Greta Dalrymple | Stonehenge Teddy Roosevelt Terriers & English Springer Spaniels

Interview With Greta Dalrymple, Breeder of Stonehenge Teddy Roosevelt Terriers & English Springer Spaniels

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?

Greta Dalrymple: I live in South Bend, Indiana. A lifelong dog owner, my first show dog was an English Springer Spaniel bought in 1998, with my first litter born in 2005. The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier (TRT) entered the scene in 2021, with my first litter arriving in 2022. Both breeds are bred under the Stonehenge prefix.

2. What are the hallmarks of your breed and why are they important for maintaining breed type?

Greta Dalrymple: Temperament! The Breed Standard perfectly describes the TRT as having a “class clown mentality.” This breed loves their people, is very intelligent, gets along with other dogs, and is a pleasure to live with. They can be timid or reserved with strangers, and breeders need to pay attention when breeding to not create dogs that will be overly soft.

Size and proper proportion are key Teddy traits. Currently, the breed allows for 8-14” inches at the withers and a height-to-length ration of 7:10, which makes them a good size for the original purpose of hunting vermin above and below ground as well as treeing small game. Substance, as well as overall balanced front and rear assemblies, gives the Teddy the speed, agility, and strength to do its job.

3. In your opinion, are there enough puppy homes to support breeding a litter this year?

Greta Dalrymple: While I’d love to say yes, I find it harder to place my TRT litters than the Springer litters. A large part of it is because so many aren’t familiar with the breed and automatically default to “Jack Russell Terrier” and the bouncing off the wall, poorly bred JRTs commonly seen (no offense to any of the Parson or Russell Terrier people). And honestly, as a dog groomer by trade, the doodle craze continues.

4. How have you implemented new technologies in science and communications as a breeder?

Greta Dalrymple: Teddy Roosevelt Terriers are a fairly healthy, hardy, and easily bred breed. We use many of the commercial labs to run genetic panels to get results on the required tests as well as some helpful information on size, color, and other traits included in the panels.

I do think that the world of social media has made it easier to network and spread the word about our breed to future owners and breeders, as well as share information with other breeders.

5. In your community, have you noticed a change in the public’s perception of purebred dogs?

Greta Dalrymple: Grooming the general public’s dogs for 30 years, I still see way more mixed-breed dogs being added to families than purebreds; partially because the doodle breeders have done a great job of marketing them, and partly because they’re widely accessible to anybody who has money to buy a dog when they want it with no restrictions.

6. Have you noticed any trends in the sport? Anything to be concerned about?

Greta Dalrymple: I’ve noticed a decrease in entries for many venues, along with fewer new faces showing dogs.

7. What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport in recent years?

Greta Dalrymple: The creation of SHOW-SAFE and the new and improved AKC Code of Sportsmanship and Civility are a good start.