Our Dogs

Ness (Caledonia's Loch Ness Surprise) is our first home-bred girl.   Born in October, 2023, she is the daughter of Rannoch and Blue and so far she's looking like everything we hoped for.   She thrilled us getting selected Winners Bitch with a 3 point major her very first time in the show ring, having just turned 6 months. Ness is a very quick learner, eager to please, a natural retriever and shows talent and confidence in agility.  Her temperament is flexible and responsive, with her father's drive and dedication, and her mother's affectionate nature and 'look at me!' attitude.  Ness is an absolute pleasure to be with and we are very excited for her future.  

Having just turned 2 years old, Ness will likely still fill out a little more, but at this point she has a lovely head, beautiful almond eyes, good movement, decent length of coat, excellent front, good angles and presents a very nicely balanced whole.  Ness is outgoing with other dogs and makes friends readily, and loves meeting people everywhere she goes. She is an avid swimmer like her sire Blue, and is showing terrific aptitude for dog agility.  She has a scissors bite, is black and carries liver coloring in her pedigree. Clearances: Elbows - normal, FR-EL4094F24-VPI; Hips - excellent, FR-7265E24F-P-VPI;  Eyes - normal, CERF, October, 2025

Rannoch (GCHB Huntlane Ready Or Not SBN, NA) is our adorable queen bee.  Born in May, 2019, she is co-owned with Jennifer Andrews and was chosen to be our foundation bitch. Rannoch handily won her GCH before she turned 3 despite very limited showing due to COVID. In Britain, Rannoch won her Stud Book Number on her first outing and has qualified for Crufts for life.  In October 2023 Rannoch whelped a litter of 9 healthy pups who all thrived and went to their new homes in mid-December.  Returning to the show ring in April 2024, she had a great rest of the year;  Rannoch was multiple group placing (Group 2nd place at the June 2024 New England Sporting Sporting Dog Specialty; Group 2 and Group 4 in August, 2024).  She also won Best of Breed at the Northeast Flat-Coated Retriever Club June 2024 Supported Entry. Across the rest of 2024, she won 15 Best of Breeds, 12 Best of Opposites and 12 Selects. She started 2025 off with the incredible high of winning Select Bitch at Westminster from a superb lineup of flatcoats.  Along the way she also gained her Novice Agility title in November 2024;  we look forward to focusing her more on agility going forward.  

She has a lovely head, good top line, and great front with a deep chest and well-placed shoulders.  She's half girly-girl who loves being groomed and primped, but also loves a day out on the hills.  She's a strong swimmer and took to the water readily as a puppy. Rannoch is more into people than dogs, and is imperiously snuggly with everyone.  She's very affectionate, very eager to please, very quick to learn and a little egotistical about deserving all things all the time.  She's also taken very quickly to agility, has begun to gain runs toward her novice  open and jumpers titles and we hope to see many further agility achievements for her in the coming year.  Clearances: Thyroid - normal, FR-TH193/30F-PI; Elbows - normal, FR-EL3573F31-P-VPI; Hips - good, FR-6702G31F-P-VPI; Patella - normal, FR-PA3201/31F/P-VPI, Eyes - normal, CERF January, 2023.  Rannoch has a scissors bite, is black and carries liver coloring in her pedigree.

Blue (CH Wingmaster Veritas Et Virtu OA, AXJ, SBN) is a big sweetheart.  Born at the end of December 2017, he has been a blast from the start.  In the show ring he has been a steady competitor, with some lovely wins including a 5 point major at a supported entry (shown above).  He also won his Stud Book Number on his first outing in Britain and has qualified for Crufts for life. But it's really in the agility ring that he has the most fun.  He's a joy to run, super-enthusiastic but also closely attentive, fast and strong and just a great partner in the sport.  We hope Blue will soon finish his second excellent title and be competing wholly at the Master level.  He makes agility great fun, and Tim and Liz look forward to a lot of action with him in the coming years.

Blue has huge retrieving drive and we hope he will be doing more field training in the future.  He's a very easy-going dog, he loves to have fun, and is a devoted swimmer - in fact, he swims underwater, often swimming 20 feet or more deep under the surface.  Clearances: Thyroid - normal, FR-TH192/46M-PI;  Elbows - normal, FR-EL3572M47-P-VPI;  Hips - good, FR-6701G47M-P-VPI;  Patella - normal, FR-PA3200/47M/P-VPI; Eyes, normal, CERF January 2023.  Blue has a scissors bite and is black, with only black in his pedigree.

Quin (Meadowrue Quinobequin) was one in a million.  He was super energetic and happy, very loving, and extremely smart.  Not only did he learn quickly but he was smart enough to make up his own games, and even have a sense of humor - which we agreed was pretty funny.  He was extremely devoted to his people, friendly to all, excellent at raising puppies and generally a great source of laughter and love. He was also a gifted retriever.  Unfortunately his conformation and some health issues kept him from conventional success and breeding, but he was the unquestioned champion of our hearts and lived to a ripe old age of 13.5 years.

Joey (GCH Victory's Joy to the World) was a huge gift we co-owned with his breeder, Judy Gladson.  He was very smart with a very balanced temperament, strong retrieving drive, and very tactile, affectionate habits.  He was confident and playful with dogs and people and found ways to enjoy himself constantly.  He had lovely conformation with a very pretty head, lush coat, level top line, tight paws, deep chest and excellent croup. He also had two tiny white spots, just a few hairs each, one on his chest and one under his chin.  A multiple BOB winner, we had very high hopes for him, but unfortunately he ran into the road one night and was hit by a car and had be euthanized.  He was just five years old.  We were devastated and still miss him greatly.  We do have frozen semen from him for two breedings, hopefully one in the next few years.  Joey was cleared for elbows (FR-EL2368M24-VPI), hips (FR-5400G24M-VPI) and patella (FR-PA2120/24M/P-VPI).  He had a level bite and was black with liver coloring in his pedigree.

Maccabee (CCO Midnight Rajah), aka 'the saintly dog' was Liz's first flatcoat.  He was bought as a companion dog, and was an incredible companion indeed.  Impeccable natural manners, exquisitely easy to train, deeply devoted, kind to all, patient, sweet, with a long lovely coat and grave dark eyes, super smart, he was a once-in-a-lifetime dog.  He was beautiful with a marvelous temperament but weak on retrieving drive, with an eye defect that precluded him from breeding; he seemed perfect all the same because of the richness of his other gifts.  Maccabee lived to just shy of his 10th birthday when he died fairly suddenly and unexpectedly from an aggressive cancer.  His life and spirit were the inspiration for all the dogs we have sought and loved ever since.