John Landis has been involved in the sport of dogs since 1971 when he purchased his first purebred dog, an Old English Sheepdog.  Although he purchased the Old English Sheepdog as a conformation dog it never received any championship points, but it did go on to receive a Utility Obedience degree as well as a High in Trial.  In 1976 he purchased his first Komondorok and since then he has bred more than 40 champions under the Springwater and Gillian Kennel names.  About a third of the Komondors he has bred have become Champions and ten have Obedience titles. He bred the 1997, 1998, and 1999 KCA National Specialty Winners as well as the number one Komondor in both breed and group points for those same years.  He bred, owned and showed the number one group placing Komondor in 2004, 2005 and 2006 as well as the 2005 KCA National Specialty Winner. He handled one of the Komondors he bred to a Best in Show.  Another Komondor that he owned and handled, earned an all-breed High in Trial, a Utility degree and a Dog World Award in both the US and Canada.  He has also shown a Golden Retriever to a UDX, an American Cocker Spaniel to UD, another American Cocker Spaniel to a UDX2, and a Puli to a UD.

 

 

He is approved by the AKC to judge all classes of obedience (judge #6430) and to judge Great Pyrenees, Komondorok, Newfoundlands, and Siberian Huskies, in conformation.  For many years he has been Chairman of the KCA’s Judges Education Committee. He is active as an exhibitor in both conformation and obedience as well a judge in both breed and obedience.  He also is an AKC delegate was a member of 2003 and 2007 Obedience Advisory Committee.

 

 

Professionally, until he retired in 1996, he was Vice President of Operations for Koh-I-Noor, Inc.  He attended Lehigh University and received a PH.D in Industrial Engineering.