Chilternway

Kerry Lord & Tim Broomfield
Princes Risborough
Buckinghamshire
England

Breeder of:

  • Weimaraner

Owner of:

  • Hungarian Vizsla

Our dogs are foremost family pets but they enjoy showing their abilities as working dogs too. We enjoy a variety of activities with them and feel privileged to own and be able to occasionally breed such a wonderful group of gundog.

A 'dual purpose dog' should show enthusiasm to work, being able to participate in Hunt, Point & Retrieve (HPR) activities. Being a well balanced dog, which not only retains enthusiasm to work out in the field but is also able to be relaxed and sociable, makes them great performers in the show ring too and loving companions in the home.

Consideration of health and temperament when breeding is a must; keeping within the breed standards to retain good composition and free flowing movement is just as important to us.

HPRs are typically large, energetic breeds. By ensuring to fulfil our dogs requirements we have found they, in turn, fulfil ours.

Chilternway Dual Purpose Dogs

Chilternway Dual Purpose Dogs

photo by: Kerry Lord

Our first Weimaraner 'Cashew' was a fabulous girl with a loving, gentle temperament. Full of life and character, she was our introduction into the world of gundog training. When our Hungarian Vizsla puppy 'Tango' joined us, she brought an additional burst of love and energy into our home. When 'Breeze' (one of Cashew's puppies) joined us, it was a true gift and, when she went on to have her own puppies, we were blessed further with the arrival of puppy 'Keela' - our third generation of Weimaraner and fourth set of paws in our home at that time.

It was of great sadness when Tango passed away in 2019, aged 12 years old. Cashew sadly then left our world in 2021, aged 15 years old, but she left us with an endless supply of memories to hold onto and, being our foundation Weimaraner, we are forever grateful that she was still with us to see her great-grand puppies born, when Keela went on to have her own litter of puppies too in 2021. More tears flowed in 2023 when our beautiful Breeze left us at the age of 11.5 years, having been diagnosed with fluid on the brain, which sadly had sudden debilitating effects.

With having four dogs down to just one, we took an unexpected opportunity to welcome our 8 1/2 year old rescue Vizsla 'Red as a companion for Keela. We have been over-joyed by the amount of fun we have with this little girl's bounding, playful energy and it is great to have a ginger-ninja back in our home. Red settled into our home super quickly and she and Keela became great buddies in next to no time.

We are now at a time when we can welcome a second litter from Keela and we are super excited to hopefully have a little girl puppy join our family again.

Keela out training in the field

Keela out training in the field

photo by: Kerry Lord

Gundog training is a great form of physical exercise and mental stimulation for these breeds. They love to use their brains and it is helpful for us humans to learn how to understand and work with their natural instincts, bringing out the very best in them.

I cannot deflect that training with HPRs can be frustrating at times and that this may be considered as an understatement but, when you get it right as a team, the results are so worth the effort. Whether the end result is your working the grouse moors, joining your local shoot, competing in field trials and/or working tests, out mantrailing and learning scentwork or simply completing the basic stages of gundog training on dummies, the bond achieved in learning together is priceless and, as no dog is the same, your journey is always a different one.

Tango taking agility in her stride

Tango taking agility in her stride

photo by: Kerry Lord

Agility is a fun way to keep both us and our dogs fit. It is a great way of focusing the dog, it can increase confidence and it is amazing to see how quickly they respond to correct body language given. Another activity, sadly not so widely available, is search and rescue training - this definitely helps teach you to trust the bond with your dog and you can feel this same connection with tracking/mantrailing too.

Keela & Red chilling by the fire

Keela & Red chilling by the fire

photo by: Kerry Lord

We feel super privileged to be looking forward to our fourth generation of Weimaraner joining us and we hope to soon have more Vizslas in our house too - they can make a great team!

Our Dogs

Rainbow Bridge

Previous Litters

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