About Johnsondale
Johnsondale was established in 1957, as a
German Shepherd Kennel. It was not until the late sixties that my breeding program became
effective in that breed. I bred 3 champions, 2 ROM bitches, a 2X Obedience Victrix which I
co-owned. An Obedience Victor or Victrix is the High Combined in Trial at the National
Specialty. This bitch was also the first German Sherpherd to obtain an American &
Canadian OTCH. The breeding and showing of German Sherpherds came to an end in 1981.
Shetland Sheepdogs was also another breed I ventured into; from 1973 to 1976. I bred 1
Champion in that breed.
I was getting rather disgusted with all
the health problems in the German Shepherds, so in 1973 I began looking at other breeds.
Having had a few black German Shepherds, I developed a liking for black dogs.
I narrowed it down to Newfoundlands or
Belgian Sheepdogs. I ruled out the Newfs because of the hip dysplasia problems. So in 1974
I bought a Tervuren, and kept her for 2 years during which time she earned her majors for
her American Championship and points for her Canadian Championship.
I bought my first black
Sheepdog in 1976 and was hooked. I sold the Terv shortly afterwards and her new owner
finished her American and Canadian Championships.
I did a lot of showing and breeding but
somehow I was not satisfied with what was coming out of my breeding program. In 1982 I
imported my first dog from Holland. That was Ward
v Amstelhof. Then came two puppies, also in 1982, a male and a female who were litter
mates. Then in the fall of 1982 I imported Jana
v Amstelhof at 9 weeks of age.
In the summer of 1983 I went to Europe
and stayed with a friend in Switzerland for a month. We went to several shows in Austria,
Switzerland and then to the Paris Specialty, which is considered their National Specialty.
It was at that show that I decided to change my breeding program. I was so impressed with
the uniformity in size of the dogs and the beautiful heads. When I returned home, I
decided to eliminate the American dogs from my breedings. In 1984 I imported 2 more bitch
pups from France, strictly on their pedigree. I kept one and sold the other on
co-ownership. In later years I imported two more male pups. One from Holland and one from
France. Neither of these males were used for breeding. Many breedings were trial and
error, but in the end I kept Ward and Jana as a pair. They were the backbone of my program
and I have to give SO MUCH credit to them for what I achieved.
It was not until 1986, ten years after I
entered the breed, that my breeding program finally came together with the breeding of
Hulrick du Domaine Ponti, a Belgian import residing in Canada. I had followed him ever
since he was 8 weeks old. He gave me what I lacked in my breeding... more feathering,
shorter hocks, and more bend of stifle. He also had a delightful temperament, something I
wanted to keep in my breedings. From this breeding of Hulrick to Cybelle, a Ward/Jana
daughter, came the famous "Johnsondale J" litter. My line breeding on this
"J" litter is what put me in the winner's circle. Because of the notoriety of
this litter, Johnsondale has never named another litter starting with the letter
"J". The is ONLY ONE Johnsondale "J" litter, and probably will never
be another one like it again...
Johnsondale never set out to make
or break records. I just wanted to breed good dogs. My kennel was
not massive with dozens of dogs. I used an imported male and bought a few
bitches to breed to him. My success came from the high quality each bitch
produced, thus many champions produced from each litter. I also was
blessed with people who believed in me and bought those pups and took them to
"their limit". It was a joint venture.
After 25 years in this beloved
breed, I retired from breeding and showing. I have many wonderful
memories. I made a lot of great, faithful friends, and a few enemies along
the way. Jealousy from some, comes with the "territory", when
one reigns so long. Johnsondale produced a "definite type"
of dog and style. Johnsondale prevailed dominance at the US Nationals for
over 10 years, something no other Groenendael kennel has ever done.
Click on "Statistics"
button to see some of the accomplishments of Johnsondale.