Millerdan dogs are pets with hobbies and have fun in the show-ring, in the shooting field and at home!
Our dogs are definately "fit for function, fit for life"
I am married to Steve, and we both grew up with dogs in our families and were both involved in the looking after of them as children. As a teenager I used to have several dog-walking jobs for people in the area, taking their dogs out for hours on end after school and at a weekends, inbetween 'working' at a friends stable.
After losing our old girl in 2005 we decided to get our very own labrador (having both had them at some point in the family) and Danny arrived in January 2006. He was our first and very special labrador and without him Millerdan would have never existed. Danny turned our lives upside down and we became hooked on this loyal and loving breed.
Jake came along the following year and the Millerdan journey began, although I had bought Jake to make progress with my gundog training in a more serious way, he was from a good show pedigree so I thought it would be fun to give showing a go with him. We had a slow start, but lots of fun and it is with Jake that I learnt the art of handling in the ring. I fell in love with showing as much as I did with the gundog work, and thus my aim to be a dual purpose kennel was born.
We purchased our foundation bitch, Millie, in 2008 from the Lembas kennel. Millie is also what I would consider to be our first serious show dog, she won the West of England Ladies Kennel Society Pup of the Year 2009 Stakes at her very first championship show, and represented the breed at the Dog World/Pro Plan Pup of the Year finals, from then on she has achieved many awards at both Open and Championship show level. She had her first litter early in 2011 from which we kept a girl, Lola, who will hopefully follow on in her mother's footsteps.
We work hard with our dogs to ensure they enjoy life, although I refer to us as a kennel, they all live in the house with us in a specially constructed extention which forms part of our kitchen, this ensures that they remain very much part of the family. I adore all my dogs and love spending time with them, whether that be in the show-ring, out in the field or curled up in front of the TV! They each have their own individual characters and bring so much joy into our lives.
I am a member of several breed and gundog clubs, these include: The Labrador Club, The Yellow Labrador Club, Three Ridings Labrador Club, Midland Counties Labrador Retriever Club, Kent Surrey and Sussex Labrador Retriever Club, Northumberland & Durham Labrador Retriever Club, East Anglian Labrador Retriever Club, Dukeries (Notts) Gundog Club, United Retriever Club, Coventry & District Gundog Society and Kirkbourne Gundog Club.
In 2010 I started judging and have undertaken numerous Open Show appointments judging labradors and I am on the Labrador Breed Specialist 'C' list. Although I love being in the show-ring as an exhibitor I also like judging and I have successfully completed a Breed Specific Novice Judging Seminar in Labradors, and achieved certificates in the KC Hand-On Assessment and the KC Requirements of a Dog Show Judge.
Rachel Williams
April 2012.
