Selective Breeding

BREEDING THE BEST TO THE BEST

We are a HUNTING KENNEL that specializes in selectively breeding the best dogs that we can find for hunting waterfowl and upland game by foot.  We are a hybrid between the hobbyist and the professional breeding kennel.  Since my passion is hunting and gun dogs, I dedicate the majority of my time to both pursuits simultaneously. I personally hunt five days a week for five months out of the year. When I am not hunting, I am training and competing with our hunting dogs.  I have more dogs to select from than the hobbyist, and fewer dogs than the professional breeding kennel, many of which are simply puppy mills.  Because of the number of days that I hunt, I am able to evaluate and select from the best hunting dogs, which in my opinion, are the best prospects for breeding.  Since only the hardiest and most reliable hunters are used for breeding, we have a distinct advantage for producing top quality hunting dogs over the professional breeding kennel or the hobbyist.  Many large kennels will produce litters from sires and dams that have never been hunted while the backyard hobbyist will breed from his "personal" gun dogs which number 2 or 3.  Since the backyard breeder  knows only a few dogs, he does not have anything to compare them to and may settle for mediocrity.  All of our breeding stock are personal gun dogs as well; however, we  have a better selection than the hobbyist because we hunt more frequently, with more dogs.  But, there is a finite number of dogs that any one person can hunt and still maintain that very close intuitive bond between dog and handler. I usually have six or seven breeding dogs that are hunted in pairs two or three days per week.  

When you purchase a pup from a professional breeding kennel, from the backyard of a hobbyist, or from anyone else for that matter, you are purchasing a by-product.  The by-product is that of the breeder and his preferences.  It is impossible to breed animals that are custom tailored to your particular preferences.  The breeder is aware of his particular preferences and those preferences are the majority of the characteristics that will be found in the pups.  

Since you will be purchasing a by-product, you should do some research, and make sure that the by-product is compatible with your needs and preferences.   In other words, you should find out what the primary breeding criteria are for the breeders that you may be interested in.

If you buy a pup from a breeder that is primarily interested in show competition, then you may have an animal that has strong form, but it may lack certain characteristics that are most important in a good hunting dog.  If you buy from a breeder that competes in horseback field trials, then you may have an animal that hunts in a manner that is not compatible for the foot hunter.  If you buy from a breeder that only hunts on preserves, then you may have an animal that is not suitable for hunting the wide open country of the western United States.

Copyright 2000 Three Devils Kennel, Inc.