23/12/2020
Standish English Cocker Spaniels of Oregon
First I would like to tell you a little about the breed, our dogs and the home environment we will be keeping the puppies in. Both of our ECS are field bred but are mainly used as companion animals that aide in keeping us physically active every day. We are sure to take the spaniels on an average of 3 walks a day for a total distance of 2 to 3 miles a day. My husband Drake used to run in ultra-marathons, Marathons, 10 and 5 k’s and would sometimes run with our pet dogs. This does not happen as frequently as prior years but the ECS are able to keep up with Drake without issue. We are also frequently taking them to play fetch in a nearby field or to a number of local swimming spots. They love the water and retrieving. I do not recommend this breed to anyone that is unable to give them ample exercise and affection. Historically the breed is known to be stubborn but I have not seen this in my dogs. I just say this since it’s not advised for first time dog owners to get an ECS right out the gate. I encourage anyone looking to get into the breed to do plenty of research prior. I also understand there are many potential buyers that would educate me on numerous things since we are fairly new to this exact breed. I had two Brittany Spaniels for a total of 18 years prior to getting our first ECS. I understood what went into owning a higher energy sporting dog.
Our male is a (near) four year old, AKC papered liver and white stud named Red Creek Koa (“Koa”). We got him as a puppy from Jimmy Wright with Red Creek Kennels that was based out of Po***ck, Texas in 2017. The sire was reported to have been an active hunter (Red Creek Little Man) and the dam was a house pet (Red Creek Katrina). Koa is a bit submissive but once he becomes comfortable and familiar with a new situation and people he is very relaxed and friendly. He does great with children of all ages but is slow to adapt to new pets in the house. He does warm up after a few weeks of adjustment and comes to love and play with his many critter friends. We are prompt when taking Koa and Akela in for their annual exams and routine vaccinations. All of our four legged pets are currently on Nexguard for flea and tick control.
Our bitch is an AKC papered black and tan ECS that turned two on August 31st. She (Akelasjade or “Akela”) was purchased from a first time breeder named Randy Shelly out of Elko, Nevada in 2018. Randy was an avid hunter who’s sire (Bentleystopaz) was trained and awarded a number of field trial championships. The dam of the litter (Paydensobsidian) was also an avid hunting dog during the season prior to her conception. Akela is more of an alpha dog that thinks she is the boss of the house. As a result she can show possessiveness over her food but we remedied this by always feeding her in the crate we keep in our living room. Akela is more energetic than Koa and can out swim him nearly every time for the dummy when playing fetch at the river. Both of out ECS are very bonded to both Drake and I. They are extremely affectionate and playful with us and one another.
In addition to our two ECS we have a 3 foot, 12 year old bally python snake we call Woma as he is a Woma morph. I promise he is in a very secure cage and presents no threat to the puppies. He is a very hand tamed snake that is a part of our family. Understanding that snakes are not for everyone, we can put him in a different room upon request when puppies are picked up. We also have a cockatiel of unknown age and gender as he was given to me after his owners passed away. I call him Zazu. He is sassy and holds his own with the ECS. We were very cautious about introducing any of our dogs to the more exotic animals. We introduced them early and always under direct supervision. Neither the bird nor the snake are left alone with any of our four legged pets. Our final pet is a nearly eight month old gray tabby kitten named Kahlua. She is current on her shots and flea treatment and will never be left alone with the puppies either. She can also be put away during puppy pickup to reduce distractions and stress on the puppies and adopters. For anyone who is counting yes we have a total of 5 pets but I promise our pets health and wellbeing is of the greatest importance to us.
This is our first time breeding ECS (or any dog for that matter) but we have extensive knowledge about all of our pets. I have invested over six years of volunteer work in assisting to raise guide dogs for the blind through Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc. I also have extensive education and experience through freely educating myself throughout my years as a dog owner and animal lover. I have a firm understanding of dog behavior, body language, basic training, socialization, leash training and setting the foundation for basic obedience. Drake and I believe in a reward based training system with positive reinforcement through verbal praise and high reward treats. The most recent training we received was taking Koa through PetSmart’s beginner, intermediate, advanced and therapy training. We chose for personal reasons not to get his Canine Good Citizenship certification but he retains much of his training that we reinforce through daily refresher sessions. Akela was not formally trained in obedience class but has excellent house manners and displays a thorough understanding of basic obedience.
In an effort of full disclosure, we did not do any of the genetic testing that a reputable more experienced breeder would have done on both the sire and the dam. We cannot guarantee that these puppies will not be predisposed to some of the genetic health issues that can be found in the ECS population. We did a great deal of research and consulted with a number of vets but since ECS are not that common of a breed on the west coast (in Oregon especially) we made little progress in finding out all of the specific genetic issues to test for. For this reason I do not recommend breeding these puppies in efforts not to muddy the blood lines with breeding stock that may carry certain genetic traits. I can say that our dogs are in great health. We have had very few issues with both these dogs. We haven’t even had a single ear infection. We are vigilant about exercising them every day and feeding a high protein partial kibble and raw meat diet.
Personally I had a Brittany that was diagnosed with a significant 3/6 heart murmur as a puppy. He was regularly exercised and fed high quality, high protein food and he lived to be 16 years old. I know genetics can’t be over ridden but exercise, good diet and healthy life style can get you a long way. Thank you so very much for taking the time to read this lengthy introduction. If after gathering all of the necessary information, you decide we may be the breeders for you, please contact me with any further questions, comments or to just simply get added to our puppy list. Our current litter will be due the first full week in January of 2021.
Michelle Phillips-Standish
[email protected]
(541)543-9095 text or call, whatever is preferable https://www.facebook.com/MichellePhillipsStandish
