We live in Martinsville, New Jersey in the Watchung mountains.  We are fortunate to have 2-1/2 acres to allow our dogs plenty of space to run and play.  We are also within easy walking distance of Washington Valley Park, a large natural parkland, where we frequently hike with our dogs.

The area where we live is rich in Revolutionary War history and has many remnants from the large Middlebrook encampment of George Washington’s army in 1777-1779. Our home is located in the northern part of these encampment grounds. The oldest stone part of our home dates back to ~1750 so certainly many Revolutionary War soldiers visited our house, probably even General Washington himself! Our Middlebrook kennel name honors the intimate history of this area and the key role that it played in the founding of our nation.

We were first introduced to Welsh Springers in 1985 when we obtained a puppy from Marion Daniel of Truepenny Welsh Springers to be a buddy to our rescued German shepherd. That puppy was Betsy who introduced us to the fun of showing and breeding Welsh Springers. Betsy had both beauty and brains, and earned her breed championship, obedience titles both in the United States and Canada and a hunting title.

We are AKC Breeders of Merit and members in good standing of the Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America. Mary is a past president of the Welsh Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America and is currently a member of the Club health committee.

More about Mary Mandich-Steigerwald

I am avid dog trainer with over 33 years of experience in training and competing with our dogs to do obedience, hunting, agility, rally and tracking.  Currently, I am very involved in training and competing with our Welsh Springers in dog agility.  I also show our dogs in the breed ring and have earned multiple breed championships on dogs that we have bred.  This extensive experience as a trainer and exhibitor has guided me in breeding for soundness and biddable temperaments in our Welsh Springers.

I have trained our Welsh Springers to pose for photos and perform for videos.  Our Welsh Springers are featured in multiple ads, books, magazines, greeting cards, commercials and instructional videos.  One of our dogs was selected to represent Welsh Springers in the AKC Complete Dog Book for Kids. I have also written a number of articles on dog training for Dogs In Canada.

I have a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Columbia University and a B.S. in Cellular Biology from the University of Michigan.  I am currently employed in the optical products division of NOKIA where I build and test optical networks. 

More about Mike Steigerwald

One of my hobbies is photography and I particularly enjoy taking pictures of our dogs, including action shots.  I have a number of photo credits for articles in Dogs In Canada.

I have a BS and PhD in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.  I am currently a Professor in the Chemistry department at Columbia University.