A little bit about us…
Rock River Kennels is owned and operated by Jeff and Jena Schwartz and is located in rural Beaver Dam, WI., approximately 40 minutes north of Madison and one hour north west of Milwaukee. The kennel is situated on 70 acres of mixed cover including woods, grass fields and ponds. The kennel has a variety of modern spaces with indoor heated runs and outdoor covered runs.
Jeff and Jena have been training dogs professionally for over 30 years. They have had the opportunity to run Spaniel and Retriever Field Trials along with Spaniel, Retriever and Pointer Hunt tests. They have judged many Spaniel and Retriever events over the years. The kennel has handled over 100 Hunt Test titles for our dogs. The Kennel currently has the most Hunt Test titled Spaniels in the United States.
Jeff and Jena have a strong desire to keep educating and encouraging new dog owners to their dreams, whether it be a first class hunting dog or a national champion. Their goal is to be fair and straight forward to the people that come to me for guidance.
They welcome the opportunity to show you our facility and some of our dogs in action.
What Our Clients Say
I was introduced to Rock River Kennels and the Schwartz family12 years ago. Since then I have trained three dogs with Jeff. I say “with” because Jeff is excellent in involving the dog owner in the training process. If you want a reliable hunting partner, if you choose to extend your fun by participating in AKC Hunt Tests or maybe you want an elite field trial dog, in my opinion, there is no better place than Rock River Kennels and no better trainer than Jeff Schwartz.
Training my English Springer Spaniel, Gauge, to Master Hunter, is a remarkable journey I chose to take with Jeff and his training methods for my dog and myself. Jeff, Jena and family supported those efforts. The great cover, water and variance in birds make Rock River Kennels the best place to learn and train with your flushing hunting dog.
In 2008, I had the opportunity to meet Jeff from Rock River Kennels at a hunt test. Because I was impressed with the manner that Jeff handled his dogs, I requested that I visit his facility in Beaver Dam. Once again, I was very impressed in the manner he trained his dogs and especially the dog owners. Before I left that day, I put down a deposit for a Rock River pup. In March of 2009, I picked out my pup and began training with Jeff. My ultimate goal with my new pup was to participate in hunt tests and have a polished hunting companion. Because of my pups early positive training progression, Jeff thought that I should consider having him participate in Puppy Field Trials because of his ability.Never thinking that with Jeff’s training ability and handling of my young pup, within a period of 4 1/2 years my young pup has become a Hunt Test Master Hunter and in November of 2013 an Open Field Champion. Most important, he’s become my hunting companion which was my ultimate goal.
I have been training my English Cockers with Jeff for 8 years now. He is a wonderful trainer: patient (with me and my dogs), flexible in looking for solutions to problems, and really shares my joy in watching dogs work. I joke that Jeff is my dogs’ second favorite person in the world, but its also true. I also feel entirely comfortable leaving them at “boarding school”, when I travel and need to kennel them.