BREEDING PHILOSOPHY

At Standing Stone Kennels we strive to produce affectionate dogs with incredible natural ability that will make both excellent family dogs and exceptional hunting dogs.  We look for qualities in our parent dogs that complement each other and will produce a dog with a metaphorical “light switch”.  Our dogs know how to behave and calm down in the house, but also know how to turn it on and tear up a field!  When we evaluate dogs for our breeding program we look for dogs with natural ability, trainability, versatility, cooperation, drive, confidence, affection, intelligence and, last, but definitely not least, livability.

The key to our breeding program is balance. We look for a balance between retrieving desire and natural steadiness. We look for a balance between water love and fieldwork. We look for a balance between family dog and hunting dog. We don’t want to tip the scale too far in either direction or we risk losing the traits that make our dogs special and geared for our lifestyle! We breed our dogs in order to produce more of the kind of dogs we enjoy! We want dogs that are both livable and a joy to hunt behind in the field.

Though we are breeding versatile dogs, our primary focus from a hunting standpoint is to produce naturally pointing and backing, foot hunting, field companions with exceptional natural retrieving desire. We also enjoy waterfowl hunting and are producing dogs that are capable of a balance between upland and waterfowl hunting. They love the water, have exceptional retrieving desire and are highly trainable. We also understand that no one, not even us, hunt all year round, though we wish we could, so it is equally important that our dogs can settle down and relax in the house and be part of the family the rest of the year! We have young children as well as a family cat that we expect our dogs to interact properly with and respect. Plus we don’t just have one dog, we have multiple dogs in the house at a time so the importance of appropriate pack dynamics and them being well behaved house dogs that get along with each other is paramount.

We look forward to our upcoming litters with excitement.  Puppies are a blessing and we always make sure they become part of loving families.  We don't breed dogs, just to breed dogs and sell puppies.  Each breeding is planned in advance and chosen to produce puppies with sound genetics and everything we are looking for in the next generation of our breeding program.

Please contact us if you are interested in making a Standing Stone Kennel puppy part of your family! - 785.202.0123