About Our Dogs

1977-1988	How did we get started in dogs?	Our first dog was an American Cocker Spaniel named Brandy (Brandywyne XVII, UD). We brought him home a few years after our marriage to keep me company while Rich worked late. It was quickly apparent that Brandy was lots smarter than his novice owners. Eventually our vet sent us to obedience classes to try to equalize the situation. Brandy needed a year to "graduate" from class. We persisted for so long that the obedience club invited us to become members! By then, we were hooked on obedience and trained Brandy for his Novice title. After that, Rich and Brandy teamed up to earn a UD title almost 7 years after the start of Brandy's first obedience classes.
1978-1992	Who was our first Welshie?	We obtained our first Welshie in 1979 from a contact at the obedience club--Adrienne Bancker (Briarbanc Welsh Springers). When she told us Robbie (Dalati Siarl, CD) was a Welsh Springer, we said "you mean an English Springer? Sure, we'll take him". After we cleared up that confusion, we took 10 month old Robbie home and began his obedience training. He eventually earned a CD, and I trained him through the Open level. He earned 1 leg on a CDX, but after many trials it was evident he couldn't tolerate the enforced separation of out-of-sight sits and downs. We retired Robbie to couch duty and began planning for another dog.
1982-1998	Where did we go from there?	We wanted a female Welsh Springer from a pedigree similar to Robbie's, since we loved his type and temperament. We found a puppy sired by Robbie's half-brother, Watney, a UK import owned by Sue and Gary Riese (Stateman Welsh Springers). In June 1982, Kismet (Ch. Statesman's Charming Kismet, UD) flew from Atlanta to our home. She was our first show dog, the foundation for what *Rysan Welsh Springers* was to become, and my first UD Welshie. Kismet was successful in the breed ring, obedience ring, and whelping box. No breeders could ask for more from their first "real" show dog. She proved to us that starting with the best gave us an enormous head start in our breeding program.
1982-1994	What happened next?	We thought we'd like to get involved in showing American Cockers (silly us...)! We did a lot of research, joined a local Cocker Spaniel club, and decided to get Delta (Artru Red Delta, CD) to keep Kismet company. After all, if you've got 3 dogs, what's one more? Delta was a great pet who enjoyed keeping us company, eating and lounging, so we didn't really care that her show career was a bust. She also was the "biscuit girl" for a well known dog treat, and had her very own dog food commercial on TV.
1987	Our first home-bred puppy is born!	Kayo (Ch. Rysan's First Round Kayo, CDX) was born in Kismet's first litter, and went on to become our first home-bred Champion. What can you say about a dog who has made all your dreams come true? We wished we could breed a multiple Best in Show dog, and we did. We dreamed of National Specialty wins, and those happened, too. We worked for class placements in obedience, and we even got that. What a fabulous way to start a breeding program! Kayo taught us an important lesson--you should never underestimate the power of dreaming...
1987	Where did we go from there?	Based on Kayo's success, we added his sister Rosie (Ch. Rysan's Kachina Rose) to our breeding program. Over the next few years, Rosie helped cement our breeding philosophy by giving us several litters of puppies with Ch/OFA-cleared parents AND grandparents. All of her puppies are well-loved family companions, five of them have become Champions, and one has his CD. Two, *Ch. Rysan's B'Ready Set Go* and *Ch. Rysan's Brooke*, are now active in our breeding program.

Š1997 Sandra B. Rohrbacher