About Us
The Cremino Labradors reside in Addlestone, Surrey (UK) and are owned by Jean and Gary Johnson. The kennel was founded in 1982 when Gary purchased a black bitch named Donacre Gemstone. A year later, his mother Jean joined the partnership and there has been no looking back since! Gemstone was shown very successfully and was to change our lives forever.
We have a small, show bred kennel and breed only very occasionally, normally when we wish to keep a puppy ourselves to continue our lines. Our dogs are not kennel dogs - they are part of our family and live with us in the home.
Despite limited breeding, we have been fortunate to have bred and owned six UK Champions and other Challenge Certificate winners. CH. Cremino Corniche JW was the UKs top CC winning Labrador bitch in 1999 and was Best In Show at the prestigious Labrador Retriever Club's Championship show in that year. This same win was repeated by her great grandson SH.CH. Cremino Calabrese who won BIS in 2023.
Calabrese won Best of Breed at Crufts 2024 (in an entry of more than 500 Labradors!) and was the top winning UK Labrador in 2024. We were also awarded the Top Labrador Breeder award (Our Dogs system).
After more than 40 years of owning this wonderful breed, we are proud to have one of the top winning show Labrador kennels in the South of England.
Gary is an international Championship show judge of Labradors and awards Challenge Certificates at home and abroad, and has been privileged to have been invited to judge Labradors many times both in the UK and overseas.
In 2016, Gary had the honour of judging Labrador dogs at Crufts - one of the youngest judges to have been invited to officiate in this breed at the world's greatest dog show!
In addition he is the author, or co-author of 5 pedigree books on the Labrador breed, which have sold worldwide (for details of these please see the Books page)