CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO-Who Changed How I Bred Better Dachshunds
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CH B’s Javelin de Bayard L ROMO had such great conformation.
CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L, a Java son
Back in 1980, Hannnelore Heller was on quite a fantastic tear after showing what I considered to be the greatest string of Longhair Dachshund Winners of All Time, all basically Bayard and bred by Mary Howell,and they also were very much great producers, such as CH Han-Jo’s Flaming Flare L ROMO (72 Champions), CH B’s Javelin de Bayard ROMO (3 All Breed BIS and 61 Champions), CH Von Dyck’s Mr Bojangles L ROMO ( 6 All Breed BIS and 27 Champions) and CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO (5 All Breed BIS and 43 Champions). Hannelore then sold her new young Special, CH Han-Jo’s Candyman L ROMX and took some time off to let Candyman carry the Longhair banner into the top of the LH Dachsund Top Ten. She enjoyed her time off, but she soon saw a pair of twin puppies from one of her breeders, Bertha Kiechle from Evansville, IN, a pair of littermates that she thought looked pretty good. She had shown CH Condor das Zweglein L for awhile and he did alright in the Show Ring, but he did not quite have the style, conformation and movement of the other great dogs that preceded him in her Show String and so he was sold to Japan. These two new ones from Bertha Kiechle of das Zwerglein Dachshunds looked like more of the same style that Hannelore’s older dogs had. She finished the pair quickly and compared them to each other and then sold one, CH Gundo das Zwerglein L, and kept the beautiful red boy, CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L, at that time owned by Margaret Pugh, and Gerolf did indeed become her new star.
CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO
I remember seeing Gerolf as a young Special and was very impressed. Gerolf had such style and flair that I could never look past him and, while I was helping Hannelore, I saw that she liked him just as much as I did. He was from Bertha Kiechle’s Zwerglein line and was all basically Han-Jo (and by that, we mean Bayard, too, as they were so intertwined) with a cross to Kemper Dachs Rote Hexe, a bitch sired by Flare so her breeding was basically all Han-Jo/Bayard with many LH Dachshunds of the older lines in the pedigree as well. In looking at the pedigree, you had to go back a couple of generations to reach the Top Winners and Top Producers that I was looking for to breed my LH bitches to. When I did discover them, after knowing how much I loved Gerolf, I was one happy camper.
CH Julian vom Aschlandplaatz, Gerolf’s sire
CH Crystal das Zwerglein L, Gerolf’s dam and littermate to CH Condor das Zwerglein L
Gerolf was sired by CH Julian vom Aschlandplatz, a red CH Han-Jo’s Ulyssis L ROMO son and Ully was sired by the great CH B’s Javelin de Bayard ROMO who is another great owned by Hannelore Heller. Julian’s dam was Kemper Dachs Rote Hexe, a CH Han-Jo’s Flaming Flare L ROMO daughter who was out of a bitch with many old time Longhair Champions behind her. Gerolf’s dam was a litter sister to CH Condor das Zwerglein L named CH Crystal das Zwerglein L and both were sired by CH Von Dyck’s Mr Bo Jangles L ROMX, a son of the same CH Han-Jo’s Flaming Flare L ROMO (a CH Robert de Bayard ROMO and CH Bayard Rosemonde ROMX offspring) when bred to CH Dachs Ridge Midnight Blues ROMX. Crystal and Condor’s dam was CH Brezel das Zweglein L, a littermate of Gerolf’s sire, CH Julian vom Aschlanplatz. This was a very tricky pedigree with all the great old Longhair dogs in it and was an inbred one to boot. I again thought that was very interesting indeed.
CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO
Gerolf was shown for a long while by Hannelore and they were such a terrific pair to compete against. Gerolf won many Specialties across the USA as he was just magnificent to see move around the Show Ring as he was so full of Dachshund style that he looked like he owned the ground he was standing on. As a Dachshund, he had a truly remarkable head with a long, arched neck flowing into that neckset where the shoulders ended and the topline took off. That is the reason he could move so well as his shoulders were well laid back on the body and that gave the shoulders a place to move and cover ground and remain in that area of the body with the shoulders ending at the Withers. That shoulder placed further back in the body gave room for a lot of forechest in front of the shoulders and, when looking at the front, you could see it was oval shaped and that brought the front legs closer together so you always got that typical look that prduced that very smooth movement. The upper arm ended at the deepest point of the forechest which should be right below the neckset This meant the topline and underline had a delicate look going back to the rear and that rear should have the rear legs driving forward and be parallel to each other. That rear should also be well angulated with a nicely set tail as well and have those rear legs be at right angles from the way they are set onto the body. That construction should lead into that smooth movement that we all wanted in Dachshunds.
CH Brezel das Zwerlein L, dam of Ch Condor and CH Crystal L and granddam pf CH Gerolf
Gerolf was one who really showed his heart out at the Shows and was on all the time and he presented that Dachshund look whenever he appeared. He was so typy that I was always amazed when he lost so I asked Hannelore about why he was losing those few times. She knew immediately and said that he was always on all the time, but she really loved his style and front and so spent most of her time showing off that forechest and neckset and that left the rear to be a little lazy and it NEVER looked good on the table as, when his front was set up so gorgeously, that rear was looking not-so-good and hocky. As I have stated previously,there are some Judges who are always looking for faults and when they see that rear that looks a little hocky, they think AHA, they have found something not to like and, no matter how it moves, it is just not going to win under that fault-finder that day. Again, another reason to always look about what is RIGHT on the dog, not what you don’t like about him.
Gerolf winning BV at the Garden under respected Judge Jim Clark
After watching Gerolf stacked and moving, I saw that he used that rear quite suitably on the move and started talking about this to my best friend in dogs, Walt Jones of the Walmar Kenel, because he loved Gerolf as much as I did and we both wanted that movement and conformation which came down from the pedigree he had. I discussed what I did and didn’t like about him and both of us really admired Gerolf a lot and loved that body and eagerness to please us by profile and movement. Seeing Gerolf, on the move and stacked, we realized that his rear was fine, but just a little off when she was showing that front which she, deservedly, was most proud of. Seeing him being off a little in the rear when Hannelore was working something else, also showed me that, when you judge, look at the whole dog and see everything used in profile and on the move and then decide that is what you like. You can never just look at the stacked dog and decide whether that part is good or bad, you have to decide in motion if it works or it doesn’t. Remember, we want to always award what is right, never what looks good, but really isn’t all that correct.
CH Wil-Po’s Heidi was a littermate to CH Julian vom Aschandplatz (Gerolf’s sire) and CH Brezel das Zwerglein L (Gerolf’s maternal granddam)
Wally and Mary Jones decided to use Gerolf as a sire of one of their litters and had a couple of good ones come from Gerolf and CH Melody of Sirius L ROMX, but, to me, the two little bitches, CH Dietra die Zieguenerin and CH Walmar’s Fortune Cookie L, were the stars of the litters even though their brother, CH Walmar’s Dandelion Wine, was a bigger winner. All were great, but, as you probably can tell, I am always looking for the next generation and, to me, these bitches had it. As a breeder, I am always looking for great bitches and Gerolf, in my mind, really put them on the ground.
CH Rose Farms Elite v Boondox ROMX (Gerolf daughter) was one of my very best Show bitches
CH Boondox Emma v Walmar ROMO (a Gerolf daughter) was probably one of my Top Producers
I finally bred four Boondox bitches to him, including my foundation longhair bitch, Rose Farms Black Berry Buff L ROMO, to Gerolf and started getting the ones who really set the Boondox line on to the next level when they were born starting way back in 1981! From Lardi’s first litter from Gerolf, she produced one of the best that I ever produced, CH Rose Farms Elite v Boondox L ROMX who won two sets of longhair points at the 82 DCA held in Washington DC, she was purchased by Ruth Martucci from California of the Lostdog Kennel, Dee sold CH Rose Farms Jerry v Boondox to Andra McConnel and Jerry later produced CH Amtekel’s Great Gatsby L ROMX who was BV and BB at the ’89 DCA held in Jacksonville, Fl, and,finally, I kept CH Rose Farms Emma v Walmar ROMO who became one of my best producers by being the dam of an all Champion litter of CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO, CH Pumpkin ROMO, CH Pandemonium ROMX and Promise, CH Boondox Yorktown ROMX, CH Boondox Quicksilver ROMX and Quillan. That was an impressive line up to say the least and they all had that will to show that their grandfather did as well.
CH Lostdog’s Black Bart L ROMO was a double grandson of Gerolf
CH Boondox Yorktown L was a product of Black Bart ROMO (double Gerolf bred) bred to Emma ROMO (Gerolf granddaughter)
Next, in 1982, I bred CH Rose Farms Zesabel v Boondox ROMO to Gerolf and they produced CH Boondox Igor v Walmar L and the ’84 WD at DCA, CH Boondox Indigo v Walmar L, who also was the sire, when bred to a Gerolf daughter, CH Rose Farms Elite v Boondox ROMX, produced Ruth Martucci’s Top Producer, CH Lostdog’s Black Bart L ROMO who, when bred back to another Gerolf granddaughter, CH Boondox Emma v Walmar ROMO produced the Top Special and Producer, CH Boondox Yorktown L ROMX. Can you see what adding Gerolf did to my producing lines?
CH Boondox Opium v Walmar L ROM a a top producer and big winner from California
CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox L ROMO was quite a nice producer for Martha Grantham and myself
Finally, right before the ’84 DCA National Show, I bred my other foundation bitch to him and so, when bred to CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO, CH Rose Farms Country Girl ROMX came through and I truly had my plate full with having great Dachshund bitches to breed for my next few Boondox generations. Truly, the quality was so deep here that you could not really believe it when Pammy (as we called Country Girl) gave me CH Boondox Opium v Walmar ROM who was in the National Top Ten as #1 bitch for a couple of years as well as being a great producer for John Mohme, CH Rose Farms Orchid v Boondox L ROMO, co-owned with Martha Grantham, who gave us CH Bermargs Shoney v Boondox L ROMO (three times DCA National BV winner and one time DCA BB winner and Westminster Group Placer) , CH Bermarg’s Boondox Adventure L ROMO and my absolute favorite of All Time, CH Boondox Bermarg Treasure L ROMX , winner of nine Specialty BVs and BBs as well as so many more Champions that I have almost lost track of and finally, a great bitch that I sold to a pet home, but the owners loved so much that they bred Boondox Sunni O’Ember to PJ where she produced two Champions, incuding another Special one, CH Coppertone v Boondox L ROMX who became one of my top producers.
CH Walmar’s Quo Vadis L, a Gerold grandson and winner ’94 BV at the DCA National
Finally, back in ’87, Wally and Mary and I bred our CH Boondox Pumpkin ROMO to him and, by breeding Pumpkin to her own grandsire, as Gerolf was, we produced CH Walmar’s Hollyhochs v Boondox ROMX, a red longhair bitch that never really caught our eye, but we knew that she, with her inbred pedigree was going to be a great producer so Wally and Mary kept her and, when bred to her uncle, CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO, she brought forth a jack pot of great dogs. In Hollyhochs litters were such offspring as CH Walmar’s Quo Vadis ROM (who was DCA’s ’94 BV Longhair), CH Walmar’s Quiet Mistress who was behind CH Walmar’s Jazz Man, CH Walmar’s Jasmine, CH Walmar’s Casanova ROMO (WD, BW and BV at the ’99 DCA National), CH Walmar’s Jezebel v Spritzkof (who herself was WB, BW and BV at the ’01 DCA National and BV at the ’02 DCA National Specialty Show) and Dual CH Walmar-Solo’s OMG SL who was WD and BW at the ’13 DCA National and BV and BOSB at the ’18 DCA National Specialty Show.
CH Boondox Panama Jack ROMO, current #1 Longhair sire and grandson of the great CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO
Seeing the way Gerolf strengthened the Boondox line and how his daughters crossed so well as my Java daughters out of Lardi and Pammy did, I realized what you could do if you looked past a fault (that actually was not EVER really a fault) and bred to get what he offered the Dachshund Breed. Remember, take advantage of the best that you can use as we always have to make the best better….and, trust me, using Gerolf with his type, style and movement was going to improve you forever.
When you look at his siring pattern, there are a lot of greats that came down from Gerolf and so I will start with what he did crossing with Dee Hutchinson’s Rose Farms bitches . The main one she used was a Java/Lardi bitch called CH Rose Farms’ Lady of the Night ROMX who she co- owned with Andrea Spritzer, Ron and Carol Spritzer’s daughter. She was one of Andrea’s Junior Showmanship Dachshunds as well as being a great producer as well with five Champions from this litter including CH Rose Farms American Hero L, one of Carol’s biggest winning Specials and CH Rose Farms Lime Soda ROM, sold to Mary Pyle of California.
CH Von Dyck’s Casey Jones ROMX, a Gerolf son, shown by Hannelore Heller for Cliff Simones and Robbie Addison
Another good one was CH Barbadox Ultimate Too, bred by Barbara Haisch who was WD at the’83 DCA National Specialty in California and he was owned by Debi Brum now and he was her first big winner. There were three Champions in that litter and was one of the first big wins of the Gerolf offspring. Mary Lou Harris bred CH Jurisdachs OW Holmes Rex who was sired by Gerolf and out of a CH Delldachs Rolls Royce ROM daughter who was a Special shown by Lori Turner back then and Dr Helen Tiahrt bred a Gerolf son who also was BOSV at the ’85 DCA Nationa Show and he was called CH Von Dyck’s Casey Jones ROMX who became a big winner as well as a Top Producer.
CH Manorville’s Spellbinder was aPJ daughter out of a Gerold sired bitch and was BOSV at the ’91 DCA National Specialty
Lynne Allen had a nice litter which produced three Champions including CH Whistlestop’s Surpriz Surpriz and CH Whistlestop’s Miffin-T-Ann ROMX who, when bred to my PJ produced another BOSV at the ’91 DCA National Specialty Show. Hannelore herself bred several bitches to Gerolf and finished several of them and the last one is a bitch that Jeff Richards and Hannelore bred and sold to Betty Woerman, who is Dachshund Judge Debbie Melgreen’s mother, and she was CH Han-Jo’s Roxanne L ROMX, a Gerolf daughter who produced seven Champions in their second shot at breeding top quality Show Dachshunds.
CH Boondox Igor v Walmar L was a Gerolf son
CH Boondox Indigo v Walmar L , a Gerolf son, was WD at the ’84 DCA National Show as well as siring CH Lostdogs Black Bart L ROMO who was out of CH Elite ROMX, a Gerolf daughter
I hope everyone notices all these DCA winners are occurring here coming down from Gerolf because, to me anyway, that is what I was always on the chase for. When you have the look, the true Dachshund style and the movement that CH Gerolf das Zwerglein L ROMO did, you want that dog to be a great winner because he deserves it, because those qualities should always be rewarded and because you discover this by watching and studying each dog. It is easy to cut a dog down, but finding great things seems to be a lot harder to do
Dee Hutchinson awarding Gerolf Best Stud Dog at the ’85 DCA Specialty, shown by Hannelore Heller
Remember, this dog had a great career and won Specialties all across the Country, BUT he never won DCA ever. However, his offspring and their get and produce won DCA awards too numerous to count, because what they were presenting was so vitally important to the Dachshund Breed. Not winning DCA never took away what I loved about this dog, because, to me, he was almost perfect and showed it each time he was inside the Show Ring.
Written by
Dan Harrison
July 2023