Maple Hills Kennel is located northwestern
Wisconsin on 30 acres. We moved our family here from the Twin
Cities in 2000 so we could pursue the country life that we enjoy.
Although we are only 1 hour North East of St Paul we are nestled in
the rolling river hills of rural Wisconsin. We consider it a
privileged to own Maple Hills Kennel and to be able to have the
lifestyle that we enjoy.
Our commitment is to produce great family pets and
hunting partners. We believe that dogs are an important part of our
lives and we strive to produce animals that will enrich your life too.
Mental stability, temperament and intelligence/trainability are the primary
consideration for our breeding program. Physical condition,
conformation to breed standard and soundness are not neglected or
forgotten but a beautiful dog that is not trainable makes for a frustrating
pet to own and an impossible hunting partner.
All of our dogs spend time in the house, although not all
at once. I try to keep it to 4 in the house at a time. All of
our dogs get to go places with us and spend time with us in the yard and in
the house. Keeping a dog in a kennel 24 hours a day is not fair to the
dog and is a recipe to develop mental instability and/or problem
behaviors.All of our puppies are born in the house and have human
interaction every single day. At about 4 weeks old the puppies and Mom
are moved to a pen in my attached and heated garage. I don't know why
we call it a garage as cars are seldom parked inside due to the kennels,
puppy pen, training supplies, dog food, etc.
We have 4 kennels attached to our garage - each
outside kennel is 12 feet deep. All of the kennels have a
swinging door to inside pens where the dogs have access to fresh
food and water. The heated garage floor provides the warmth of
a heating pad in the winter. In the summer the inside cement
floor keeps the dogs cool. All of the outside kennels have
shade screens to keep them from overheating. Depending on the
weather, puppies are moved to an indoor/outdoor kennel at about 8
weeks. This gives the puppies an excellent start on learning
to potty outside as well as expose them to the sights, sounds, and
smells of the outside world. A puppy learns best when exposed
to a variety of environments at a young age.