Our Breeding Philosophies

Our mission is to preserve the English Springer Spaniel as it is described in the AKC breed standard. Our top priority is to produce healthy springers that are sound of mind and body. Our puppies excel in homes as companions and in various performance venues.

Our dogs are raised in our home as members of our family. We don't have elaborate kennel setups or dog runs. We feel the best way to evaluate the temperament of our breeding dogs (whose offspring will live in homes as companions) is to live with them in our own home as companions. Though some management is required for a mixed-sex intact, multi-dog household, we are proud to say that our dogs are easy to live with and we expect to keep them that way.

We are committed to health testing, and all of our breeding dogs are tested to CHIC standards before breeding, which for the English Springer Spaniel includes: OFA hip and elbow certifications, PRA DNA testing, annual ACVO Eye certifications, and DNA sample submission for research at the OFA DNA repository. In addition, our dogs have also been tested for the complete Embark DNA panel, DAMS, and English Springer Spaniel Hyperfibrinolysis.

We promote the continued health and wellness of our breed by including eligible dogs in applicable research studies ongoing in the breed and encourage our puppy buyers to do the same. To date we have dogs enrolled in the OFA hip dysplasia biomarker study and the ESS PRA study. We look forward to future opportunities for participation to help improve the health of our breed.

Our litters are born in our living room or home office and grow up in the center of our active dog home. We are committed to following the latest science on raising companion puppies to be the best they can be and we do participate in continuing education to stay up-to-date.

We feel great responsibility for the dogs we produce, and by breeding infrequently we assure that we can take back any puppy we produce for any reason, for the life of the dog. We make a promise to our puppies that they will

always have a home with us, should a buyer (for any reason) be unable to keep or care for their Ivy Hill dog. It is of paramount importance to us that our buyers help us to uphold this promise, though we will do everything in our power to make sure your home is their forever home.

Key Points:

We breed infrequently, not more than 1 litter per year, never more than 3 litters in each dam's lifetime.
We are in constant contact with veterinary professionals to ensure our dogs are healthy and kept in optimal condition.
Our dogs are tested to OFA CHIC standards. At minimum, we perform annual eye examinations, OFA hip and elbow certifications and PRA, PFK, DM and Fucosidosis DNA testing. Results are published on each dogs' individual page as well as easily found on the OFA database by searching for their registered name listed at the top of their page.
We prioritize health, longevity and temperament by only breeding to exceptional examples of the breed with the pedigree history to back them.
Continuing education and involvement in breed clubs helps us stay up-to-date on developments for breed health and behavior.
We value scientific advancements to improve the health of our breed. We donate DNA to any applicable genetic study our dogs may qualify for.
We care about the pet overpopulation crisis and will do anything in our power to keep dogs we bred off the streets and out of shelters/rescue.
We support our puppy buyers. Join our exclusive Ivy Hill Family Facebook page.
We prove our dogs worthy as breeding stock by showing them in AKC conformation events.
We value integrity and honesty. We will never try to dazzle you with pseudoscience or try to sway you with an inflated list of accomplishments. Our mission is to raise good dogs that benefit the lives of those who choose to live with them- not say whatever a buyer wants to hear in order to push a puppy out the door. Come visit, ask questions and see if you might like to live with an Ivy Hill dog too.

We as breeders and dog lovers, are; above all else, dedicated to producing healthy, happy, well-adjusted, life-long companions whilst maintaining our ability to give our own dogs the love and attention they deserve.