We have only been breeding Papillons for a few years.
Here ’s our story:
Our daughter wanted a small dog for a college graduation present. She wanted a Yorkie. I had recently seen the show, Breed All About It, on the Animal Planet. Papillons had been the breed of the day. I was amazed at all of the positives that the breed had to offer as far as intelligence, trainability, grooming, health, ect...
I convinced my daughter to look at a Papillon and she agreed to get one. The hard part was finding a breeder willing to sell us a good dog. That is when I found Patty Gemmill, owner of Starsign Farm Papillons. Once Patty discovered that I bred and showed labs, she was more willing to consider our purchasing one of her puppies.
Raven (CH. Starsign’s On Ravens’ Wings) came with “strings attached”. Patty had been holding onto her to show and to breed. She would only allow us to co-own Raven if we agreed to breed her and to give Patty two puppies. We also agreed to show her. Fast forward 15 months when we bred Raven to one of Patty’s studs and gave her the two pups from that litter. At that time, Patty honored her contract and signed Raven’s full ownership over to my daughter and myself.
In the fall of 2004, I was packing up to take my new lab puppy to an AKC sanctioned match (Rock Creek Kennel Club in Gaithersburg, MD), about an hour away. As I was leaving, Raven looked so forlorn that she was not going along, that I snatched her up, ungroomed, unbathed, and untrained for the show ring, and brought her along. I had never handled a toy dog in the show ring in my life! Fortunately, matches are held so that the dogs and the handlers can learn and ask questions. I asked many questions – I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with this little dog! (What do I do with the leash while she is on the table? Do I stand up with her when the judge is looking at the whole class, or do I kneel down? Do I jog or walk? Should she gait in front of me or beside me?)
Raven was a natural! She won her class, won the breed, won the toy group – and won “Best in Match”! Needless to say, Raven started her show career the following month where she got her first points at large shows (The Turkey Cluster in Howard County, Maryland.) She was noticed by a professional handler, Sue Whaley, PHA, who offered to take Raven to the Florida circuit, where she continued to win against some of the biggest kennel names in the country. In six months, Raven was a Champion with one Group 3 placement, 3 Best of Breeds, 3 Best of Winners, 7 Best of Opposite Sex, 9 Winners Bitches, and 4 Reserve Winners! She hasdefeated some of the greatest Papillons in the country, including winning Best of Opposite Sex at the MAPS (Metrpolitan Area Papillon Club Specialty) in 2006.
We kept a male out of her next litter. “Whimsy” (Forevermore Raven’s Whimsy) was the most easy going, gorgeous puppy! He trained easily. Following in his mother’s footsteps, he won the “Best Toy Puppy” at the Salisbury Kennel Club Match when he was only 3 months old! He won Winners Dog at his first show on his sixth month birthday. He is now in obedience and Rally training. Whimsy earned his Rally Novice B title in his first three shows with scores all over 95. He also earned his Canine Good Citizen's title in one attempt. Whimsy is now training at the Advanced Rally level, as well as the Novice B Obedience. Whimsy’s littermate was sold to a pet home.
We bought our next puppy, another female, from Patty Gemmill with the money from Raven’s puppy. “Smidg’in” (Starsign’s La Petite Luciole) was a tiny puppy. She only sized out to be 4.9 pounds. She has a dynamic personality – especially in the ring. She moves like the wind, and she has a lovely coat. She started showing at 6 months of age and immediately started winning at large shows. By 8 months, she had 9 points and a Best of Breed..
We then invested in a male (from Patty.) She declared that this was the best puppy she had ever produced! "Jackpot” (CH. Starsign’s Triple Sevens) finished his title in four months under the gentle guidance of Sue Whaley. Within that time, he won three majors, 2 BOB's, two "Best Puppy's" and aToy Puppy Group 1 and 4.
I am now beginning to breed my own Papillon puppies.I am constantly learning from other more experienced breeders and look to them for guidance in this breed that is new to me.I have learned from Patty that a good dog is a good dog, no matter where it comes from. I have relied on her knowledge of pedigrees and breeding lines to avoid undesirable health, structure and temperament issues. You can buy a dog with a great pedigree and end up a terrible dog. You can buy a dog with little behind its breeding and end up with a great dog. You build from that! This is what I am attempting to do!
Starting out in a new breed, as we have done with Papillons, and to have the “luck” that we have had with my first dogs, is not the normal course of events. I owe our success with Papillons to Patty Gemmill and Sue Whaley. I could not have come this far without their help. Patty has mentored me on a daily basis. Sue Whaley’s gentle, elegant handling has brought out the best in these precious butterfly dogs. She, too, has been a great source of invaluable lessons in the world of dog shows.