Welcome to
Stonewick Retrievers
in Payette, Idaho
We are so glad you are here. This is our home. Our hearts.
Our focus is on service and therapy type temperments, that also excel in family homes. Temperament and health are the top priorities for us, as well as preserving the breed as set forth in the AKC breed standards.
Health testing is something very important to us. You will find us testing for genetic diseases, OFA opthamology, cardiology, OFA hip & elbow, and Pennhip testing, to help ensure a happy and healthy future.
We work directly with a service dog trainer, but have also had many dogs go into official therapy work roles as well. Its incredibly fullfuling to not just see the dogs excelling a amazing family pets, but to see them take a true service dog roll that literally saves lives, we love to be a part of that.
Our family loves animals. We enjoy the process of raising healthy, well socialized puppies. We take pride in raising happy, healthy, well-rounded puppies. Since socialization is so important to us, our puppies are raised right alongside our family. We feel like from the moment their tiny ears start to unseal, and those blurry blue eyes crack open, having the hubbub of house and home happening around them makes such a difference. Between the noises of pots and pans, of children laughing and playing (sometimes quite loudly), and all the other crazy factors of a full household, we intend for our puppies to be acclimatized to anything that should come their way. We purposely do things like use the vacuum near them. Once the puppies are old enough, weather permitting, we start taking them outside to spend the afternoons on the lawn. Then as they get a bit older and braver, they run and play in the yard. They are also introduced to our other dogs, and cats. Our family isn’t small, so there is always somebody snuggling the tiny faces, or playing with their paws. These are all little pieces of the puzzle to have a well-rounded puppy who is confident and will excel when they go to their forever homes.
We are not fancy or frilly and you will find that we are very real and down to earth. We will have a healthy and happy dog over a fancy dog here any day. We may not be the latest and the greatest, but we are confident that we will be sending home new puppies to join your family that will be an asset to your house and home.
We use Embark or Paw Print Genetics to test for genetically preventable diseases. We will not breed a dog that will produce puppies that will be affected by anything genetically that we can prevent.
Since things like hip dysplasia are connected to enviroment so stongly, we do our best to care for our puppies in those first weeks with thought as to give them the best chance for excellence as possible, as well as OFA certifications when the adults come of age to do so.
How we got started…
Back in the early 1970’s my parents raised and showed CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) Dachshunds. Life moved on and that became a thing of the past. The year I was born, my family bought their first purebred registered dog that I knew, a Great Pyrenees, and soon after, some Bearded Collies. Both breeds that not only were a beautiful show breed, but also a type that would be an asset with the sheep, as well as the goat dairy. We raised both breeds for many years. We spent countless days at the conformation dog shows and training classes week after week.
Those days are long behind me now. I have my own family and we are raising our own dogs. As a child, friends of ours raised Golden Retrievers and I always admired them but never thought I might have the opportunity to own them myself, but here I am today, with my own family, and getting the pleasure of loving on my own pack of smart and beautiful AKC Golden Retrievers.
My husband on the other hand, was born way on the opposite side of the continent than me. He was a city boy from Louisiana who went country as fast as he could make it happen. He grew up passionate about hunting in the Louisianan bayous. Obviously, we don’t have those available for him here, so no more snake and alligators for him, but he enjoys duck hunting on the snake river, and deer and elk hunting in the mountains.
After living and working on ranches for several years, we had the opportunity to get a purebred, AKC Labrador Retriever. With my background in raising dogs, and our mutual love for animals, it was only natural for Stonewick Retrievers to come into existence. We did eventually transition over to Golden Retriever as I found I especially loved their fluff and the way Goldens are so in love with their people.
Our puppies have joined families all across the United States and even some in Canada. While many stay here in the West, we also have puppies living happy lives in states as far as the East Coast. You can find Stonewick puppies in Puerto Rico, Alaska, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Illinois, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, and Virginia.
Most families choose to drive in and pick up their puppy in person, but some fly in and travel home with their puppy in-cabin. For those who prefer not to travel, we also offer delivery through our trusted puppy nanny service.
So welcome, and I hope we are what you are looking for
to provide a happy, healthy puppy for you
and your friends and family.
