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Some of our updates are on each puppy's page. For example, click here to see an update from Brenda and Meka

These references go backwards in time. It is late 2008 and as emails come in, I asked some of the families if I could post their comments on the site.

We were at the USDAA / Cynosports show at Westworld this weekend and met a couple who were with two 11 month old Springers they got from your kennel. We were absolutely blown away at the beauty of these two dogs. We are Springer fans and particularly fond of the not so thick / slight appearing traights. Our Dinah just turned 14 years and though still a puppy is starting to remind us its time to get a puppy to help her as she ages. We understand you will be welping around Thanksgiing and wondered if any of those pups are from the same stock or similar and are they all spoken for.
 
I know Misty is not the most uncommon name for a Bitch, but wanted to ask anyway-On Dinah's AKC certificate her parents were indicated as "Misty May" and "Chico Casanoa". We got her at  6 weeks in 1994 from Tiptons Puppys. Any chance you have or know of any this line? Dinah is, without a doubt the prettiest and smartest dog on the planet. 
Thanx
Mark B

This is an email I sent out to our puppy buyers in early 2009. It contains pictures of some of our puppies grown up and some training tips :)

As your pups start going home, I wanted to share this email with you. This came to me from a dear lady who bought 2 pups about a year ago.

I love getting pictures from previous puppy buyers and was excited to see these two at almost a year old.

 You can see a special red collar on their necks and I was going to ask the owner what the collar was...she tells me in her bottom email to me. I have had others see her dogs and comment on how well behaved they are and how calm they are, even in the midst of a Christmas party. So, I asked her what resources she used to train. She answers this also in her last email. I especially thought you may be interested in her training tips. Keep reading to find out what she had to say... 

 

Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 8:58 PM   To: 'Beth at PaintedSun'   Subject: Micah and Angel - Already 1 year old!

Hi Beth,

Happy New Year to you and your family.  I just had to email you to let you know how the puppies are doing since we just celebrated their 1st birthday.  They are such a blessing to us and bring us so much joy.  My hubby has said on more than one occasion that he is glad we got the two of them.  We just got back from a trip to Montana and of course they went with us.  Not only were they good on the trip up and back but they were excellent all during the Christmas festivities.  We took them everywhere we went (except to church of course) and they were great.  Even with the large number of people always around, they were calm and obedient.  We lost count on how many people commented on what good dogs they are. 

They love sleeping with us but are good about going to their crates as well.  One of their favorite things to do is go to the dog park; I don’t think that there is a dog out their that they don’t like to play with.  One of the most fun things for me during the Christmas trip up north was watching them play in the snow.  They jumped and rolled and nose-dived until they were covered with snow; Angel even made snow angels!! 

I guess you know we referred Tony to you.  He works with Jim.  We are looking forward to when Micah and Angel can have a play date with Layla and Luke.  What fun that will be.  You probably also figured out that the couple that emailed you about seeing 2 11-month old Springers at the Cynosports show were talking about Micah and Angel.   Ok, I guess I’ve bragged enough for one email; but it’s hard not to with two puppies as good as they are.   

Here are a few pictures so you can see how they have grown and what great “almost” dogs they’re turning into.   

Blessings,

Sherri

From: Beth at PaintedSun [mailto:paintedsun@q.comSent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 3:36 PM  Subject: Re: Micah and Angel - Already 1 year old!

Happy New Year to you and your Hubby! I loved seeing the pictures of Micah and Angel. They are so fortunate to have you and you have done a great job with them. Tony was full of compliments to both dogs. Do you remember how I challenged you when you said you wanted to take two of them home? I wanted you to realize that it is more than double trouble and that it is a huge commitment! You told me you were up to it and obviously you were. Many congrats on a job well done! Do you have any advice for our other Springer buyers? Did you follow a book or a single philosophy in your training? And finally, may I put your pictures and email on the site?

Blessings,
Beth
Enjoy the herd at
www.PaintedSunMiniatureHorses.com

 
 
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 4:43 PM   
To 'Beth at PaintedSun'   Subject: RE: Micah and Angel - Already 1 year old!

Hi Beth, 

Oh yes, I remember how you cautioned me about getting two puppies.  They were wise words for sure.  I’m not sure the early puppy days would have gone as smoothly with too many other breeds; Springers are special.  I cautioned Tony and Traci on the challenge of getting 2 puppies as well.  I’m sure they’ll do fine. 

As for what we did with Micah and Angel; I’ll bullet point as much as I can. 

F     Book - I read “The Puppy Whisperer”, by Paul Owens and Terence Cranendonk.   It’s a nonviolent approach to training. 

F     We tried to always make any correction or training positive. 

F     Since both puppies are VERY food motivated, we use this to our advantage and reward them with treats when teaching them something new

F     We split them up (each of us working with one puppy) so that they would be less distracted during training

F     Forma Training - At about 7 months we started looking for formal training for them.  We selected “Dog On It”, run by Toni Drugmand.  I know there are a lot of people who disagree with using a training collar but we decided to go this way.  It has turned out to be a really good thing.  The puppies responded instantly and we only use the collar as a positive training tool.  Within a very short period of time I was able to walk two 7 month old puppies by myself and within a few short months they were as good off leash as they were on.  We’re by no means done with training but they are well on their way. 

F     I made sure that as soon as I could, I exposed them to other dogs.  I had play dates here at home and took them to dog parks.  This exposure has developed them into very social dogs (with other dogs and people too). 

F     Lastly, we give them lots and lots of love.  They are as bonded with us as they are with each other.  Springers want to please their human(s). 

A friend of mine who has 2 dogs that she has trained into therapy dogs commented that Micah and Angel would make excellent therapy dogs too…….something to think about in the future. 

Feel free to use whatever you want on your website.  I’ll check in once in awhile to see what you are all up to.  Take care.  

Blessings,

Sherri

The highest compliment we can receive is when someone comes back to us for a second pup.

 

From: Ashlei H Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 12:04 PM To: paintedsun@q.com

I wanted to see if puppies 5&6 are still available. I bought the last puppy of Jubilee last litter this summer. Moose is doing awesome and we are thinking about getting him a buddy. Please let me know.

God Bless,

Ashlei H

From: Beth at PaintedSun [mailto:paintedsun@q.com]
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 1:36 PM
To: Ahlei H
Subject: Springer Spaniels

It is sooo good to hear from you. I am glad Moose is doing well. I was looking over Jubilee's last litter the other night to see who all the families were and watched "Boy 1's" video. How big is he? Yes, 5 and 6 are available. Six is an absolute doll and a favorite of my oldest due to him always being the one to be on a lap. He is a real people dog. I do have a family coming tonight to see the pups if you would like to come while they are here.  

Blessings,
Beth
 

From: Ashlei H Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 2:39 PM To: Beth at PaintedSun  Subject: RE: Springer Spaniels

I’m really interested in Boy 6, but I don’t think I can come out tonight. Moose is so big!!!! He’s around 50lbs now and he is such a good boy. He loves to just hang out with us in the living room chewing sticks and his favorite thing is to go to the park and running around with our neighbors dog. He is such a happy dog. I will look at my schedule and let you know if we are able to find a good time. My fiancé and I are going to sit down tonight and make sure this is a good time for us to add another member to the family. We want to make sure we have the available time to spend with him before we make a definite commitment. I will let you know what we decide as soon as I can. 

God Bless,

Ashlei

From: Beth at PaintedSun [mailto:paintedsun@q.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 9:39 PM
To: Ashlei H
Subject: Re: Springer Spaniels

May I see a pictures of Moose? 

Boy 6 is a doll. He is Lisa's favorite for he is always the one in our laps. He is big and floppy and cuddly right now. But, do please make sure that the timing is right. You must know the commitment first hand from Moose. Puppies are a lot of work! 

Happy New Year!!!

Beth


From: Ashlei H Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 9:54 AM To: Beth at PaintedSun  Subject: RE: Springer Spaniels

I’ll send some pictures this week. We did decide that right now isn’t the best time because we are getting married in February and then going on our honeymoon for two weeks, but we do want to get a second puppy after the honeymoon. My dad would also like to get a puppy around that time too. Are you planning on any more litters this year, if so please let me know because we would definitely like to get a puppy for me and my dad. I hope your holidays have been great. 

God Bless,

Ashlei


From: Beth at PaintedSun [mailto:paintedsun@q.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2009 9:16 AM
To: Ashlei H
Subject: Re: Springer Spaniels

Thank you for letting me know and for being careful not to take on to much with a second puppy. I am thrilled with the home that took the boy 6 you were looking at, and God is in control of even all of this. It all works out. We usually skip a heat and then breed. It is looking like we will just have Jubilee for a while and I will need to buy an unrelated little girl.  My hubby and I think we are going to retire Misty as a momma.

Also many Congrats on your wedding date. I pray you enjoy that special time and feel very loved throughout it all. 

Blessings,
Beth
Oh, and may I use your emails as a reference letter on my website.? It is a big compliment to our dogs when you want another pup from the same place. You made my day.


 You can defiantly use us as a reference. Let us know when the next litter is due. Thanks again.

 

We shipped Beau up to a family in Washington 3 years ago. I begged the family if they would take me too, for their property has a stream on it and their temperatures at the time were about 20 degrees cooler than the hot Phoenix summer. Springer Spaniels love water and he was going to dog heaven. Here are our emails back and forth as they got to know Beau. We had called him Stripe while he was at our home.

Thu, 05 Aug 2004
Hi Beth--
   Yes, we had a great float down the Salmon. Ten days in one of the deepest canyons and wilderness areas in North America. We were a group of 4 families -- 7 adults and 9 offspring ranging in age from 8 to 22 years old. It was great being away from everything except the sand, the stars, the river and everything else that makes up nature. It was so much fun to have Stripe's arrival to look forward to as the capper to our vacation.
   No problem with the extra expense. I figured there would be something like this at the last minute. I will put a postal money order in the mail today for $50 and it should reach you early next week.

I cannot tell you how much we love Stripe already. We had a very jolly ride home yesterday, and Stripe kept us all amused so that the five long hours (we live at the opposite end of the state from Portland) flew by. This dog has personality! He is exactly as you had described -- so social, so mellow, so smart. He is having a complete ball at our house. We have two small creeks in our front yard, and he finds those endlessles amusing. He loves to chase sticks and balls and is curious about everything. I have been around dogs all my life, as has my husband, and we both agree we have never seen a dog with such a great personality. Please thank your girls for taking such good care of him! I have no doubt that so much of what makes him wonderful is the result of spending his early weeks with such a caring family. Please tell them also how happy Stripe has made us all, and how happy Stripe is in his new home.
   Finally, I know there was some email that came when I was away -- which I now can't seem to find in my email files -- where you mention what puppy shots he has had. Could you tell me again, so I know where he is on his schedule. Also, what was his birthday, or approximate? I know his mom's name is Misty. DO you remember the dad's name? (The kids are interested.)
   Anyway, thanks again so much. This dog was definitely meant to be with us!
Polly

      

 

And here is her email to me about 1 year later...Wed, 02 Mar 2005

Dear Beth,
   Just got your email, and congratulations on Misty's upcoming litter. As you may remember, we are the family who got "Stripe" (renamed 'Beau' by the kids) from you last early August (Bill, Polly & kids). I have many times thought of writing and telling you how truly special and wonderful Beau is, and how much happiness and fun he has brought to our household. I have known many a dog in my life, but Beau is something real special -- so full of fun, boundless love, and pure goodwill toward all. We all love him so much. I have been taking pictures of him, and was planning when he turns a year old (May 22, I believe) to send to your girls an album of Beau's life with us. He loves water in any form, snow, rain, creeks, lakes, etc., and will run and chase tennis balls forever. During the one time we had snow right here in town, he had a ball joining my youngest daughter (9 yrs old) on her endless sled runs (we have a small hill in our backyard, so can sled right here). Also, he loved jumping for snowballs and chomping them. We look forward as the weather warms up taking him a rides in our raft down our local rivers. Anyway, if any of your prospective buyers wants to talk to someone who has gotten a springer already from you .... feel free to give them our name. Your puppies are truly in a class all their own. We are SO happy. Cheers to you and the girls!
Polly

Beau is now almost 3 years old, and here is another email from Polly. Tue, 6 Feb 2007

Hi Beth!
    Here are some pictures of Stripe (or Beau, as the kids have renamed him). He is everything and more than you told me he was. He is one of the most social, friendly dogs I have ever encountered. He makes instant friends with everyone he meets. If I walk him downtown, people are drawn to him and just love him. He is so smart and intuitive, very playful and silly, and totally loving. All he seems to need to make him happy is to be around us.
    He is a total water dog, as you noticed too. We fill a small tub with about 6 or 8 inches of water and he loves to jump in and out and then submarine around blowing bubbles. He loves our creek and has even dabbled in some of our local rivers. He has many doggy friends, courtesy of friends and family members with dogs. His favorite playmates are: Sara (Chesapeak Water Retriever); Lucy (Jack Russell Terrier); and Rocky (Dachsund). He has a special place in his heart for my daughter Robin (9) and she and he are bosom buddies.
     He is such a wonderful dog! Thanks again for bringing him into our lives.
Polly

For some unknown reason, many of our pups have ended up with families in California. I re-contacted Sallie for permission to put her as a reference on our website. Her Maddie was a puppy of Misty's in 2004 and is obviously a treasured member of her family. Here are emails from 2004 up to 2007.

 Summer 2004

Yes, we are in love with Madison.  It’s been 15 years since we have had a puppy in the house, so it has taken a bit of getting used to….chewing, housetraining, etc.  Tennis ball playing has commenced……..which helps quite a bit with keeping Maddie active.

Winter 2007

Of course you may use the attached.  I see that Maddie (Madison) is quite prominently featured already!  She is the B&W puppy in the heart, looking over the shoulder (the most adorable puppy you have!) and I believe that is her "pointing".  She had the distinctive 3 black spots on her back.....

 
I will send along current pictures shortly.  Though heavier in build than Misty, I think she takes after her mother more than any other dog on your website.  The faces are almost identical, and I always wondered why Maddie hunches down to anticipate someone throwing a tennis ball!  Does Misty's tail go crazy then too, like the whole back half is going to shake off?
 
It was great hearing from you!

Sallie

 

Here is an email that came in a few days after "Astro" arrived in Reno, Nevada. Astro was a puppy from a 2006 litter.

Beth,
I want to tell you that we are very happy with Astro. He is a good quality
healty dog. He is giving all my cats a good work out. He is getting big but
is still so cute!! It is nice to have the two dogs to compair each other to.
Astro was a home raised dog. We thought Lady Bird was home raised until she
got here and we found out that she was a kennel puppy and was very
mistreated she is scared to death of men, and came to us with raging ear
infections in both ears, and fairly skinny. I can say your dog came in much
better quality. He is starting to heel when you tell him to and is starting
to play fetch. He is doing very well with the house training if we can keep
an eye on him. He is doing much better then Lady Bird I think she will take
a lot of time and much TLC to get her to come around she is making progress
but fairly slowly. Thank you for the care that you give your puppies.
Melissa & Troy

A favorite family of ours lives in CA and have returned to Misty's litters 3 times to pick out puppies. Julie and her family are Misty's biggest fans and I get the best emails from them that will help describe the Springer temperament.

This family did come back and took home Lucy and Linus!

 

 

 

 

 

Rufus grew up into a teenager....

Hi Beth-
 
 I have been trying to find time to send you the microchip and health info- getting Rufus' AKC papers today reminded me, and I'm finally getting disciplined about it.
 
 First of all, he is a DREAM DOG!  Just mellow (but not lethargic- definitely still a normal puppy!)  amiable and affectionate- and SO SMART!  He "shakes", "sits", "comes" and lies "down". He uses the dog door- although he still hasn't totally made the connection to not start to squat in the living room if he's too busy to go to the kitchen. That's cool- he's picked up the other stuff so easily, I know it's just a matter of time and maturity.    I'll send pics this next week- just need to have the time to do it.
So many friends have asked about your breeding "program"; if you ever do this again, let me know, as I really think you have some eager customers--- including us, down the road.

xoxo Julie

 

Hi Beth-
 
 I only have a minute, with hubby still in NY, I am so busy! 
But I had to write and tell you that our Rufus USES THE DOG DOOR TO GO POTTY!
 
No, seriously, after the first day, has not had an accident! He just goes to the dog door--- bypasses the litterbox that we had started him on, and goes out!   He watched our cocker do it, and he does it now, too. It's the most amazing thing!
 
I knew Springers were smart, but I can't believe this! 
Anyway, I had to share with you guys!
 
Hope you are all well and enjoying the fuzzy pups!
 
Thanks again to both of you for helping get Rufus home to us.
RUFUS LOVES TO BLOW BUBBLES, TOO!   How funny!
I'll send pics when I can- using an old computer while our "real' one gets fixed, so nothing works right!
xoxoxo
Julie
 
We're all fine- busy getting into our school routine and doing some remodeling. Rufus is great- and is very into the little plastic pool we bought him to keep him out of the Jacuzzi. He's a water dog, that's for sure!
love to all-
Julie

 

Hello!
I thought you'd like to see how our guy is doing.  He's still the softest, floppiest pup you ever saw- and totally mellow.  He's fully housebroken and we're impressed with how easy it has been to train him (except for wanting to get to the cats- that's still hard for him-lol!). He adores the kids, and we just can't imagine our house without him--- THANK YOU!

This is from Peter and Shar from CA who bought Barnie, a Black and White girl. Barnie is short for Barnacle because they live on a boat on the ocean. Barnie goes for swims and has learned to chase balls! This email came in when Barnie was almost a year old.
I took Barnie out to the boat the day after I sent you this email.  I didn't take the boat out just brought her aboard to see the reaction and to get her used to getting on and off.  You should have seen her screaming around running around the deck and sniffing out everything below.  It was wonderful.  It was very noisy as the wind was up to over 30 knots and the tarp I have over the companionway was flogging something terrible.  She never even noticed!!

Water.  Barnie LOVES water.  On our first day home I took her to my landscape maintenance jobs.  One lawn I mow is on a 600 acre ranch with a creek running through it.  As soon as I was done we went to the creek.  She romped and played in and out of the water, screaming around.  It was wonderful.  I took her with me on Tuesday and one of Tuesday's jobs is for me to mow a lawn in San Luis Obispo that is almost 6000 square feet!!  In the middle of the massive expanse of lawn is a pond about 75' long by about 30' wide.  I threw the ball into the pond and there she went after it.  She freaked out a little when her feet couldn't touch the ground but immediately recovered and spent a good bit of time in and out of the pond at the shallow end.

Today we do 2 more jobs and one is near the ocean so we will go visit the surf and stop by the boat to go on board again and have a sniff.

You guys have a great day.

Kind regards, Peter and Shar

 

Hi Beth, so good to hear from you. Sorry for the delay but we've been busy and don't check the email as often as usual.  Sure, you can use Barnie's photos and our emails.  Would you like some current photos?  We think she looks like Misty, it would be fun to see what you all think.  She is a wonderful companion.  We took her to obedience classes for 8 sessions and learned quite a lot.  She comes immediately when called.  She is great on a lead.  She is good just walking along sniffing EVERYTHING!!  She sits.  She stays.  She loves to play ball.  I bought a plastic device called "Chuck It" it is a handle that holds a tennis ball at one end and you throw with it.  The ball goes an incredible distance and you should see Barnie tear after it, time after time after time.  Most times I stop her as I'm afraid she will exhaust herself.

She sleeps on our double bed and finds her spot down on the end somewhere.   The hair on the top of her head and her ears are the most beautiful color when the sunlight is behind her.  It is hard to describe but sort of maroon.  Shar says it is Auburn.  She goes everywhere with us.  She is either with me or with Shar.  She is never left alone except in the truck when we can't take her in with us.  She is a love and we love her to bits. 

Kind regards, Peter and Shar

Medio went to live with a family who we are very close friends with. When they moved to Oregon and took Medio with them, Medio thought he had died and gone to heaven!!! He loves it up there on their property playing in the creeks and the forest!

 

“Medio” is a loyal, trusting, family dog.  He is a very loving, responsive and extremely trainable dog! 

 

Whether playing in the front yard, walking in the field, hiking through the forest, hauling wood, going fishing or sitting by the swing set… Medio simply wants to be wherever we go!

 

And we are amazed at how smart this dog is… much smarter than we have been able to train him.  Not only have we been able to get him to sit, come and stay, but from over 10 acres away, we consistently get him to stop whatever he is doing and run back to us on a two word, “Medio… Come!” command.

 

There are many, many, many stories we could tell of our appreciation for such a wonderful dog.  Like how he keeps the roaming cows and bull away from the kids when we walk the field, or how he is our warning door bell when someone comes up the drive!  Suffice to say... it is obvious to us that he felt loved by as a young puppy, and it has been truly a blessing to have him be a part of ours.  We LOVE our Medio!

 

With Appreciation,

 

The Cano Family

Birkenfeld, OR

It has been 3 years since Kathy C. and her family took home their "Stacy." I was warmed by her recent email to me about how much Stacy has blessed their family. They have 4 children and I was so happy to see them get a dog. She emailed me looking for another family companion.
Hi Beth,

This is Kathy.  We got Stacy (aka baby spot) from you 2 1/2 years ago.  We are the family with 4 kids, who loved visiting with your three girls.

Stacy is an incredibly wonderful dog.  While she has an amazing temperament, I believe that the love and care your girls gave her made a huge difference in her life. 

Stacy is very, very loved.  Mark, who is now 15 will still hug and kiss her - the mom gets little of that!
She trades off sleeping on everyones bed - usually last to bed gets her.

I was wondering if you are still raising puppies?  We need some sort of poodle mix, due to allergies.  The girls would love a little smaller dog that could be on their laps more.  Any way by luck you are raising cocker spaniel / poodle mixes?

Hope all is well with your family.

Thanks again so very much for your great contribution to our family.

Kathy C.

Chandler, AZ