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Tracy Pogue on July 27, 2008 at 11:50 AM said:

After 9 years, we have a new dog in our home and we are so glad it is a Willow Creek English Cocker! Our new dog "Vapor" is already retrieving balls in the yard and knows his name. The kids are having just about as much fun as we are (and we said we were getting the dog for the kids!)

Thanks for the great service and professional manner in which you handled the whole process. I will highly recommend Willow Creek Kennels to every dog lover out there. Thank you for everything!

Blake Hayunga on February 2, 2008 at 02:08 PM said:

Jake, With the hunting season wrapping up, I thought I would give you an quick update on Mighty formally "Dusty". He came to us at 10mths and is now just over 1.5yrs. He was very busy for his first season hunting doves, ducks, geese (drug them across a river if you can believe it), ptarmigan and blue grouse (above 11k ft in CO), pheasant, bobwhite quail, and valley quail. In only his first season, he has been described by many as one of the finest all around hunting dogs they have ever seen at any age. He NEVER tires, has a brilliant nose, is near 100% compliant on his commands, is smart as a whip, is relentless on cripples, and can push through, under, over and around heavy cover like you read about. He is also a near perfect citizen in the house, is a serious snuggler, and is wonderful with our 3 and 5 year old children even when he shouldn't be. I can't imagine how this dog will grow over the years but I can't wait to find out. He is laying in front of the fire snoozing as I write this. Thanks again for this lovely little bionic wonder. A few pictures to follow.

Colin O'Neill on October 25, 2007 at 06:01 PM said:

Thank you for our little buddy! Guinness (formerly Taz) is a wonder puppy! We picked him up before the 4th of July and wondered if he would freak out at fireworks. No problem. At 8 weeks, he heard his first gun shot. No problem. A cannon could go off next to his head and he would alert and point. Your dogs are naturals. Guinness loves people, other dogs, running, EATING, cuddling and going for a ride! His coat is a glistening wonder that does not smell like an AWS coat! He loves the water and is a very happy animal! Thanks again. Colin O'Neill, Inver Grove Heights, MN

Jeff & Lindsay Grant on September 3, 2007 at 08:36 AM said:

Hi Jake-

We just wanted to let you know how much we have enjoyed watching Ziggy grow up. He has quite the little personality! He is incredibly playful, yet very affectionate at night and in the mornings. He loves to snuggle with us. Jeff took him out on his first hunt yesterday. They went dove hunting on the first day it opened up. Ziggy was great in the field and he ended up flushing and retrieving a bunch of birds. I am sure it will be the same with pheasant hunting. Here are some recent photos of the little man...he is super cute!

Thanks so much for the great dog--we love him!

Jeff and Lindsay Grant

mary halverson on August 21, 2007 at 08:43 PM said:

jacob, we have changed razzle's name to kade. kade is just a wonderful dog. he is sweet, gentle, loving, playful, a good listener, doesnt bark, smart, loves to cuddle, can be very mellow, as fast as a bolt of lightning, gets along with all dogs and everyone he meets, and he is an awesome hunter. we didnt plan on having him hunt but he loves chasing birds so much, he once brought back a live pheasant in his mouth that had flown over a huge hill and out of site on his first day of hunting!!

kade is the cutest thing you'll ever see. kade likes his belly rubbed and likes to lay as close to you as he can and lay his head or a leg on you. he'll carry his toys and his favorite blanket around the house right behind you. if you even fake cry he'll try to climb into your arms and lick your face. he also will wait outside the house until i come home from school and will run up to me, lick me, and roll over for you to pet his belly. everyone just loves him!! people are amazed by how great of a dog kade is. over all kade is a great friend of mine. he is a just blessing to my family. we love him sooooo much!!!! thanks so much for giving us such a fantastic dog!

Blake Hayunga on August 17, 2007 at 12:40 AM said:

Jake, We have been calling your Dusty by the name "Mighty" and he is living up to everything the name would suggest. He came to our house in San Francisco at 10mths. We made the decision based mostly on a recommendation from my uncle that went something like, "this is the best dog I have every owned". This was from a person that had several family/hunting dogs spanning over 40 years. Our dog is now over a 13mths old. He is bionic in the field, extremely birdy, a superb retriever and near 100% compliant on his commands. We also have two small children. The dog is tollerant and gentle even when he shouldn't be. I couldn't be happier with my choice. Blake

Carol Brown on June 23, 2007 at 09:46 PM said:

Jacob, We just got home last night from our farm with India and our twin grandsons'. We were so excited to see her pictures on your website. I will be forwarding it to all our friends and family. Several family members have expressed interest getting puppies in the future after spending time with India , but we have told all non- hunting and those with couch potato life styles the ECFS aren't a good choice unless you have time to spend outside with them so they can get lots of exercise daily. Everyone is so impressed at how playful, but gentle India is. We found a 5 or 6 week old kitten this week that she tried to carry around like a baby. The kitten was soaking wet most of the time from being carried and licked, but NEVER hurt. This speaks volumes about her soft mouth! She was sorry to see the kitten go home with my parents. The twins say Maggie/India swims like a motor boat, because she goes so fast. We have plans later this summer to have a speed swimming contest with friends that have a Lab. We'll let you know the results. Words can't express how much having this puppy has meant to us. Carol Brown (adjusting to South Texas humidity has been a challenge for her)

Dave Cook on June 9, 2007 at 10:43 AM said:

Jacob and Mareike,

Wow! What a great dog. Emmie is smart and very athletic. She loves the beach. When she was small she liked to play in the sea grass and the sand dunes. She has since discovered the water and the joy of chasing sea gulls. We are able to "walk" her on the beach without a lead and she is never very far from us. She will run out ahead sniffing and then come back to us. It is almost always a figure eight pattern with us in the bottom loop. If we walk a mile Emmie must walk/run three. She weighs just over twenty pounds and is active all day. She enjoys a morning nap and and an after-dinner nap in the evening. She is very protective of her yards, both in Sonoma and Oregon. On days when we both teach, Emmie goes to Sonoma Dog Camp. She is friendly with other dogs. The camp folks say "She plays fair". They have also told us that she has "helped" other dogs adjust to doggie day care. She is a wonderful addition to our family.

Emmie's family, Dave, Julie, and Will Cook

Sheila Helm on September 7, 2006 at 05:20 PM said:

Dear Jacob and Mareike,

I want to tell you what a wonderful dog you sold us. We changed his name to Jackson and he is just SO adorable. I was reading the message board and I had to laugh about the chewing question. I have yet to find a chew toy that is more fun than shoes, mine especially. I also can no longer read the paper when he is around because he loves to shred it! It's like having a toddler around again. We've had to baby proof the house again esp. after he chewed through some electrical wires (that weren't being used, fortunately!)

My husband was wondering at what age do you start training dogs to hunt because we would like to bring him up there and have him work with you. We are just starting puppy classes, but he is pretty smart and has an excellent sense of smell. He can smell meat from across the house and comes running for a nibble! He has also overcome the shyness that he had when we first received him. You should see him play with the big dogs! He is such a little tease and gets the others to chase him. The first time I saw the wrestling/play, it looked so rough, but now I am used to it and he has such a blast!

I need to download some pictures to send you some. He always seems to turn his head just as the camera snaps so I have yet to really capture his cuteness. The blast spots on his skin are now growing black hair so he is getting spotted on his white back and legs. Thank you again for providing us such a wonderful addition to our family!

Sheila helm

The Lake Family on September 5, 2006 at 07:03 PM said:

When we found the website we were looking at all the puppys for sale and we really didn't know what one because they were all so cute! So we came up to Willow Creek Kennels and we say Oreo and he was so gentle nice and calm. He has a been a really good addition to are family! He is really fun to play with and loves to get tummy rubs when ever he can. He is a really good puppy! We are so happy that we got oreo!

Eidsness Family on August 17, 2006 at 08:20 PM said:

We love our little cocker, but he chews everything and he bites like crazy. I figured that is just his personality or that's an English Cocker instinct.
Our 11 year old really likes him and so does Riley (our cocker) and another funny thing is that he also hates the hose when you spray him and the doggy hunting door campain he HATES that, he will not go threw well anyway!
That's Riley

Mary on August 8, 2006 at 05:54 PM said:

We came to Willow Creek Kennels with the intention of bringing home one puppy (Valencia) and somehow arrived back here in Oregon with two! Raising two has been both a joy and a challenge. Lucky for us they are both extremely intelligent dogs who have quickly learned to sit, come and fetch. They initially struggled against the leash, but when we switched to a British style slip-knot leash, they quickly adjusted. Now we don't even need to use the leash...they just walk alongside or just a little bit ahead, and are always looking back to see where we are. Housebreaking was a breeze. Anna is especially fun to watch around water. She literally flings herself into the water to fetch and retrieve. We are very happy that we made the long journey to northern Minnesota to pick up the puppies and to meet their parents (Meg and Teal) and of course, Jacob and Mareike. It has made a huge difference to us to know where Valencia and Anna came from and what their future potential will be, if they are even half the dogs that Meg and Teal are.

Cheri Zahasky on June 27, 2006 at 03:57 PM said:

Mareike,

We have been calling Jazzy by the name of Zoe and she and Lily have been great with each other. At first Lily didn't know what to do but Zoe would run at her and eventually Lily stood her ground. They are so funny when they play as they both tease each other with the toys. Lily will have one and then Zoe will try to take it from her or if Zoe is slowing down Lily will drop the toy in front of her to get her to play again.

Zoe has been so much better at night then I remember Lily being. I remember getting up with her during the night at least once until she was 4 months old or more. Zoe has slept through the night and for the most part has been dry. Though she has had a few accidents in the house.

I have a few pictures but it is really hard to get a good one of both of them together. I will send you some as soon as I can reduce their size so I can send them as an attachment.

Cheri

Mike Stiglich on April 23, 2006 at 02:11 PM said:

We purchased Blue at eight months old. He is the ultimate combination of a hunting companion and a family dog. He has an excellent temperment for in the house, bring him in the field for training, and he is all business. We have owned field champion labs for over ten years and they don't even come close to the joy of working with a Willow Creek Cocker. I strongly suggest to any one who is looking for a field trial, hunting, and or family pet look no further than Willow Creek cockers.

Dustin & Mari on March 16, 2006 at 04:54 PM said:

We adopted " Ernie " when he was just 10 months old. We already had a three year old yellow lab and were not sure how a smaller dog would be......that was 3 weeks ago and let me just say that we cannot imagine our lives without our buddy Ernie! For starters, he is very smart and a very fast learner...second, he and the lab are now best buddies....and to top it all off, Ernie is the sweetest, kindest dog with young children...not an aggresive bone in his body.....now for those of you who think that he is an official " marshmallow ", let me just say that he is well on his way to being an outstanding hunting dog. If you are considering getting a dog from Willow Creek Kennels, you will be thrilled..hunting, family or both...you just can't find a better pup! If you would like to speak to us more in depth about our experience with Willow Creek Kennels, please contact Jake-he has our number for any wanted references.