Page 54 - ShowSight Express, January 7 2021

BONNIE THRELFALL, EDGEWOOD ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS
Ch. Kenobo Rabbit of Nadou, ECM
smart enough to keep quiet and listen, you picked up so much expe- rienced knowledge. People would realize you were truly interested and share their thinking.
I had shown my dad’s Labradors in the breed ring. A local Irish Water Spaniel breeder loaned me one of his bitches to show. She became the first champion in the breed to get a UD degree. I was in my early teens when I showed her, but she placed twice in the Groups at a time when bitches in the breed really weren’t recog- nized. The judges who placed her were William Kendrick and Alva Rosenberg. She also was the great grandmother of “Irishtocrat” who was Best in Show at Westminster. She was a quality dog all around and a wonderful dog with which to learn.
Being one of the kids who hung around dog shows all day long, we were tolerated by the well-known handlers. We were allowed to watch and learn as long as we were quiet and did not get in the way. They were the bonafide professionals like the Forsyths, Annie Clark, Richard Bauer, Ted Young, Bill Trainor, Steve Shaw, and others. They were nothing like the “have lead, will show” secret agents of today. These people had such depth of knowledge span- ning many decades, and were also successful breeders. There was so much to learn by keeping quiet, watching, and listening. That was the mentoring experience back then. Priceless.
The Edgewood English Cockers are widely known, highly successful and well respected. What breeding philosophies do you adhere to?
I began in the breed with two males, a father and son. By hav- ing a background in dogs, I was well aware that I had a lot to learn about the breed before starting to breed, if I were going to be at all successful. I made my mistakes and learned with the two boys while I was in college and right after graduating. They were wonderful dogs and I was so very fortunate. Both were BIS winners, Westmin- ster Group placers, and top producers.
As to breeding philosophies, I have to like the dog and the pedi- gree equally. No matter how much I like a dog, I will not breed to him if I don’t like the pedigree. Conversely, no matter how wonderful the pedigree, if the dog doesn’t match it, I will pass.
Ch. Kenobo Capricorn, ECM
Having been interested in, then involved with, then breeding Eng- lish Cockers for 50-plus years, longevity certainly does have its advantages. I usually have seen all of the dogs in a four- or five- generation pedigree and know how they’ve produced.
I linebreed. It’s what works in this breed. I have gone out very occasionally, but then it’s right back to linebreeding. I had done a father/daughter breeding once. It was the bitch’s last litter after see- ing what she produced, and the sire was older and well proven. I felt comfortable that nothing disastrous would be revealed. The result was a two-time National Best of Breed winner, but that was the only time I did an inbreeding. I do like to plan at least two genera- tions out, three if possible. Sometimes this does work out accord- ing to plan, but other times a reassessment is necessary, depend- ing upon results. When breeding, always remember that Mother Nature will have the last laugh.
I have only done a breeding when I have needed something to go forward with. I will keep a bitch puppy only if she is an improve- ment on her dam. To keep a male puppy, he has to have a platinum head, a body of gold, and two diamond testicles. I want the puppy I keep to be of such quality that he is competitive at the National. This breed is judged so poorly at the all-breed level that the only true in-ring test (comparing breeding stock) is at our National Spe- cialties. I will only sell a puppy to a show home if its quality is such for me to have kept and shown. There are more than enough poor- quality dogs in the ring. I do not wish to add to that. I have bred BIS winners, National Specialty winners at all levels, and top pro- ducers but, in 50 years, there are fewer than 75 Edgewood champi- ons. If they aren’t top quality, I don’t want them in the ring.
I usually have one or two litters from a bitch. A wise person once told me that the first time you breed a bitch, the result will tell you how you should have bred her. The second litter should be an improvement on the first. If it’s not an improvement, either she’s not worth breeding again or you are not smart enough to figure it out; so just stop. I don’t repeat breedings. The only time I might consider it is if I needed a bitch from that particular combination