front, they will only produce about half of what you are really looking for. I know I keep saying this, but it is true and I for one will always be a guy who wants that perfect front. While I love everything about the dog except that front, it would be difficult to pick him out to use on any great-fronted bitch I had here.
CH Rose Farms Country Girl L ROMX (Bad Habits ex Ginger Girl)
His litter sister, Pammy, CH Rose Farms Country Girl L ROMX, was the new bitch that Dee Hutchinson sent me and she also had a lot to offer the Variety. She was a moderate size bitch, a wonderful neckset and head, great topline and gorgeous rear and, when she moved, she could just float around and look like I wanted to see her in motion I have stated the reason before that she was just one that didn’t like to be moved and could not stand anything around her neck, and I was able to show her after I figured that out and learned to live with it. She had no fear of people at all and loved moving and covering ground. She actually loved to show when she felt she was showing herself and I spent a few weeks herding her around the Show Ring. Her front was also not her fortune and she was a little forward and a very straight in that area. She could move (when she wanted to), but, again, IMO, that was always going to be her downfall in the Breed at the big shows like DCA and Westminster and breeding for those shows was my goal in breeding a better Dachshund. Since, IMO, the front is a recessive part of the anatomy, breeding to the best fronted one will only get half of the puppies with the front that I wanted, but if it got that area where I wanted it, it would be there for all time IF I kept breeding them to the nicely fronted dogs who moved like they owned the ground in the Show Ring.
CH B’s Javelin de Bayard L ROMO
When I did get around to breeding Pammy, I decided to breed her where I had already bred her aunt, Lardi (Rose Farms Black Berry Buff L ROMO), and first bred her to the great producer CH B’s Javelin de Bayard L ROMO and got CH Rose Farms Honey v Boondox L ROMX who I sold to John Brading and Lon Strauch and, when bred to CH PJ. produced his first Champion, CH Boondox Bradauch Eclair L ROM and her sister CH Boondox Bradauch Kaos L who was one of PJ’s first DCA winners, 88 DCA BOS-V Longhair. From that same first litter came the pretty nice producer, DCA WB CH Rose Farms Hannelore Boondox ROMX who produced one of the greats CH Boondox Chaps L ROMX, the two-time DCA BV winner and Westminster BV and Group placer. I also sold another bitch to Pat Kemper, breeder of Bad Habits, but she was basically out of dogs soon after she got her.
CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO
Pammy’s next litter was sired by another of my favorites and another one I had already bred Lardi too before, CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO. This Gerolf/Pammy litter became one of my most successful when CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox L ROMO, bred to CH Boondox Panama Jack L ROMO, produced CH Rose Farms Shoney of Boondox L ROMO who became a three-time DCA BV winner, a one-time DCA BB winner, Westminster Group placer and All Breed BIS winner. Her next litter, also sired by PJ, produced my all-time Favorite, CH Boondox Bermarg Treasure L ROMX who became a Group winner and BB at nine Specialties and the dam of the greats, Sonny, Forrest, Polo and Paulette who mostly became Top Producers themselves. Also in that first litter was the great bitch, CH Boondox Opium v Walmar L ROM who was BOS-V at DCA and Number One bitch for a couple of years, shown by Ray McGinnis from California. This was quite a litter.
CH Bermarg Shoney of Boondox L ROMO ( PJ ex Orchid)
After looking at the records, I decided then that I would keep bitches and send them to the best Producers I could use and always seek to get better offspring in each litter and this outstanding forechest would then be the hallmark of my breeding program from my first litters. I was lucky in that these aspects always showed up early and stayed present for the whole life of the dog. Some showed up and then disappeared and those were the hard ones to keep track of and so I probably kept the ones who showed these things early in their life and kept them while they were living and active. However, I always made sure I saw that forechest and the oval front well set under the dog’s body and had that to always be part of what I was working on before I added other things that I wanted to make better. I know I exhaust people by saying that the front IS the most important thing we breed for, but, in all honesty, it is. Having what you wanted added is always there to work on, but NEVER lose what you have started adding, especially in that front and neckset area. Those changes are always for keeps.
CH Bradauch Magnolia L (Yorktown ex Isabelle)
Seeing the different ways these Dachshunds can be bred gives the breeder many chances to take some risks and always go on to make the choice on to what he wants (and needs) to change in his breeding program. When breeding, do we keep dogs or bitches? I am probably the last one to say anything here as I have often said that I bred Dachshunds for almost ten years and never kept a male for breeding, even though there were several who were DCA winners as well as many other winners from big shows and local Specialties as well. I felt these winners were outstanding in many ways, but they never, in my opinion, had all I wanted for that next generation of Boondox winners.
CH Boondox Sting v Kanawha L ROMO (PJ ex Manon)
Why would I use my own dogs who maybe had eighty percent of what I wanted or use the great producers that had almost one hundred percent of what I wanted to add to my line that were available for me to use on my bitches (who were getting better and better with each generation)? I always went with the older, more established dogs who, in looking at their record, always produced dogs that were my ideal of the next great Dachshund. While I loved the picture of Beezer and loved the way he was stacked, in breeding you also must think about how they move and if there is a problem, what caused it. To my mind, the front was the result of being a little set forward and made me realize that if they were my dogs, I would breed the bitches and get the good fronts that I needed and use those to go on and improve the breed and make each generation better than the one who came before them. Remember, that was my thinking in breeding and there was a purpose when I used that reasoning as a model for what I did for my breeding stock.
CH Han-Jo’s ‘Xtra Copy L ROMO -PJ’s sire
Right when I came up with this solution, I got another little surprise that came along and it was quite unexpected…at least by me. During this stage, I had a few Java and Gerolf daughters out of Lardi and Pammy growing up here and then I had this little puppy come along, sired by CH Han-Jo’s ‘Xtra Copy L ROMO and out of CH Boondox Emma v Walmar L ROMO, a Gerolf/Lardi daughter. This puppy had everything I liked in a young dog and he was the essence of type from the moment he started walking…until I opened his mouth. His bite was the worst I had ever seen and so I tried desperately to place him in a new home for free and couldn’t do it. I stuck him back in the kennel at three months and didn’t check the bite until he was eight months old and his bite had cleared up completely. I pinched myself and got busy entering him at the dog shows to finish him. He got off to a slow start but soon caught on and was basically unbeatable. That is when the problem started for me and that little problem was named CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO.
CH Bayard la Manon
First of all, as much as I loved the young dog, that bite scared me off from using him at stud as I always was afraid that would appear down the pedigrees I was using and I certainly did not want that to happen in my current Boondox line. However, as soon as I started bringing him to shows for socialization, the breeders that I was working with started raving about him and loving his type, style and movement. These breeders never could get enough of him in their line. Believe it or not, he was that good looking and actually had that Dachshund carriage that most of us know and demand to have in our line. Finally, my friends, John Brading and Lon Strauch of the Bradauch Kennel, said they were going to use him and they would take their chances with the bite. I said that I wouldn’t make them pay but take a puppy instead and, when I saw that line up of puppies, all with great bites, I saw where my line was heading.
CH Coppertone v Boondox L ROMX
I then bred an outcross (CH Bayard la Manon) to him as well as another linebred one and wanted to see what he produced. I was not disappointed. In those two litters, I got the multiple All Breed BIS winner, Westminster Group placer and BB winner at several Specialties, CH Boondox Sting v Kanawha L ROMO and CH Coppertone v Boondox L ROMX, who became grand dam to the Westminster Group 1 winner, CH Pramada’s Curmudgeon L ROM. What prospects opened up before me when I saw the quality, type and movement present in these puppies along with their great bites. I guess that bite situation really made me realize that raising the Breed was going to be a long haul, but worth it in the long run.
CH Rose Farms Zesabel of Boondox L ROMO (Java ex Lardi)
They more or less fell when Wally and Mary Jones finally wore me down and we bred the Group winner and DCA WB and BW CH Rose Farms Zesabel of Boondox L ROMO to PJ. Again, bred back to our line, the PJ kids just kept getting better and better. In this litter was DCA AOM CH Walmar’s Giggles v Boondox L ROM, DCA AOM CH Walmar’s Kismet v Boondox L, DCA WD and BW CH Walmar’s Kodiak v Boondox L ROMO, DCA WB CH Walmar’s GL v Boondox L and DCA WB and BW CH Walmar’s Madge v Boondox L ROMX. After these litters, Zesabel had produced four DCA point winner as well as two more DCA AOM winners, too. It was kind of amazing to see how PJ spread his good qualities further down the lines with these breedings and how much the quality had improved over the sire’s and the dam’s.
CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox L ROMO (Gerolf ex Pammy)
Finally, Martha Grantham went against my wishes and bred the Gerolf/Pammy daughter, CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox L ROMO, to PJ and we sort of hit the jackpot and got the All-Breed BIS winner, the Westminster BV winner and Group placer, the three time BV and one time BB DCA winner, CH Bermarg Shoney of Boondox L ROMO, my all-time favorite Group winning and winner of nine Specialties CH Boondox Bermarg Treasure L ROMX, Martha’s great producer, CH Bermarg’s Boondox Adventure L ROMO and seven other champions. Amazingly, we hit another Jackpot with all those DCA winners among them!
CH Boondox Yorktown L ROMX (Bart ex Emma)
After seeing the way that PJ produced, my eyes were really opened and I started using PJ’s half-brother, CH Boondox Yorktown L ROMO, and he also kept the standards high and that let me breed them back and forth and make all the dogs better as we went down this line. I then got CH Boondox Sting v Kanawha L ROMO back from Bobby Fowler and got this three-way system of breeding down with using PJ more often, but still using these dogs’ qualities to make improvements down the line. Seeing these dogs becoming more competitive at DCA , the bigger Specialties and Westminster led me down the road as to what I wanted to accomplish in this line. Having this success made me very happy to be breeding such dogs and being in the Winners lines at these great shows who had the best Judges of Dachshunds in the World, in my opinion.
CH Boondox Bermarg Treasure L ROMX (PJ ex Orchid)
Starting out watching two dogs, from Dee Hutchinson’s breeding, produce and having nice offspring showed me where you go to get better and better Dachshunds and what means you use to get them. My method was the one to cause the least stress and produced the best changes in my line. When I do talk about the things I look at to change when I am breeding my next litter, I try to talk mostly about positive things I am going to use, but sometimes in comparing these choices, we do decide on what gets us there fastest and where the better choices are made and sometimes I do discuss WHY things are better using one dog and not the other. This is not being cruel, it is just being honest and in all my dog dealings I have always felt that we should always be honest. Remember, when we want to change a couple of things in the next breeding, you have to think about what you want changed and how fast that you get the changes you want.
CH Bonndox Panama Jack L ROMO (Eddie ex Emma)
Also, in doing these breedings, we have to think about where we want to win with these dogs. From my first litters, I wanted to win at the bigger shows and, as you can see from reading this post, I have put much emphasis on where they are doing their winning as winning at the larger shows with the great Judges did give your dogs an advantage. When you did come up with a great producer, you had to be aware of what he produced and use that dogs ability to make your line better and better. I hate to be so repetitive, but getting a great front with a nice neckset and length of arched neck always made that dog look very flashy as if he was owning the ground like a Dachshund did as he claimed that area in the Show Ring. That is the look that I wanted in the dogs I was showing.
CH Boondox Chaps L ROMX (PJ ex Hanne)
I am sorry to go on so long about choosing what to breed to and why, but in my mind, breeding that next generation is always what I was thinking about while I was showing my dogs. I first had to pick out the ones that I was going to breed and, from them, determine what needed changing and what I would breed them to. Most of them, in my early years of breeding Longhairs needed help there, and, to do that, the dogs I used on them had to have that great well-set front that was always there to make the next generation correct where they needed to be. Once that front was set, we could go to work on a better topline, rear and underline and so many things that made my dogs competitive. As I noted, keeping the changes had to always be important and we could never lose what we had already gained as the changes were what I was always going for.
CH Rose Farms Lady of the Night L ROMX (Merrakesh ex Delilah)
Next, I saw that my dogs were getting more competitive at the big Dachshund Shows and, since that was another area I was interested in, I started focusing on the qualities that made me get a lot closer to the Winners Circle there and that, too, became another goal for me and my dogs. Then, raising a dog that pushed us far forward in producing the look that Judges wanted made life a lot easier for me. From PJ, I got several more Top Winning Specials and they sealed my fate that, as long as I had the look I wanted in my Dachshunds, these Judges would always be on the lookout for them at the National Show. Once all these things were working for me, life was easier indeed.
CH Walmar’s Kismet v Boondox L (PJ ex Zesabel)
Looking back at how my life went in dogs and seeing how I figured out most of my problems and finished about two hundred sixty Champions, I had a great time in the Breed. I hope seeing how my mind worked helps out some of the new people who are just looking at some of these and wondering what to do next.
Dan Harrison
Dec 2021