The History of ROBENGER
In one way or another, dogs have been an important aspect to both Rosemary and
Gerrys life. Throughout Rosemary's life she has always loved dogs. When growing up she always had
dogs around her. The dogs that have been important in Rosies life are Ben and Murphy. Each of these had tremendous
characters and were loved by everyone.
Ben was a gentle giant. Towards the end of his life, like so many
dogs, he suffered arthritis. We decided to try and make this arthritis less painful for him.
He needed exercise but he was a big dog and it was painful for him to move and exercise. So, we fitted a dog swimming
pool in the garden. It was a canine hydrotheropy pool. It was great for him and he enjoyed the
experience twice to three times a week.
Along with Ben was Murphy. Murphy was a rough collie
and he was a lovely boy. His relationship with Ben was great and they got on realy well together.
| Ben and Murphy relaxing in the sun |
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These two were seen walking round nightingale
park in Cambridge twice or three times a day. They had many friends there. It was two very sad days when they
passed away.
In 1997, we decided to take up showing dogs. We decided to show border collies.
| A 2yrs, Candy was a stunning |
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I had experience with sheep
dogs when growing up on a farm in the hills of Lancashire. I had a vast appreciation of the capabilities of these
dogs. Border Collies are so clever and they can run all day. They are a durable breed and as they are an original
breed suffer only the basic canine problems.
Candy did well in competition and a litter. Unfortunatley,
she was involved in an accident with a car which ruined the propect of becoming a champion. She died last year and is
sadly missed.
We added a dog to our border colies when we obtained Benjie. He came from the same kennel
as Candy, Caristan. He is a lovely boy and he too had done well in the ring. Small but perfrectly formed, he achieved
a reserve CC.
| Benjie winning BOB at a show |
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He is now 12 this year and is still going strong.
He is enjoying his life here at Robenger.
As well as Candy and Benjie, we have several other BCs.
Misty is Candy's daughter and still lives with us. Her son Solo never entered the ring but is a lovely boy and he
to enjoys his life here at Robenger. Rhys, TJ, Ria, Poppy plus many other BCs have been bred and shown here but have
now gone. Our lives are richer for having had these lovely dogs here.
Many people that show dogs undertake the
Munster Circuit. It was on this circuit that we were introduced to Portuguese Water Dogs. These are a fantastic
breed and you can read about them on other pages of the PWD Info and Detials page on this site.
Holly is our first Portuguese Water Dog. She has
done well in the show ring, She is lovely and has a very loyal character. She is a black wavy coated bitch with
no white markings at all.
She is 5 years old and has had three litters. Amazingly, she has given
birth to 42 puppies in those 3 litters. Because she has had so many, we have decided not to have any more litters from
her. Of course when you have had 42 puppies you take a while to get back in to shape. We are exercising her with
a view of getting her back in to the ring.
| Murray at the 2009 PWDC Show |
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Murray was 4 when he died. He was a lovely curly coated PWD with a white chest. He was such a character.
There are 7 other pictures in the PWD Picture Gallery which include him. These demonstrate the active and outgoing nature
of this lovely dog.
He suffered Inflamatory Bowell disease. It was distressing to watch him fade away
in front of us so quickly. Within 3 weeks, he had lost so much weight that he was three quarters of his
previous weight. We had him in Davies hospital near Luton but they were unable to prevent him from going downhill.
He died at Christmas 2010. He really is missed.
This is Alex. We imported him in September
2009. He is jointly owned by Cheryl & Bryn Matton and here he is being shown by Cheryl at the 2009 PWD Club
show. The American Breeder, Morgin Powell is also a joint owner. He is an American Champion.
We selected him when we attened the PWD Club of America Specialty in 2008 at Warwick Rhode Island. It was there that
we met Morgin. We also met, Jean, Sandy and Shelly. It's with huge thanks to these guys that we achieved Alex
to come over the pond. Especially, Jean who came to visit us and attend Crufts 2011.
| Alex with Daughter, River |
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The progeny of Alex have started well in 2011. Here you see a picture of Robenger Mississippi River via Ankors
with her dad Alex. River is the progeny of Alex and Holly. There are 3 other Alex progeny competing in 2011.
He has sired litters on the continent and in Ireland. He has three litters so far this year with others planned.
He is a busy boy.
He has two CCs to date (15 May 11). One more and he will be a Show
Champion. I believe this will be the first US/UK Show champion PWD.
| Ella - Progeny of Murray & Holly |
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Ella is the result of a Murray and Holly mating.
She has her fathers character with the excited attitude of her mother. She is almost all black but has a white chin.
We don't show her as she is a family pet. She was born in May 2009.
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