Clussexx began in 1984, when Doug Johnson purchased his first Clumber Spaniel. However, the seeds of Clussexx took root and were nourished early in Doug’s childhood. Born in Waynesboro, Virginia, Doug grew up with a Labrador Retriever mix and always loved dogs. In tenth grade, he started working for a local veterinarian. He remembers coming into the clinic one morning to find three Clumber Spaniels. “I had no idea what they were. One was very cute, I thought, and we became fast friends. Her name was Rainbow and, as it turns out, she was the poorest example of the three. But it was during their stay in the clinic that I became interested in finding out more about the breed and purebred dogs in general.”

When the owner of these Clumbers met Doug at the clinic, she willingly took time to answer the teenager’s questions and foster his interest in the breed. “I told her I was going to have one of these dogs some day,” Doug recalls. For his 16th birthday present, Doug’s parents agreed to the purchase of the family’s first Clumber Spaniel from Sandy Blakeley of Sandiam Kennel, one of the top Clumber kennels at that time. Doug was allowed to take his pick of the litter, a puppy named Scorpio (later Ch. Sandiam’s Scorpio). “I remember liking him, because he had the longest nose… Some things have changed with time,” Doug admits.

Doug co-owned his first Clumber with Sandy, who became a valuable mentor for the new young Clumber owner. She took Doug to shows and taught him how to train the puppy to be a good show dog as well as a wonderful pet. “I became enamored of this breed. The dogs really inspired me and I think Sandy saw this. She took me under her wing and filled my mind with ideas about breeding and show dogs.”

Doug still vividly remembers his first time in the show ring. He was sixteen years old and “as nervous as a cat!” When Doug won BOB that day, he was on cloud nine and hooked forever in the sport of purebred dogs. “Now that I have been around for a while, I often wonder — if I had had a bad experience that day, would I have stayed with it? I am always grateful for the patience the judge had with me in the ring. This is also a good lesson learned. That judge became a mentor for me. As I begin my judging career, I hope to show such patience and character.” (This judge, in fact, was W. Everett Dean, Jr. -Ed.)

While Doug was becoming more involved in the sport, little did he realize that Sandy was planning to leave the breed and follow a new path in her own life. Nevertheless, she was always willing to help and inspired Doug to lay the foundation for his own kennel. “I am forever grateful to such a responsible breeder for giving me my start. Although Sandy is no longer involved with Clumbers, I try to touch base with her regularly to discuss the breed and what we have been doing. I am convinced that she decided to leave just as her kennel was starting to peak. This is why I was able to have so much quality so quickly. She laid the groundwork. I was able to make the right combinations and go from there.”

Doug attended George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, majoring in art history (“a really marketable career move,” he jokes) and by the time he was a college sophomore, he knew he was ready to begin setting up his own kennel. After finishing Scorpio, he tried his hand at specialing, but realized when the dog died at an early age of an autoimmune problem that the direction of his breeding program would be elsewhere.

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