It is our belief that as breeders of English Cocker Spaniels it is our responsibility to do our very best in producing the truest specimens of this breed that we possibly can. We do not breed with the sole intent of satisfying the requirements of one particular interest or another but to the total dog.
As the English Cocker Spaniel was/is intended to be an upland rough shooting dog, we strive to produce dogs that are suitable for that task in both mind and body. Our own dogs are used for hunting pheasant, grouse, woodcock, and rabbits. Our season begins with pheasant in October and ends with the end of rabbit season the last week of February.
We expect our dogs to be pets above all and therefore temperament and health issues are very important to us.
Our goal is to consistently produce dogs that are easy to train, easy to maintain, and a pleasure to live with, that are healthy and long lived, and that are physically correct as representatives of their breed according to the breed standard.
We breed only very occasionally. Each litter is carefully planned to meet certain goals . Breeding stock is cleared for hips, eyes, and is genetically tested for all customary heritable diseases present in the breed for which testing is available. We also BAER test for hearing when testing is available. Puppies are raised in and around the household activity center where they receive frequent human attention and are exposed to normal everyday life. We temperament test every litter at 7 weeks and often again at 9 weeks. We start all our puppies on retrieving and birdscent at 5 weeks of age and continue until they leave for their new homes.
As we try to breed for dogs with birdiness, high intelligence and biddability, we encourage our puppy buyers to participate with their dog in sporting events (preferably hunting, but also obedience, tracking, agility, etc), competitive or not, as this best suits the needs of the kind of dogs we breed. Puppy buyers are also encouraged to stay in touch and to contact us with any questions or concerns they may have at any time in their dog’s life.
