We had various pets growing up including dogs, cats, birds, rodents and fish but before reaching adulthood I knew I was a dog person. I thought about the breeds best suited for me, knew it had to be larger, very active dogs to keep up with my active lifestyle, I also wanted playful, affectionate friends who would form close relationships with me and be easy to train, and finally I wanted guardians as well to protect me.
My first dog as an adult was a Boxer/Pit Bull cross. She was a wonderful dog. While I had her, I also got a Lab mix. He unfortunately died of cancer at only 6 years of age, and I quickly got another Lab mix while I still had the Boxer/Pit cross, because I liked having at least two dogs so they could also be companions and playmates for each other, and one dog at a time was not enough for me either. I found myself bonding much more closely to the Boxer/Pit cross though, I read breed descriptions for both Boxers and Pit Bulls and spent time with purebreds of both breeds and knew the Boxer part of her was what really drew me to her. Long before she died, I knew I would only have or want Boxers from then on.
When she passed away I immediately started searching for my first purebred Boxer and bought a flashy fawn puppy, my first of 3 U.S. bloodline Boxers. I loved them all dearly, they were all great dogs, but there were issues. Health problems were significant. Also, they were not as protective of me as I would have liked, were "too friendly" towards strangers. The flashy fawn would not even bark at strangers at all, just welcomed anyone and everyone. We bonded very closely and they were all quite trainable, but I saw and knew other dogs that were much more so. I certainly did not feel that any of them were worthy of being bred, despite one being from top show lines with an International Grand Champion sire, AKC Grand Champion littermate and many other top conformation dogs in his pedigree. He passed away due to degenerative myelopathy which was devastating to me.
Finally, after much research, I discovered working bloodline German Boxers! These are IT, absolutely everything I wanted in dogs! I was on a waiting list for years to get my first, even longer for the second, but it was well worth the long wait as I could not be happier with the two I have now, finally have dogs whose genetics I know should be passed on so I decided to become a breeder of these amazing Boxers.
My breeding program is and will remain small as I am very careful and selective about which dogs are bred and will never have more Boxers than I have ample time and other resources to devote and fully enjoy. They are all raised in home on our Minnesota homestead with cattle, chickens, geese and gardens (soon to add pigs as well), very well socialized, exposed to a wide variety of sounds, sights, smells and surfaces, handled and loved extensively. Health is a top priority here, all of my Boxers are extensively health tested before breeding as well as having their temperaments evaluated with titles earned to ensure they are strong working dogs. We are active in both IGP (Obedience, Tracking and Protection) as well as Agility.
I feed a homemade raw diet exclusively, prepared with a great deal of research to ensure it provides optimum canine nutrition. Dogs receive core vaccinations only. Tails and dewclaws are left natural, not docked or removed.