Oakley

Jim
2014 
Tucker is an incredible dog. He's by far the best hunter I've ever had finding birds where other dogs in the group had run by. He will lock on point and stay there even when I managed to lose him in the thick brush and take some time following the beep from his collar to find him. He naturally honors another dogs point.


Tucker's temperament is both high energy when it comes to hunting, yet so calm, people have suggested having him trained as a comfort dog. He loves to lay his head on you and is content to stay there as long as you are willing to pet him or simply lay a hand on him. I would of never thought that you could have both in one dog, but Tucker has shown me otherwise.

Lastly, Tucker has to be one of the prettiest Brits I've ever seen. Copper would of been an excellent name, but am happy enough to know that he comes from Copper's bloodline.


Chances are Tucker will be our last dog. With my 3rd heart attack in January and my new desire to RV the entire US, my wife and I feel that going dog-less will likely make traveling easier. Of course with Tucker only being 6 years old, many years and RV miles will pass before that final decision happens. If we do get another dog, it will have to be a Romence dog. I can't imagine going to any other breeder.

​

Hi Julie,


Now that it’s the end of our 3rd Michigan grouse and woodcock season, I thought it would be nice to give you an update and send a few pictures of Penny.


In short, Penny is everything any upland hunter could ask for.  She’s also a great companion, lives to please any human she’s near and is well liked by our neighbors.  I did end up installing a E fence when she was pup and it was the best thing I ever did for Penny and myself.  It’s a sight to see how excited she gets when I get the shotgun out and put my boots on.

She has a wonderful personality!  The photo below of her with the grouse in her mouth is typical . . . she took the bird from my coat in the back of the car when I wasn’t looking.  I could tell by the way she was behaving, she believed if she didn’t make eye contact with me, I wouldn’t notice the bird in her mouth!  Typical moment with Penny!


She ranges between 10 and 40 yards, circles constantly back to me (she’ll get out to far every once in a while but always comes right back when called) and her nose!  Oh my goodness, that girl is a bird scent siphoning machine!  Her nose is in constant use on the ground and in the air the moment we get out of the car.

Penny has the woodcock completely figured out and pins them (we took 31 this season) within 2 or 3 feet of her nose.  Rarely will she retrieve a woodcock but will occasionally “stomach” their taste and bring them back to me.

Grouse and running birds are still a challenge for her.  She began actual points on grouse this season much to my relief.  Prior to that, she would get very birdy, quickly following the scent and bump the bird.  This year, my first two grouse were taken when the leaves were still up, Penny got birdy, they flushed wild and I shot both of them just out of sight through the leaves and Penny retrieved both birds to my hand!  The second two were taken with the leaves down, solidly pointed and brought to hand.  I had low grouse numbers this year with only 4 birds taken.

Thanks again for making Penny available to our family.

Doug Sandula

Saginaw, MI


More comments about the 2016 hunt:


Your Penny’s a star!  3 woodcock pointed and taken on November 6th in Michigan!  70 degree weather in Gladwin.
One awesome tracking and arriving on point on a grouse . . . which I flushed and missed on a perfect, easy rising straight away shot.  Jeesh!
Doug Sandula
PS - Frank and I are looking forward to hunting over Penny with her 1/2 sister or brother next season.


5 good grouse tracking and pointing performances today from Penny!  and I was able to down 2 of them.


I thought I would share some pictures and comments from Doug and my initial hunt.   Penny pointed 11 woodcock and flushed three grouse for our initial hunt.   Doug took her out by himself last week and limited out on woodcock and ended up with one grouse.   Doug said Penny is really doing well with the grouse this year...

8/4/13

Thanks for a fantastic dog!

Wanted to let you know what a great dog T Bone (birth name Sanchez, 2.5yrs) has been for our family. 

He is a phenomenal pheasant hunter, better than my husband ever expected, and with minimal training.

He is also a great duck hunter and catches the ducks before they hit the grounds or is happy to swim and retrieve them!

He loves running with me in the woods and cuddling at TV time. 

We joke all the time about his "whale call" vocalizations and enjoy his company.

Thanks so much for your attention to breeding that has given us a great companion. 

Denise

Julie,  Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving!  How is your Red doing?  Well we hope!  When do you expect puppies will be due?  Mary and I are very hopeful!

     Wanted to tell you about our Red (Duffee pup, 6 years come March).  Red has learned to handle moving birds by getting the bird between himself and the gunner.  It has been my experience that very few pointing dogs ever master the technique, and I consider the event to be a huge step in his evolution toward becoming a truly outstanding hunting dog!  He is one heck of a dog Julie!  Dog's are a product of breeding, training, and environment.  I think Red is a feather in both our caps!

     Very Best!  Please stay in touch!  Jeff and Mary


Julie,  Once again,  FANTASTIC and congratulations!!  Busy day at Rustic Ridge today (despite the weather), just got home.  I can hardly take my eyes off Puppy Cam!!!  Amazing!!  Your Red is just wonderful!  

     You can put us down for one of the females............  Julie, I have come to the realization that my primary interest is in hunting.  There are few pleasures in this life that accede being in the field with a nice pointing dog,  Any dog that goes home with us will live a hunting dog's life.  Yes we will take it thru AKC hunt testing titles, but our higher purpose will be for hunting.  I know you will have that in mind as you guide us thru making a selection.  As I stated before, Mary and I feel you are an outstanding breeder, not only because of the quality of your dogs, but because you are SO good with pups as they begin to develop.  I will never forget your help in picking out our Red:  He is easily the most biddable dog I have ever owned and a genuinely outstanding hunting dog!  He has pointed and retrieved nearly 4000 birds in his young life!  Lord only knows how many more he has pointed that hunters have missed!!

     Looking forward to visiting when you feel the pups are healthy and strong enough.  Congratulations again and very best wishes!!  Jeff and Mary

He (Oakley) is the first Brittany that I have owned and he is just a joy to gun over, easy to handle, smart and just in general a joy to own.  Which is why I was so eager to get a second, named Rusty.


Terry Urman

2016


(Both are Duffee and National Gun Dog Champion, Legacy's Pine Bandit's Pups)

Della daughter of  Mcduffees Creekside girl and High Hopes Dark Nite  was Prize 1 UT


Della is 2 years 8 months old and first test UT NAVDA won Prize 1 this weekend and I am very proud of her. Thought you might want to know this as I promised you I would achieve at least this with her. As a pup she was Prize one in Natural ability also . She is the most biddable Brit I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Thank you Kevin J Clayton 

 

Jim, Angela, Kate & Nate

& Remi too!

Christmas 2013

What people have to say about Romence Brittanys!

Submitted to Gun Dogs Breeders by: 

David TenBrink on Jan 25, 2011

Hello,
I am a huge fan of this breed. I consider myself very fortunate to have met Julie in FL some years ago. In our conversation on a golf course I mentioned Brittanys and she lit up like ihit a nerve! Since that time i have had the opportunity to visit and purchase a pup and now my second pup. I can tell you this women knows her stuff. She is a passionate breeder and she is very carful to make sure you will get a quality dog with good lines and a good nose! I would trust Julie's judgement about any dog she breeds. She doesn't have to sell them her quality sells itself!!!!!! If you want a great dog and a great companion you should consider Julie and Romence Brittanys! I hope there will be another pup for me! Pups are sold out again!

​

Congratulations to my Tess's Brother, Red , A Duffee puppy!! 

 Red is owned and trained by Jeff Gilcrest who guides with him at Rustic Ridge Hunt Club.  

Jeff is a hunt test Judge with many hours of experience with hunt tests!!! 

 Great Accomplishment!!

Julie,

     Red finished his AKC Master Hunter Title this past weekend.

 Great showing this Spring! He has qualified in 4 out of 5 hunt tests in the past 2 weeks. That record is unique in all my years of hunt test experience. Running again next weekend in Indiana. Best, Jeff


Julie,  This is Red (Rustic Ridge Red Leg) right after we came out of the field at Farmland, IN 25 April 2015 following his first Advanced Master leg.  I finally have a little time to at least begin to organize some pictures….. I have many more.

     I have been intending to communicate with you regarding Red’s Master Title.  I will send you a copy of the certificate as soon as I receive same.  I sincerely believe he could have finished much sooner (than 3 years of age) if I hadn’t blown my knee out and lost the entire 2013 season.   In addition, the very long and hard Winter of 2013 - 2014 kept us out of the field for the better part of 4 months and severely curtailed training.  I judged 8 times last year rather than focusing on him.  Further, I made a serious miscalculation and skipped Senior hunt tests with Red altogether.  That was a strategic mistake on my part.  But he was fundamentally sound early on.  What I failed to perceive in his case was the need for field maturity and experience.  All my fault, not his.  I will put my next dog in Senior hunt tests.

     Credit where credit is due…..Red is a Master Hunter at the ripe old age of 3 with one Advanced Master leg.  He was guiding hunts at Rustic Ridge Hunt Club at 8 months of age.  In 3 seasons he has pointed and retrieved more than 2,000 birds.  That number does not include birds retrieved during European style hunts and heaven only knows how many birds he has found and pointed that hunter's have missed!

     For whatever it may be worth:  Red is, by my observation, a gifted bird finder.  His hunting style is methodical, thorough, and incredibly patient.  He seems to be phased not at all by hunters who do not shoot well.  I have enormous confidence in him!  He will find every bird in the field!  On several occasions hunt testing, I emptied my blank pistol on the back course before we ever reached the bird field!  He commonly produced 5 or more birds and as many as 9! 

     Lastly, but I think most significantly, he is the easiest puppy I have ever had the pleasure of working with.  My wife still refers to him as, “The easy puppy.”  He crate trained instantly.  He had virtually no accidents in the house as a pup.  He slept thru the night the second night and we never looked back.  Red is the most biddable dog I have ever worked with.  I attribute all of that to you.  I think (and I’m not alone) you have a very special knack with puppies that becomes clearly evident after just a few days at home.   That is worth a great deal all by itself Julie..….….

     Wishing you the very best, Jeff 



Hi Julie,
Thanks for the info!  Millie  ( aka Pokey )  is doing Great!!!  This week she is off leash with Rosie in a two track area wooded with some pine.  She understands commands like Leave it, this way with hand signal, sit with hand signal, comes to me on command, and of course understands Breakfast time after pottie break in the morning !  Then off for a 2 hour morning walk / run with leash and without and is understanding hunt close with Rosie’s help.  She and Rosie are best mates now and Rosie allows Millie to pester her to death without too much complaint.  Millie sleeps all night 10 to 8 am.  Eats like a horse and is very playful and chases leaves and carries sticks everywhere!  I can tell she has it all in there the test for me will be getting it out!  I am up for the challenge!!  She could be the best I have ever had to date !!!!  I love Rosie to death too !!!
Dave

    .    From: Craig Schrotenboer


Date: December 27, 2005 4:09:27 PM EST

To: Julie Romence <julieromence@mac.com>

Subject: South Dakota

Julie, I hope that all is well in your neck of the woods.

I just got back from our trip to SD, and I wanted to drop you a line. (It changed from Iowa to South Dakota.)

As you know it is a little late in the year for a trip, but there are some advantages to that, and it paid off this time! The only down side was the temperature. We drove 14 hours and managed to end up in the coldest spot in the entire country. Temperatures of the first days hunt were 24 degrees below zero! That’s not a wind-chill, it was the temperature.

I could not believe the number of birds we saw out there. They had a big ice/snow storm just before we arrived, so power was out in much of the state, and most all the standard pheasant cover was flattened! This combined with al the crops being out already meant we saw an unbelievable number of birds on the snow in the fields scratching for food. The first day we spent most of the day driving around and orientating ourselves to possible hunting grounds. We kept an approximate count, and came up with about 800 birds in various fields throughout the days wanderings.

Anyway I believe that I told you that Saddie was spending some time with John Johnson before we headed West. When I picked her up he had nothing bad to say about Saddie. She performed well for John, and he stated that she would be a great hunting dog. Even though this was her first trip, it was evident that John was right. Saddie has a great desire for birds and bird hunting; she works hard, and has a great nose. We jumped several deer within 15 yards of us, and Saddie was never interested in anything but Roosters! She works close and listens well to the whistle.

We ended up hunting some of the thickest cover imaginable for birds. The 4-6’ tall cattails were the only thing not totally flattened by the previous ice storm. This made hunting hard work for us and Saddie, but produced some great results. We ended up only 2 birds short of our total limit for the 6 days that we hunted. (It was I and one other hunter) The cover was so thick and snow covered, that the birds that fell were almost impossible to find, and the ones that were hiding or running after the shot were even tougher! Saddie’s ability to find and point birds is great, but her ability to “hunt dead” was remarkable and invaluable on this trip. We would mark the birds as they came down, and let the dog do the rest. It was such a joy to watch her work, I think that I enjoyed it as much as Saddie did hunting the birds! Due to density of the cover, of the total birds we grounded, I would estimate that we would have only recovered about 1 of 4 if it were not for Saddie. As it turns out, we only lost 1 bird all week! (That birds legs were moving before he even hit the ground) She would work the scent and recover birds from areas that you would not believe a bird could hide in.  

Julie, I could not be happier with Saddie at this point. She is a joy to hunt with and a great companion around the home. I have attached some pictures from our hunt. You will notice from one of the pictures that she got to ride in the back seat of the truck for part of this trip; well……she certainly earned it!

Have a great evening Julie, I am hoping to keep in touch and get Saddie back to see Bell and the others soon.

    .    From: Doug Houle


Date: November 10, 2005 9:44:55 AM EST

To: Julie Romence <julieromence@mac.com>

Subject: Gracie
We are back from our trip to Iowa.  We saw a lot of
birds but the roosters all managed to flush a hundred
yards or more before we got to where there were
setting.  I only got one shot at a rooster which I
got.  But more important, how did Gracie do?  She did
outstanding.  She works within a very reasonable
range, she stops at the extreme end of the range and
looks back to make sure I have not become lost, she
works back toward me and works the ground in front. 
She knows the command "too far" and will come back. 
She knows "other way" and will change directions.  She
will stop on the whistle and come back.   She made
several solid points and held until the bird flushed. 
She made no false points.  She cold run at top speed,
scent the bird and make a whirling stop to a solid
point.  She did as well as the GSP and the GWP, both
seven years old and veterans of Iowa.  The other
hunters could not believe that she was only one year
old.  They said she acted like she was five.  The only
time she ran was on the very last hunt when we jumped
two deer.  She was out of transmitter range before I
could do anything.  We were in the middle of a five
thousand acre hunting preserve.  About ten minutes
latter back she came, totally exhausted naturally. 
With this and other experience when she has run is
that she is not going to get lost, she will come back.
If her brothers and sisters are doing as well you must
have a lot of happy owners.  Let me know if any other
owners are doing well.
Doug Houle

   Libby (from Belle & Wrigley May 05) is such a joy to us!!  She is a spoiled rotten house dog as well as an amazing hunter.  Last fall, at two years old, she hunted every weekend, and gained skills each time.  By the end of the season she did a fabulous job pointing!  We couldn't have had a better hunting partner, and can't wait for next season!

Lynne and Steve

She has been a very nice dog.  Just a great little buddy.  She is an outstanding hunter, having been to Iowa and South Dakota twice.  If there is a bird in the field, she will find it and find it quick.  She is a very smart little girl.  I can't believe that she has been with me over three years now.  Her birthday was Nov. 3rd, 2004.

Doug 

Briar Lauks …, has been a fantastic addition to our family…..he has a lot of personality and loves people. We love him as a child, and his Aunt and grandmother spoil him rotten when they visit.


Kimberly, Matthew, and Roberts

…my best friend and hunting partner, Bobbie.  She is a classic "Feisty Little Pointing dog". I read a book by this title and she fits this description to a T.  Since the grouse hunting was really down this past year, we did not get many birds up, but she points like a champion!   My classic story is when she was only 5 months.  It was late on a rainy evening in October up north.  A couple birds went up and I thought I hit one, but we could not find it before it got too dark.  Next morning we had snow and I went back to the same spot.  I lost track of Bobbie for a few moments.  As I went over a little rise, I could see her chasing a grouse.  She was pulling out tail feathers!!!!  When I got to her she had the bird in her mouth, but the bird had not tail.  This was pretty close to her first bird, so she was proud as any feisty little bird dog could be.  We need more work this winter at the game farm, but she has all the attributes I like to see.  We are working on the retrieve, but because her master is such a bad shot she does not get much practice!!

Roger

Jack is such a great dog: loyal, loving and very funny!! He has a great sense of humor. Jack is great with everyone. He loves people and especially children. He is so kind and gentle with our nieces and nephews. He loves to go with us on all of our adventures. He will happily go anywhere as long as he is with us. We had Jack go through hunting classes and he did quite well.

Christina and Dennis

Wrigley has been a phenomenal dog and we feel very fortunate to have one of his pups.  It was just a year ago that we lost our beloved Katie.

A week ago, we took the girls, Maggie and Molly, to the field.  After shooting a pheasant which wasn't dead, Maggie tackled it and Joe told me to release Molly.  Joe was quite pleased with Molly, who he thought looked like she'd done this drill before.  No doubt somewhere deep in her bloodline, she has.  And irregardless of her hunting skills, we couldn't be much happier with our littlest girl.  She is a great puppy that will be a great dog!
Joe and Loanna

November 2014

Julie
I really enjoyed looking over your webpage and getting the notice of a new litter. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I still have my 'best' hunting buddy. We just came back from 3-4 days of hunting those grouse and woodcock. My hunting buddy"Bobbie" is still rock solid on points and now retrieves (when the 'old man' hits!). Thanks a bunch for letting me get the 'pick-of the-litter' a few years back (2006). I got the perfect dog. I am sure enjoying this great hunting companion.
Thanks again, Roger
ps: I have attached a photo of me and my son-in-law , who came here from Colorado with his father to hunt those grouse and woodcock with Bobbie up north near Gaylord. We had a great time. Can't imagine hunting without my 4-legged companion.  However, when that day does arrive, if I am still able to run around in the woods, you'll be hearing from me. I think your line of Brittanies is the Best!
Roger














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