BREEDER INTERVIEW WITH DOUG & KAY BELTER MAJESTIC ENGLISH COCKER SPANIELS
What is the key to maintaining a positive, success- ful relationship with your clients? Doug: Be honest and communicate. I have sent dogs back when, in my opinion, they were not good enough to be kept for breeding, so why show them? Let them have a life as someone’s beloved pet. I have weekly calls with my major clients to let them know how the dogs are doing and to discuss their health and welfare. Please comment positively on the present condition of your breed and what trends might bear watching. Over the last 5 to 10 years, the breeders of Eng- lish Cockers have done a wonderful job of improving type! You will see far more moderate dogs in most parts of the country. We still need to keep focused on just that; the breed is moderate, not a racy/set- ter type of dog. As with most breeds, fronts are an area we all need to stay focused on improving. Our ECSCA Education team has done an incredible job putting together a wonderful seminar. Breeders and judges should all attend one in person! The sport has changed greatly since you first began as breeder/exhibitors. What are your thoughts on the current state of the fancy and the declining number of breeders? How do we encourage newcomers to join us and remain in the sport? There seems to be a lot of friction at the shows. Issues used to be settled in private, face to face. Now it seems we need lawyers to resolve these issues. Facebook and other social media sites have embold- ened the keyboard warriors to the point of absolute rudeness. Why would a newcomer want to be in the middle of these silly spats? They just want to show their dogs and have some fun. Breeders need to be welcoming, and all of us need to drop the elitist attitudes and help newcomers by sharing our pas- sion for the sport. Where do you see your breeding program in the next decade or two? We are both at a point where we would like to slow down a bit, as Doug transitions to judging. With that said, by no means could we stop breed- ing! We will continue to breed the very best of our current English Cockers, focusing on quality over quantity. We have frozen semen on some of our males that built the breeding program. Cre- ating girls we can breed back to them will give us something exciting to focus on. In addition, Doug has been fortunate to co-breed with long-time cli- ents Dawne Deeley of Tsar Shadow Norwegian Buhunds, Bill and Jennifer Ashburn of Foxheart Wire Fox Terriers, and Dr. Friend of Gwencalon Beagles. Doug will continue to co-breed litters of these breeds, which we are both very fond of.
BIS NBISS GCHG Majestic Sweet Apple Friends In Low Places
BIS BISS GCHS Gallant Majestic Shaken Not Stirred ECM – pictured at 12 years old.
Majestic Sweet Apple Standing Outside The Fire – Allie’s son, a significant part of the future
64 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2024
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