Miss Lady Madeline(1989 - 1999)

- About Us -

The Maple River meanders gently across the rolling fields of the family-owned farm in northwest Iowa, providing some of the finest upland hunting available in the country.  Sacrificing countless pheasants and Hungarian partridge to our dogs over the years, we felt it only fitting to use it as our namesake.

Over the past thirty-some years, our family has owned and hunted over a number of pointing breeds.  There were English pointers, Setters and GSPs, some good, and some not so good.  However, once the first Brittany made it's way to the Anderson household, there was no doubt the search for our ideal gun dog was over.  Since that time, a wide variety of Brits have joined us, either through acquisition or breedings.  From hard-charging, high-energy dogs (we politely referred to them as "enthusiastic") to more docile "couch potatos" who were nonetheless fine bird dogs, we'd seen them all.

Field trial folks are quick to expound upon the virtues of their Field Champions....and rightly so.  These dogs are no doubt superb athletes... hard-charging dogs that "run for the horizon" in their quest for birds.  Our experience has been, however, that the majority of these dogs are "wound up a little too tight" for our taste.

As foot-hunters, we've always felt we were best served by closer-working dogs, dogs that are true companions in the field and our home.  It seems that many others agree, and we do our best to accomodate those folks.  If you'll take a look at our pedigrees, you'll notice that the foundation of our breeding efforts is heavily laden with the Maverick bloodline.  Highly regarded in the upper-midwest, these dogs are known as close-working, solid-pointing gun dogs who hunt for their owners, not for themselves; with good noses and superb natural instincts, yet an emphasis on having temperaments that make for outstanding companions.

We are a small breeder, focusing on quality, not quantity.  All of our pups are whelped and raised in the house with us to provide the highest possible level of socialization.  When our pups are ready to leave, they're vaccinated, wormed, with tails docked and dew-claws removed.  Guaranteed in writing, they represent the finest gun dogs we're capable of producing.

I'd like to express my appreciation to my wife and daughters, who not only tolerate, but who pitch in and help with the seemingly non-stop effort required to raise puppies in the house; to Bruce and Sue Ristow for their generous hospitality and helpfulness; and to all our new puppy owners who continue to keep in touch with us and let us know how their pups are doing.  Those contacts are our greatest reward.

But most of all,  Thank you, Dad...for cultivating my passion for fine gun dogs, bird hunting, and the outdoors.  You'll always be in the field with me.

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