ABOUT US
Green Lake Spaniels is located in West Bend, WI. And yes - we do live on a very small lake - perfect for raising puppies! At Green Lake Spaniels, we do everything we can to give your dog a head start - and enter the world confident, curious, and ready to learn.

ABOUT THE MOMMA: Maya is our little hunter, as well as a great mom. She has earned her Junior Hunt Test Title, and is known with those who hunt and train with her as one heck of a good marker. She lives to go pheasant hunting, as well as loves to swim and fish. If she sees you walking with a fishing pole in hand, she is glued by your side. She is great with other dogs, but does set the rules - No rough play - just chasing games. Maya enjoys swimming shotgun with me while I kayac, but I think she rather be riding in the boat with me. She loves hikes on trails, and always has her noes to the ground. Maya is always game to turn up the speed, and loves running ahead of you if you’re into MTBing. She is also always game to assist you up the hills if you choose to try out skjoiring. Traveling is effortless with her, for she hardly ever makes a peep when crated in the car, and has traveled on our road trips without a hitch. She has been known to scarf up things she should not eat (socks, towels) so training your pup NOT to play or chew cloths items is a must.

PRIOR LITTERS: Maya has had two litters, one of 4 pups and one of 6. From all of our feedback, all of her pups are born with great hunting drive, in addition to a gentle temperament.

HEALTH CLEARANCES: Maya is current in her health clearances, rating good for hips, and normal of eyes and heart, as well as normal for theyroid. One of her girl pups will soon be joining the ranks of being a mother - and has passed her health clearances with flying colors, rating an excellent for her hips.

OUR SET UP: Our whelping box is located in a little cabin set aside from the house, away from our other dog and various distractions. We keep the room nice and toasty for those first sensitive weeks, providing 24/7 supervision for Maya and her little ones. Crazy as it may sound, I sleep right next to the whelping box for those first few weeks, keeping one eye open for when Maya readjusts her position. Although there are protective bumpers in the whelping box designed to keep momma dogs from squishing pups when they lie down, they are not fullproof, especially when the puppies are so small.

FIRST TWO WEEKS: Puppies are weighted every morning and night, with their weights carefully monitored to make sure they are all steadily gaining weight. Puppies are rotated to various positions when feeding on Mom, to ensure all pups get some time on the best milk providers. Watching the little ones climb, struggle, & crawl under Mom’s armpit to come up somewhere within the pile of puppies is something to see. It truly is amazing how strong they get so quickly. During this time, each pup receives Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS). This involves a series of brief, gentle exercises performed on newborn puppies to stimulate their neurological system. These exercises, done during a critical developmental period, are believed to improve cardiovascular health, stronger heartbeats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress, and greater resistance to disease. 

DUE CLAWS: There are two options breeders must decided upon within the first 3 days of a puppies life - to remove or leave intact. Reasons to remove: There is an increase risk of the due claws getting caught or snagged on objects - causing injury that could require surgery. If left untrimmed, they can grow and curl into the dogs skin as well. Reasons to Leave Intact: many studies have also shown that the due claws help provide stability and joint integrity, when dogs are making sharp changes in directions at top speeds. The due claws actually make contact with the ground and provide additional support to the joint, This added stability may help minimize arthritic changes and ligament damage in the future. There are also studies that show how due claws are specifically used to help dogs climb out of icy water. Due to the nature of our breed being a in the sporting group, Green Lake Spaniels believes in keeping due claws intact. We put heavy emphasis on handling our pup’s paws, getting them used to having their nails trimmed, so the process of grooming in the future is less troublesome.

EXPOSURE:

• People: Our pups here at Green Lake Spaniels receive daily one on one attention. Each pup is handled and loved everyday - and gets very used to the human touch. We gradually expand their play pen area, and change it up frequently to keep them curious. As the puppies get older, they get to meet all types of people - Men, women, older fokes, younger kids, and even strangers in kayacks. Every encounter is supervised and is a postive experencence.

• Noise: Classical music, specifically violin and piano, is something the puppies become quite used to. According to research, dogs appear most calm when listening to classical music, reggae, and soft rock. Combine this with nature sound tracks (birds, wind, lightening), as well as man made noises (vacuum cleaners, pots and pans clanking, doors slamming, fireworks sounds, ect) - for the total package.

• Water: Green Lake Spaniels has the perfect set up for exposure to the water. Everyday, the pups have the opportunity to splash around in the water, with the shoreline gradually transisitoning from very shallow to deeper waters. We have kayacks they use as a jungle gym, as well as paddle boards and and a magic carpet raft they experiment with, climbing on, over, and under. We have a pier they LOVE to hid under, making it their fort and little getaway for seak attacks. Hunting for frogs is also very intertaining past time. Pending on the water temp, most if not all pups will brave the water and swim out to us at some point prior to finding their forever home. Their understanding of floating devices, how to jump on/off things that float, keeping their balance, and developing their sea legs, is very fun to watch.

• Ground work: Our pups love their outside time. They get to expore not only the sand and water, but also the rocks, wood chips, twig pile, and grass. They have fun running through tunnels, over obstials, and chasing mom around in the yard.

• Feathers: pups are exposed to various bird wings, Pheasant and chuckers. Pups love chasing the wing on the string, as well as other soft puppy bumpers and various toys.

• Manners: We encourage control over Kious. Puppies who sit with eye contact get picked up, while puppies jumping up, well - don’t. Believe it or not, they all learn pretty quickly. Everyday, when the pups are moved from the play pen to the feeding area, or to go outside, the pups are learning manners matter.

• Meal time: Pups will never have to fight for their food. Puppies will have room to get to the food and will eat until they are full. Meals are supervised.

GOING HOME:

• Families are sent home with their puppy blanket, Puppy noise toy, Micro chip package, Bag of dog food, and their puppies Digital Puppy gallery, and Plenty of Informational Resources.

• If possible, we love to have families come out and visit prior to pick up day - to see the pups play and to get to know us as well as Maya.

• Puppies are ready to go to their forever homes at 8 weeks of age.

• Puppies will have had their puppy checkups - with their first vaccines completed and health check papers.

• Puppies will have their AKC papers.