16 December 2004

Chelsea ColliesA SMALL BREEDER SUCCESS STORY

Gayle Kaye

Chelsea

Here at Collie Expressions, we have special respect for breeders who canproduce a consistent family of Collies over multiple generations whileworking with only a few dogs. Although they may be limited in how

many Collies they keep, these breeders are not limited in their knowledge,experience, and creativity. We now bring you the latest installment in ourseries of Small Breeder Success Stories, featuring Gayle Kaye of California’sChelsea kennels.

CE: In what year did you decide to commit a serious effort to being a Colliebreeder?

GK: Around 1971 when I began a search for two foundation bitches.

CE: What event(s) inspired that commitment?

GK: Collies have been in my life since I was born. Thanks to a predomi-nantly Collie mix that arrived before I did, the Lassie TV show, and Terhune,I grew up always wanting a purebred Collie. Some people have goals ofbecoming a doctor, a lawyer, whatever: I wanted a Collie!

Although I bought that first Collie (a linebred Wind Call male) in 1968while still in college and attended my first specialty show the same year, breda few Collie litters over the next couple of years for fun and attended dogshows on a regular basis as a spectator, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that Idecided to become seriously involved.

Right from the start I felt right at home at dog shows. My first time in thering came in 1970, but I didn’t start seriously exhibiting until 1975. My firsthomebred champion, Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist, finished in 1976 with fourmajors! That same year her daughter, Ch. Chelsea Moon Pebble, won one ofthe largest Futurities on the West Coast under judge Ben Butler, in one of his

December 2004 17

last judging assignments. Two weeks later, this same bitchwon a 4-point specialty major and Best Puppy in Show(beating 63 bitches!), with me handling!! I was drawn inhook, line, and sinker!

It has turned into a lifelong commitment.

CE: Who were your original mentors? What can yougive them credit for teaching you?

GK: I met Glen Twiford, Ed Sellman, Judy Mansure, andFran and Joe Thibault early on. All were extremely help-ful, but my real education came via Sandy Tuttle. HerArrowhill/Kasan kennel was one of the last really largeoperations on the West Coast to have several generationsof families. Weekly visits throughout the 1970s and intothe 1980s provided a wonderful education, with lots ofhands-on learning. We spent hours talking dogs, look-ing at adult dogs, and evaluating litters of puppies at vari-ous stages and ages. At any given time, she usually hadmultiple litters. She taught me dogs, families, and pedi-grees. At that point, she was showing all over the coun-try, seeing dogs in the flesh that to me were only picturesin magazines. I also got to meet a lot of breeders sinceshe had friends all across the country. And she loanedme her old club yearbooks!

Another mentor, although I didn’t know her at the time,was Pat Starkweather, thanks to her book All About Col-lies. That book became my Bible and I studied it reli-giously.

CE: Tell how/in what areas you think your dogs excel.What distinguishes a Chelsea Collie from others?

GK: I think overall they excel in good type, with particu-lar emphasis placed on length and cleanness of head, withpretty expression. I’ve only had Roughs and I am ex-tremely proud of the fact that most of my championshave finished with multiple specialty majors in strong Cali-fornia competition, with points won almost entirely un-der Collie or Sheltie breeder-judges, and most have beenowner-handled.

CE: Who was your foundation Collie?

GK: Per Pat Starkweather’s advice in her book All AboutCollies, I started with two of the best bitches I could af-ford.

CE: Who bred it and in what year? If there are morethan one, or if you started with one and changed direc-tion, focus more on the one most influential in your cur-rent breeding program. Also, if you think it’s enlighten-ing, perhaps you can discuss the reasons for such a redi-rection occurring.

GK: When I started out, Collie Cues was THE magazine.Thanks to ads in Cues, I found myself constantly drawnto pictures of the GinGeor Collies. Plus I had seen sev-eral in person, such as Alice Wharton’s beautiful Ch.Country Lane GinGeor Patrice. At that time GinGeorwas one of the top winning Eastern kennels and their

The foundation of Chelsea: Chelsea Evening Elf and Marnus Chelsea Morning.All of today’s Chelsea Collies can still be traced to these two bitches, both whelped in 1972.

Continued on page 18

18 December 2004

dogs were gorgeous - excelling in outline, coat, style, andextremely beautiful, finished faces. I wasn’t able to getanything directly from GinGeor, so I went looking forother breeders working with the family.

My two foundation bitches were whelped and arrived herein 1972. A normal-eyed pure for sable bitch, ChelseaEvening Elf (sired by Ch. GinGeor Jack of Tamarack ex adaughter of Ch. Parader’s Golden Parade), came via JoanAble of Tamarack. A tri bitch, Marnus Chelsea Morning(Ch. GinGeor’s Indelible Choice ex a daughter of Ch.Lick Creek’s Pizzazz), came from the Kellers. Both tracedto just about all the GinGeor dogs I had fallen in lovewith in the magazines and the two shared many of thesame virtues the GinGeor dogs were known for: lovelyheads, nice eye and expression, and beautiful outlines.Both also had great tempera-ments, something that was ex-tremely important to me rightfrom the start.

Both bitches were equally influ-ential in starting my breeding pro-gram and all my current dogs tracemultiple times to both.

CE: To what dogs/bitches was thisfoundation Collie bred that ad-vanced your breeding program inthe first generation? Discuss yourthought process for combiningthe two partners. Talk about yourexpectations; which ones weremet and which ones weren’t... andhow they impacted the next step.Tell the origin of the decision -suggestion of mentor, gut instinct,or other inspiration for thinkingit would work.

GK: My original plan was to breed both foundationbitches back to the other one’s sire, but thanks to a breedproblem that resurfaced during the 1970s, my plansquickly changed.

Following careful consideration, weighing both foun-dation bitches’ virtues, faults, and family compatibility,I decided to go with the Arrowhill dogs. Sandy Tuttlewas just hitting her stride following Ch. Black Hawk ofKasan’s great wins, and her Rough Collies were doingreally well all across the country. She had some beauti-ful dogs. In retrospect, the GinGeor and Arrowhill fami-lies blended exceptionally well. Both were strongly basedParader families that shared several common ancestorsand many of the same virtues. I decided to breed each

bitch to different sons of Ch. Arrowhill Oklahoma Tor-nado.

Evening Elf was bred to Margate’s Wanderlust, a pointeddog with a lovely head and really pretty eyes. From thelitter of 10, I kept a beautiful golden sable bitch, Ch.Chelsea Gold Mist, who went on to become my firsthomebred champion. Finishing with four majors, shewon under some of the best, including my all-time favor-ite judge, Alex Gibbs. Looking back, Tiara was a reallygood one to start out with and she was exactly what Iwanted - feminine, excelling in head quality, eye, and ex-pression, with a well-fitting coat and a wonderful tem-perament.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Morning was bred to Ch. ArrowhillOklahoma Tribute. An inbredTornado son, Bootie excelled inhead length, eye, and expression.I kept a mahogany sable bitch,Chelsea Summer Breeze. Shewasn’t exactly a show bitch, eventhough she did well the few timesshown. She would have been toomuch for some people - too muchbone, substance, and muzzle, butshe had beautiful eyes. Herbrother, the pick male, went to alocal fancier and became Ch.Chelsea Midnight Breeze, finish-ing with back-to-back specialtymajors!

Over the years, most of the breed-ings I’ve done were based on a gutfeeling of whether or not the dogand bitch go together and/orcomplement one another. That’swhy if at all possible, I like to see

the potential sire in the flesh. In other cases, I have madebreedings to the sire of puppies or adults that I like.

I ended up placing both foundation bitches following theirlitters (each was only bred the one time) and decided tocontinue with the daughters, since both were better thantheir dams.

As both Gold Mist and Summer Breeze were basically aGinGeor/Arrowhill cross, I decided I needed to continuelinebreeding in order to “set” a solid foundation for thecharacteristics I desired. The opportunities for breedingto anything GinGeor had become even more limited thanwhen I began my initial hunt for foundations. So I de-cided to stay with the Arrowhill cross. Following numer-ous trips to Sandy’s kennel in search of a sire for each of

Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist, whelped in 1973

Continued from page 17

December 2004 19

the bitches, two males in particular caught my eye: thetricolor stud, Ch. Jude Of Arrowhill, and one of my all-time favorite Arrowhill dogs, Ch. Advantage Of Arrowhill.

As a result, Ch. Gold Mist was bred to Ch. Jude Of Ar-rowhill. The resulting litter of four produced Ch. ChelseaMoon Pebble, the Futurity/Sweeps and multiple specialtywinner mentioned previously. She was owner-handledto most of her wins at a time when I barely knew what Iwas doing!

I felt the other bitch, Chelsea Summer Breeze, was moresuited to Ch. Advantage Of Arrowhill. He was a big,upstanding dog with beautiful head detailing and he hadsubstance and attitude. When she whelped her litter, a

sable dog stood out from the get-go. He was the one thatSandy Tuttle would take in lieu of a stud fee. With beau-tiful eye and expression and gorgeous finish of foreface,this handsome sable grew up to become Ch. Chelsea OfArrowhill. At his first show at 6 months, “Trick” notonly won the large California Collie Fancier’s Futurity,but also the same day, went WD for a five-point major!Wanting a bitch, I kept a sable sister, Chelsea Sea Breeze,a multiple Sweeps winner, with points (I ended up plac-ing her following one litter because my numbers weregetting up, and down the line, I had her better sister fromthe second breeding). So taken was I with the combina-tion, that I decided to repeat the breeding the followingyear. The second breeding of Advantage and Summer

Chelsea Summer Breeze Ch. Advantage Of Arrowhill

Ch. Chelsea Ice Castles Ch. Chelsea Of Arrowhill

Continued on page 22

20 December 2004

Chelsea Evening Elf

Ch. ChelseaGold Mist

Chelsea Moon Shadow

Ch. Chelsea Shadowgold

Ch. Chelsea Of Arrowhill

Chelsea Cavalier

(see also link toCh. Chelsea Ice Castles)

Chelsea Mythic Conqueror

Chelsea Shadowlight

Squire’s Chelsea Imprint

Chelsea City Squire

Ch. Tartanside Impressario

Ch. Chelsea Moon Pebble

Ch. Amberhill’s BouquetOf Chelsea

Ch. Chelsea Summer Blonde,HIC

Ch. Chelsea The CrownJewel, HIC

Chelsea Sunshine Girl Ch. Chelsea T’Crown HeirOf Squire, HIC

Ch. AdvantageOf Arrowhill

Ch. Amberhill’s Chips OfGold

Taking the advice of Pat Stark-weather in All About Collies, Gaylebegan with the two best bitchesshe could afford, blending thefamilies that came down fromthem into the current ChelseaCollies.

Putting Theory into Practice...

Margate’s Wanderlust

Ch. Wickmere Battle Chief

Ch. Jude Of Arrowhill

Dogs

Bitches

December 2004 21

Marnus Chelsea Morning Ch. Arrowhill Oklahoma Tribute

Ch. Chelsea Midnight Breeze Chelsea Summer Breeze Ch. Advantage Of Arrowhill

Ch. Chelsea Ice CastlesChelsea Sea Breeze

Ch. Chelsea Castles In The Sky

Ch. Twin Oaks Joker’s Wild, ROM

Ch. Chelsea Luck Of The Draw

Chelsea Celebrity

Ch. Squire’s Chelsea Protocol

Ch. Elite Touch OfShoreham

Chelsea Blonde Ambition

Ch. Chelsea The Crown Prince, HIC Ch. Chelsea Charidan Carte Blanc, HIC

Ch. Chelsea T’Crown RegentOf Squire, HIC

Ch. Chelsea Elegan CrowningGlory, HIC

Ch. Bandit Of Foremost

Chelsea Cavalier

Ch. Chelsea Elegan TheCrown Princess, HIC

22 December 2004

Breeze in 1979 produced the specialty winner Ch. ChelseaIce Castles. Major pointed at 6 months, she finished at15 months with four majors.

By the late 1970s I was feeling pretty good about mybreeding program. The dogs were becoming more con-sistent, and I was coming up with puppies that excelledin the areas I felt were important and they were doingvery well at large specialty shows. Nonetheless I was al-ways on the lookout for another dog to breed to. At the1973 CCA in Anaheim, I fell in love with a 9-12 puppybitch, Ch. Shamont Sabrina, sired by Ch. WickmereBattle Chief. She went WB the day following the Na-tional and went on to found a family dynasty. Judgingby what Gold Mist had produced in her first litter, I feltshe might be a wonderful choice for Battle Chief, and soin 1978 I made arrangements to do the breeding. Asluck would have it, he had justbeen sold to Southern Califor-nia. The result of that com-bination produced one of myall time favorite homebreds,Chelsea Moon Shadow (moreon her later...).

I basically have the two sidescoming down from bothfoundation bitches. GoldMist was bred one final timeto Ch. Chelsea of Arrowhill,a breeding that incorporatedthe two sides that I startedwith. From this litter, I keptChelsea Cavalier, who wasn’tshown but a few times, but hedoes figure prominently inlater champions and genera-tions.

The third generation....

I was so pleased with the qual-ity I was getting from Advantage of Arrowhill that in 1980I bred Chelsea Moonshadow (my Battle Chief/Gold Mistdaughter) to him and got one of my biggest winners todate. Ch. Chelsea Shadowgold finished with two five-point specialty majors, all from the Bred-By class, beforethe age of two. Those were the days of huge Collie en-tries when the average specialty show had class entries of60 to 80 bitches. The only time specialed, she won thelarge Nor-Cal District Tournament, but ended up notgoing to the National. She is behind all my current dogsand remains even twenty-five years later, my ideal of thetype of Collie I want to breed. She was sound, typey,

with a beautiful face and had elegance and attitude toburn. She was a handful and on more than one occasionwas penalized for her exuberance in the ring.

When it came time to breed Ch. Moon Pebble, I wantedto use Ch. Advantage of Arrowhill, but he wouldn’t breedher, so she went to Ch. Attention of Arrowhill instead (aTribute son). This litter produced Ch. Amberhill’s Bou-quet of Chelsea, a sable bitch given to Jill Bassler, a juniorhandler just starting out at the time. Her first big winwas a major reserve from the puppy class (to her cousin,Shadowgold), with Jill handling at the age of 12. Jilllater handled her to her championship including a majorwin under Bobbee Roos.

For Ch. Ice Castles’ first litter, she was bred to Reflec-tions of Arrowhill, a blue Rough male owned by Sandy.

A really good friend, PennyBassler (Jill’s mother), tookthe pick male from the litter,Chelsea Silver Reflections.Jill and I then bred the afore-mentioned Ch. AmberhillBouquet of Chelsea to SilverReflections, resulting in Ch.Amberhill’s Chips of Gold, areally nice sable merle that fin-ished in 1986, handled totallyby Jill as a junior handler. Un-fortunately that line fadedout, as I never had anything Ifelt I could breed to a sablemerle. Now I wish I hadmade a greater effort! Butnumbers again....

By the mid-1980s I was in abind - I had five championbitches and it seemed therewas nowhere to go with themunless it involved shipping.

All along I had mostly been using Sandy Tuttle’s Arrowhilldogs with a few selective outcrosses, but by mid-1985most of her good Rough dogs were gone, leaving me in apredicament of finding related or compatible males tobreed to.

A good case in point was Ch. Chelsea Shadowgold. Be-cause I was afraid to ship her, I bred her to a local malethat I had sold to a friend. He was not necessarily mychoice selection, but at least I didn’t have to put her on aplane. She ended up dying young anyway from a rareform of leukemia so all my protection was for naught.Not only was it a good lesson, but a fateful blow to my

Ch. Chelsea Shadowgold

Continued from page 19

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December 2004 23

A photo pedigree:

Dam, daughter, and grandson

Ch. Chelsea Moon Pebble

Ch. Amberhill’s BouquetOf Chelsea

Ch. Amberhill’s Chips OfGold

24 December 2004

breeding plans, as I do not feel the bitch produced whatshe was capable of. She only produced five living pup-pies, and I kept Chelsea Shadowlight from her litter siredby Chelsea Mythic Conqueror (sired by Chelsea Cavalierex Chelsea Sea Breeze - a sister to Ice Castles).

In 1985 I bred Ice Castles to Chelsea Cavalier (by Ch.Chelsea of Arrowhill ex Ch. Chelsea Gold Mist). Fromthe litter came a really quality-headed bitch in a plainbrown wrapper, Ch. Chelsea Castles In The Sky. As apuppy, Brigitte won numerous Futurities/Sweeps andmajor reserves and later went on to finish with 3 majors.She was the type of bitch that judges would walk right byand do a double-take. She had almost no white and some-times looked like an endless sea of brown. Nonethelessupon closer inspection, she had some really hard to getqualities... beautiful head length, finish of muzzle, un-derjaw and skull, with a well-fitting coat. More on her ina bit.

I decided to breed Ice Castlesone more time. At the 1986National, it seemed like everypuppy class had the most beau-tiful puppies, all sired by thesame dog - Ch. Twin Oaks TheJoker’s Wild. By the end of1986 I shipped Ch. Ice Castlesto be bred to him. The result-ing litter produced Ch.Chelsea Luck Of The Draw.As an 8-week-old puppy, hewas given to the aforemen-tioned Penny Bassler(Amberhill Collies). However,I ended up getting Thomasback following Penny’s acci-dental death in 1988 and theresultant placement of most of her dogs. Not only did Ilose a really good friend, but we had a good thing going.She loved the boy dogs and took several of my pick boypuppies. In spite of not wanting to keep a male, I keptThomas for two reasons; one was sentimental and theother was because the bitches in the litter didn’t turn outas I had hoped. Living to the ripe old age of 12, Thomashad absolutely the best Collie temperament I have seenon a Collie. Upon his arrival back, I bred two bitches tohim: Shadowgold’s daughter, Chelsea Shadowlight andCh. Chelsea Castles In The Sky. I kept a daughter fromeach litter.

Daughter #1 was Squire’s Chelsea Imprint, ex Shadowlightwhelped in 1989, and she went to live at Tim and MarilynMothersell’s. Renè had points and was just coming into

her own when we were hit with her untimely death. For-tunately just four months prior to her death, I shippedher back to Tartanside to be bred to Ch. TartansideImpressario. It was to be her only litter, but producedChelsea City Squire, also co-owned with Marilyn. Notwanting to keep two males, I kept him for a short while,but ended up placing him when his son came along.

The other Luck Of The Draw daughter, Chelsea Celeb-rity (ex Ch. Chelsea Castles In The Sky - making it adouble on Ice Castles), was a beautifully headed bitchthat had both majors and way too many reserves. For heronly litter, she was bred to Ch. Bandit Of Foremost andproduced Ch. Squire’s Chelsea Protocol, co-owned withTim and Marilyn Mothersell.

For her second litter, Ch. Castles In The Sky (Brigitte)was bred in 1991 to Ch. Elite Touch Of Shoreham. Ialways liked the head type of the Shoreham dogs, andcoincidentally over the last 30 years or so, many of our

dogs ended up winning at thesame specialties. Touch wasextremely elegant with greatstyle and presence. I was hop-ing to gain elegance andshorten the bodies somewhat,while keeping the head details.Selecting for head length hasforced me to keep a constantvigil on body length. From theresulting litter, I kept an el-egant, full-bodied, beautifullycoated, big-muzzled bitch,Chelsea Blonde Ambition.Bred to the above-mentionedChelsea City Squire, she pro-duced my current male, Ch.Chelsea The Crown Prince,

HIC (Bailee), whelped in 1996. Tragically and one ofthe downsides of breeding dogs, Madonna died follow-ing that litter, due to a botched-up C-section that be-came necessary when she couldn’t deliver 13 pups thatranged from 16 to 18 oz each. It left me with the entirelitter to hand-raise. Not only did all the pups survive,but they flourished! Owner-handled, Bailee finished hischampionship in 1999 and so far, in three litters, has siredsix specialty-winning champions and others with points.The breeding that produced him incorporated just aboutevery breeding I had ever done.

In the summer of 1997 I judged a specialty puppy matchand fell in love with a beautiful 10-week-old tri bitch.For weeks following the match, I couldn’t get her out ofmy mind! Later when I heard she was available, I con-

Ch. Chelsea Castles In The Sky

Continued from page 22

Continued on page 26

December 2004 25

Squire’s Chelsea Imprint

Chelsea ShadowlightCh. Chelsea Luck Of The Draw

tacted the breeder. Several people had turned her down,so I guess it was just meant to be! I ended up purchasingher not only to show, but with the express purpose ofbreeding her to Ch. Chelsea The Crown Prince. Theirfamily backgrounds were similar, both tracing to a vari-ety of closely bred Parader descendents, through Tartan-side and Arrowhill. Plus they greatly complemented oneanother. Ch. Chelsea Charidan Carte Blanc (Betsy), bredby Dante Fangon, finished with four majors, all owner-handled. She is what many would describe as a meat andpotatoes bitch - very sound, with great substance, a niceenough head, great ears, temperament and good coat.Bailee on the other hand has nice detail and length ofhead, beautiful muzzle, an elegant outline, and great earsand coat. They were bred together twice, resulting intwo litters and so far the breeding has produced six Roughchampions and another one with points. All have donesome very impressive specialty winning either as class dogsor as specials. I currently have three sisters from this breed-ing, Ch. Chelsea SummerBlonde, the puppy flyer whofinished with four specialtywins; Ch. Chelsea TheCrown Jewel, finished withtwo specialty wins; andChelsea Sunshine Girl, whois pointed but has rarely seenthe inside of the show ringdue to cycling every sixmonths. Sometimes a shotin the arm is needed andBetsy gave me that andmore!

CE: How has your “eye” (ormental image) evolved since your first good one?

GK: I think it has grown to encompass more of the over-all Collie. In the beginning I was totally obsessed withhead, eye, and expression. I have grown to appreciate theimportance of balance, elegance, and soundness, in addi-tion to the crucial head details.

My first good ones were Ch. Gold Mist and her daughterCh. Moon Pebble, but probably one of the best was Ch.Chelsea Shadowgold. I think any one of them could winin today’s competition.

CE: How do you define your mental image at this par-ticular point in your life as a Collie breeder?

GK: If you mean my mental image of the perfect Collie,it would be a Collie with a beautiful, graceful outline,nice legs and feet, neck and style, with beautiful headdetails and pretty expression. Throw a beautiful well-

fitting coat and sound movement into the package, toppedoff with great showmanship and attitude and you havemy ideal!

CE: What do you see as your strengths as a breeder and/or manager of a breeding program?

GK: My strengths have always revolved around bitchesand puppies. I have picked many puppies at birth, stillwet, right out of the sac. And I am a great puppy raiser.To me, nothing tops the excitement of a pending litterand even after all these years, whelping puppies is myvery favorite thing to do! Also I love raising, training,and conditioning puppies and it’s something I am verygood at!

CE: What areas are you striving to improve?

GK: Breeding is a difficult balancing act. You take twosteps forward and one step back or vice versa. A breederneeds to constantly assess all breedings done since each

one can bring somethingnew to the plate. Some-times by trying to improveone particular area, some-thing else unexpected creepsin. I feel it’s important tolook at your own dogs hon-estly and be able to see theirfaults along with their vir-tues. AND... study theStandard. Sometimes traitsthat are considered impor-tant aren’t even mentionedin the Standard.

Mrs. Cummings of theoriginal Arrowhill Collies

had a wonderful saying: “Try to make your Collies fit theStandard, rather than making the Standard fit the Col-lie.”

CE: Do you have any particular innovative ideas you’veused to overcome obstacles and optimize your ability toparticipate and succeed as a Collie breeder? This couldbe ANYTHING... from trading handling for puppy-sit-ting to some kind of little gadget that makes your whelp-ing area more efficient.

GK: My living situation - a small yard divided into evensmaller areas - has been my forte. We love the San Josearea, but land is at a premium and dollar-wise, acquiringacreage here is almost impossible. I’ve learned to live withmy space limitations and I have tried to make really ex-cellent use of a very small space. About a quarter of anacre is divided into chain-link areas that have cement and

Ch. Chelsea Charidan Carte Blanc, HIC

26 December 2004

Continued from page 24

Continued on page 28

Ch. Tartanside Heir Apparent, ROMCh. Tartanside Th’ Critic’s Choice, ROM

Ch. Briarhill Midnight HighCh. Jancada Tartanside Traveler

Ch. Tartanside Apparently, ROMCh. Tartanside Rhapsody

Ch. Executive’s Handle With CareCh. Tartanside Impressario

Ch. Tartanside Heir Apparent, ROMCh. Tartanside Th’ Critic’s Choice, ROM

Ch. Briarhill Midnight HighTartanside Charisma

Ch. Tartanside Heir Apparent, ROMRavette’s Midnight Memory

Ravette’s Fiesta LarkSIRE: CHELSEA CITY SQUIRE

Ch. Executive’s Table StakesCh. Twin Oaks Joker’s Wild, ROM

Ch. Twin Oaks Executive AffairCh. Chelsea Luck Of The Draw

Ch. Advantage Of ArrowhillCh. Chelsea Ice Castles

Chelsea Summer BreezeSquire’s Chelsea Imprint

Chelsea CavalierChelsea Mythic Conqueror

Chelsea Sea BreezeChelsea Shadowlight

Ch. Advantage Of ArrowhillCh. Chelsea Shadowgold

Ch. Chelsea Moonshadow

Ch. Shoreham Three-D’s Hi’N’MightyShoreham Three-D’s Tri N’Mighty

Shoreham Three-D’s TruetteCh. Shoreham Kailyn Of The Hills

Ch. Shoreham Three-D’s Hi’N’MightyShoreham Tangerine

Shoreham Queen SamanthaCh. Elite Touch Of Shoreham

Ch. Cinderella’s Hit The RoadCh. Cinderella’s One For The Road

Kadon Sophisticated LadyCh. Society Elite Daytime Star

Ch. Cinderella’s Hit The RoadCh. Braedoon’s Devilsfood

Braedoon’s Midnight MagnoliaDAM: CHELSEA BLONDE AMBITION

Ch. Advantage Of ArrowhillCh. Chelsea Of Arrowhill

Chelsea Summer BreezeChelsea Cavalier

Margate’s WanderlustCh. Chelsea Gold Mist

Chelsea Evening ElfCh. Chelsea Castles In The Sky

Ch. Jude Of ArrowhillCh. Advantage Of Arrowhill

Arrowhill Oklahoma PrudenceCh. Chelsea Ice Castles

Ch. Arrowhill Oklahoma TributeChelsea Summer Breeze

Marnus Chelsea Morning

“The breeding that produced himincorporated just about everybreeding I had ever done.”

Gayle Kaye

Pedigree ofCh. Chelsea The Crown

Prince, HIC

28 December 2004

pea gravel, so it’s fairly easy to take care of. I have de-signed and redesigned this kennel setup several times, eachtime learning a new way of making the best use of thisgiven space. Two years ago we remodeled and doubledthe square footage of our house, resulting in the loss ofeven more yard. Once again we had to redo the yardsetup. My current layout and routines are based on suc-cessful experiences of the past in raising and condition-ing show dogs. Not having enough space for a kennelbuilding, my garage has saved the day! I have severalchain-link pens in my garage, with a full-size tub, groom-ing table, and dryer. While I could consider my limitedspace an obstacle, I have chosen to turn that obstacle intoan opportunity by designing a kennel layout that workseffectively for me.

CE: Describe your daily routine.

GK: For years I worked part-time which worked reallywell with the dogs and going to dog shows. Two yearsago I was lucky enough to take an early retirement, so myschedule is more flexible now that I am home most thetime. Work or not, I have always fed twice daily, more ifI have puppies. I have always been a morning person somy dogs are all fed and watered by 6:00 am. I pick upyards several times a day and change water daily, moreoften in the summertime. Our weather is very temperatehere and there are very few days during the entire yearthat one cannot go outside. It’s one of the big pluses thatkeeps me in this very expensive area... no snow, no ice,no house-bound for days, etc.!

CE: What do you feed?

GK: I feed Eukanuba Lamb and Rice. The adult dogsare fed the regular formula and puppies get the puppyfood until a year of age. I am a dyed-in-the woolEukanuba fan and no, I don’t work for the company. Ijust think they make a great product and the conditionand health of my dogs bears this out. I don’t add anyvitamins or coat supplements. However, for puppies, Ipressure-cook chickens and make a gruel - bones and all- and add this to the food until a year of age. Just forvariety, occasionally I add scrambled eggs or plain yogurtto the adult dogs’ food. I won’t tolerate fussy eaters un-less a dog is pregnant or sick and all of mine will eat justabout anything.

CE: How many dogs do you generally keep at one time?What is the distribution of dogs - bitches - puppies togrow out - old folks? Do you keep your old folks theirentire lives; if not, how do you retire them and when?

GK: Living in metropolitan San Jose, with neighbors,ordinances, and dog limitations, has forced me to be ex-tremely selective in what I breed and/or keep. I generallykeep 6-8 dogs. I much prefer bitches. It started out thatway and remains that way 35 years later. On several oc-casions, I have kept a male when offered no other choice,but my kennel situation is much more conducive to keep-ing bitches. However, I have to admit, there are times Ihave wished I had the room to keep more males. Thedownside of keeping a kennel of good bitches is findingcomplementary stud dogs and getting your bitches tothem.

I usually try to place dogs that don’t turn out for breed-ing or showing, but I usually keep those that I have shownand bred. As a result, I usually have several older guysrunning around. It would probably be more prudent tofinish, breed, and then place them in a good home, butunfortunately, I always get too emotionally attached (per-haps it is due to my situation where I have house dogsinstead of kennel dogs). In the beginning years, I wasaveraging one litter a year. In recent years, I haven’t evenkept that pace and in fact I’ve had just four litters in thelast eight years. That’s why it has taken me a little longerto get where I am.

CE: What role(s) do family members and close friendsplay to enhance your participation?

GK: My family has always been supportive and under-standing. My husband, Don, has been especially sup-portive and quite frankly without his help and encour-agement, I could never have done it.

CE: What health screens do you routinely perform andat what ages?

Chelsea Moonshadow, shown going Best in Match(128 entries) under judge Pati Merrill in 1978

Continued from page 26

December 2004 29

GK: My vet routinely checks all litters at 1 to 2 weeks.He makes a home visit to check hearts and general healthof the puppies and dam. I do eye checks at 5-6 weeks,hips at 2 years and thyroid around 1-2 years. My phi-losophy is you might as well screen upfront for the thingsthat are easy, since there are so many genetic problemsthat afford no screening. The breed has a low incidenceof hip dysplasia and I think it would be nice to keep itthat way, since all we need is one sire to make it a prob-lem....

CE: How do you market your show puppies? Talk aboutany arrangements you’re comfortable sharing - co-own-erships, terms, etc.

GK: All breedings are done for me first and foremostand usually when I need something to continue. I havenever marketed or promoted show puppies. I normallydon’t do co-ownerships, but over the years, I have done afew select co-ownerships with friends. Perhaps it is theold adage “once bitten, twice shy,” as one time I let areally promising bitch go to a novice (I should have actu-ally kept her myself, but for my numbers). Turned outthe novice who at first seemed very nice, was not at allstable. For years, I tried to get the bitch back, to no avail.I have learned the hard way several times that if I wantpuppies out of a bitch, I need to keep her myself.

CE: Briefly discuss some of your show sales that have beensuccessful. What screening procedures did you followwith these buyers to satisfy yourself of their sincerity andcommitment to a Chelsea puppy?

GK: I have been lucky because most of the champions Ihave bred have been owned and shown by others. I loveit this way - you get the best of both worlds and don’thave to keep a bunch of dogs! The first requirement for apotential show home is that they be known for takingcare of their dogs. Keeping promising puppies in goodcondition, training them and keeping an eye on ears isextremely important in the making of a successful showdog. Many a promising dog has been ruined by impropercare during stages of crucial development.

In the last couple of years, two bitches finished for JanetHitt, including Ch. Chelsea Elegan Crown Princess whorecently won back-to-back specialty Bests of Breed. Alsoin recent years, I have bred, co-owned, and finished threemales with Tim and Marilyn Mothersell, including thespecialty Best of Breed winner, Ch. Chelsea T’Crown HeirOf Squire and his brother Ch. Chelsea T’Crown RegentOf Squire. I have Janet and the Mothersells to thank fortraining, conditioning, handling, and presenting the dogsso beautifully, making all their championships possible.

CE: What do you see as the purpose and importance ofadvertising?

GK: I usually advertise because I am very proud of thewinning my dogs have done. Not only is it a way to letothers know what you are doing, but it’s a good way topromote your dogs. There’s an old saying, “Don’t hideyour light under a bushel”.... Plus all ads become a mat-ter of historical record.

CE: What issues are involved when you plan a show sea-son or campaign?

GK: In California we are limited to about 15 specialtiesyear round and all involve driving great distances, so youhave to hit it just right. Planning a show season dependson what dog is ready and what shows and judges are com-ing up. I have always concentrated on showing at spe-cialty shows, with occasional all-breed shows, if they haveCollie judges. Though I have done it on some occasions,showing under all-breed judges has never been my thing.I much prefer showing under breeder-judges... those whohave had true “hands-on” experience with the breed. Ihave always felt if you can’t win under those who reallyknow the breed, what is the point?? There’s a phrase fre-quently bandied about: “breed specialist.” What is a breedspecialist? I find the term especially annoying when it isapplied to someone who might have owned a couple ofCollies in their lifetime, but never really bred or showedthem with any amount of success. Our breed has a fewvery select “breed specialists” and if the term is used, itshould be in reference to people who have had long termor long-standing experience in the breed.

Chelsea City SquireContinued on page 30

30 December 2004

I rarely special my dogs once they are finished because Ihave always favored showing class dogs.

CE: What aspect of your participation in the sport ofpurebred dogs has been the most rewarding and fulfill-ing?

GK: There are so many rewarding and fulfilling thingsabout this sport that it’s hard to know where to start.The dogs themselves have been a wonderful presence inmy life, as have the enduring friendships that have evolvedand lasted throughout the years. Having a continuousline coming down from both foundation bitches andbreeding specialty-winning champions under judges Irespect probably provides the greatest reward. I am proudof the fact that I am personally familiar with most of mycurrent dogs’ ancestors, having owned or seen many ofthem over the last 35 years. Plus, I love puppies. It’sespecially rewarding to see the finished product follow-ing all the hard work of raising, training, and condition-ing. Nothing beats getting in the ring with an enjoyableand unpredictable 6-9 puppy and knowing you played abig role in getting him or her there!!

CE: In what ways has your enjoyment evolved over time?

GK: My enjoyment of the sport has pretty much stayedthe same since I started. The equipment may be gettinga lot heavier, the drives a little longer, the vagaries of theweather more irritating, the loading and unloading more

of a hassle, but my interest and fascination are at an all-time high.

CE: Any regrets?

GK: A few! Not moving to a bigger place (twenty yearsago before land values escalated in this area) is perhapsthe biggest regret.

Hindsight.... It’s easy to look back and reflect on all themistakes one has made and the wasted opportunities andthings we would or should have done differently, but over-all there’s little I would change. In spite of being smalland limited, I feel I have held my own for over 30 years!Would I get as involved in Collies if I had it to do all overagain? In a heartbeat!

CE: What are the driving forces and unmet goals thatcompel you to continue?

GK: The driving force is to continue a successful breed-ing program by enjoying the new puppies that come alongevery season... hoping that each successive generation isbetter than the last! The illusive dream of producing thatperfect Collie could be just around the corner....

CE: What methods/mental tools have you used to over-come discouragement?

GK: It’s easy to become discouraged when you think cer-tain dogs should be doing better in the ring; when breed-ings either don’t materialize or don’t pan out; or when

Ch. Chelsea Summer Blonde, HIC Ch. Chelsea The Crown Jewel, HIC

Some of Bailee and Betsy’s champions....

December 2004 31

you lose dogs or puppies before their time. Dog breed-ing separates the men from the boys and the discourage-ment is probably the biggest reason fanciers come and gowithin a few short years. This sport is not for the “faintof heart.” Staying in dogs takes patience, persistence,dedication, and determination. You just have to pick your-self up... and stay focused.

CE: What has been the greatest obstacle to breeding dogs?

GK: Other than limitations of numbers and breedings,one of the greatest obstacles has been trying to find males...males that have what you want: quality and pedigree-wisethat are accessible.

Living out here on the West Coast and trying to get yourbitch to a particular male living on the opposite coastprovides its own set of problems. Though the shippingof bitches has always involved some risk, it’s even scariersince 9/11! I just spent years wasting time and moneyhoping that chilled semen would be the answer, but alas,so far, it’s not proving to be the viable alternative to ship-ping your bitch.

CE: How have Collies changed since you started?

GK: Overall I think there are fewer really bad dogs, butwhen I started there were a lot more Collies being regis-tered and being shown, so I’m not sure if the reason foran overall change is due to numbers or better breeding.When I started out the average specialty show out here

had 200+ total entries. Now they are sometimes lucky toget 40 to 50!

This is going to sound weird but I think the breed isgetting noisier! Thirty years ago I actually had three tofour dogs that were not debarked. Today, every dog Ikeep is debarked (as soon as my vet will do them). I havealways hated debarking but it sure beats complainingneighbors. Plus, don’t know if it’s my imagination ornot, but the dogs just seem noisier at shows. I do thinkthis is one issue that has hurt our breed’s popularity.Throughout most of last century, Collies were always inthe top 10 in AKC registrations, but they have graduallyslid during the last 30 years. I sometimes have wonderedwhy??? I think the Collie makes a wonderful pet, butobviously the dog buying public is looking to other breeds.

Also I think that overall, dogs are much smaller today. Alot of the dogs around when I first started would be con-sidered jolly green giants today!

CE: Where do you see yourself in the next 15 years (you,not your dogs)?

GK: I am working on another book and I was just ap-proved for my provisional judges license for Collies, so Iam about to enter a brand new phase. One thing is forsure, I see myself forever captivated and mes-merized by Collies - it’s been a lifelong addic-tion and I see no reason to change now.

Ch. Chelsea T’Crown Heir Of Squire, HIC Ch. Chelsea Elegan Crowning Glory, HIC andCh. Chelsea Elegan The Crown Princess, HIC