Jozef Šuster

Fender Edda kennels

Jozef Šuster was born on September 29th 1966 in Košice, Slovakia and is situated in Velká Ida, Slovakia where he breeds boxers under Fender Edda kennel name. He got his first Boxer as a 16-year-old in 1983, and I bred his first litter in 1985 under the Edda prefix, which is now renamed to Fender Edda with the FCI. After getting married in 1989 Mr.Šuster has been breeding together with his wife Jana. Šuster family includes two daughters Nikola and Dominika, who love dogs very much, especially the puppies, so the whole family participates in breeding. At the moment Šusters have 12 Boxers at home, and Nikola and Dominika own an American Cocker Spaniel bitch. Fender Edda Boxers have produced 7 International Champions, many champions and specialty winners. Mr.Šuster has been a Boxer judge since 1991 and will judge fawn bitches at European show 2003 in Bratislava. Mr.Šuster is also the editor of the first all-breed magazine in Slovakia, namely Kynologicka Revue, which has been published for 14 years. In 2001 and 2002 Mr.Šuster also published a Boxer Monography yearbook and he hopes that the time will allow to print it out again this year. On April 26th-27th 2003 Slovakia will host the ATIBOX World Championship for working Boxers again, and Mr.Šuster, who is in charge of organizing it, would like to I wholeheartedly invite all the friends of the breed to this event.

Some of the dogs bred by Fender Edda kennels include:
Herry Floyd Edda
King Fender Edda
Leonardo Floyd Edda
Orka Floyd Fender Edda
Oscar Floyd Fender Edda
Othelo Floyd Fender Edda
Sagvan Fender Edda
William Fender Edda

European Boxer Zone really appreciates Mr.Šuster finding time for this interview in his busy schedule.

A:The thought of the Boxer has lived in me since my early childhood. At the age of four years I got to see some postcards with well-known breeds of dogs. It was already back then that the Boxer caught both my eye and heart. It is unbelievable that I can still clearly see that postcard dog in front of my eyes, despite the fact that the postcard was not mine and I never saw it again. What is interesting, it was a white, very elegant dog with fawn markings - nowadays not a standard Boxer. I had to wait for a real Boxer for a several years after this experience. Sticking with the family tradition, I grew up with German Shepherds and we also once had a Dachshund.

In the year 1983 my dream of owning a Boxer came true, and we got our first bitch of this exceptional breed. I was 16 back then, and it was the nicest time of my life. Today I know that she was not good for breeding, but my childhood dream came true. We spent a lot of time together and she was a great working dog and a wonderful companion. Our second bitch, which is the ancestor of almost all our dogs, was Diana Nikké, and I am forever grateful to the destiny for her. I had my first litter in January 1985 and I sure was one of the happiest people in the world.

As I already mentioned, our first brood bitch was Diana Nikké who came out of a kennel that is not active anymore, but I really appreciate the work of this kennel. She was out of the line of the successful Carlo ut Gütsel, who as we know was also the ancestor of another successful dog Carlo v.Henningshof. The second Boxer to come to our kennel was a male Jupiter Im-Ka, a son of Interchampion Morgan Im-Ka. As the time goes by, I realize more and more the importance of his addition to our breeding program. He came out of a very successful kennel of the current president of the Slovak Boxer Club Mr.Imrich Sopko to whom I am really grateful for many things, but mostly for teaching me to look for the natural beauty and elegance in the Boxer.

A: Inbreeding is a very sharp tool in the hands of the breeder. With this tool the breeder can quickly reach the success, but in case of a wrong use or a little mistake it can do more damage than good. I realize the dangers of inbreeding more and more, and therefore I also like to go with an outcross or linebreeding. I choose a stud dog with my heart, eyes and brain. The heart sometimes leads you and you don't know why. The eye of the Boxer person helps see if the dog is nice, and the brain has to be used when studying the pedigree and deciding yes or no. There is no recipe for a successful breeding. Using the best with the best, that is the most important thing, and the rest is a matter of too many other factors.

A: The European Boxers have a wonderful temperament and many of the outstanding show dogs also have working titles, often the highest ones. I think that we have to pay the closest attention to the health in our breedings, but also to fertility and capability of raising healthy and vivid offspring. In the conformation ring we have to pay more attention to the bites, because we often see a very nice head but a bigger undershot. If we want the Boxer to be successful at the shows comparing to other breeds, we also have to work on a faultless movement.

A: If the Boxers didn't have the attitude they do have, they wouldn't have so many fans around the world. We inherited the Boxer from our ancestors with this wonderful attitude and that's why it is our duty to keep it that way for the next generations.

A: It is a common thing, not only with the Boxers, that people overvalue the show results, that is a fact. But on the other hand the shows were created for presenting animals. For the best breeders it does not matter who wins, but they can get a good opinion about the quality of stud dogs by watching their offspring in the ring. I think that especially the ATIBOX world show is an annual meeting of the true friends and specialists of our breed. If a breeder starts to go there, he finds out that he keeps meeting the same people, and out of those people he finds friends. It is a good feeling to belong to this big family of the true Boxer friends.

Q: Who are the Boxer judges you respect and think they know the breed very well.

A: There are many outstanding Boxer judges in the world, there is no doubt about that. As a judge, I learned the most from the current president of the Slovak Boxer Club Mr.Imrich Sopko. I have always admired the judging of the president of the German Boxer Club Mr.Gunter Karg. That's why I am very happy that I will see them judge together at our Club Specialty that will be held along with the World Championship in Vrbove this year.

A: The health should be more important than the look! We must especially watch the health of the heart, but we can't forget about other health problems that show up either. It is upon each breeder not to use the dogs with hereditary diseases in their breeding programs.

A: The health tests are needed, but if we worked with a dog until his old age and there were no health problems showing up, that is the best way of testing the health.

A: The ancestor of all Boxers was a white bitch. Everyone who has studied color genetics knows that there will always be the white Boxers in the litters if we keep using dogs and bitches with elegant white markings. The standard makers were the breeders from Germany, so we don't have the right to tell them what to do, but I will be happy if they once legalized the white Boxer for showing and breeding again.

A: Our ancestors have started cropping and docking basing on the experience that even in the nature there is no canine animal that does not have their ears erect. They decided that the Boxer will do better with the ears standing too, even for the price of cropping it. The undocked tail also does more harm than good to a Boxer. But this is only my personal opinion, and if there will be docking/cropping bans in my country one day, I will be able to do nothing else than stop docking/cropping. The temperament is what makes the Boxer, not the tail or ears.

A: Homemade or industrial-made, it has to be of a high quality.

A: The Boxer is happy to be in the house, but is even happier to go for a long walk or run with his owner.

A: We know the American Boxer mostly from the pictures, and I have also seen about three imports. They are of course different than the European Boxers, but that doesn't mean that the way that our American colleagues go is a wrong way. Maybe we can one day reach the ideal by connecting these two ways. Today I would say that in Europe the type is the most important, then the head and then the anatomical correctness and good movement. That is why they do not place in the group rings very often. Except of that, the European breeders pay more attention to working with the breed, and can produce a Boxer that has a World Champion title and a SchH 3 title to boot.

A: Don't give up with the first failing. Fair and hard work will give you wonderful dogs and what's more, you will have true friends all around the world. That's the best what the world has to offer.

A: Breeding the Boxers, or boxeromania, if you wish, is at first a hobby, thanks to which we have many friends. Therefore a Boxer breeder should be friendly and nice. He/she should not in any case be envious of the success of other breeders. Each outstanding dog is a great addition to the Boxer breed as a whole. Too bad there are many of those people out there who forget about this and they act like they can never breed a successful dog with some honest and hard work. Yes they can!

Q: What in your prognosis the breed will become in 50 years from now?

A: The Boxer has been keeping its popularity for a long time. It is not a "fancy" breed, and if a person ever had a Boxer, there is no way back. Boxer will continue being an excellent companion, and will be used for sport or working purpose by all those who want to have the dog as a trustworthy partner. I am not worried about the future of the Boxer. So many wonderful people are spending their time by breeding, training and promoting the breed that it can only bloom.

Q: Please tell us your plans for the future.

A: According to my possibilities, I would like to keep on working on improving the breed by using the best stud dogs and especially care for the health.