Denyse Whitehead – Chairman & Health Coordinator

I have had dogs my entire life. My family had Border Collies and my first dog as an adult was a Rough Collie. My husband Andrew and I have now owned Gundogs (initially Golden Retrievers) since 2005. I was first introduced to the Curly Coated Retriever (CCR) in 2007. I then became interested in exhibiting and breeding so we acquired our first CCR and Kennel Name of Foxriever in 2009. 

We acquired our first female CCR Kammi from the well-known Kelsmere Kennel in 2014. Kammi taught me a lot as an exhibitor and as a breeder, we had a blast in the show ring making her a Show Champion with 10 Challenge Certificates, 10 Reserve CC’s and the Show Certificate of Merit. Kammi is our Kennel’s foundation bitch enabling us to successfully breed our first litter in December 2018. As dedicated preservation breeders we have so far imported two females from successful Kennels abroad, one from the USA (Sun Devil) and one from Estonia (Gypsy’s Soul). Our desire as breeders is to preserve the future of the breed by careful breeding plans and fully health testing all our breeding bitches and all our puppies prior to them leaving for their new homes.  

We have bred 4 Foxriever Champions, obtained 2 Junior Warrants, and we also bred the Best of Breed Winner for Crufts in 2024. Our Kennel has acquired a current total of 8 Stud Book Numbers. I began my judging education in March 2015 and had completed and passed all the basic RKC JEP exams by the end of 2016. I am on the Royal Kennel Club JEP Level 4 List for CCR, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and JEP Level 2 for many others. 

Andrew and I have been members of The Curly Coated Retriever Club UK since 2009, and I was a member of the Club Committee from 2016 until 2022 when I had to step down for personal reasons. I am now proud to be the Chair of the Curly Coated Retriever Association of Great Britain.