Doug Johnson | Clussexx

Interview with Doug Johnson, Breeder of Clussexx

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? What is your kennel name?
2. What are the hallmarks of your breed and why are they important for maintaining breed type?
3. In your opinion, are there enough puppy homes to support breeding a litter this year?
4. How have you implemented new technologies in science and communications as a breeder?
5. In your community, have you noticed a change in the public’s perception of purebred dogs?
6. Have you noticed any trends in the sport? Anything to be concerned about?
7. What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport in recent years?

Doug Johnson

1. I am Doug Johnson from Bloomington, Indiana. I received my first Clumber Spaniel as a gift from my parents at 16 and have had them ever since. I have been showing and breeding since 1984 under the Clussexx kennel name. I have Clumber, Sussex, and Welsh Springer Spaniels, and Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (Kooikers) in the Sporting Group and have been very successful with English Toy Spaniels in the Toy Group.

2. In Clumbers, we have been able to combine the mass, bulk, and bone that defines the breed with the agility and strength of a Sporting dog to make them sound and full of breed-specific type. This is always the goal. In all of the breeds, we focus on the proportions and the defining silhouette of the breed; the long and low outline of the Sussex and the rectangular shape of the Welsh, for instance. We work hard to keep the classic type in head, eye, and ear placement for each breed.

3. We are very fortunate in that our breeds are easily placed and, after this amount of time, our puppies generally go to repeat buyers. We do not overproduce for the buying market. I am not sure you could in these breeds, as they are hard to come by and so few are successful at having litters regularly. They are nearly self-limiting breeds.

4. We stay very current with the newest and latest methods for breeding, as most of them are bred artificially and born via c-section. It is important to keep up-to-date with the most advanced technologies to help ensure success. We have used many platforms to reach the buying market to let people know where to find us. Having said that, nearly 90 percent of the dogs born contain our kennel name and utilize our blood, so the pedigrees let buyers know the impact of our kennel.

5. This is happening in communities across the globe. We are always on notice about changes in dog legislation. The public has been influenced against purebred dogs, but we always win them back with quality and PREDICTABILTY. The canine colony is the strongest that it has ever been, and we know that our dogs are carefully and purposely bred to have predictable outcomes. The rescue failures cannot say this. They are the antithesis of what we work towards. There is great pleasure in producing another generation of predictable behaviors to place in loving companion homes.

6. There is a competitive trend in the sport that does not interest me much. I am about quality, and retaining and reproducing that quality. Winning is secondary to the abilities of kennels to thrive with quality, healthy, purebred dogs. If you can advance your breed in this method, you are already winning.

7. The advances in genetic testing, and their use by breeders, is the most significant positive change in the sport. The continued discovery of genetic markers works to assist breeders in making good breeding decisions. We are all lucky to be able to use these tools to improve our dogs. They help us make good, informed decisions and plan breedings using the most current knowledge to produce the next generation of healthy dogs.