Red Brucie – Changing Cockers Forever

Black Cocker Spaniel Ch. My Own Brucie Best In Show Winner 1940 Westminster Kennel Club and 1941

By Amy Fernandez

Regardless of their accomplishments, few show dogs attain mainstream recognition. Ch. My Own Brucie was an exception. By 1941, his fame cut across every strata of American culture. Unfortunately, his overwhelming celebrity eclipsed the importance of his sire, Red Brucie.

From a breeder’s standpoint, Red Brucie was a dream come true. His son was the icing on the cake. But it was pretty nice icing. After his second Westminster victory, Arthur Roland’s effusive report in the New York Sun report captured public reaction to this canine superstar. “There was amazing unanimity that it was by far the best of all Westminsters. No better evidence could be required than the fact that although it was close to midnight when the final was reached, the crowd held solid until Joseph Sims made the decision and heaped even greater honors on Ch. My Own Brucie,  the dog which more and more people are ready to agree is the greatest Cocker of that time.”

Through out his incredible career, My Own Brucie was owner/ handled by his breeder Herman Mellenthin. Growing up in the Midwest in the early 1900s, Mellenthin fondly remembered Cockers as versatile, sturdy gundogs. Twenty years later, reality had refocused his dreams of becoming a professional horse trainer. Real estate and insurance paid his bills, but he never lost his passion for selective breeding. In addition to dogs, he successfully cultivated strains of roses and peonies.

Cockers were backsliding in type and quality at this time. A long, low, heavy field spaniel type was the predominant Cocker silhouette, despite its drawbacks in American hunting conditions. As Cockers lost favor as gundogs, type fragmented and bench strains became more extreme. It’s growing reputation for shyness and unpredictability also undermined its popularity as a companion.

Mellinthin vowed to revive the bouncy, resilient, biddable Cocker that had inspired his lifelong devotion to the breed. From a genetic standpoint, it was a gargantuan task. It required infinite patience and an incredible amount of experimental breeding to identify dogs and breeding combinations that would reliably transmit those traits.

His breakthrough dog was whelped June 8, 1921. High-stationed and short-backed, Red Brucie was radically different from the era’s prevailing Cocker type. But his potential success in the show ring was immaterial. His first litters confirmed that he was the missing ingredient in Mellenthin’s recipe for ideal Cocker type. He linebred back to Red Brucie for another decade to perfect it. During those years Mellenthin helped to establish Cocker field trials, served as an AKC delegate, became a respected judge, produced several top winners, along with the breed’s first dual champion. His breeding program got plenty of attention but that was never his main agenda.

Red Brucie was almost 14 when he sired Ch. My Own Brucie in 1935. He died that year. By then, Mellenthin knew he was on the right track. The rest of the world soon agreed. In June 1939, Arthur Frederick Jones profiled Mellenthin’s breeding program for the Gazette. Rather than the self-congratulatory hype he anticipated, the interview was a bombshell.

Jones described Mellenthin’s extreme dedication as a religion rather than a hobby. “His special mission is carrying his light into the darkest realms of the dog world.” In response, Mellenthin candidly admitted his frustration. “There is no doubt that Red Brucie served a great purpose in the breed. He had in abundance all the qualities we need to start the Cocker Spaniel back on the right track. But his blood is not magical.” In his estimation, this watershed dog has done more harm than good for the breed. “I mean that unthinking breeders merely try to get Brucie’s bloodline in their kennels and forget everything else that constitutes successful breeding.” By then, the name had become a salable commodity.

Ch. My Own Brucie made dog show history and turned the Cocker into America’s most popular breed. In 1941 he became one of the few Westminster repeat winners, and the floodgates opened. Years of fad breeding nearly destroyed the Cocker. By 1939 Mellenthin could see that his lifelong dream was becoming a nightmare. His sudden death in 1942 at age 53 was tragic, but in that respect it qualified as a blessing.

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Posted by admin on Oct 7 2013. Filed under Dog Show History, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.