The beautiful Rideau River Valley

Established in 1989, Gorsebrook is a CKC permanently registered (Perm. Reg.) Labrador Retriever serious hobby kennel located in the Rideau River Valley of Eastern Ontario, Canada, about 1/2 hour south of our Nation's Capital, Ottawa.
We are well known, responsible, involved Preservation Breeders.
Proudly Canadian


Member in Good Standing of

                           

I have been happily involved with Labrador Retrievers for over 30 years, though I grew up
with a West Highland White Terrier, Scottish Terriers & a Cocker Spaniel.

~ rarely without a dog even @ 3! ~

DON'T BE FOOLED!
Authentic, purebred Labrador Retrievers come in 3 colours only - black, yellow or chocolate. They are not called anything else.
Anything else is not a Labrador, it is a mixed-breed with loads of health and temperament problems and lacking proper coat, pigmentation and type. Regardless of registration!
Want a wonderful Labrador Retriever renowned for its temperament, working ability and soundness, to be your family's best buddy or train for other activities? Then don't buy one called any colour other than black, yellow or chocolate. Don't be fooled into buying an expensive mixed-breed full of health & temperament problems!
It could cost you greatly.

I am a dog lover but especially adore Labradors. My breeding program is dedicated to this wonderful breed of such versatility: happy, healthy Labradors of beautiful English type who love to retrieve, win in the Specialty & all-breed show rings, compete in obedience & field, are hospital therapy visitors, play happily with children and work as hunting companions. Gorsebrook is very well known for its beautiful and intelligent working-titled champions. See all our titled Labradors listed here. At Gorsebrook, the emphasis is on quality, not quantity.

My Labrador Retrievers are house dogs and companions - not kennel dogs - and so good temperaments and manners are a must. Each litter (1-2 annually) is very carefully researched and thought out a year or more in advance, considering the qualities both parents bring in conformation/breed type, working ability, intelligence and temperament, their pedigrees, records of production, their accomplishments and soundness. All Gorsebrook breeding dogs and those of other kennels I use at stud have OVC or OFA Hip and Elbow clearances and current DACVO eye clearances. I am extremely careful in this planning and in puppy raising, the benefit of which is the exceptional quality of my pups. I also have found that Gorsebrook dogs thrive over time if given new things to learn & jobs to do.

I exhibit my Labradors throughout Eastern North America at Labrador Specialty Shows, which are excellent places to study the breed. I exhibit in Working Certificate, Hunt Tests and Obedience to ensure correct retrieving instincts and trainability. Over the past 30+ years, I have also served the breed as: President of the Labrador Owners Club, Ontario Director of the Labrador Retriever Club of Canada (LRCC), Membership Director of Ontario County Kennel Club, member and Match Secretary of Halifax Kennel Club and Vice President & Education Director of the Metro Halifax SPCA. I have served on the Labrador Owners Club Code of Ethics Review Committee twice and the Labrador Retriever Club of Canada's Breed Standard Revision Committee. I currently serve as Director of Eastern ON Labrador Breeders Assoc'n, Chairperson of the LRCC, and Chair of the LRCC Committee on Dilutes.

I have taught obedience both in class and private formats since 1989, including for Labrador Owners Club and through the Ontario Community College system. I put a CD title on my foundation bitch in 1992, her Championship in 1993 and a WC a few years later. That and a trip to Crufts in 1990 taught me the value of titles at both ends of a Labrador and that both type and working ability, tied to temperament, are equally valuable. I am certified to give the Canine Good Citizen Test for Therapy Dogs Int'l (testing future therapy dogs) and the CKC Canine Good Neighbour Test and I contributed a regular interview feature to the LRCC Newsletter. I ran my own dog grooming business for some 10 years, until a shoulder injury made that impossible.
I am a certified Adult Educator/Teacher/Trainer with a professional background in National & Provincial Park Planning, with Honours Bachelor's (McGill) and Master's (Waterloo) degrees in Geography/Planning/Environmental studies.

JUDGING

**I am licensed by the CKC to judge all of Sporting Group (Grp.1) internationally.**

I am licensed & approved to judge CKC Working Certificate and Junior Hunt Tests and I am a CKC Canine Good Neighbour Evaluator

By the way, the name Gorsebrook originates in southend Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I lived for many years.
Gorsebrook School, Gorsebrook Field, Gorsebrook Avenue were all familiar locales for training, exercising and socializing my dogs, and so it became my kennel name.
Please do email with your questions and comments - I'd love to hear from you!
gorsebrook@ripnet.com

Cheers!

Leslie

Leslie Grant
 Eastern Ontario, Canada 
gorsebrook@ripnet.com