MILLSTRAND

Welcome to the home of Millstrand Norfolk Terriers and German Shepherds. We are Mark and Joanne Riley from Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland. We have owned German Shepherd's for over 20 years and bought our first long coated boy from the Kemnad kennel in 1992 calling him 'Murphy'. This is where our love began for the breed. Murphy was a very dominant male and for a first dog we wondered if we had done the right thing but through time and a lot of training and mistakes I must add, we turned a corner and he was an amazing dog. We thought he needed some company so we then bought Becks our beautiful short coated bitch from the Sunkleeps kennel who we showed at Championship level and done well. She was showing signs of HD at 12 months old so we withdrew her from the ring and had her neutered and she was a great family dog. We went back to Kemnad for our second boy who wasn't really planned but when we visited Sue with Murphy, Mark fell for him and two weeks later we brought him home. We called him Zak, he was short coated and was sired by Pako Vom Plaeystrang from the Glenroyal Kennel in Lincolnshire. Through old age we eventually lost Murphy and Becks and we were devastated as there was only 6 months between them. This left Zak on his own so we started making enquiries and went to see the Krystnas kennel up in the beautiful Ettrick Valley where there was only one bitch left. We fell in love with her straight away and as she had been named Olivia as this was the 'O' litter so we decided to call her Livvy. She has to be the most stunning long coat with a personality to match. She is a very loving and calm shepherd making her an ideal role model for any new puppies we have. She has a mixture of english and german lines giving her a lovely shape and not overly done in any way. Livvy has a stomach disorder which means she could never be bred from but that is not a problem as this was never the reason we bought her in the first place.

Just before Christmas 2009 we unfortunately had to have our beautiful Zak put to sleep. He was only 7 years old and although he had his problems he was no less part of the family and we miss him so much. It was a terrible decision but there was no other way.

Over the winter it was evident that Livvy missed having another big dog to play with so we made enquiries and in the summer 2010 were lucky enough to bring home Liaous (Braysuz Dark Intentions). Liaous is named after the famous Liaous Van Noort and appears on many shepherds pedigrees. He was owned by Wendy Stevens of the Ardengrange Kennel and now pet foods. He had his own personalised van with a number plate L1 AOUS. I always loved the name so this is where we got it from. He is a solid black long coated boy with a super personality. His dad is from the renowned
Foxfold kennel who excel in dog sports, obedience and field trials making many of there dogs up to Champion which is very very hard to do. We feel very lucky to have him and want to thank Sue for doing such a great job in breeding such well balanced but stunning looking long coats. If he turns out half as good as his dad Yogi we will be over the moon as he is the most beautiful dog. Yogi completely stole my heart when we first visited Sue where we got Liaous from. I couldn't take my eyes of him. I have seen and been around shepherds all my life but no dog has captured my heart like Yogi has, at least we now have his son which we are thrilled about. Not forgetting to mention Shayla who is mum, she has done all the hard work bringing her puppies up!

My whole life and work revolves around dogs and I run Obedience classes in our local town which are always busy. I am a member of the KC Accreditation Scheme for dog training and canine behaviour, working towards my Kennel Club Accreditation which is a work in progress but I am sure it will be worth while. I am also qualified to run the Kennel Club Good Citizen Award Scheme, I was granted Listed Status last year so I am really pleased. So far we have a very good pass rate for Bronze, Silver and Gold.

We have always loved and admired the Norfolk Terrier for a long time and were lucky enough to purchase our first little boy puppy who we named 'Bryn' from the Lastarean Kennel in 2006. He truly is a very special little man. He really has changed our lives as I now have a very successful grooming business called Strip 'n' Go as the norfolks coat is quite high maintenance, especially if you are showing them. I was shown how to handstrip the coat and the rest is history! I now have Clare who works full time for me and we can do anything from 15 - 20 dogs per week.

We then went on to look for a bitch as we really wanted another norfolk and at the time had no plans to breed. After a lot of phone calls we found a really nice lady locally where we were fortunate to get pick of the litter and chose our beautiful girl 'Eva'. Eva is adorable and is a joy to own. She is very grown up for her age and very in tune with you. She loves being cuddled and just trots along by your side when out for a walk. She never puts a foot wrong. We have been showing them both at Open and Championship level ever since and they are consistently being placed. Our dogs are part of our family and go everywhere with us.

Although we do show our norfolks we must stress they are first and foremost pets. We decided after much thought to have a litter and last summer 2009 we did and Eva had six gorgeous puppies. We kept Bear and Matilda from it who are adorable. Bear has just started showing and has already achieved two BPIS which we were thrilled about. Matilda is too small to show but she is the life and soul of the party and loves nothing better than a good run on the beach and then causing mischief and then eventually goes to sleep! All in that order.

Our puppies come with a contract and are endorsed. They are brought up in our kitchen where everything is going on. They leave between 10 - 12 weeks old with both sets of injections and will already have been carried about and been in our car so this makes the transition to their new homes so much more easier. So far everyone has been thrilled with their new babies and keeps in regular contact. We only breed happy, healthy and confident puppies that will adapt to any situation.

The puppies had their first Birthday in 2010 and we all met up and had a party for them! It was lovely to see them all and they are so alike it is hard to tell them apart. Each one having a completely different lifestyle but norfolks adapt so well this is what I love about them.