Our History
We didn’t deliberately set out to have a kennel. Rory kept buying dogs and it just happened. He did his research, though, and our dogs are from excellent
bloodlines with many titles in their pedigrees. They all have been raised as part of our family. Having eight adult dogs (plus two house dogs) is a little crazy sometimes, but now we can’t imagine it any other way. It’s hard to believe we had our first litter more than ten years ago!
Right now we have three females (Lexi, Ellie, and Jessie) and three males (Cody, Ace and Tigger) that we use for breeding. We have one more female (Lizzy) who will be old enough to breed this summer. We will only whelp one litter a year from each female. We enjoy the puppies for the short time they are with us and love to offer them as much attention as we can.
We take pride in having purchased our labs from several kennels, each offering dogs with different assets. As a result, we can produce the ultimate double-duty
dog—one that loves to hunt and loves to be your best friend. So far, we think we are on the right track.
Puppy Protocol
We are present for the birth of our puppies and start caring for them from the first moment. Dr. Charlotte Klose and her team at Dakota Animal Care in Edinburg, North Dakota, provide veterinary care for our pups and adult dogs.
When we have a litter of pups, the schedule goes something like this:
Day 3: The family goes to the vet. Mom and all the pups get a checkup. The pups get their dew claws removed.
Around day 25: We introduce them to water and start supplementing what they are getting from mom. Timing is somewhat dependent on each female and the needs of the pups. If mom isn’t able to give the puppies enough, we will bottle feed formula so no one falls behind. Also around this time, we introduce the pups to small amounts of puppy food.
Around day 35: The puppies are completely weaned from their mom. Again, the exact day depends mostly on the mom and her progress with weaning.
Day 42: The puppies make another trip to the vet for their first round of vaccinations. All necessary shots will be given at that time.
Day 49: The puppies are ready to leave our kennel and join their new families.We will send them home with a copy of the litter certification from the AKC, health records from the vet, and a small supply of puppy food. (We feed For Health puppy food, available at TSC, and recommend new owners continue feeding it or slowly transition to a new food.) It’s always a day of mixed emotions whenever a puppy goes to his or her new home.
Throughout their first seven weeks, the puppies are cared for by our family. We spend many hours in the kennel holding and playing with the puppies. We also have many visitors who love to stop by to see the littlest members of the family. The pups are very used to many different people by the time they leave our kennel.
If you know you want to purchase a puppy from a certain breeding, we will put your name on a list. Puppies can be selected according to the order of deposits received. Prices can vary by litter; we require a $200 deposit to reserve a pup.