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SoftMaple Curly Coated Retrievers

SoftMaple Since 1979.... Kinky since 1993!

Puppies due June 14th! See information on Next litter, Show, obedience and field results	SoftMaple Curlies 8282 Soft Maple Road Croghan NY 13327 (315) 346-6608 softmaple@curlycoat.org
SoftMaple is Home of the First Curly AKC NA, OA and AX. Home of the First USDAA AD titled curly-coated retriever. Breeder of the first AKC Master Hunter who also has an AKC CH Breeder of the first liver bitch to win a Sporting group.
We are not big. We don't keep a lot of dogs. I want to be able to give each dog at SoftMaple individual attention. Often times I will lease a bitch for a breeding. This is a good way to expand or diversify bloodlines. Sometimes a breeder falls into the trap of only breeding what they have in their own backyard. The same bitch to the same stud over and over, creating puppies, but not expanding the gene pool. A breeder may become kennel blind, thinking the dog they have currently is the one to put in the whelping box, even if she is not the best choice for the breed as a whole. You need to evaluate each dog and past litters in order to make informed choices for future breedings. Breeding many dogs may get the breeder more awards, but conscientious breeding isn't about awards. Breeding Curly Coated Retrievers should be done selectively with emphasis placed on producing good health, sound temperament, correct conformation, working ability, and other outstanding characteristics of the breed.	We at SoftMaple have been active in showing and breeding pure bred dogs since 1979. Active in Curly Coated Retrievers since 1993. We do not earn our income from the sale our puppies. For me raising a litter is a very rewarding, time consuming and expensive passion. We are breeding for healthy, sound, highly trainable, versatile dogs without compromising the correct structure and breed type set out in the standard. Early puppy stimulation, as well as continued puppy socialization are key in our breeding program. We stress temperament and health. Our dogs are family companions, first and foremost. We are only interested in finding homes for our puppies in which potential owners are genuinely committed to loving a Curly for its life-time, be it a pet, show, or hunting companion. SoftMaple's Next litter
I personally have shown several dogs to the CD level, a couple to the CDX level, and one to the UD level. I have won an all breed High in Trial. Multiple Match HIT's. Match Group wins. I have shown many dogs to their CGC title before I became a CGC evaluator for the AKC. Now I don't do as many of my own dogs to the CGC, since I tend to always be doing the tests for others! I have shown 7 dogs to their Championships. (and helped put points on many others) Put a CKC Ch on one of my dogs, as well as two CKC CD's and two CKC CDX's. I put the first AKC agility title on a CCR. The First NA, the first OA, and the first AX. As well as the first curly to earn a USDAA agility title. I have put TDI's on a couple of my dogs, as well as ST (Stability Test title) I don't show as much as I did, due to job and time constraints. And usually when I go to a national specialty, I don't take any of my own dogs, since as a fancier of the breed, I like to be free to observe what other breeders have been producing over the last year. Bringing a string of dogs to show... you just don't have the time to do that all important research. Breeding dogs is a labor of love. Their health and well-being is of primary importance. We check Hips (OFA, or foreign country of origin hip score equivalent) Eyes (CERF)and Cardiac (OFA). Puppies come with a contract covering replacement of puppies that do not OFA, do not CERF, or do not pass Cardiac testing. Since a dog is a living creature, we can not guarantee that the dog will not have any problems. We do our best to check the health history of the parents, grandparents and siblings. We study pedigrees and dogs to help make informed breeding decisions. No one has yet bred the perfect dog. We will stand behind our dogs if there is a problem. The pups are raised in the home. We use the Bio Sensor method of early puppy stimulation. We temperament test our puppies at 7 weeks of age. As we know the personalities of the puppies better than anyone having lived wiht them since birth, we try to match each puppy with the appropriate family for its needs. Every pup that leaves SoftMaple goes with the condition that if for any reason you cannot keep the dog I will always take it back, for whatever reason. A curly is not for everyone. They are a strong willed, challenging, intelligent dog. We screen our prospective puppy buyers. Your not just buying a dog from SoftMaple, your joining a family. We ask you questions, and strongly encourage you to ask us questions. Anyone looking to add a Curly to their home shouldn't stop at just contacting one breeder. We encourage you to talk to as many breeders as you can. In our limited breeding program, most of our pups are placed in loving companion homes where they are never shown. A large breeding/showing kennel where the dog will be out every weekend with a strange handler, then sitting in a kennel when his show career is over isn't what I want for my dogs. Placing one of our pups in the best possible environment is first and foremost. The best environment is with a family, living in the house, participating in all activities, be it hunting, therapy, hiking, swimming, camping. . .whatever that family does for recreation. I do encourage the new owners to at least enroll in the basic levels of obedience, so they have a well behaved pet. If the owners then decide on perusing performance of conformation titles, that's great. I started in the world of pure bred dogs when I was a kid by taking our family companion to obedience classes. I got hooked on the sport! Competitive obedience, tracking, agility or hunt tests can strengthen the bond between you and your dog. As long as you keep it fun for both of you! Thanks go out to all the dedicated owners and trainers who have put titles on SoftMaple dogs. Even if the title is CPE (Couch Potato Excellent!) Here are some titles SoftMaple bred or owned curlies have earned while having fun with their owners. 29 AKC CH Champions 2 UKC CH Champions 1 CKC CH Champion 9 AKC CD Companion Dogs 1 AKC CDX Companion Dog Excellent 1 CKC CD Compainion Dog 1 CKC CDX Companion Dog Excellent 3 AKC NA (including the first in the breed) 2 AKC OA (including the first in the breed) 1 AKC AX (The first in the breed) 1 USDAA AD (The first in the breed) 3 AKC NAJ Novice Agility Jumpers 1 AKC OAJ Open Agility Jumpers 3 UKC UAG1 1 OAP Open Agility Preferred 1 OJP Open Jumpers Preferred 1 AKC Novice FAST (NF) 1 Veteran Advanced Agility Dog of Canada (VAADC) 1 Veteran Master Gamblers Dog of Canada (VMGDC) 5 RN Rally Novice obedience title 3 RA Rally Advanced titles 1 Rally Excellent title 1 NADAC NJC 1 NADAC TN-N 1 NADAC TG-N 1 NADAC TN-O 1 NADAC NAC 1 NADAC NCC 23 CGC Canine Good Citizen 1 CGN 4 TDI Therapy Dog International 2 ST Stability Test 3 Temperament Test 10 WC Working Certificate 3 WCX Working Certificate Excellent 1 WCQ Working Certificate Qualified 8 JH Junior Hunters 2 SH Senior Hunters 1 MH (including first AKC Master Hunter with an AKC Championship) 1 SR Started Retriever 1 CKC JH 1 SHR 3 ROM 2 ROMX 2 HOF 22 Group Placements 2 CCRCA National WB/BOW 1 CCRCA Best in Sweeps 1 CCRCA Best in Veteran Sweepstakes
CH SoftMaple's O' Dark Thirty JH SH MH CD RN WC WCX WCQ CGC TT HOF CR-536G27M-T cardiac, CERF, CHIC Jet's Page	Order your copy of The Puppy Diary for $19.95 ($5.50 Shipping and Handling)