Laura Bray
Hi Ken and family,
Hunter will be one November 24th! I cannot believe how fast he is growing up! And I cannot believe how much joy and love he has brought into our little family. He has been such a joy to have and we could not ask for a better companion and best friend! I remember you saying when we brought him home in January, to send an update and pictures when he was about one! So I am sending you a little update…
Hunter LOVES to be on the move! He has found love for hunting and swimming, just as Connor does. He has gone goose and duck hunting so far and has done fabulous. He is going to be going on his 1st pheasant hunting trip this weekend, they leave today! We are all excited to see how he does and I’m sure he will be a champ. Connor has been working with him in the field with chuckers and pheasants and he has been doing very well. Hunter gets to go on runs or go swimming every day. One of his favorite activities is playing with the Frisbee or ball!
He loves to snuggle and he still naps and lays like he did when we first met him at your house, like a sprawled out frog (I attached a picture)! There is never a dull moment with Hunter, he is always trying to attack everyone with kisses and hugs or finds something to amuse us with! He does absolutely wonderful around children and is one of the most gentle and compassionate dogs I have ever known. He thinks he is a lap dog, but that comes with being spoiled and we can only laugh because he is clueless that he is a 65 pound dog! He still wears an orange collar! He was the “orange puppy” J
We cannot thank you enough for such a wonderful dog, not only a dog but a big part of our little family!
We hope all is well and thank you again,
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We lost our family’s yellow lab in Feb.’09 and thought we could never find a dog as wonderful as she had been. A friend recommended we look into British labs and we came across Grove British Kennels.
Our new addition to the family is Bailey, a now nearly 7 month old puppy from Ruby and Gus’s first litter. She is the absolute light of our lives! Her temperament and personality are everything British labs claim to be! From the moment we brought her home, she has been calm and sweet and loving. My husband even jokingly asked once if “something might be wrong with her” because she was so quiet and calm in the house; never hyper nor jumpy. We were not used to this behavior from a lab let alone a lab puppy! She has never tried to chew a shoe nor bite on any furniture. She loves to go through her toy bucket and show us each and every item in it on a regular basis!
After not having a puppy for 11 years, I was bracing myself for the transition time when she first came home; however that first week, she went right into her kennel that evening and slept like a rock through the night while I was the one awake listening for her to whimper (which she never did). House training her was easy as well. She learned routines and basic commands quickly; and would go sit quietly by the door to be let out. I greatly appreciate the effort that Ken and his wife gave in socializing her and getting her used to different environments. She has ridden in cars, boats and even a canoe without any issues; she loves people, children and especially other dogs! She loves to wrestle them and even as a little puppy she could hold her own against some much bigger playmates! Our two sons love her to pieces and she follows them around the yard chasing balls.
We never thought such a joy would come into our lives again, but Bailey has been more than wonderful. It is amazing how perfect she fits our family and we cannot give enough praise for this pup! She definitely has the sweetness of her mother, Ruby’s eyes. Whenever we can, we recommend you for friends who are thinking about future dogs!
Thank you so much!
Mindy & Zac Mangel
Minneapolis, MN
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| Pictures of Bailey | |
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| Ken, We got Beau from you in February of 2007. He has been a delightful member of our family:) I will attach some of our favorite pictures of him. Beau has the perfect temperament for our family. He has always been very gentle with all children living at, or visiting, our house. He has never played rough or nipped at the kids, not even as a puppy. He is protective of our family which was one of the reasons we wanted a dog. He lets us know when someone approaches the house, but quickly quiets down when asked to. He was trained to go to the bathroom in the longer weeds at the edge of our property so we have never had to pick up poop. He loves our trips to the cabin. He fetches water toys and tennis balls until we have run out of steam. He was crate trained and loves to “go to bed” and “kennel up”. He knows the difference between the two locations and often puts himself into these comfy spots. We were very impressed with the cleanliness of your kennels and the effort you put into helping us find the right dog. You had an amazing set up for getting the puppies ready to know how to behave in their new homes. We appreciated you taking time to get the puppies trained to go to the bathroom in a separate spot then their living and sleeping quarters. You sent towels home with us that had been in with the puppies so that Beau’s transition to our house would go smoothly, and it worked perfectly. Beau is enjoying his life on our property and we feel very lucky to have found you so close to home and ended up with the “Dog of the Century!” We would highly recommend you as a breeder and have told many of our friends about Grove British Lab Kennels. Thanks and Best Wishes, |
Pictures of Beau:
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Ken, thanks for allowing us the opportunity to share our experience with you and our dog, Dodi. We are just so, so pleased with our experience! We had reserved a fox red british lab with you long before they were born. Along the way, you kept us up to date on the status of the dam, Cocoa, and the litter after birth. Our kids were floating on air to meet and pick out their puppy (pictures attached). Since we brought Dodi home, we have loved every minute with her. She has such a great disposition, so calm, gentle, and happy around kids, people, other dogs and animals. She’s a “natural” hunting dog; easy to train, does a great job with no formal training, very energetic in the field and especially loves the water (picture attached). We’ve had several dogs and American labs in our lifetime, but none really compare to her unique qualities. She just is … the best dog ever!!! I’ve attached a few pictures you can use on your web site. Nice job with the site and best wishes! Thanks! Rob, Cori, Lane, & Bobbi Livengood
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Ken,
I have to tell you that we LOVE our dog, Duke. Words cannot describe what a wonderful dog he is.
I have to premise my accolades of Duke with a description of our old lab, Gyven who was about 12 when we brought Duke home and since have had to put to sleep due to hip problems. Gyven was a very high strung ‘typical’ fat lab who NEVER calmed down. He lived life to the fullest always going 100 miles and hour, chasing jet skis and snowmobiles, jumping off the dock, running as far away from the lawn tractor as he could and he barked – A LOT!
I doubt you remember, but my family and I spent a good hour, if not more, playing with the litter of puppies, ruling out puppies, until my daughter who was 4 at the time (with certain approval by her mom and dad!) settled on Duke because he was wearing the purple collar! He wasn’t the least sociable puppy you had, but he certainly wasn’t the most rambunctious one. We left with puppy in hand quite satisfied with our choice.
Already having a lab we knew what we could be in for with regards to training but we were ready for anything. Duke turned out to be very easy to train. I didn’t go to puppy school with Duke, I just re-read our old dog training books and started in on the basics with consistency. Potty training, kennel training and walking on a leash were accomplished very quickly as well as all the other silly pet tricks we like to teach our dogs. The only problem that we had and still have with Duke is that he isn’t a barker – which after Gyven we were very happy with. He wouldn’t bark to go out or come in so we had to train him to ring a bell by the door when he wanted out. When he’s done outside he just sits by the door and waits for someone to let him in. We have since done away with the bell and Duke just sits by the front door when he wants to go outside. I should say he has us trained very well.
Duke is great with not only our kids but also with their friends. My niece who is 2 loves to touch his face and paws and Duke could really care less. When he feels that he is done with her loving, he just gets up and goes to another room away from her.
We have a pool and in the summer, Duke spends about 4-6 hours a day playing fetch with the kids in the pool. He doesn’t go in the pool (although he may ‘fall in’ once or twice a season) but he very persistently brings his toys to the pool edge waiting for a child to get it and throw it into the yard for him to fetch. If someone doesn’t take the toy he drops it in the pool and will sit by the edge waiting for the toy to make its way around the pool. His act of dropping the toy in the pool usually gets attention because we don’t want him jumping in to retrieve it! We also spend a lot of time on a lake and his favorite pastime is jumping off the dock with the kids and just being in the water.
He is also a great companion on my 2 mile walk/runs. He is by no means a fat lab, he is trim and VERY muscular. I work from home so most days he sleeps on his pillow by my desk curled up with his best friend – a cat named Snowflake. Around 1:00 he knows it’s time to go for a walk and he will get up and pace around waiting for me take a break and go outside.
I always get comments on what a good looking dog Duke is and how well he behaves in public – which I have learned is due to his being a British lab. His calmness gains him a lot of attention. He is often the mascot for my son’s baseball team in the summer. I love the uniqueness of his look, his fur tends to be really brownish red, certainly not a typical lab coloring.
I would LOVE to add another of your labs to our family but with 2 children (8 & 10), 2 cats and Duke we seem to have our hands full. We were going to be getting one of you lab puppies for my younger brother and his family but they ended up rescuing a yorkie-poo from an abusive home. My sister-in-law always says that she would really like to have a lab just like Duke. My parents will even puppy sit him when we go out of town – and they NEVER did that for our old dog!
I have attached several pictures for you and you are free to use them on your website. The picture of the two dogs walking in the yard is Duke and our old dog Gyven. The old dog was showing the new pup around the yard:) And there is one of Duke caught sleeping on the couch!
Thanks for the great dog!
-Stephanie
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Ken, this is a photograph of our dog Fred…Fred was from the litter of Cocoa on Jan 5th 2006….. He was the last puppy left when we came to buy him….. We have absolutely loved every minute of being with Fred. Everyone comments on his excellentbehaviour and wonderful disposition,and on numerous occasions we have recommended this breed and your kennels. Delighted to see your new web site and wish you all the success of your wonderful work and your wonderful dogs. Kind regards
Mark Temple and Jessica Ginger…and Fred….
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