About the Breeder

My passion and love of animals started when I was very young. Some of my earliest memories involved caring for and doting on the animals my family had growing up. Between my grandma’s dachshund Fritzy, our 4 (or more) cats, the birds, the aquariums and the various random wildlife that seemed to show up at our door; I was very familiar with life with animals.

In high school I was introduced to the joys and trials of animal breeding. I was fortunate enough to go to school and take classes on the school’s 14 acre farm. Through classes and work there, my love of animals expanded to include our sheep, cows, goats, pigs and chickens. I also gained my first experiences in breeding and genetics, and lambing and calving. The lambs and calves I helped birth and raise became 4H and FFA projects for me and my classmates, and I showed very successfully during my high school years at our county and state fairs.

I moved away from home for college. I spent 5 years in the Corvallis/Albany area earning my bachelors in Agricultural Science with minor in Animal Science from Oregon State University. My senior year I bought my first dog Ranger. I needed a companion and thought I’d get a real farm dog that could come to work with me at the OSU farm unit. Ranger taught me about dog training and behavior.

I met my husband Tyler on a blind date. We were set up by mutual friends. I knew he was a keeper because my dog adored him; and his dogs adored me. Tyler grew up with springers. He and his mom shared three of them and she actually bred and raised bench springers.

Just a few months into dating, Tyler’s parents went on vacation and left me with their house keys. Tyler’s “heart springer” Crystal had a one-week-old singleton puppy and they wanted me to check in on mom and pup between my classes. That week was all it took for me to fall completely head-over-heels in love with springers. I was dying to have one of my own!

We got married a while later and a while after that we got my first springer. We bought a modest house in Salem, Oregon and created a beautiful backyard for our dogs to enjoy. It seemed only natural to pursue showing springers in conformation with my history showing livestock. Over time I met breeders that would become my breed mentors and went to work at a dog training and doggie daycare facility. I spent time learning from credentialed dog trainers. Somewhere in there I discovered the Puppy Culture program for puppy raising and was intrigued.

My first litter raising experience was actually a “Puppy Culture experiment” on my boss’s springer litter. I went to her house every day for 8 weeks and worked with the puppies on the program’s protocols. She and I were both so enamored with the result I didn’t want to own another non-Puppy Culture puppy and she would use the program on all of her subsequent litters. A few years and a couple assisted litters later our girl Annie is hoping to have her first litter this year.

Annie’s registered name is Tri-Ste’s Can’t Get Over You. Her registered name is fitting for two reasons. The first, when she was very young (and belly very full of milk) got hi-centered climbing over a pile of her brothers. The second and more significant is the story of how she came to be.

Annie was one of eight puppies: six boys, two girls; born to parents Emmy and Ralph on November 8th, 2017. Emmy the litter sister of my husband Tyler’s heart dog Crystal, and Ralph the litter brother of Tyler’s companion Tibby. This was my Puppy Culture experiment litter. Annie made it very clear from early on that she was My puppy. If one of her siblings settled for a nap in my lap she’d march right up, squeeze herself between me and her sibling and promptly stretch out and shove the poor sleeping pup out of my lap. During clicker exercises she was the quickest to learn and most eager to work. She was the most confident and outgoing and happened to be the most promising show prospect.

When it came time to find homes for the puppies I kept returning to the little brown girl. Could I bear to let her go? Not a chance! I simply could not "Get Over" her delightful temperament and insistence that she was mine! So she came to live with us. She has blossomed into the most confident, trusting, respectful, social and easy going companion we’ve ever had. We say she is “personality plus” because she truly is. The adoration is definitely mutual. We look forward to sharing her and her puppies with you. Welcome to the Ivy Hill family.

Sincerely,
Jordanne and Tyler and our Matriarch, Annie.