Hardwood Lake Kennel

Mountain Cur Squirrel Dogs

Welcome to Hardwood Lake Kennel.  As you will see now or probally already heard Hardwood Lake Kennel is not like other kennels.  You won't see me pushing litters of pups all the time like other kennels.   I only breed to the best top quality females and I make no excuses for doing that.  Breeding to the best has left me with a long waiting list for pups, but you get the best by breeding to best.   I breed for early starting NATURAL ability pups.  Natural ability pups comes from natural ability parents.  I have to chuckle sometimes when I read some other sites saying you have to have this or that old blood if you want good tree dogs.  Let me tell you a secret.  Breeders that go backwards do that because they don't have reproducing power in their dogs to go forward.  Plain and simple. A breeder has to make up his mind if he is going to breed for better dogs or breed just because somebody has stud fee money.  My decision was I have a job for making my living, I breed dogs for the simple pleasure of having the very best dogs I can get my hands on to hunt.  I hunt hard so I think I deserve the best dogs I can find.  Just because a man hunts cur dogs you don't have to put up with dogs you have to beg to tree or those that like to mill around at the tree.  I demand better in a dog and so should you.  Enjoy your visit to this site.

OMCBA    NKC     PKC

Telephone  812-689-4474 (call before 10 pm please)                                                   E-mail       sticbow@juno.com                                     This site owned by Rodney W. Stratton.   All rights reserved.

Pictured on the left is Super Gr. Sq. Ch, Nt. Ch, Ch.Tr. Ch. Hardwood Lake Jake.  Jake's sire is 6 time world champion Streaks Redman.  Jake's dam is Rattler's Hardwood Pearl.  Both of Jake's parents are Super Grand's also.  There might be some but I don't know of another cur dog that can throw a all Super Grand Litter.  Titles are fine but not nearly as important as his reproducing ability.  Jake is the best reproducing stud dog I have ever seen or heard about and I have hunted tree dogs for 30 years.  I have seen litter after litter make top squirrel dogs.  His pups start early and make lock down tree dogs.  I will compare Jake's reproducing ability with any thing out there past or present.  Mark my words - if this dog gets to live a normal life span he will be known as one of the best reproducing dogs of all times. On the right side is a picture of Hardwood Lake Suzie.  Suzie is out of Jake and Sanes Creek Rosa.  Suzie is 7 months old in the picture and by that age was already making a  jam up tree dog.  I hunted her strickly by herself and she would tree all the squirrels I wanted and do it in style.  Her ear was all cut up in the picture but it didn't bothered her focus on slamming squirrels.  Ever see pups that don't mill?  I see it all the time!  The collars on my dogs are tracking collars .  Jake didn't need shocking collars to make him stay treed, and his pups don't either.  I guess I never will understand why people would want pups from dogs that have to carry electric all their lives to keep them off junk or make them stay hooked.

Pictured on the left is Hardwood Lake Rose.  Rose is out of Jake and White Creek Sqauw.  Rose started very young and has not looked back.  She was a year old when I got to take her to her first NKC hunt.   As luck would have it I drew a nice dog that was leading the nation for NKC dog of the year points at that time.  I was proud of Rose as she doubled the score on her cast and also took high scoring dog of the hunt to earn her 1st place win.  You will see more of Rose this year.u Pictured on the right was a dog I called Hardwood Hank when I owned him.  Hank is out of Jake and Dewey.  David Schneider now owns Hank and calls him Schneder's Hank.  Hank is a tough outfit in any company.  Hank was out of Jake's first litter of pups.  When every single one these dogs made outstanding pressure tree dogs I thought I might have a stud dog.  Three years and several litter later I know I do.  David has been doing a good job with Hank placing him in the top 3 at Elnora his first time there and winning many other hunts around the country.  Good Luck David - Hank is the right kind !