Why Cooperstown

Why should you consider buying your next dog or puppy from Cooperstown Kennels?

Around here we do things "The Cooperstown Way." What does that mean? Doing things the Cooperstown Way means doing things right, no matter how long it takes, or how much work you have to do. The Cooperstown Way means "it is all about what is best for the dogs." It means going the extra mile to make sure your dog or puppy is taken care of. Going the extra mile to provide the best puppy buying or dog training experience you've ever had. It means having the cleanest kennel building around! It means when you buy a puppy from Cooperstown, or you send your dog here for training, you and your new hunting companion are now part of our Community. Our commitment to you and your pup doesn't end the day you drive away from our place with your puppy. We are here to answer your questions about nutrition, training, competitions, hunting, equipment, etc... Purchasing a puppy is a long-term commitment and we are here for you. So, when you are considering where to buy your next puppy from know if you purchase a Cooperstown pup that they are coming from genetically sound, health-tested parents that hunt and compete all over the country and are as well cared for as any dog you will see. Below are a few additional reasons you should consider Cooperstown for your next pup.

1. Knowledge

Understanding how to read a dog's body language is critical for a trainer. Equally important is the ability to evaluate dogs natural ability, trainability, and overall talent. As a master level APLA judge, a dog trainer and handler who competes in various venues (so we see a ton of good dogs every year), and with over 20 years experience working with Pointing Labradors, we have the ability to evaluate dogs. When selecting our pairings for our breedings there is a lot that goes into our choices. Genetics, physical structure, temperament, drive, point, retriever skills, trainability, softness vs. bottom, on-off switch, etc... The honest evaluation of these traits in our own dogs and dogs we choose to breed to, allows us to pair the right males and females to have the best chance to produce quality offspring. Additionally, we use the most up to date published science on nutrition, animal husbandry, reproductive health, and puppy socialization and rearing. As a Science Professor with a background in population genetics who actively conducts research, Justin is up to date on the most recent advances in canines nutrition, reproduction, and overall health. Additionally, after serving for over 12 years on the University's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and doing countless inspections of animal rearing and living facilities, Justin has the expertise to ensure our facilities meet and exceed the needs of state licensing and more importantly, our dogs and puppies.

2. Honesty and Integrity

Honesty with the customer goes without saying, but honesty with evaluations of our own dogs are also paramount. Many breeders become "kennel blind" and believe all their dogs are the best dog ever. We believe, "all dogs are perfectly imperfect." This means that we all love our dogs and we all think they are perfect, but as a breeder it is critical to be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of your dogs and then aim to improve upon your desired traits with each subsequent generation.

3. Passion

Everyone loves their dog, many people love their breed, but we are passionate about not just our dogs and our breed, but also about improving the breed. This is why we will only breed the best of the best. We can talk dogs all day and are constantly reviewing pedigrees, puppies, and dogs, and thinking 2-3 generations ahead on our breedings. Great dogs don't create themselves, it takes passion, dedication, direction and thoughtfulness.

4. Goals

As a breeder it is critical to have goals for your breeding program. Just saying "we want to produce great dogs" is fine, but what a great dog is to one person may not be to another. As a breeder, our goals are to enhance the natural pointing ability in Labradors without sacrificing their retriever instincts and abilities. Additionally, we carefully select our breedings to produce dogs that are high drive in the field, but have the ability to turn it off and relax at home. We are ultimately trying to create dogs that point like an English Setter or Pointer, retrieve like a field champion Labrador, are good looking, genetically sound, have the temperament of a therapy dog, and can curl up at your feet or on your couch with you.

5. Communication

When we started breeding Labradors we took all the things we liked that other breeders had done and had the goal of improving upon all the areas we didn't like. One of the worst things we see with other breeders (and trainers) is a lack of communication regarding the process. Our puppy buyers are kept in the loop continuously from the time the female goes into heat, is bred, pregnancy is confirmed, and the puppies are whelped. But it doesn't stop there. We provide email updates with photos and videos to our puppy buyers frequently (every 7-10 days). The updates also include information on puppy food, training tips and resources, and information on the puppies developments and temperaments. We also consistently post to our social media accounts and even live-stream events to showcase our pups for our buyers and our community.

6. ENS and Proper Socialization

Our puppies go through a formalized early neurological stimulation (ENS) process to better help them adapt to stress in the future. We also raise our pups in our home, with our kids. We believe our program does a great job of balancing socialization to people, dogs, environmental stimuli, retrieving, birds, etc... with the need for biosecurity and puppy health. It is paramount to ensure the safety and well-being of our pups to prevent disease transmission and illness in the puppies, but it is equally as critical to ensure proper socialization of puppies to prepare them for their future.

7. Proven Production

Our dogs are proven producers in the hunt test world and in the fields, woods and marshes of North America. To date, we have had at least one puppy from every litter pass hunt tests or title in the hunt test world. This is despite selling most of our puppies to non-competition homes. Many of our litters have produced multiple titled offspring and many highly titled dogs. But even more importantly, we constantly receive emails, texts and photos of Cooperstown pups getting the job done hunting. This is what we strive for!

Teddy

Gorgeous Beckley x Moose puppies

Training day, working on backing or honoring.

Two yellow labs sitting in the green grass

Autumn (L) and Kane (R). Kane is not owned by us, but is an impressive dog we have used to improve our breeding program.

What our customers are saying:

Justin is one top notch trainer. His communication is stellar and love to watch him work with my dog. He really brings the talent out of North. I appreciate his honesty through all the training. Justin has had our dog North for two summers and he has achieved his HR and CPR title. We look forward to sending North to Justin to get his finished title next summer. Justin has a quiet demeanor and way of training which I like. He answers a lot of my dumb questions and has really helped me as a dog handler. We owe a lot of gratitude to Justin for helping us with our dogs. We wouldn’t have the success we have without him. Thanks Justin for all your hard work!

- Jena Z., Medford, WI

Kuba and I just got back from a charity pheasant competition in Harve, MT. A star was born with Kuba! The 1st day my team got 24 birds, won tail feather competition and then we held on to win the whole weekend. Kuba had several great points, retrieved well and worked harder than any dog in the event. Biggest compliment came from my friend that runs the event and is a Gordon Setter only guy who just put a deposit on a pup to replace his female. He said if he could get Kuba's twin he would cancel his order. Nobody can believe he's 9 months old. I'll send some photos or videos soon. Thanks for making this great pup.

- Ron S., Bozeman, Montana

Man in camouflaged clothing walking a dog

Gosh do I love what I do. Mr. North and I running an HRC test in Iowa, August 2021

Teddy has one of the most stylish points of any pointing lab we have been around while still being more accomplished as a retriever than most. Teddy is helping us head towards our goals!

Teddy with his classic high head, high tail point

Woman and children sitting in whelping box with puppies and mother dog

Nellie x Teddy puppies getting lots of love from the girls

One of our favorite "puppy socializers"

What our customers are saying -

Good afternoon Justin,

Tucker is a bird machine. I am absolutely thrilled with how a great bird dog and family companion he is. I honestly could not have asked for a better bird dog.
- Todd A., New Berlin, WI