Please see below for answers to some frequently asked questions.
How do you pronounce “Drentsche Patrijshond”?
Without a Dutch accent, it’s pretty difficult to get the pronunciation just right, but it’s something like: “dren-suh pa’trize-hond”. Thankfully, “Drent” is an acceptable shortened name to use in both the country of origin and in the United States.
Do you have any Drent puppies available?
As of this writing, we have a planned breeding to occur in early 2025. Our waitlist is open – to see our puppy purchase process and submit an application, check out our Puppy Application page!
Which breed club(s) are you a part of?
We are proud to be founding and charter members, as well as current members of the board of directors, of the American Drentsche Patrijshond Association. The ADPA was founded to radically change the trajectory of the breed in the US and we are thrilled to be a part of an organization that shares our values of education and community. We no longer maintain membership with the other domestic Drent-focused organization. We are also members of the oldest Drent club in the world, the Dutch club Vereniging de Drentsche Patrijshond, where we endeavor to stay up to date with the status of the breed in it’s country of origin and learn from those who have had the breed longer than it has existed in North America.
Why “Meliora”?
Meliora is a Latin word that roughly translates to “ever better”, which is what we would strive for in our limited breeding program – thoughtfully pairing a dam and sire with the intent to produce puppies that improve on both in terms of health, conformation, temperament, and ability, as well as contribute positively to the Drent population at large.
Meliora is also the motto of the University of Rochester – the city where Ellie grew up in Western New York State. Rochester has a well-known annual lilac festival. Ellie even specially requested lilacs be included in her wedding due to the nostalgic connection to her childhood home and hometown. Unbeknownst to us, when we picked up Iris (our foundation girl) from Two Gun Kennels/Duck Creek Drents in Spokane, Washington, the city of Spokane was also celebrating its own annual lilac festival. So the name also connects back to where Ellie was raised and where Iris was born.
How did you learn how to train dogs?
I started out self-taught by simply observing trainers on Youtube and Instagram, but have since spent hundreds of hours involved in a local all-breed obedience club, taking numerous online and in-person classes, attending webinars, reading books, listening to podcasts, shadowing pet and sport-dog trainers, and more. I learn best by absorbing large amounts of information, finding the common grains of truth, and trial-and-error with my own dogs. While I don’t consider myself a “dog trainer”, I have and will instruct intro to Scent Work classes, and will gladly point those who ask towards resources to help with whatever they are looking to work on!
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Meliora Drents 