1-           Who is D. Ingmar Sioen?   Some may know me in person, some may have heard of me, some have never heard my name. I am the son of Johan Sioen and Mariette Poppe, founders of boxer kennel “Van Sapho’s Hoeve”, 30 years ago. I have lived between these beautiful dogs all my live and through my parents I was able to learn this astounding breed in detail. For the last 10 years or so all decisions concerning breeding are being taken after deliberation between me and my parents. So I can call myself a Boxer Breeder in the full sense of the word. I also handle Boxers in the ring – both my own and others – and I am training Boxers. Mainly for IPO trials. Again: both my own and others. At the same time, here in , we have a boarding kennel for all breeds (even for cats!) and a small shop (food, toys...). This gives us the possibility to work independently financially. And finally, on our grounds we have an official IPO club, of which half of the members are Boxer owners. Lucky me!   2-           How many time are you breeding Boxer and why?   I was born in 1977 and have lived between Boxers ever since. I do not know another life. To me, part of life is breeding Boxers and I want to emphasize that the help we get from my parents is still very important. They founded our “sister”-Boxerkennel “De ” in Cervera del Maistre ().   3-           What is the meaning/origin of Van Sapho’s Hoeve?   The first boxer my parents did own was called “Sapho”. “Hoeve” means “farmhouse”. Sapho was a fawn female without white markings, closely bred on Witherford Hot Chestnut. For all kinds of reasons she left no traces in our breeding.  As you can see the name of our spanish sisterkennel is as close a translation you can get, emphasizing the continuity in breeding.     4-           What is your opinión about the actual breeding?   It really depends on the country. At this moment (2008), the situation in is not as good as it has been. The few established breeders we owned have somewhat lost their motivation or have stopped breeding: age and most certainly the cropping/docking ban played a mayor role. Now it is up to a new generation to prove they can follow the footsteps of this wonderful breeders. This will be most difficult. The and are in a similar situation. has lost its dominating position years ago. Italian breeders are holding on to their high quality breeding but at this point in time I fancy most the breedingwork that is going on in and . I hope that in both countries the breeders can stay focussed on their breeding and not get lost in the – all too human - trivialities of show- or club games.    5-           What do you think about the blood relationship in the breeding?   Close breeding is very important. It is necessary to fix and hold on to characteristics. Both in type in general as in matters of detail. This fixation needs time, it is a work of generations. It is even good to go far in this kind of breeding, but you must be aware of the risks and be prepared to take the consequences: you might end up with a lot of rubbish. But sometimes you get the high quality puppies you were looking for, the ones that carry the type you searched for. And you can be sure the females out of that combination will be good reproducers. For a breeder those females are fundamental. To be clear: you can get excellent puppies out of open combinations too. No doubt. But here luck plays a far greater role. And the worth in terms of reproducers is a lot more questionable, unless of course one of the parents is part of a closely bred line.   6-           Is it necessary to do open breeding?   Yes, of course. Breeding close over generations – even in the best of “blood”-lines –eventually will get you into (big) trouble. For by doing this you not only fix and reproduce the better points, but also (and often without knowing it) the negative points. At a certain point – if no “outcross” has been planned, or is planned too late in the scheme – this can mean the end of that line. Even very abrupt. You only have to study the history of the breed to find examples. And even if the outcross (or more of them) is planned, you have to search very well. It is not enough to look for a male that has the characteristics ”your” line needs and is more or less similar with the type you want to hold on. You have to make sure this male comes from parents (or from a line) that transmits these characteristics. And even more: he should not show (or hide) some of the weaker points of your line. And these weaker points are always there! That, of course is the theory and as a breeder you try to follow the principle as good as you can. In reality, nature will tell you if you played your cards well or not. In breeding deception is waiting around the next corner. But not always. An interesting note, maybe: in discussions about breeding my parents, over the years, have come to stress more and more the importance of the quality of the Boxer you are line breeding to ( extremely few animals are worth line breeding to) and, secondly, the necessity to “open” the gene pool, before too many characteristics are lost for ever.