This little man went to his first horse show. Traveled in the truck down to Columbus, Georgia and spent Thursday through Sunday with me. He was wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more from him. He's so smart and adapts to new situations really well. Always looking to me for guidance if he is not sure. He was very happy to see Joe when we got home this evening, but I think he had a great time. I‘m probably going to say this a million times over the years ahead “Thank You”. Bertie makes me so happy.
- N. Buckingham
Violet has found a friend! Bill, she is the best prepared pup we’ve ever welcomed into our home. (Suzy and I have had 15 over our 30 years of marriage—including mostly labs and setters) She kennels without complaint and sleeps soundly. I got her up every 3 or 4 hours over night to relieve herself and she would fall fast asleep in no time. Eating well, retrieving and having the time of her life. I stayed home to be with her and will be around almost all of tomorrow and then the weekend... To welcome her, we got 10 inches of snow today!
- R. Malloch
Bill, I cannot thank you enough for all the help you gave us with our English Cocker Program over these last two seasons. The dogs we got from you were the best two Spaniels we added to the “fleet” since we incorporated Spaniels into our Quail hunting Program. We have many breedings on the ground here, but the young dogs we got from you were the easiest to train, work mutable days every week and have great personalities.
We are never looking for Cockers outside your line if we can help it.
- Dan O’Connor
General Manager - George Hi Plantation
Thanks, what you and your wife did for us was a very unselfish act. We needed Milo. My husband and I chuckle sometimes, saying his is royalty. Just look at him. We are seeing everyday just how rich his DNA is embedded. He is no push over, he is strong and manly, but easy tempered and loves kindness and praise.
Our Milo is a real Thorough bred. A dog like this does not come along often. He learns so fast, he focuses and pays attention to everything you tell him or direct him to do. Doug and I are amateurs at field training and probably make novice mistakes, but you can tell hunting, retrieving, and recovering is in his DNA.
We are using a whistle in the training and yesterday we put a little quail scent on his canvas pappy dummy. I kept him inside while Doug set up the course. We then took him outside; Doug had hidden the dummy after dragging a scent trail. He sat to the whistle, we said find it and used our hand signal at the same time. I wish you could have seen how he worked the back yard. Head down, concentrated, he was business. He got off track a little and Doug called to him, he looked at Doug, Doug have a hand motion, he got right back on the scent and went right to the dummy. He picked it up, Doug blew the whistle to come back and he ran with the dummy to us as fast as he could. We gave him lots of praise. That was only his second day playing this game. I will try to video it for you to see.
He makes mistakes but is easily corrected and when he understands he does not make the same mistake. He is amazing. He is still a puppy and still learning, but I have never seen a dog with this much intelligence and intuitiveness. He just knows. Maybe I can bring him sometime and let you see what a beautiful dog he is becoming. I know your wife would be proud too.
- Doug & Luverne Tucker
As she nears her first birthday, I wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you how pleased we are with Zoey. I have had English Cockers since 1987 when, looking for a smaller, close- hunting flusher, I took a chance on what then was not a widely-known breed inour part of the country. I am now on my fifth and have never looked back.
We ask a lot of our dogs. First and most important, they are a part of our family. They have to be biddable, well-mannered, fun and easy to have around the house. In our household, they must also be able socialize easily with other dogs, because we always seem to have a few.
In the field, I look for great instinct, enthusiasm and overall ‘birdiness.’ I just train them for basic field obedience and let them figure out the rest. I have never had a cocker fail me on either count... and I am far from a professional when it comes to building a good bird dog.
Right now, Zoey appears to have it all. She is still a puppy, of course, with everything that implies. But she is affectionate, alert, eager to please, and is a pleasure to have in the house. This is her first season in the field, but she is coming along just as fast as I allow her. She has shown a great nose which she follows keenly. She stays on a bird, circles instinctively and, once started, I have never seen her become distracted. Because of your early training, at just under a year she is already the best retriever I have yet had. Our hilly topography and thick cover are custom-built, better or worse, for blind retrieves. These don’t faze her at all.
What really sets her apart, however, is an apparent instinct to please that I don’t believe can be taught (or at least I can’t teach it). She routinely looks for guidance and, once she understands what is expected of her, she requires very little repetition to make learning stick.
The old saying is that each of us is entitled to one really good hunting dog in life. I keep thinking that I’ve had mine, the most recent candidate being our cocker, Buzz, whom you bred back in 2006 at Wynfield Plantation. I now think it likely that Zoey will top them all (though ranking seems hardly appropriate when it comes to family members).
I know that strong pedigrees count for a lot when it comes to breeding superior dogs. But I also know that your positive approach to raising litters and supportive early training has produced two exceptional pets and hunters for us.
Over the many years I’ve known you, you’ve done a lot to advance and popularize the breed. Keep up the good work...- D.G. and Dede Warner
Violet has found a friend! Bill, she is the best prepared pup we’ve ever welcomed into our home. (Suzy and I have had 15 over our 30 years of marriage—including mostly labs and setters) She kennels without complaint and sleeps soundly. I got her up every 3 or 4 hours over night to relieve herself and she would fall fast asleep in no time. Eating well, retrieving and having the time of her life. I stayed home to be with her and will be around almost all of tomorrow and then the weekend... To welcome her, we got 10 inches of snow today!
- R. Malloch
Pippa is doing very, very well. She is everything we had been hoping for. She is a delight to everyone she meets and has an amazing heart beating in that little chest of hers.