Venaticus

Position

When a decision is needed for a kennel name – a registered “affix” – a breeder is faced with trying to find something original, avoiding duplication with any of the tens of thousands of affixes already registered at the Kennel Club. James Darley paid a visit to the Westminster central reference library in Marylebone Road, London, and from the dictionary of mediaeval Latin found the word “for hunting” familiar to kings and monks and sportsmen of the time when man and dog became true partners in sporting enterprises:

In doing so, I am not trying to suppress the many other aspects to my life, work and interests. As evidence, I will now offer a 60-second profile, any part of which I will be glad to expand upon in the event of your enquiry.

Bruce, circa 1880, as illustrated in Stonehenge’s The Dogs of Great Britain, America, and Other Countries. This engraving of a dog that illustrates a number of books of the time was intended to depict how an ideal specimen should appear.

Photograph of 1902 of two working Clumbers, one of them Beechgrove Bee (right) who won numerous field trials from 1899-1902, owned by Mr F. Winton Smith and later Mr J. Alexander, both shown here. These really look the business.

venaticus was lifted from these dusty pages and duly registered, and at much the same time became, as Venaticus Collection, the trading name of a small publishing business that was to specialise in high quality reproduction prints of paintings of Clumbers in their Victorian heyday, and later other sporting dogs.

The name was significant, in reflecting a single-minded commitment to the redevelopment of working Clumber spaniels through breeding back

Clumber Spaniels at Clumber Park, a painting of the 1880s by John Emms of the breed’s foundation stock at its ancestral home. Published as a limited edition print by Venaticus Collection and fully sold.

Surely, Surely, Slumber is more Sweet than Toil, an oil painting by Maud Earl of the Duchess of Newcastle’s Clumbers (at Clumber Park), reproduced in 1902 as a sepia tone photographic print in a limited edition folio set titled Gun Dogs.

to a type the show-orientated owners and breeders of the day – the late 1970s – appeared either to be ignorant of, or to have lost sight of.

That type was very different from what the breed had become – and remains now – in the show ring. The very best evidence of what the breed did look like, and what it needs to look like if its original purpose and its functional characteristics – the qualities that will ensure its future – are to be regained, is available in the contemporary illustrations, paintings and photographs.

These few examples show a distinctive breed that cannot be confused with any other, but is modest in size, not exaggerated in any way, free from the beetling brows, short muzzle and heavy-lidded eyes typical of later show specimens, and is practical, athletic, lean and alert: in short, what the Venaticus kennel has been striving to achieve for more than 40 years.

The Venaticus kennel has bred litters periodically, not on a commercial scale, primarily to maintain a bloodline and to fulfil the needs of owner James Darley, and to place surplus puppies with owners committed to working them and capable of exploiting their potential. While no more litters are planned, two male dogs that have made a valuable contribution to the breed in the UK remain available at stud for overseas bitches, either brought here for natural mating or by artificial insemination.

The kennel’s influence upon the revival of the breed as a working gundog – “for hunting” – is likely to be seminal.

Clumber Spaniels and Pheasants, a painting by a little-known artist, Tom Heywood, dated 1904. Published as a limited edition print by Venaticus Collection and fully sold.

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Vision

Aims

The prime responsibilities of the owners of a working dog breed are to preserve its unique qualities, safeguard its wellbeing and equip it for the future. It does not mean standing still, because that future may require an adjusted role for the dog.

The pace of life has quickened from a hundred years ago, and the needs of today’s sportsmen for spaniels demand more pace and punch from the Clumber than hitherto. The aim of breed enthusiasts must acknowledge such expectations, without attempting to turn Clumbers

into springers or cockers, drawing upon their particular characteristics – notably the scenting power of that big pink nose – and refining all their working attitudes and attributes, to give them an enduring role in the field.

Breeding by selection

It does not take a geneticist to know that the huge diversification of dog breeds – all descended from the wolf – is a result of artificial selection. The hand of man has shaped dogs to his various purposes – guarding, herding, rescue, hunting, sledding, decoying, ratting, retrieving, coursing, companionship, toy and fashion accessory.

The list continues to grow – guide dogs for blind and deaf people, support dogs for those with infirmities, with

handicaps or conditions including diabetes and epilepsy with sudden-onset crises, medical diagnosis dogs, sniffer dogs for drugs, explosives and fire accelerants, and more. What versatility! All achieved over a few centuries of evolution, a blink of the eye in terms of the 20,000 centuries since the slimy forebears of dogs and other mammals crawled onto land from the primordial soup, shook themselves, sniffed the air and cocked a leg on the nearest tree fern – or their primitive equivalents.

Which is to say, selective breeding not only works, but works surprisingly quickly. It has been practised by mankind to adapt all kinds of animals besides dogs to domesticated or semi-wild varieties, from chickens to reindeer, guinea pigs to elephants, cats to carrier-pigeons, ferrets to cormorants, and of course cattle and horses.

Status on work, health, temperament, size

It has therefore proved possible, in the space of a few generations, to modify what the Clumber spaniel has become at the hands of owners whose primary interest is in exhibiting them at dog shows. There was much to be modified. Size, weight, length of back, length of coat, beetling brows, drooping eyes,foreshortened muzzle – all had become exaggerated to make the dog a caricature of a working spaniel. Temperament was inconsistent: the dog could be fierce and was too independent to be readily trained. The serious eye condition, entropion, where the eyelid is rolled inwards, was common. Hip dysplasia (more...) was so prevalent as to give the breed the worst hip status in the whole dog world. In the 1970s and 1980s it was no longer a practical proposition for a sportsman to take on a typical Clumber as a working gundog. Few of those who tried stayed with the breed. One who did was James Darley.

However, it proved possible for a handful of like-minded enthusiasts, in due course coming together to form the Working Clumber Spaniel Society, to pick the best workers and healthiest and more modestly-sized specimens for breeding, while ignoring the Kennel Club’s “breed standard” which doubled the weight of this breed description in four stages during the 20th century.

The result was that over a quite short span of years the working gundog that was highly prized in Victorian and Edwardian times was in effect restored. Today’s working-bred Clumbers are perhaps half the size of their show cousins, with low hip X-ray scores typically in single or low double figures, substantially free from eye defects;they are more athletic, and have stamina; they are eager to hunt, to find game, to please and to respond to training; they have a sleeker head, clear eyes and a

longer muzzle, and a more practical coat. Yet they remain unmistakeably Clumbers. And they are regaining their place in the field on merit.

The challenge now is to maintain the improvement so that all aspects of a spaniel’s work are undertaken efficiently and reliably, and the breed becomes truly a practical alternative to the English springer and cocker, adding diversity and a bit of character to the options available to sportsmen.

Also available in white - Four wet and muddy Clumber spaniels

Photo by Vicki Walton

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Competition Record

There is the old story, worn thin with the telling, about the spectator at a field trial watching a succession of dogs put through their paces. Inevitably some make it look hard work. He is not too impressed with what he sees. Hmm, he says at the end of it all, my old Ben at home would make this stuff look easy.

It is tempting for those viewing any sporting activity to underestimate the difficulties of participating. Many of the problems faced by a handler at a field trial are not apparent to a distant onlooker. And it is tempting to overestimate one's own skills and one's own dog's abilities while ignoring the special pressures of performing in public.

For all their failings, field trials have a laudable purpose. It is to bring to prominence those dogs best suited to future breeding for the betterment of their breed. And to a great extent they succeed. Over time, most of the best dogs rise to the top and most of the indifferent ones do not. Trials have an uncanny knack of exposing any weakness in a good dog's otherwise sound abilities. Ask anyone whose dog is prone to the occasional squeak, or the odd squeeze, or is squeamish, say, about picking a wounded rabbit. It is perhaps more true of trials in the UK than elsewhere, run as they are under natural shooting conditions with variability and chance ensuring that the successful dogs are also versatile.

A contrast is the USA where conditions are made so similar for each dog, in an effort to ensure fairness, and the work confined to only a part of a spaniel's job description, that specially trial-trained dogs emerge to dominate – at a superlative performance level – a sport that is more stylised and is thereby removed from the reality of shooting requirements.

Even so, the demands of UK field trials for refinements of work and training are enough to deter most ordinary owners from competing. That is not really a criticism of trials. They are expected to attract dogs that more nearly approach perfection in their work than the large majority.

But how else, then, to demonstrate – especially in a breed such as the Clumber that is so extremely unsuited to competing against specialist springers – that we are selecting individual dogs for use in breeding programmes on proof of their working ability?

It is not enough for us to offer bland assurances about breeding responsibly. Ask anyone who has ever bred a litter of puppies, of whatever breed, for whatever purpose. They will all claim that. It is not enough to fill in a form and pay the Kennel Club money to become a so-called Accredited Breeder.

What we have to be is more than responsible: we have to be accountable. To account for our actions against an independent and recognised quality standard that backs words with evidence.

Field trials are that standard. But too few Clumbers are up to it; too few of their owners willing to face the pressures, the high standard of competition, the focus on pace, the disappointments and, it has to be said, the prejudice against the unfamiliar. That is why James Darley developed for the Working Clumber Spaniel Society its Working Ability Assessment as part of its Breeding Commendation Scheme. It is a test of a dog’s work under actual field conditions that is not a trial of its training, but an assessment of natural abilities and characteristics. Perfection in manners is not sought. The imperfections of training are accepted. There is no competition, no spectators, minimal pressure. Judges assess dogs for how they are to shoot over: so they carry guns, not notebooks. Any owner should be capable of coping with this exposure, which is no more demanding than going out rough shooting. The Working Ability Assessment was intended to be central to the society’s mission to improve the breed, embodying all the essential objectives of a field trial, without the disadvantages that deter less experienced, less skilled and less confident owners, and debar many naturally good dogs from recognition and subsequent participation in breeding. It has provided a model for societies seeking similar outcomes for other breeds.

Dogs of the Venaticus kennel have achieved notable successes. Collectively, the record amounts to a pattern of achievement that attests to a revival in the breed's fortunes, transforming the Clumber spaniel from the lost relic of a once-great working breed to stand again on equal terms with its forebears, its qualities intact, its physique restored, its respect regained, its prospects promising. In 1978, James Darley's first dog Maladetta Tallman took a Certificate of Merit in the Essex Field Trial Society's Any Variety Novice stake. It was the first award for 40 years to a Clumber in a trial open to all other spaniel breeds. The same year he won an Open working test held by the Leicestershire Gundog Society, against a strong field of English springer spaniels. Those present continue to comment upon this performance to this day.

Clumber spaniel retrieving bird in mouth

This dog, and the kennel's foundation bitch, Raycroft Sierra Sue Venaticus, and the best-known of their offspring, Venaticus Beryl the Peril, took numerous second and third places in the "minority breeds" field trial. Their opportunities were few by comparison with dogs of more recent years. This field trial was at best a single annual fixture, and was not held at all for five years between 1982 and 1988.

Clumber spaniel jumping into water after dummy

The first victory in this trial came in 1990, by Venaticus Duncan. This was in fact the first win by a Clumber in any field trial open to any other spaniel breed since before the First World War. Later in the same season Duncan gained the breed's first placing in an Any Variety spaniel field trial since 1926, when he took 4th in the Meon Valley club's All Aged stake, with Keith Erlandson one of the judges, after winning a run-off with an English springer bitch which went on to become a field trial champion. He is still spoken of with respect in field trial circles, as the first Clumber to have really opened people's eyes to the possibilities that English springers and cockers could be challenged. Duncan received a total of nine field trial awards, a 20th century record at the time. He was extensively used at stud and his name can be found in the pedigrees of all working bloodlines today. He will almost certainly be viewed as the most influential dog in the breed's revival in the field.

In 2004, Sedgehurst Maxim Venaticus, with a third win among his 11 field trial awards, achieved the best record of any Clumber born in the 20th century.

The following season his long-time kennel companion, Sedgehurst Rosamund Venaticus, joined him as a field trial winner.

Photo Ali Packham, www.4muddypawsphotography.co.uk

Photo Ali Packham, www.4muddypawsphotography.co.uk

From her second litter, Venaticus Galahad showed early promise and was noted for his style and pace. He was runner-up in a field trial, but his career and life were cut short by a brain tumour.

From her third litter, Venaticus Hercules in 2011 became the 8th Venaticus Clumber with a trial award, and in 2012 his litter sister Venaticus Henrietta emphatically became the 9th with two field trial wins and an undefeated 2nd, all within a fortnight, thereby becoming the breed's most highly awarded bitch since 1900. The following year she became the first Clumber bitch in 75 years to win an award in an any variety stake, while in 2014 both she and her brother won trials - he becoming thereby the 5th Venaticus Clumber to do so. In 2015 he joined her – soon to be joined also by her daughter Spot – as the only Clumbers at the time with awards in any variety field trials, gaining two. By this measure, the Venaticus kennel has been the most successful in the breed’s history. They now have 22 field trial awards between them.

Photo Ray Hood, www.country-trail-images.co.uk

Photo David Joyce, March 2015.

Perhaps the brightest female star ever was Venaticus Isabella (Spot). The photo (left) was on her eight months birthday when she won her first competitive event. Running in the puppy class of dogs up to 18 months, she was judged overall winner of the whole test. She can be seen in the video below hunting and retrieving at the tender age of 5½ months.

In October 2015 Spot ran in her first field trial, a late substitute for her dam who had come into season. In a field of 17 she won, the day after she was 15 months old. She thus became the 10th Venaticus field trial award winner and the 6th trial winner. In late December she gained a C of M in a field trial against 15 English springers, joining V. Henrietta and V. Hercules as the only Clumbers at this time with awards in any variety stakes.

The next season she gained a second C of M in an AV stake, and in 2018 took a 2nd place. With three field trial awards against springers, her record is unmatched by a Clumber bitch since 1912.

Photo Graham Tweed, August 2016.

In the video below, Spot enjoys a long hunt on Christmas morning.

Her littermates V. Ivan and V. Isadora made a guest appearance in the gundog ring at the 2015 CLA Game Fair at the age of 12 months (right).

Two Clumbers spaniels awaiting instruction

Photo Daisy May, August 2015.

Photo Daisy May, August 2015.

Photo Nick Ridley, December 2015.

He is also a bold dog in water (right).

In 2017 he became the 11th Venaticus field trial award winner.

In the video below, V. Ivan (Russell) enjoys a blind retrieve.

Photo Hugo Darley, August 2016

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Breeding

Litters have been bred primarily to advance the restoration of the original working type in the breed. In the early days, i.e. the 1970s, no one else was breeding solely for work. In more recent years, puppies have been produced only when needed for the Venaticus kennel, with the inevitable surplus available to other owners who can satisfy an expectation that the dogs will lead fulfilling working lives.

This is not a prolific breeding establishment. It is not a commercial kennel.

It is unlikely there will be further home-bred litters in future. Breeding is always stressful and exhausting, and it is time to allow other, younger enthusiasts to carry the flame. It is to be hoped that, following the practice here, puppies bred will be from proven working parent dogs, with the emphasis firmly on performance, and a strong regard to temperament, trainability, soundness particularly in hips and eyes, and a combination of modest size, absence of exaggeration, and athletic build.

Coat colour should not be a major consideration, although more and so-called orange markings may be sought for the beneficial effect of reducing skin sensitivity. Even so, the majority of the offspring will likely remain obstinately lightly-marked.

Some notes about current Venaticus dogs figuring in later pedigrees may be useful to owners and breeders. Venaticus Henrietta (Bella) and Venaticus Hercules (Boris) came from a litter that was the first in the history of the breed to be born to two field trial winning parents – sired by Flintwood Blizzard out of Sedgehurst Rosamund Venaticus. Their achievements are noted elsewhere in this site. Exceptionally, Bella’s one and only litter was sired by a young Swedish import chosen specifically to introduce new blood into working lines that are evidencing unhealthy levels of inbreeding.

One of the three puppies retained, Venaticus Isabella (Spot) has surpassed even her dam’s record in trials, and her only litter, sired by Midori Diamond Huddlestone (Rigg) was the first ever with both parents award winners in Any Variety field trials.

Adult Clumbers are sometimes available, but not frequently. Training for clients is not currently undertaken, although it has in the past, with success, and may be again in future.

Terms are a little unusual. No fee for the mating itself will be asked. Instead, there is a fee for the siring of a litter. The distinction means that if no litter results, there is no charge. Full fee applies to a litter of four or more puppies surviving to seven weeks. The fee is reduced pro rata for fewer surviving puppies (e.g., two pups, half fee; one pup, quarter fee). The fee is payable at eight weeks or when the first puppy is adopted. And the fee? That is up to the breeder! Not completely, of course. But whatever the breeder decides to charge for a bitch puppy (or a dog where no bitches survive), that is the fee. First choice of a puppy (after the breeder’s) may be asked instead. These terms have applied to owners bringing their bitches to Venaticus dogs for four decades, and are perhaps the fairest they will encounter.

However, now that Venaticus Ivan and Venaticus Julius (Spot’s son) have been extensively used, making their valuable contribution to the breed, it would be unwise for them to be overused. They are therefore available only to serve overseas bitches, either by natural mating here, or by artificial insemination.

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