Our Puppy Tale

Pete was a full-time camp director when he started breeding Labs as a hobby with his first female chocolate Lab, Juneau. As he saw other local ranching and farming families with well-mannered, hard-working kids, he decided to breed more litters, in order to instill these same values in our 5 kids, so our side business expanded. And all of our kids turned out to be the responsible adults we hoped for!

We are located in Siskiyou County’s Shasta Valley in the extreme north of California, just south of the Oregon border. We’re in the heart of the Pacific flyway, where quail, pheasant and ducks can still be found in their natural setting with a breathtaking backdrop of Mount Shasta on one side and the Marble Mountains on the other.

We also believe that you hunt with a dog 30-40 days a year (if you are really lucky), but you live with him 365 days a year. So a gentle disposition and good socialization are extremely important to our breeding program.

Another thing that really makes us different from other breeders is our “Partner Breeder Program,” in which we place almost all of our breeding female Labs in families so they don’t live at our kennel. Our kennel is primarily reserved for our few stud dogs and mama dogs caring for their litters of pups. (morning chores video clip) And they have 24-hour access to 10 whole acres on which to run and play anytime they choose!

Another thing that set us apart from other breeders are: We own 160 acres of land, 10 of which is available for our dogs 24/7. Our older dogs have an indoor-outdoor barn and full access to 10 acres of bare, flat land with a seasonal creek running through it. They love this field and you can find them outside running and playing rain or shine. It’s surprising how much they love being out in the elements! (5 acres are for the male studs and 5 acres are for our females so there are no accidental breedings.) In good weather, Pete rides his motorcycle on winding dirt bike trails on our ranch and our dogs run a good 5-7 miles, which they also love!

And don’t forget that our unique and gorgeous fox red Labs also set us apart from other Lab breeders!

In our eyes, our dogs are beautiful, but we are not show dog breeders, so looks are not our primary concern. Other hunting dog breeders choose breeding lines without much regard for temperament. Although our dogs possess strong champion hunting pedigrees, we also pride ourselves on breeding for companionship in addition to the hunt drive, point, and intelligence. We prefer dogs that aren’t bouncing off the walls and we know you do too. We find that, because our dogs are both even-tempered and intelligent, they are easier to train and enjoyable as pets. Pete calls this high power vs. low key dichotomy an “on-off” switch. We hope you’ll come to the same conclusion when you look over our dogs’ pedigrees and personality descriptions and make your decision regarding adopting a dog or puppy from us.

Pointing Labs are a relatively new wrinkle in the hunting dog world, and for some the idea of a Lab as a pointer is just too extreme. But, for a hunter like me who wants to hunt it all, and loves the temperament of a Labrador, a pointing Lab is hard to beat. We are aware that dogs bred with superior intelligence, good looks, and a calm disposition will be valuable in many other areas as well. We currently have dogs working as search and rescue team members, military and security bomb and drug detection agents, advertising models, elder comfort dogs, obedience and agility players, members of student projects, and hunt test and field trial competitors.

Pointing Labs have been bred in kennels in the United States for the last 80 years, but have become popular in the last 20 or so. They are, to those who hunt with them, the best of both worlds. They are patient in the blind, love water, and handle cold temperatures well. At the same time they quarter, search out and point sitting birds, but can also flush running birds. They are absolutely deadly on pheasants, quail and all kinds of waterfowl. But please note that not all puppies possess the natural pointing instinct. This is due to the fact that we have chosen to emphasize superior hunting ability, intelligence, and disposition above the pointing trait. However, the more generations of pointing in the background, the stronger are your possibilities of getting a dog that points. Many of our litters have 3-8 generations of known pointing Labs.

Our studs are treated well at our kennel too. They get to run several miles a day, some hunt during hunting season, and they hang out with their canine buddies in a nice indoor-outdoor area with plenty of shelter from the elements. Some take turns being “free” around our house, as well, so they can protect our summer garden from deer and ground squirrels or just be loved on by our family and our many visitors.

Marble Mountain Kennels has a state-of-the-art whelping kennel facility to care for litters of pups and their doting mama dogs. The kennel was designed to allow us to house our new litters in a safe, clean, and stimulating environment.

Finally, we believe that the socialization process is crucial to a healthy puppy and his/her future family. Fortunately, we have our own kids, neighbor kids, children of our employees, and puppy-loving friends who always seem to be stopping by to play with pups. No lack of socialization here! It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it! Here’s a video of an employee’s kids running with puppies before they begin training. So cute!

If you are looking for a quality Lab, or know someone who is, call and make your reservations soon. Our litters generally go quickly. Females usually go the quickest–mainly because they’re looking for the smallest Lab possible to fit into smaller homes and cars. What color is in the highest demand? That’s a strange one. It’s generally chocolates and fox reds, but color demand trends and cycles. One month everyone will want a black Lab, another month we get dozens of calls for yellow Labs. You just never know what to expect.

When puppies are between 7 and 8 weeks old we mark them with colored collars and put them through a puppy profile test. This allows us to rank each pup in relation to its littermates in a variety of different traits, including boldness, responsiveness to being called, scent drive and search intent, etc. It also gives us an idea of which puppy will be best suited to which family, since some puppies might be better placed in a hunting family and others might fit better into a non-hunting family. Puppies are ideally adopted out between eight and nine weeks of age.
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We understand that about 70 percent of you contact us because you have lost a long-time, faithful friend and member of your family. We know that you’re still grieving and that it has taken courage to begin a search for a new puppy. I like what Cesar Milan says about coping with a dog’s death and the importance of taking time to mourn and build up your emotional stamina to the point that you can become the pack leader–the boss–for your new dog. The good news is that you are familiar with the time, patience and commitment necessary for owning a dog. You’ve been there, you’ve counted the cost, and you’re ready to take that next step. Many people call us to share stories of their lost canine companions. Many get choked up. We want you to know that you’re in the majority and you should not be embarrassed.
We understand the tears.

Dogs are amazingly personable creatures. They sense your emotions. They’re full of such life and each one is unique in temperament. They also love their humans unconditionally. They need us and we’re not ashamed to admit that we need them too. A new puppy will not help you forget your loss, but he or she will enhance the happy memories you already have and add many new and special ones to enrich your life even more.

People often comment on how attractive our web presence is. We appreciate that, but we’re most concerned with the content of our website. We work hard to give you the information that will be most valuable in helping you choose your next canine companion. As we continue to develop our website, all of the primary dogs mentioned will have multiple photographs, a pedigree, and a helpful description. When you click on “upcoming litters” you will learn valuable information on the parents, see the puppies’ pedigree, and view pictures and videos as the puppies mature. (And, by the way, we welcome any emails pointing out potential errors in our website. We want to get them corrected right away.) Finally, while internet assistance is great, we also know that a big decision like adopting a new dog often leads to more specific questions and that’s when you should feel free to call us so we can discuss your dog-related needs and field any questions and concerns you have.

We enjoy helping you, our customers. Thanks to our God and your business, we are also able to assist others via financial contributions to the following non-profit organizations:
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In addition to owners Pete Morrill (who manages breedings, puppy adoptions, training, and everything in between) and his wife Julie (website content writer/updater, client care, etc.), Marble Mountain Kennels currently employs our kennel manager and master trainer Trenton McDaniels, who’s also taking over some administrative responsibilities, and Anna Seagal, a second master trainer.

We’re also very grateful for Bonnie, our accountant in Yreka, our website developers Emma & Rogan and their team who keep us alive online.

At the end of 2019, our dog breeding business took a devastating hit from parvovirus. We struggled for 2-3 months as we paid our clients’ veterinary bills  to save their puppies, lost four months of income, and went into debt. Local friends graciously offered to take mama dogs and nursing pups into their homes to quarantine them so they wouldn’t contract the virus. (Thanks again to Rockside Ranch, the Thompsons, the Johnsons, and the Barrs who are also beloved partner breeders with us.)

At the same time, our county informed us that, although we live in a remote, rural location, our property wasn’t zoned properly for our operation, so we adopted out even more mama dogs to people who agreed to bring them back to us for breeding (something we’ve been doing for over a decade, but not at a high level). Discouraged and confused, we put our business up for sale. During that time, God spoke to Pete and said, “Put first things first,” meaning “Put God and the things of God first in your life.” After a few months of no offers, Pete realized our action of re-homing our mama dogs created a more dog-friendly and efficient way of doing business. From that devastating experience came a new business model in which we now house all of our female breeding dogs in homes with families who partner with us and receive a share of the proceeds from each litter.

Things were just starting to turn around for us when Covid hit. We weren’t sure what to expect but, as the virus forced thousands of people to work from home, many recognized the need for canine companionship. Our business really took off from there. We were able to pay off all our debts, move to a new town nearby, buy a beautiful new home, and live in a unique place situated next to light industrial zoning that allows us to run a kennel business in a rural setting with a majestic view of Mt. Shasta.

God has miraculously brought us through a time of turmoil into a season of blessing and we continue to see His hand on our lives as he prospers our business and ministries (True North Adventures and other ministry opportunities). We are so very grateful to Him

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33