Topcrest Misty of Countryways

Misty is a delicious looking little liver and white Springer bitch that came to me at sixteen months old.  She’d been sidelined, something that can happen in a larger kennel.  She was a titch of a Springer, untrained, and tucked away with a greyhound.  What she did have though, and still has, is exceptional drive and enthusiasm for retrieves that remains tireless.  She’s a pretty little hunter with a lovely wiggly action that has earned Second place in an Open Gundog Working Test.

Misty’s real excellence begins when she enters water.  She is an extremely strong and confident swimmer with huge drive.  I’ve joked in the past that we should try water skiing behind her!   Not too surprising then, that she took First Prize in the Open at the Mid-Sussex Working Spaniel Club’s Water Picnic.  Only four dogs completed a long and difficult retrieve, in Third place was Bunty, my black and white Springer.

It may be of some surprise that Misty's water training had begun just three months before, and at that initial visit to water she had no ability to swim at all.  At that point a win in water looked so much further off, but that's the measure of a SpotOnSpaniel and the measure of SpotOn of training.

On 01/02/2011 Misty gave birth to 8 super puppies in just a little over two hours. Sire, FTW Alkindia Broom of Topcourt.

Update 29/04/2012  Topcourt Temptation (from the above litter) Owner & handler Mr J.Smith 1st Mid-Sussex Novice Spring Working Test!

Here's the latest video clip showing the pups at just on five weeks old, they've become vastly more active in the last seven days. Now they're very interested in their surroundings and more so of their litter mates!

She's been a fantastic mother to her pups but all mums need a little break. Here's a video clip of Misty out with the other SpotOnSpaniels once again, her first proper outing since giving birth two weeks previously.

 And here are the pups again, now at 6 weeks of age.

 And finally just short of 8 weeks and some about to go to their new homes.