Breeding Philosophy
At Holyoke Kennel, our breeding philosophy is pretty simple. We place our emphasis on bettering the breed standard and providing you, the prospective owner, with a high-quality purpose bred Labrador. We do this by only breeding the best Labrador Retrievers from all over the country.
When selecting Labradors for our breeding program, we carefully examine every aspect of the dog to include sound hips and elbows, clear genetic testing, size within the breed standard, a proven pedigree, etc. As a general rule, we do not breed any dog that we would not want to personally own, hunt over or merely have as a house companion.
Once we have checked all of those boxes, we look at the overall personality of the dog. We want dogs who have great social skills, good drive and style in the field and a true off-switch when not working. We want to see the dog’s ability to sit behind the line and quietly watch other dogs work without making noise or creeping. Essentially, we only want to breed the type of Labrador that enhances the hunting experience.
To that extent, we understand that Labradors have a broad audience of potential owners. While we prefer our dogs be placed in hunting and competitive homes, we also understand the desire to own a consistent, biddable and family friendly breed such as ours. For that reason, we hand selected and diversified our dams based on more than just hunting potential, ensuring they are team players in the household amongst other animals, kids and the like. While every dog we breed will be of proven hunting pedigree, we rigorously screen potential pairings with studs to produce both high performing field champions as well as family dogs who can also perform on the occasional weekend hunt with Dad.
While hands on experience is a highly regarded skill as a breeder. I personally take pride in continuing my formal education to ensure a well-rounded approach to breeding. These subjects range from whelping to anatomy, genetics, disease and sanitation and much more. I am dedicated to always learning and have completed AKC Canine College, Good Dog A to Z Litter, Breeding Philosophy and Puppy Culture programs.
puppy raising
The first 12 weeks of a puppy's life are incredibly important. During this critical time, a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy's life by what we choose to teach them. By doing just the right things, at the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.
During the first 8 weeks, while your puppy is raised at HOK, we implement a variety of techniques to ensure long term success. We practice the Puppy Culture program, early neurological stimulation (ENS), diverse socialization (including live birds), aptitude & temperament testing and introduce crate & house training.
Whether your puppy will reside in a competitive hunting/field trial home or as your newest household companion, we use a variety of tools to ensure he or she is set up for success.
