I
am a member of the Kennel Club Assured Breeder Scheme
I hope you enjoy this site, where you can meet
the dogs.
We bought our first Clumber in 1983,
Abby was a pet first and foremost as are all the dogs today. She taught us
though that Clumbers love to work and that health issues are of major
importance within the breed. She died suddenly from heart failure at the age
of 7 1/2. She was never bred from but her successor - Scherzando Ripple of
Abbyford was the start of my line which carries the name of our first much
loved Abby.
I take a serious interest in the health of the breed,
keeping a database of all Clumbers bred in the UK and many abroad. I liaised
with the Kennel Club and the Animal Health Trust and was instrumental in
getting the PDP1 genetic test into the UK. This test is now a recommendation
for Accredited Breeder Scheme
members to have their breeding stock tested for the condition. All my dogs
are either tested clear or hereditarily clear of this condition - being the
first person in the UK to have their dogs tested.
All my dogs and puppies are fed on BARF
(Bones and Raw Food) and have been 1999. I feel that in
doing so I have managed to let the puppies grow slowly and steadily and I
think this probably contributes to the success in breeding lower hip scores. I only use stud dogs that have been
hip scored and have been fortunate over the past decade bred many low scoring
Clumbers. I aspire to breed healthy, happy Clumbers that are capable of
working in the field for the day - that actually look like Clumbers ! Hence
I do show occasionally to prove that my dogs do fit the standard - my
youngest dog Storm did qualify for
Crufts at his first show last year, unfortunately as he is docked it was not
legal for me to show him there so he wasn't entered.
I am also very aware that many Clumbers
currently being bred for work are far too inbred - risking problems for the
future. I will only breed a litter if the
parents are not closely related,
likewise, I will only allow my stud dogs to be used on bitches that are
similarly unrelated. I am strongly opposed to breeding
litters that over several generations are horrendously closely related and
it is not in the breeds interest for breeders to continue this -
unfortunately many working Clumber breeders do not seem to appreciate what
they are doing or are following the wrong advise. The breed average of
inbreeding according to the Kennel Club is 17.7% over 10 generations -
many trialling Clumbers are now repeatedly notching up double the inbreeding
at 33-35% - higher than the accidental litter I had of the full
brother, sister in 2004 !!
Ian and I were founder members of the Working Clumber
Spaniel Society and we have been members for the majority of the proceeding
27 years.
I only breed occasional litters -
primarily when I want something for myself. All my puppies are legally
docked, have started
their vaccinations, are microchipped and KC registered before leaving home.
Abbyford Clumbers - in
the ring
Tor at the Swedish
Clumber Club's first Official show August 2011
14 3 11 - Margaret Hughes and myself are
delighted to welcome Gry to the UK. She is the
most beautiful girl and we hope she will compliment our lines
. She has been chosen for her type and health.
14 1 12 - Today Trogen - was awarded
his KC Working Gundog Certificate - many thanks to Heather Mayes for
training and handling him.
3 11 11. Lesley Knowles had a litter
by Xon and her Buffy (Slinkett Antonia)
DOB 20 10 11 - these are all now sold..
See Puppy News.
3 9 11 - Delighted to see that Rut's
registration with the KC has been completed. She has 2 ** by her
name to mark her pedigree, any puppies she has will have 1 * by
their name and any of their progeny will not have any asteriks. So
pleased the Kennel Club have accepted and acknowledged her pedigree
with no quibbles.
Margaret Hughes had some Clumber Spaniel puppies - they are
from her Etheridge Aiofe and byTor ,
they are all now sold .
Photos and more information can be seen on her website -Etheridge
Clumber Spaniels.
17 8 11 - A very successful trip to Sweden for the International
Seminar and shows. Tor was 3rd in the
Obedience Competition, Trogen 4th. At the
Clumber Klubben first official Show the judge was Karin Brostam
Berglund (Don's) , Tor was 1st Veteran Dog,
3rd Best Dog, RCAC, Best Veteran in Show, Xon
- 1st Open dog, 4th Best dog, all in glorious sunshine. The
following day, in pouring rain and mud, the judge was
Margareta Edman ( Clumbrolds) . Tor was again
1st Veteran Dog and then went on to be 2nd Best Dog and 3rd BIS
Veteran, Patch was 1st Open Bitch and 3rd
Best Bitch, Rut was 2nd Open Bitch ( she
wasn't shown the day before ). A very memorable weekend.
17 7 11 - Tor and Xon
enjoyed a flying trip to the World dog Show in Paris last week. Tor
ended up World Winner Veteran Dog and Xon 2nd in Open Dog, Both were
graded Excellent.
Delighted to see that the Kennel Club have now set up
Mate Select to assist breeders in their choices - includes a COI
calculater for individual dogs and for test matings
2 4 11 - Delighted to hear from Sweden that
Rut's x-ray results are published - Hips A, Elbows 0 -
Excellent news, looking forward to her arrival in the UK in August!
3 7 10 - Delighted to introduce Rut in co
ownership with Kristina Andersson .
13 8 09 -Today I have added the in breeding COI for each
litter I have bred. This represents how
closely related the parents are - the lower the percentage shows
that they are much less in bred and thus have a wider genetic base
to keep the breed healthy. The Swedish Clumber Club breed to a guide
of no more than 6% over 5 generations to keep a rich diversity of
breeding stock ie hopefully a healthier breed in the long term.
Clumbers Naturally- now a relatively quiet
list where the issues of barf feeding and natural remedies for
Clumbers are discussed. Plenty in the archives to read.
