Tenfield Commander In Chief JW

Owner : TENFIELD Breed : Golden Retriever
Location : BARNARD CASTLE, COUNTY DURHAM
25th May 2010 - 11th November 2023
Colour : Golden
Health Tested ⓘ

After a life well lived, Chieftan told me his time had come. Sound and undemanding to the very end, he had only two visits to the vet in his 13.5 years, once to have a tooth removed after a slab fracture and another for antibiotics after suffering a wound when walking in the woods. Along with his late sister Kiwi, he was one of my very special dogs and has taken a chunk of my heart.

*** Chieftan qualified for the 2012 Kennel Club Junior Warrant Winners Semi-Final at Earls Court - see the video clip of Chieftan entering the big ring on our Videos page ***

Chieftan is one of three Tenfield boys at stud and is a proven stud dog and has been eye tested clear for all conditions including Gonioscopy tested Grade 0 for Glaucoma, DNA tested clear for GR_PRA1 and GR_PRA2, DNA tested clear for Ichthyosis, Hips 6-3, Elbows 0-1 and officially heart tested as free from any abnormalities. He has sired puppies varying in colour from very pale to rich golden and invariably with the same temperaments to die for. Fit, robust, lively yet calm and very obedient, Chieftan is loved by all that know him. I have lots of people on the waiting list hoping that I may part with Chieftan!!

It was a seven year wait for another dog puppy joined the household and Chieftan was the chosen one, not least because of his impeccable and valuable pedigree, but most importantly because of his steady, calm and totally reliable temperament. He is such a good-natured and easy going boy, very laid back like his late Uncle Reiver, but with his Champion mum's bounce, enthusiasm for life and sense of fun! He is a happy go lucky free-standing boy with a steadily wagging tail, being very loving and easy to live with. He just flows on the move and his movement in the show ring has won him many admirers. He is also a retrieve-a-holic and in his youth always has a toy in his mouth, he completed a season picking up on the RA shoot 2012/13 learning the ropes from his mum and has the same game finding ability and good nose as his ancestors.

His first ventures into the show ring were fruitful, qualifying for Crufts 2011 at his first Championship Show, followed by two Best Puppy awards from his first four Open Shows with Puppy Group 4 and Group 2 places respectively. At still only 7 months old, he also qualified for Crufts 2012. We were delighted to be placed 4th in Special Puppy at Crufts 2011 - Chieftan was one of the youngest dogs present at still only 9 months old. At 10 months he won Best Puppy, Reserve Best of Breed, the Gundog Puppy Group and Best Puppy in Show at Chippenham & DCS Open Show. Still 10 months, at North West Golden Retriever Club Championship Show he was awarded three firsts, Best Puppy Dog and Reserve Best Puppy in Show. At 11 months he won Best Puppy Dog at Birmingham National Championship Show and was only beaten by his litter sister Kiwi for Best Puppy.

He finished a successful few months, gaining his Junior Warrant at Birmingham National Championship Show with points to spare, even though he attended relatively few shows.

He and his sister Kiwi are both very special, as they are in direct descent from my foundation bitch Champion Ramble, five generations of Tenfield breeding. They were the result of the first full Champion to full Champion mating in the UK for almost ten years. Kiwi won her first Challenge Certificate at the beginning of 2013, but then we didn't have the opportunity to get to many shows, even having to give Crufts a miss in both 2014 and 2015. The priority in 2014 was to achieve Basenji Tamu's Champion title, which was a goal achieved, but during 2014 Chieftan did attend a handful of Championship Shows at the end of the year, winning his classes at two of them. He also attended several Open Shows in the autumn with his baby half sister 'Dash' and added Best of Breed, Group places and Best Any Variety Gundog awards to his tally.

He hasn't been out much at all since then, but thrilled me at Crufts 2017 by winning second in Limit Dog and repeated this again at Crufts 2018 with 34 dogs in the class He never puts a paw out of place, he is such an easy boy to work with and very sympathetic, At Crufts 2017 I was hobbling with an injured Achilles tendon, but Chieftan is very caring and empathic and looked after me carefully.

He then went on to win his third Championship Show Limit Dog class at Birmingham National, this time under an all rounder judge. As a veteran, he has won Best Veteran at both Championship and Open Shows, including Group wins, although continues to be sparingly shown. With a kindly temperament second to none, effortless flowing movement, gorgeous expression and ever wagging tail, I had hoped one day to have a Chieftan son or daughter, but as he is so closely related to everything here, sadly that looks increasingly unlikely.

We are located just over the border from North Yorkshire in beautiful Barnard Castle, not far from the trans-Pennine A66 linking the A1 at Scotch Corner and M6 at Penrith.