July 29th, 2010 by admin

Updated September 2023

Since 1981, Tessier has been committed to breeding and showing quality Silky Terriers. We are proud to be an AKC Platinum Breeder of Merit — that is, we follow our club-recommended health tests and have produced over 100 homebred champions, actually 145 as of July 2023.

We strive to produce healthy, happy dogs that look and act like the breed.

So far in 2023 we have completed the championships of several dogs. Our GCh. Tessier Wyntuk Red E to Reign (Reddi) continues to be #1 Silky US All Breed and was #1 Silky in 2022 both in All Breed (group placements) and Breed (defeat of other Silkys).

We did well at the 2020/2021 Silky Terrier Club of America Specialty, which is a once-a-year National show just for our breed. With COVID, there was no National in 2020, so it was combined with the 2021 show. In addition to our “Reddie”, seen above, our Ch. Tessier Wyntuk Kiss Me Kate did well as well:

 

As part of our mission, Tessier not only wants to produce healthy Silkys that look and act like the breed, but we also want to help others do the same. Chris Alexander purchased a dog in Canada from our bloodlines, Artemus Just in Time; “Riot”. Riot’s son, out of our Ch. Tessier Wyntuk Annie Get Your Gun, “Cooper” is hanging out in Europe these days and was declared World Winner 2023. Gooo Cooper!

Riot was bred to Ch. Tessier Wyntuk Midnight Seranade (now owned by Chris), producing a lovely litter. “Bean” Ricochet Time Stands Still, was sold to the Czech Republic and recently took Best in Show Junior.

My kennel partner Karen Huey and I have been busy as well. Here is Karen in 2021 with our Ch. Tessier Wyntuk In the Nic O’ Time,

Here is our exciting new hopeful “Lennon” Ch. Tessier Wyntuk Anytime At All; he completed his championship in 2022 at 8 months and has been at home growing up since then. He will be brought out for limited showing Dec. 2023.

 

Tessier has been blessed over the years with its partners. First was Billie Pruitt, who used the Tagalong prefix and passed away in 2015. She was a true friend and stuck with us through thick and thin.  Karen Huey (formerly Carwyn, now Wyntuk) joined us in 2002 and has been the best mentor we could ever have wanted. She is a master behaviorist, an expert “puppy whisperer” and a dear friend. Janet Aslett, Margaret Cunningham, Angela Tilot-Smith, and Chris Alexander are all involved in the kennel — it really does take a village to do this right!

For all the details of all our wins at 2016 Nationals (we swept Sweeps, Reserve Winners, Best of Winners, and much more),  click here. We have done equally well every year since.

While Karen and I were taking casual pictures of two of the big winners in 2016 our judge Peter Green (who judged Best in Show at Westminster in 2019) stopped by and asked to join us. I’m in red, holding Sera (mother of the BIS Junior above), and Karen is holding her brother Coda. What fun!

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The Silky Terrier is cheerful, sassy, and sturdy, with a lovely blue, tan, and fawn coat. A bath and a brush once a week — that’s relatively easy care for a long-coated small dog. Highly hypoallergenic, the Silky Terrier is bright, happy, and independent.

If you are looking for an 8-week-old puppy to love, we are probably not the right kennel for you. As a show kennel, we never place any dog younger than 12 weeks and we generally keep them longer as we are assessing them for show quality. The last 3 puppies we sold were all about 6 months old. We do breed regularly (2 – 3 litters a year) so if we don’t have something for you right now, we can either refer you to a quality breeder or put you on our waiting list.

We sometimes have young adults (over 1 year old) available to approved homes. These are well-trained and socialized dogs whom we started to show or champions we are now retiring to their forever homes.

Such young adults can be a real find as they are ready to go with relatively little effort. They are no more expensive, and usually, are even less than a puppy.

Silkys are generally long-lived dogs, most of ours make it to between 14 and 18 years. Young adults also bond extremely well in their new couch potato environment as they are thrilled to have a whole family of humans all to themselves.

Very often people only want a puppy. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this if one has the time and expertise available to devote to the necessary training. If you are looking for a puppy (12 weeks to a year), let me know, we do occasionally have some available.

If you are looking for a Silky, puppy, or adult, please email me (Sandy) at sandy@smesmer.com. I am located in Clearwater, Florida.

Male or Female? You Decide.

Many people contacting me for puppies only want one gender or the other. Their previous dog was a female so they want another one just like her. Or they have heard that boys can be, well, dirty. But both male and female Silkys can make excellent pets.

My rule of thumb, developed over the years, is this: Girls want to be loved, and boys will want to love you. As to the potty training issue: I have found that this really comes down to owner consistency right from the start, and while some dogs are harder to train than others, this is not based on gender.

Feel free to contact us if you are interested.

Best, Sandy