breedings | Hideaway Kennels

~Breedings~

At Hideaway Kennels, we train every breed of hunting dogs but we specialize in breeding the best lines of English Setters, and English Pointers in the country. We choose these breeds because we believe they have superior athletic ability and because they also make amazing companions for you and your family. Our goal is to breed dogs that are both good companions and great hunters!

Our breeding program

Our breeding program follows strict standards. All English Pointer, and English Setter puppies are American Kennel Club, and Field Dog Stud Book Registered. We do not over breed our females – our females are bred every other year. We spend more time developing our puppies because we only raise two to three litters a year. We determine the health, genetics, and lineage of the sire and dam. All dogs must be confirmationaly correct according to a field standard. All sires and dams must be born to at least one field champion although we prefer that both parents are field champions. We match the strengths of both parents so that all of their offspring will be even better bird dogs.

In addition to our focus on breeding the best hunting dogs, we also strive to breed dogs that have excellent manners with people – especially children – and they must behave appropriately in new situations. Our goal is to produce friendly and biddable bird dogs.

Any breedings that do not result in dogs that meet our high standards are not repeated.

Our breeding process

Our females are fed Purina Performance during the breeding period. At the second week after the breeding, females are fed Purina Performance. We do this to ensure the health and proper development of the puppies. At day 45, females are placed in the whelping kennels.

We use and recommend the Lovett’s Heated Whelping Nest. The whelping nest has an electronic heat sensor that gauges the temperature and adjusts the climate appropriately. Maintaining the correct temperature is a must in a young puppies’ life. The whelping nest is dish shaped to simulate a natural nest that keeps the pups together. Keeping the pups together is very important because it makes our female’s job much less stressful. The plastic surface of the whelping nest and our finished floors allow the puppies to stay clean during the nursing stage.

We have an advantage over most breeders – we spend more time developing our puppies. We have someone with the pups and the dam at all times during the day. The puppies have fresh clean water at all times. The puppies’ kennels are cleaned three to four times a day. Each time the kennels are cleaned, we touch and pet the pups in order to acclimate them to touch and to begin their socialization process.

Our puppies first nine weeks

At about four weeks, the puppies are checked by a vet, given their first round of vaccinations, wormed and given Albon. At five weeks, the puppies are taken on two walks a day in order to learn how to hunt in the grass and walk with their handler.

At eight weeks, we allow the puppies to point a wing once and only once. We want puppies to learn how to find birds by smelling them, not seeing them. We do not believe in teaching puppies to sight point.

At nine weeks, the puppies are ready to go home to their new owners. However, we keep them for an additional week. We believe this last week of interaction is crucial in the social development of the pup. During this last week, puppies are introduced to live birds.

All English Pointer, and English Setter puppies are American Kennel Club, and Field Dog Stud Book Registered. To reserve a puppy or if you have questions about future breedings, please contact us at: ben@hideawaykennels.com

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