About
Little Blue Cottage
Our Story
Breeding Labs and Cavaliers Naturally
I have loved dogs for what seems like forever. Over the years we owned or rescued a Great Dane, a St-Bernard, a Mastiff, and a few labs. When my kids started asking to have a litter of puppies I did a lot of homework and purchased our first AKC-registered English lab. Many years and a few litters later we have retired Charlotte our English lab who now lives in southern Maryland by the water.
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Why do we call ourselves holistic breeders? I started getting interested in canine health in 2007 when our labs (Puddles and Pepper) developed skin problems. Their coat looked sparse and they wouldn't stop itching. I jumped on the web and discovered raw food. At the time it was really hard to find prepared raw food so I started making my own raw dog food with human-grade ingredients and in about one month it fixed the issues! I always had a holistic approach to my family's health and it only made sense to take care of our dogs the same way. That is now my philosophy and how I approach our dogs and puppies' health. This involves physical activities such as off-leash training, nutrition with human-grade and raw foods, and natural health alternatives to anything from dental health to flea and tick repellant.
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I would love to add more English labs to our family. They are the ultimate companion dogs. Social and loving with a gentleness that only grows with age. But our Little Blue Cottage is quite small. That is what lead me to discovered the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. In my opinion, they are like mini-labs with a shorter battery span! If you look at the web you will find Cavaliers doing anything from surfing, swimming, walking on busy city streets, therapy for older folks or children, and a lot of lazy lounging. Cavaliers mirror their human's activity level, happy to be lazy couch potatoes or fitness buffs! Actually, the best part of our Cavalier, Penny, is that if I want to stay in bed she's happy to go back to sleep - as long as she can be next to me. I was looking for a small breed that was fun, social, and would get along with kids and other animals and the Cavalier exceeded my expectations.
Why Buy From Our Cottage
Quality Holistic Breeder
If you are looking for a small ethical breeder who cares about their dogs, prefers natural options, and will be there for you along the way for any advice or just to keep in touch, look no further we can't wait to meet you! We welcome visitors (please make an appointment) to our Little Blue Cottage.​
Our puppies are started with Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) which has been studied and shown to help puppies mature at an earlier age and increase immune system activity (see our FAQ on ENS benefits).
We also start our puppies with potty training and crate training so your puppy's transition to your home will be easy. They get handled multiple times a day, and because they are raised in our house they are used to all the noise that comes with a household from the doorbell to the dishwasher, doors closing, and the vacuum. And they are around cats and other dogs. That is the ultimate socializing!
We believe our puppies will adjust to your home and be easy to train because of all the hard work we put into getting them started on their training before they get to your house, and according to our puppy parents that is worth its weight in gold!
