Hellfire English Springer and Sussex Spaniels

2022 Sussex Spaniel Dog Show Results

Despite the limited showing this year, I somehow managed to finish 4 Grand Championships:

RBISX3 MBISSX4 GCH CH Hellfires Dancing in the Dark "Bruce" 

GCH CH Hellfires Cusp of Aries "Knox"

GCH CH Hellfires Serendipity is Marvelous " GG"

GCH CH Hellfire Has Faith in Me "Margery"

MBISSX4 RBISX3 GCH CH Hellfires Dancing in the Dark "Bruce"

New Hellfire Sussex Champion

Hooray, put a fork in him, he's done! Knox finished his championship with 4 straight 4 point majors, all points over other champions, over the weekend. He also picked up 8 points toward his Grand Championship. Knox is a littermate to Bruce, my lovely puppy who went BISS from the Bred By Exhibitor class.

Knox is out of "Maverick" GCHB Sundowners Repeat Fire CD RAE RATO CGC X "Gwynnie" CH Hellfires Serendipity is Marvelous and is my 13th Hellfire bred Champion. Hoping to finishing this boys GCH in the spring, because we are definitely looking forward to less dog shows and more obedience and hunt tests!

CH Hellfires Cusp of Aries "Knox"

 

 

 

 

Hellfire Sussex Spaniels | Our Show Dogs

We had an okay Sussex Specialty in Olympia, WA this past weekend. Gwynnie, CH Hellfires Marvelous Serendipity, came home with a Select + two Best Opposites and added 15 more points toward her Grand Championship, and then her son Bruce, Hellfires Dancing in the Dark, went Best in Show from the Bred-By Exhibitor class - what a thrill! Bruce is from my 2019 litter with GCHB Maverick x CH Gwynnie. He is my second Bred-By Specialty winner. 

The highlight was showing Maverick with his two gorgeous sons in the Stud Dog Class. To see them all together meant so much to me and I hope we get to do it again! As a breeder, this kind of class is so much fun, even the judges enjoy it.

Maverick with his sons BISS Bruce and Knox

BISS Hellfires Dancing in the Dark

 

 

The Beat Goes On

For Frank's 8th Birthday, Stewie gave him his 8th Champion offspring. Congratulations Scott, we are just thrilled for you!! 

PS: There are still at least 4 Frank kids in the dog show pipeline. 

First Shows of 2021

It was so nice to finally go to a dog show after 18 months on the sidelines! Both Jilly (my just turned 6 month old pekingese bred by Gwenn Nash - Katerings Pekingese)) and Knox the Sussex  had their very first shows in Coeur d'Alene. Both total noobs, you never know what to expect but my kids did great! Jilly went Reserve to the Major winner and beat six much older girls (Usually second place is annoying, but I was truly THRILLED!), and Knox won both his majors over 4 specials (champions, including a BISS) and won a Group 4 his first time going to groups. 

Knox is being shown as a Bred By Exhibitor - he is out of GCHB Maverick X CH Gwynnie

We are off and running!

Hellfires Cusp of Aries "Knox"

Sussex Spaniels 2021

 Champions beget Champions. Knox and his dad, Maverick at about the same age.  It feels like it has been forever since we have done a dog show, but Knox will be making his debut soon! Knox is out of GCH Maverick X CH Gwynnie. 

Hellfires Cusp of Aries "Knox"

GCHB "Maverick" RAE CD RATO TKE CGC

Hellfire Sussex Spaniels | Hellfire Kennels | AKC Breeder of Merit

We are members of the Pacific Northwest Sussex Spaniel Club and the Hellfire Sussex Spaniels compete in conformation, obedience, rally, barn hunt, hunt tests and tracking venues.  Every single one of my Sussex was OWNER/HANDLED to its Championship and Grand Championship. When showing Maverick, I  won 7 NOHS Owner/Handler Best is Show awards,. Additionally, I have finished three Top 5 dogs to Westminster Invitations. Thus far we have bred 11 champions, with a few more still to finish. 

We only occasionally breed our fully health screened, finished champions, and although we are no longer placing our puppies in conformation/show homes, we enjoy watching our puppies succeed in a variety of other AKC competition homes and as well loved family pets. If you are researching the breed, we have a helpful information webpage just for our little brown dogs  - feel free to ask questions about what it's like to live with one! 

Hellfire Kennels is a Trupanion Breeder

Gun dogs, performance dogs and active lifestyle pets aren't like regular companion dogs. What they do and the drive they have can put them in harm's way. Injuries, accidents, weed awns, viruses, allergies happen and we are strongly suggesting pet insurance for our puppy owners. We've even built it into our purchase contract and have increased the warranty to 4 years, for dogs that continue on with pet insurance coverage.

Hellfire Kennels is an approved Trupanion Breeder - what this means is that our puppies go home with seasonal starter kit and a health insurance policy that is activated with our kennel's special code 24 hours before or after they leave our home. (Note: Puppies residing in FL and NY require additional Trupanion accommodations.) There is NO financial benefit to us for offering this to our puppy families other than the peace of mind that our puppies will receive excellent pet care after they leave us.

Overview of the Go Home Day Offer:
• 30 days of coverage with no obligation
• Immediate coverage, waiting periods are waived
• $250 deductible, applies per condition for the lifetime of the pet
• 90% coverage with no limits on what we pay out
• Vet Direct Pay
• Coverage for any new injuries or illnesses (more information about Trupanion online)

Sussex Spaniel Spa-Palooza - Fall Edition

SUSSEX GROOMING: Lots of people ask me how often I groom my Sussex, and I am not going to lie - it's a LOT! A fully coated Sussex requires constant maintenance.  My fully coated Pekingese is less work.  The good news is that it can take years for that coat to grow out, so enjoy the youngsters while you can. If I had to put a guesstimate on it, I'd say it takes about 2-2.5 hours per adult dog to bathe, brush and blow out a Sussex coat.  The feather hair is very fine and will tangle and knot if left to it's own devices.  It needs to be combed out quite often. My 8 month old  puppy took about 90 minutes to bathe, blow out, brush and Dremel nails this last time. Oh, and we do NOT use snoods...ever.

I brush weekly, sometimes several times a week. I bathe every 3 weeks, sometimes weekly depending on how much rain we get and how dirty they get. Sussex are low to the ground and seem to bring everything outside, inside - so I would classify this breed as medium to high on the grooming scale. 

Baby Smoosh - Hellfires There and Back

GeeG - CH Hellfires Serendipity is Marvelous

Marv- MBISS GCHB Hellfires Mizz Marvel

Frank - GCH Three D First and Foremost

Baby Knox - Hellfires Cusp of Aries

 

Hellfire Sussex Spaniels - KNOX

Baby Knox is really growing up nicely! I love how these photos show off the golden shimmers in his coat, which is a real thing in this breed. Knox is out of GCHB Sundowners Repeat Fire RAE CD RATO TKA CGC "Maverick" X CH Hellfires Marvelous Serendipity "Gwynnie"  We are breeding Gwynnie's litter sister GG this summer.

Knox at a year old - 2019 male out of Maverick X Gwynnie

Knox - Hellfires Cusp of Aries

 

Hellfire Sussex Spaniel Puppies - 2020

The Fwinkles (Frank x Twinky) arrived on National Chocolate Fondue Day, so we happily embraced this as our litter theme! (These puppies are spoken for.)

If you haven't read our Sussex Spaniel Info Page > you can find it HERE https://mthellfire.com/sussex-spaniel-info  

Our parents are fully health screened with eye, joint, heart, hearing and PDP DNA testing, but so are our puppies  - we do CAER eye exams, 2 puppy  heart exams and BAER hearing testing- via specialists. No matter what breeder you decide to work with, demand that all of these tests are done. 

It's true that pet puppies don't have to be 100% perfect to be great family companions, but it's nice to know your breeder actually cares enough about the breed to do these tests and is honest enough to disclose the results. 

PS: We do not export outside of the US!!! 

GCH Three D First and Foremost X CH Hellfires Twinkle of Faith