DOUG & KAY BELTER MAJESTIC ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS BREEDER INTERVIEW BY ALLAN REZNIK
Where did each of you grow up? Doug in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Kay in Grosse Ile, Michigan. Do you come from doggie families? And if not, how did the interest in breeding and showing purebred dogs begin? Neither of us really grew up in “dog families.” Doug: My grandparents were from Europe and England. They had working dogs, terriers, and Dachshunds for pest control and hunting. My first dog was an English Setter that did hunt and was a show dog. Kay: I got started by tagging along with my older sister to 4H meetings/classes with our family’s hunting Golden Retrievers. Through my 4H leader, I started with AKC Conformation
shows. I finished my first champion, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, at age 9. Who were your mentors in the sport? Please elaborate on their significance.
Doug: My first mentor was a Cocker Spaniel handler, Doug Smith, who ran the Edmonton Junior Kennel Club. After that I worked for Denis Springer who taught me to trim terriers, then Paul Booher who showed a lot of Sporting and Working breeds. Paul was great at conditioning and health in the dogs that he showed. Kay: I have had many, but started out as a Junior Handler working for American Cocker handlers Barbara Gamache and Kyle Robinson. When I returned to the English Cocker world after finishing college, Jo Ann Davis of Canterbury English Cockers was my breeding mentor. From Jo Ann I was introduced to Robin Novack. Robin was just starting on her own as a handler, so we travelled together to shows and she taught me the finer points of grooming and handling my English Cockers.
52 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2024
Powered by FlippingBook