Submitted by: Judy Stephens-Wilson on Apr 07, 2011
I want to rate 6R Upland Kennels a 10+, but sadly the rating only goes to 5. But I still give it a 10+ out of 5. I want to explain how I know the quality of 6R Upland Kennels is a 10+. If you are a GSP lover, you'll hang in here and read this. Otherwise I guess you’ll just have to hug your lab.
When we contacted Chris, Dave and I had raised 9 puppies and 2 children during our years together, often several of the above at the same time. 4 of our dogs were GSP's so we have strong notions of what a "good one" should be like. WARNING: If you are as weak-willed as we seem to be, beware browsing alone through the 6R Upland Kennel website. The dogs are beautiful.
Since we had recently lost 2 of our GSP's due to old age, we had decided that we didn't want another dog. We were done with dogs. However, my husband dared to browse Chris' website alone, and we quickly changed our minds. (You may not be surprised to know that we have now joined a "Don't Look at Puppies on a Website" self-help weekly support group.) Bear in mind that since we had raised so many puppies, we are obnoxiously particular in our GSP standards.
With the patience of the biblical Job, Chris graciously stayed with us throughout the entire process, and I do mean process. Despite our standards, due to our grief over the recent death of our 2 dogs, we seemed to be somewhat unsure when it came to actually selecting a dog...a mature trained dog, a puppy, a youngster ready to be trained...we didn't really know. But we were certain we wanted one from Chris' line. His dogs are absolutely beautiful, intelligent, social, even-tempered, extremely talented natural hunters, and for good measure, loaded with personality. (Hey, you can't pick your kids, but you can pick your pups). We wanted this dog to be the "best one ever!"
Giving us several options, Chris showed us all around his kennels. Recognizing our emotional dilemma, he even said we could take one home and "try it out.” The problem is that Chris is so passionate about his dogs that we always wanted the one he had just talked about, and he talked about so many of his great pups.
We finally chose a beautiful male pup we named Osmond, Ozzy for short. When he finishes his field training with Chris, he will be Dr. Oz, GPS PhD. Oz is all we wanted and so much more. Ozzy is our "NEO" …"the ONE." WARNING: Don't buy a pup that is smarter than you are! But thank goodness Ozzy has been very patient as he has trained us.
During this process we visited Chris more often than potential buyers should, e-mailed him, called him, and generally hung around constantly pestering him. He and his family were so patient, so kind, and very determined about wanting us to have a dog that suited us. When you select a dog from 6R Upland Kennels, it's not really about the money for Chris; it's about what he has that fits your needs. He will do all he can to match you up with the right dog, and he isn't happy unless you are happy with your choice. Since the 6R dogs are so special, it was very tough for us to choose. Chris maintains great kennels, he loves dogs and hunting, he loves talking about dogs and hunting, and his hobbies are dogs and hunting. He knows what he's doing as a breeder and has perfected his kennel's genetic line to be very predictable and of the highest quality. He is by far the best GSP kennel owner with whom we have worked. So we are absolutely thrilled to have found Chris, his family and his kennels. As you know, if you find someone who loves GSP's, you've found a friend forever, and we certainly feel we have done just that with Chris and his family. (Ozzy would have typed this, but he is busy writing the Great American GSP novel.)
Judy Stpehens-Wilson