OUR STORY
Hi my name is Cheryl Stephenson of Idaho Hunting Dogs. We are a quality, family owned, kennel offering German Shorthaired Pointers out of clean, quality bloodlines. In 1997 I met Mark and he owned a GSP named Heidi . As I spent time with Heidi in the field and home, I knew this was the breed for me. I fell in love. Mark was in the middle of some marriage issues and gave her to a friend of his in New Mexico that had 2 small boys. Cory, Heidi’s new owner, said when you get your life back on track you can have her back. Well, almost 2 years went by before we got together. Mark could not take Heidi away from Cory and his family and she loved them now and they loved her.
For Mark’s birthday in 1998, I went to Colby, Kansas and bought him a puppy named Greta. When she turned two years old, I wanted to have one litter of puppies then have her spayed. I used to breed and train labs and knew the work that goes into breeding right off the bat. I felt we could breed her once and get a quality litter. But when Greta came into her heat cycle after she turned two, I had a friend who had a male GSP. I asked if I could use Phoenix to stud one litter. He said why don’t you just buy him. I said no I only want one dog. So I borrowed him for a week. When I called Jerry, Phoenix’s owner, and said I was going to bring Phoenix home, Jerry said why don’t you just keep him as he would have a better home with you than with us. So, I kept him. The litter was a success, and we got such satisfaction out of breeding and the feedback we were receiving from clients. We had Greta and Phoenix’ hips certified by OFA since I now didn’t want to spay her. They were both “GOOD”. They were a match made in heaven. We then found our Molly, we enjoyed the breed so tremendously we wanted another member to the family. The rest is history…Mark passed away January 15, 2018. He is missed by so many people who love him. RIP Sweetheart!
Phoenix went over the Rainbow Bridge on June 12, 2007. Molly went over the Rainbow Bridge July 17, 2012. Greta also has gone over the Rainbow Bridge. We still miss them so much. Fritz, Madison and Dutchess are getting up there in years and are retired from the breeding program. We only own two breeding females now. They too, are so much fun and bring tons of laughter to our lives. We have taken a different approach to our current dogs. We wanted direct sons / daughters of proven field trial, hunt test, or show lines. We have carefully built upon the foundation Greta and Phoenix have produced some dandy pups that families and hunters all over the nation are smiling about. Our puppies are available on a first-come, first reserved basis. We also maintain a waiting list as most pups are sold before they are born. All of our German Shorthaired Pointer adult dogs have had OFA, Lupoid Dermatitis and CERF completed.
We have been producing happy well-adjusted German Shorthaired pups for the last 20+ years. Before that I bred labs for 15 years. At Idaho Hunting Dogs, we pride ourselves on having a very conscientious breeding program.
Our goal is to breed very conformationally correct GSP’s that are also very birdy, manageable, stylish, and even tempered with a strong desire to hunt, point and retrieve. They have loving personalities and have TONS of natural instinct. We take pride in producing healthy happy puppies.
All of our puppies are born in the house and raised in the house to get them used to a home’s general sights, sounds and chaos plus of course, lots of hugs and kisses. They are handled from the time they are born until they go to their new forever homes at 8 weeks. They are exposed to lots of different sounds, textures, and environments. We take them outside as appropriate to run them around the yard when they are ready. All puppies are vet checked, current on shots, tails, dewclaws and worming done and pre-registered with AKC. We offer a written guarantee and micro-chipped for $25.00 with PRO-ID Microchips. Pups should have excellent noses and natural instinct.
We only have a limited number of breeding females, so we don’t always have puppies available. Our females are only permitted to have 1 litter per calendar year. Our dogs and puppies are raised in a family environment as part of our family!! Our “KENNEL” is our home with several “dog yards” with the first one being 145’ x 85’, so our dogs have plenty of room to run. We don’t raise kennel dogs here!! All of our Idaho Hunting Dogs puppies are born and raised in our home to get them used to a home’s general sights, sounds and chaos plus of course, lots of hugs and kisses. These are definitely family dogs for the home that “turn on” in the field for an incredible hunting partner; however, we encourage some form of puppy social /obedience class for new puppies and their families. Enjoy our website!!
Cheryl Stephenson