The versatility of the English Springer Spaniel has always intrigued me. In the early 1980's I found my first Springer soulmate. Her picture is to the left. Her name was Mesquite Wine CDX, CGC. A Liver/White female from a friend. She past away just 2 months after her 16th birthday. She will always be missed.
Mesquite did produce a litter years ago that was the start of my hobby kennel. We kept two beautiful puppies from her, Fred and Shayna. Shayne found of home with Beverly in Greenwich NY.
CH Return Friendly Wizard X Mesquite Wine
We went to matches for conformation and later found that Freddy really liked obedience which we were taking at the time. A woman that came there to watch every week fell in love with his sister, Shayna, and wanted her for a pet. They were both altered and Shayna went to that place while I kept Freddy for my son. My son had more time to devote to Fred and put Freddy's Companion Dog title on him. Then I took him further to Companion Dog Excellent and started training in Utility. He was also a great field dog and would flush, and retrieve fowl game in land and water. Sadly, he passed on at 15 years of age.
Shayna went to rainbow bridge with her brother and Beverly has another Springer, Alexandrian, great, great grand Uncle of Freddy.
Uncle Freddy's Pedigree
I wanted to start showing my dogs in conformation and maybe breed for the future to start my own lines. A year went by as I searched for a foundation for my hobby kennel. I traveled to and researched many different kennels up and down the East Coast. I found who would become a Great Friend and Mentor that had lived not so far and would support me in my venture. I had known of William Gebert for awhile as a reputable breeder, an AKC judge, a biology teacher knowledgable in genetics, and a breeder of his own lines since 1948. Bill turned out to be my best friend and teacher/mentor for my future kennel. He had co-owned one of his females with a family and had bred her for a pick of the litter. I was supposed to just look at the litter and pick which ones that I liked for structure. When I had done so he agreed that this little puppy, Gretal, was to be my foundation to start with. Wow! And the rest is history.
Since then I have had the pleasure of having some of the best temperaments and healthiest Springers I have known. I have been very Fortunate and Lucky!
Genetic problems do exist in English Springer Spaniels as in any breed of dog. But keeping track of existing problems and checking every generation of dogs is a great asset to any kennel and their pet families. My goal is to breed consistant quality and to preserve the English Springer Spaniel's Character. I do this by having a good foundation program, reading pedigrees, physically checking into backgrounds and hopefully eliminating or lessen any genetic faults.