Guy and Kelsey had the pleasure of watching Otto run in the 2018 British championship held at the Packington Estate. Though he picked a runner on his first retrieve, a very good start, had an early exit due to taking an extra step at heel when repositioning himself on a walk up. Even with this misstep, he caught our eye as the youngest competitor in the field. He was locked onto his handler with an obvious dedication to please whatever his command was. Great tail action and good pace on the outrun, we knew he would make a great addition.

Otto qualified for the British Championship by winning the Fermanagh Gundog Club Two Day Open Stake for 24 AV Retrievers, at just 2.5 years old. This stake was graciously held on the Corrad Estate, which had previously hosted the Irish Championship, proving to be a great test of driven and walkup game.

As always, we had to go back to the pedigree, first for health, then for consistency of great dog on top, and more importantly, the bottom line. We were not disappointed.

Otto’s mother, Westmacott Gabriella Ffynongain, is littermate to FTW Westmacott Gaelic, and FTW Westmacott Gunner. FTW Westmacott Gaelic was a dog that caught my eye watching former British Championships on the Paul French DVDs, so I was excited to see lines that I had been wanting now showing up again as something to look for. I also had the pleasure of watching Westmacott Gaelic compete at the 2019 Skinners Cup for Team Denmark. With only four dogs not having titles in her 3 generation pedigree, to FTW brothers and fantastic health scores, we couldn’t have drawn a more fantastic female line.

Otto’s sire, IR FTCH Ffynongain Razor is a successful dog in his own right attaining his titles in the field. With a pedigree showing familiar names like Greenbriar, Garendon, and Morayglen, we knew we had a winning combination.

With decision made anticipation was high for the arrival of Otto. Even with the high expectations, he has continued to exceed them. In the house on the second night, he was a shadow wherever I go with him. When exposed to new things here, he readily heeds direction and repeats without question. He has duck hunts, hiking the mountains of the west, raging rapids, goose fields of the central flyway, and probably the hardest, are the setups that Guy can dream up.

Definitely one of the most honest and quickest learning dogs I have had the pleasure of handling.