My Breeding Program
Fran Milteer / VIP
Miniature Bull Terriers
- Click on all Mini-Bull photos to
enlarge -
When in my teens, I took a Keeshond puppy in the ring and that began a
lifelong passion with dogs and dog shows. As a young newlywed I got a
Keeshond puppy to show from Gladys Baldwin of Van Bie Kennels that
became Ch. Van Bie Bonanza. Gladys also had some enchanting Pomeranians
which caught my fancy.
Darlys Flaata was my mentor in Poms and is still my friend. I got
my first pom from her. I
finished 4 Pekes, 1 Chihuahua, and 1 Shih Tzu but my real involvement
began in 1977 with a Pom puppy from Darlyls that became the Group
winning, Ch. Damata Nuclear Reactor. He was the "rock" upon which VIP
Pomeranians was built. Since then, with limited breeding, I have owned
or bred about 15 Poms to their titles, including Ch. VIP'S Dixieland
Delight plus 4 Pekingese and 1 Chihuahua Champion. I co-bred and
finished 1 Shih Tzu. I also handled for
friends and clients.
I
also collaborated with Janet Lucido of Odyssey Pomeranians. sire Ch.
VIP's Desperado & Dam Ch. VIPs Wild Angel The blending of our bloodlines
produced produced Ch. VIP'N Odyssey Tara's Gold and Ch. Odyssey 'N VIP's Movin Vilation and then, I fell in love
with the Miniature Bull Terrier!
That was at the Mission Circuit in Southern California in 1992. I saw a
cute little Miniature Bull Terrier, a newly recognized AKC breed. Over
the years I watched the Mini-Bulls with interest as I continued to breed
and show Poms.
In 1998 I married a great guy who had never been to a dog show. What an
education he was about to get! Larry had been fascinated with the Bull
Terrier since the advent of Budweiser’s "Spuds MacKenzie" dog and that
prompted us to start seriously looking at Miniature Bull Terriers.
 I
went to the San Diego shows which followed the Miniature Bull Terrier
National and there met Barbara “BJ” Andrews, the author of "The
Miniature Bull Terrier" and whose bloodlines I had watched over the
years. BJ agreed to sell me a male puppy.
O'BJ Great Expectations VIP
"Pip" didn’t turn
out to be a show dog but “Pip” became my soul mate and I was hooked.
Pip was outstanding and picking up points but
his mouth was off. That hurt him in the ring but he was such a
great little dog, it made me determined to get good mouths in my
breeding program. Thank you Pip!
BJ sent Victoria's Secret O'BJ “Vicky" to replace my male. Vicky,
whose parents were imported from top English bloodlines, became our
foundation for VIP Miniature Bull Terriers.
Vicky is shown here winning at Apple Valley in 2002.
I
then studied a striking young white male "Ch Kingsmere Moondoggie"
and watched what he was producing out of bitches of different lines. I
noticed that no matter what bitch he was bred to, he produced good
heads, which I felt that was Vicky's weak point.
With BJ’s blessing, Linda Lethin agreed to breed "Smudgie" as he was
known, to Vicky. Smudgie has sired 4 VHDK (Van Hildrekusen)
Winners and won the
Van Hildrekusen
himself.
He sired 4 National Specialty winners
and won BB at the National and at the Gardens (Westminster KC) twice and
yes, he is the dog
 you
see in the Target department store ads.
From that litter, we got 4 lovely bitches, one of which was Ch. VIP'S
Pocket Change O'BJ “Penny” co-bred with BJ Andrews. “Penny” was BOB
at Ventura from BBE over top male specials.
She was WB at the Miniature Bull Terrier Club Of America National Specialty, and to
climax her show career, she finished as BW at Palm Springs under Bull
Terrier legend,
breeder-judge Winkey Mackay-Smith.
"Penny" was one of our first VIP Miniature Bull
Terrier Champions.
 Vicky's
next litter was sired by Ch. Tecuya's Something to Talk About (Smudgie's
son) and that produced 4 bitches and 2 dogs. So far three of the
bitches are champions and the fourth bitch is well on her way with 2 BOB
over specials
and BOS at the prestigious Santa Barbara, California shows.
"Vicky" produced a litter of six puppies
sired by Ch. Tecuya's Something to Talk About. I'll tell you more about them in a
minute.
I
then bred Vicky to Ch. Tecuya's Talkin Tough, Smudgie's grandson, who I
co own with Brenda Smith. "Danny" was a joy to show and he
and I had a lot of fun. Turns out, he was only "talking" tough
because he was as good-natured as all Miniature Bull Terrier should be.
He's shown here at the left in one of his favorite outfits.
My husband Larry
is a classic car buff and loves motorcycles.
"Danny" and Larry were the best
of buddies and he became not only a star in the Mini-Bull show ring but also a real celebrity at
the Harley dealership. His only problem with those big Harleys is
that his short legs just weren't made for biking! But he tried...
this is one of the ads we did on him and everyone loved it.
He was a wonderful promoter for Antelope Valley Harley Davidson.
One of the guys said "Miniature Bull Terriers are just little "pigs"
that never grow up to be Harley Hogs."
 It
was another good breeding because from that litter, I got four lovely
bitches! VIP's Simply Scandalous "Scandal" is well on her
way with 3 group placements from the 9-12 months puppy class. She
is shown here with Stephanie Salas, two beautiful youngsters
doing their thing - 14 years and 10 months.
Scandal's litter
sister is Ch.
VIP'S Indecent Proposal is already finished with 4 majors including 2
BOB over specials. VIP's In Touch With the Devil has a CGC, is a
therapy dog and at one year old has first level Freestyle. She is in
training for Agility, Obedience and Earthdog.
Scandal is shown with her handler Eric Salas.
She won a Group II Puppy and Terrier Group III on the same day!
I
insist on good temperaments, health, and good confirmation with
excellent bites. My Miniature Bull Terriers have become known for not
only excellent bites but for having those mouths in correct heads and
any Mini-Bull breeder can tell you, that isn’t easy.
The Milteers reside in
Rosamond, CA and can be reached at 661-256-4076 or
vipminibulls@hotmail.com
If you would like to be interviewed for My Breeding Program,
call (800) 776-0748 from 9 AM to 5 PM Mon-Friday
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