I get asked all the time about our "facility". As a tiny, HOBBY breeder that only has 2-3 litters a year, I don't have a facility and I am not open to the public. It shocks me how many people think they can just show up whenever they want. We are a private residence on 360 acres.
Yes, there is surely plenty of room for dogs to run, explore and hunt...and they do! We are fortunate to have a climate controlled indoor kennel of 8 runs. We do not keep intact male springers on the property. Our dogs are not prisoners and the springers are kenneled only at night, when we are having horrible weather (muddy floors - OY!) and during heat cycles. The Sussex are full-time house dogs. Our property is gated with several security cameras strategically placed to keep track of spaniel shenanigans.
Oh, and Yellowstone National Park is about 90 minutes away. A fun factoid: Yellowstone the TV show is filmed in Ravalli County, in western Montana...pretty far away from the real Yellowstone. I don't watch the show but I hear it's great and I sure get lots of questions about it!
Here are some pictures of Hellfire doggy life here:
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 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 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.