Marble Mountain Kennels

PROVIDING DOGS YOU LOVE TO HUNT

Click here to reach Kidder Creek Orchard Camps

HOW TO CONTACT US:

P.O. Box 208
Greenview, CA 96037
Days (530)467-3265; Nights (530)467-3980
email: kiddercr@sisqtel.net
url: www.mmkennels.com

Marble Mountain Kennel is a family owned and operated kennel that produces just a few litters per year. We are located in the northern extreme of California - in the heart of the Pacific Flyway and where quail and pheasant can still be found in their natural setting.

Our goal is to produce retrievers with both outstanding natural hunting skills and well-balanced, personable dispositions. We would like these dogs to be equally welcome in your home as companions, in your duck blind as a hunting partner, or at the hunt test or field trial as a competitor. We are also making an effort, with some breedings, to produce natural born pointing retrievers.

We hunt over our dogs, and choose to use our labs in both upland and water fowling situations. We are looking for true versatility in the best gun dog breed developed - the Labrador Retriever.

We also believe that you hunt with a dog 30-40 days a year (if you are really lucky), but you live with it 365 days a year. So a gentle disposition and good socialization is extremely important to our breeding program. (For a real job I run a summer camp for kids, as you might have deduced from our web page - our dogs must be good around both adults and children).

On this page are links to information that can help you make an informed choice about your next dog. Plus, since I am often breeding for labs that are natural born pointers I have several articles on pointing labs on file and some even highlight the reputation of dogs in the ancestry of these litters. I would love to talk to you about any questions you might have. Pointing labs are a new wrinkle in the hunting dog world, and for some the idea of a lab as a pointer is just too extreme. But, for a hunter like me who wants to hunt it all, and loves the temperament of a Labrador -- a pointing lab is hard to beat.

Not all litters out of our kennel are meant to produce pointing labs, as we have chosen to emphasize superior hunting ability and disposition before the pointing trait. Plus, not all puppies from pointing parents will carry the pointing instinct.

If you are looking for a quality lab, or know someone who is, call and make your reservations soon. Our litters generally go quickly (females go the quickest), often more than half the litter is spoken for before they are born.

ABOUT POINTING LABS : Pointing labs have been bred in kennels in the United States for the last 70 years, but have become popular in the last ten. They are, to those who hunt with them, the best of both worlds. They are patient in the blind, love water, and handle cold temperatures well. At the same time they quarter, search out and point sitting birds, but can also flush running birds. They are absolutely deadly on pheasants, quail and all kinds of waterfowl. NOT ALL PUPPIES ALWAYS HAVE THE NATURAL POINTING TRAIT, but the more generations of pointing in the background, the stronger are your possibilities.

RESERVATIONS:

All pups will have dew claws removed, first shots and have a full guarantee on hips, eyes, general health and hunting desire. Your pick in the litter is determined by the date on which your $150 deposit is received. Deposits can be made with the condition that you get either the gender or the color puppy you desire. Deposits are otherwise non-refundable, but can be transferred to a future litter if desired. There is a puppy reservation form that should be filled out by all prospective owners. This form can be reproduced by clicking below and printing out the form. By FAXing the form and a copy of your check you can hold your spot for 7 days until your check can arrive in the mail.

Printable Puppy Reservation & Policy Form
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GUARANTEE AND POLICY:

Marble Mountain Kennel's Guarantee

Any Marble Mountain bred and sold pup which lacks retrieving instinct, is untrainable, or shows unstable or vicious temperament, or is unable to work or hunt due to a physical or genetic defect will be replaced with another puppy as per our guarantee, based on the written analysis of a veterinarian or professional dog trainer.

Please note: The above part of our guarantee is only applicable if we are notified of any problems by the original animal's first birth date. Hips and eyes are covered until 26 months.

I. Hip Dysplasia. Any Animal purchased from Marble Mountain Kennels must be X-rayed by 26 months. Animals older than 26 months are no longer covered under this guarantee. Animals under 26 months are covered with the following conditions.

X-rays must be sent to the OFA or Marble Mountain Kennels for evaluation.
Animals with dysplasia may be treated as follows:
1. The animal may be sterilized, with a letter by a vet confirming this to MMK.
2. If the owner decides to sell the dog, the owner is not eligible for a replacement.
3. If after discovering the hip problem, the owner wishes to retain the dog and run it in any test or competition, the owner then waives the right to a replacement animal.
4. The animal may be euthanized, with the agreement of Marble Mountain Kennels, and a letter sent to that effect by a vet.
5. Shipping charges on any replacement dog is the responsibility of the original owner.

II. Hereditary eye problems: Any dog showing hereditary eye defects will be replaced as follows:

Animals must be examined by 26 months. No animal over 26 months is covered.
Animals must be examined by a certified veterinary opthamologist, and the result of the exam sent to Marble Mountain Kennels. The opthamologist must state that the defect is definitely of a hereditary nature, and not caused by injury, or illness.
The defective animal will be treated with the same guidelines as those listed under "hip dysplasia."

III. Physical defects. Animals showing any serious genetic or congenital defect will be replaced as follows.

Animals must show the defect by 12 months of age, and be examined by a vet. Marble Mountain Kennels must be notified at once at the onset of a problem, in writing with a letter from the examining vet.
Any physical problem that could be the result of an injury is not covered under this guarantee.

IV. Any animal which is used for breeding purposes prior to notifying Marble Mountain Kennels of any of the above covered defects is not guaranteed.

V. This guarantee applies to the original owner of the animal named on this form only, and does not apply in any way if the animal is sold or transferred.

VI. Replacement will be mutually agreed upon by both parties, and will be of comparable bloodlines (It is understood that the replacement may not come from the exact same parents).

VII. All expenses for shipping for the original animal and any replacement is the sole responsibility of the purchaser and owner.

VIII. Any animal which is euthanized without the knowledge and permission of MMK will not be covered under this guarantee.

IX. All animals are the responsibility of the purchasing owners and in no case will Marble Mountain Kennels be held responsible for the care or treatment of any animals after they are sold.

PUPPY RAISING PROCESS

Marble Mountain Kennels is not a large kennel and we are proud of the care that each of our females and their litters are given. Our unique approach in breeding is to place our breeding females in homes where they will be loved, trained and hunted. This process allows them to develop fully as dogs, live a satisfying life, and gives us a chance to evaluate them in the type of setting in which we intend their offspring to thrive. For this reason when a female is in the whelping process, she is one of three to five dogs we have on the premises and we feel this allows us to give her and her litter more individualized attention.

In addition, in the year 2000, Marble Mountain Kennels put in a $20,000 state of the art whelping kennel facility to better care for our litters. The kennel was designed to allow us to house our new litters in a safe, clean and stimulating environment. Finally we believe that the socializing process is crucial to a healthy puppy. Fortunately, my two daughters and son love puppies, and play with them daily. But to insure that puppies get enough during the season when I get busy, I hire high school students to come and play with puppies (it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it).

At five weeks old we also mark puppies with colored collars and start to make observations about their behavior. As the puppies approach adoption age, we then put the pups through puppy profile tests. This allows us to have some clues as to where the individual pups rank with their littermates in a variety of different traits. Puppies are ideally adopted out between seven and nine weeks of age.

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Pages last updated March 31, 2001 by
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