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Betty-Anne Stenmark & Sandra Pretari Hickson are the breeders behind King’s Mtn. Dandie Dinmont Terriers. Read more.
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Betty-Anne Stenmark & Sandra Pretari Hickson
1. I began in dogs in 1967 with the purchase of a Smooth Saint Bernard who luckily for me was well bred. I had nothing but heartbreak with the Saints; endemic heart disease. I bred one litter of Salukis and realized selling Saluki puppies into responsible homes was best left to the likes of George & Sally Bell and Richard & Barbara Webster. My life “in dogs” began in earnest in 1975 with the purchase of a two-year-old Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Can. Ch. Torcroft Young Bess, and her granddaughter, Am. Ch. Torcroft Ginger of King’s Mtn. They weren’t the prettiest, coats were lacking, but they were structurally and mentally sound.
In 1990, I met a young woman who lived nearby, Sandra Pretari (now Hickson), who had the kind of luck with her Akitas as I had with Saint Bernards, and together we’ve been breeding Dandie Dinmont Terriers since then under the King’s Mtn. prefix. We have had a lot of fun together. We are still breeding today and all of our dogs go back to those foundation bitches. The late Roy Stenmark and I bought property on Kings Mountain in Woodside, California, in 1975, thus our kennel prefix. I lived there until six years ago when Ben and I moved to Grass Valley, California, in the Sierra Foothills. Sandra still lives in the Bay Area, but thankfully, close enough.
2. The Dandie is a rare breed, and thus, it’s hard to gauge its overall strength as there is a wide variety seen around the country. Generally, our breed is healthy, with good temperaments. The DDTCA has established a breeder education program and we held our first seminar on the art of breeding better dogs, better Dandies, this past National. Happily, it was well attended and it is my hope that we’ve awakened the curiosity of those attendees planning to breed a litter. There is nothing easy about breeding dogs and certainly not an achondroplastic breed.
3. I am an optimistic person by nature and while the sport is different today than when I started, we weathered COVID and the sport seems to be coming back. Entries in the middle of the country seem almost back to normal, whereas we on the West Coast are lagging behind. My hope is we will get there too. The quality of judging is of real concern to me. The Terrier Group is handed out like candy at Halloween, a Group that is very difficult to judge. It bothers me that so many new terrier judges are so cavalier about them, afraid to ask how they’re doing or seeking out the advice of those long in those breeds, and being mentored by people who know.
4. Montgomery weekend is coming up, a place where every aspiring terrier judge should decline judging assignments elsewhere and attend all four days. Bring your chair and sit ringside, and watch two or three breeds each day. If the judge isn’t an accomplished breeder-judge, then find a breeder to sit and watch that breed with you. If you’re new to judging terriers, keep coming back year after year. Unfortunately, in my breed, the Dandie entry during Montgomery weekend is poor. You need to come to our National to see the dogs and be mentored.
5. Social media can be good and bad, depending on how you handle yourself. For those who air their dirty laundry, please don’t. I scroll on by. I like to see the dogs my friends are proud of, to see their puppies and enjoy their successes. It is very helpful to advertise upcoming shows and seminars and breeder education opportunities. I have located groomers in areas where my puppies are placed, and found breeder recommendations for friends who ask me where they might buy a good puppy. I am grateful that they are not buying a doodle.
6. We need to talk about what is good about purebred dogs. At the park, I’m often asked what breed of dog mine is and I answer first by saying, “It’s a purebred dog, a Dandie Dinmont Terrier.” I’d like to see AKC be more proactive and take out 30-second PSAs on a regular basis, certainly every time there is a televised dog show. For most purebred breeds, prospective buyers find themselves on waiting lists; not necessarily a bad thing, certainly stops someone from an impulse purchase. But we need to address the doodle crisis; they are readily available, and what scares me now is I can usually identify them!
7. Want to make a positive impact on the Sport? Volunteer! You might look around at who is working at an all-breed show, it’s usually your grandmother or great-grandmother. Join an all-breed club and work! Don’t tell me you’re too busy at work, too busy with puppies, too busy as you’re ranking your dog… take the weekend off and volunteer. No, you don’t start out as Show Chairman, you start out in the trenches. Help with parking. Help with set-up. Ring steward. Pick-up poop. Be there at six in the morning helping with ring hospitality. Be there after the final Best in Show, as all that stuff has to be put away for next year. Neither Sandra nor I have ever taken an assignment on our club’s weekend—never. Hire a dog sitter to take care of your dogs at home as you will be too busy at the show to care for dogs. Our club has always had a policy that members do not show. Whenever that has been brought up for review it’s always voted down. Be more than a taker, give back!
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