Jazzin Kennels | Collette Jaynes

Interview with Collette Jaynes, Breeder of Jazzin Kennels

Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder?

Collette Jaynes: I live in White, Georgia. I have been in dogs for 50 years; 48 years as a breeder.

What is your kennel name? How many dogs do you currently keep?

Collette Jaynes: My kennel name is Jazzin Kennels. I currently keep 9-11 dogs and bitches total for both Golden Retrievers and Clumber Spaniels.

Which show dogs from the past have been your noteworthy winners?

My noteworthy winners include:

• Golden – CH Jazzin’s Advice Line – WB GRCA National Specialty 2010
• Clumber – CH Jazzin’s Ducking The System – WB CSCA National Specialty 2010
• Clumber – CH Nexus Total Eclipse (breeder) – BOB CSCA National Specialty 2012
• Clumber – CH Jazzin’s Duchess of York – BISS at both the CSCA National 2016 and CSCC National 2015
• Golden – GCH Jazzin’s Final Jeopardy – Top 20 goldens 2012

Which have been your most influential sires and dams?

My most influential sire and dam:

• Golden – GCH Jazzin’s Final Jeopardy (sire)
• Clumber – CH Nexus Jazzin Jenga (dam)

Can you talk a bit about your facilities? Where are your puppies whelped? How are they raised?

Collette Jaynes: My facilities are a home with a full basement. The kennel is in the basement with stainless steel dog wash, washer/dryer, runs with Kuranda beds, and six acres to run on. Puppies are whelped upstairs in the office area. I have a daybed there and I sleep with the litter for the first two weeks. Once the puppies are old enough, they go in the kennel in a huge area with lots of toys, litter box, and music. They are socialized daily and taken on walks, and the grandkids play with them often. They become well-adjusted puppies.

What is your “process” for selecting Show Puppies? Performance Puppies? Field Puppies?

Collette Jaynes: I hold a Zoom meeting now, but before Zoom I always had other breeders and judges come over to evaluate the litter one by one. I do temperament testing for performance and field with retrieving and birds.

Do you compete in Companion Events? Performance Events?

Collette Jaynes: I try to obtain an AKC Championship on all my dogs, and most of my Goldens do Performance in Field and Obedience.

Are Field Trials or parent club Hunt Tests important to you?

Collette Jaynes: Yes, to make sure the original purpose is still part of the breeding program.

How would you define “conditioning” as it relates to your breed?

Collette Jaynes: Conditioning means lots of exercise and room to run and jump. Retrieving daily helps to condition those dogs that are not interested in playing with others.

Are there any health-related concerns in your breed? Any special nutritional needs?

Collette Jaynes: There are lots of health-related concerns in both breeds. I am OCD about testing and only use dogs/bitches that have been health and DNA tested for everything related to that breed: Hips/Eyes/Elbows/Heart and all genetic testing as well.

Do you think your breed is supported by a sufficient number of preservation breeders?

Collette Jaynes: In Golden Retrievers, yes, but it’s not the case in Clumbers.

Is your breed well suited to be a family dog? Who are the best candidates to own your breed?

Collette Jaynes: Yes, both breeds are great family dogs and I encourage each owner to enroll in Puppy Obedience ASAP. Goldens do well in most environments. Clumbers need a fenced yard, as once their nose turns on their ears turn off.

What is the biggest misconception about your breed? What is your breed’s best-kept secret?

Collette Jaynes: With a well-bred Golden there are no misconceptions. With a Clumber, the misconception biggest is the drooling. They do drool, but not nearly as much as it is led to believe. The best-kept secret is that Clumbers are one of the best family dogs around and they are clowns as well. I’m not sure why they are still a low entry breed. They were registered in AKC before Golden Retrievers!

If you could share a comment or two with judges of your breed, what would you like to say to them?

Collette Jaynes: Judge for form and function and type. Make your cuts on type and your placements on structure and you will never go wrong. Clumbers are long and low but they are NOT Sussex Spaniels! Clumbers need to have “enough” leg to do the job they were bred to do. Bigger, heavier, and hairier is not always correct!

Do you have any words of wisdom to pass along to newer breeders?

Collette Jaynes: Find a mentor in the breed. They will help you navigate through so much unfamiliar language and dogs. I can’t stress this enough. Trying to do it alone is a recipe for disaster. AND, breeding is not for the faint of heart. So much tragedy will occur if you do this long enough and it takes love of the breed to keep going.

For a bit of fun, what’s the most amusing thing you’ve ever experienced with a Sporting Dog?

Collette Jaynes: It was in the 1980s and I was running one of my Goldens in an Obedience Trial. He was good too good. It was a VERY hot day in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the trial was held in a pavilion outside. My turn was up, and half the ring was in the sun and the other half in shade. We started the off-lead heeling and, as soon as I hit the sun, my Golden stops with his front toes on the edge of the sun/shade. I had to continue the heeling pattern without the dog and when I passed him coming back, he whipped into heel position! That evening, we worked on heeling in the parking lot of the hotel. He was flawless!

The next day, when it was close to my turn, a crowd had gathered to watch. Everyone had heard about the Golden refusing to go into the sun. Well, I thought, “We will show them!” and, by damn, he did it again! As soon as I crossed over from shade to sun he stayed in the shade. I continued the heeling pattern, and again, once I’d returned to where he was standing, he whipped into heel position. Everything else was flawless, but, of course, we did not pass. Lesson learned: Never show him in the sun. The crowd had a good laugh that day!