About Us

My name is Amanda, and my journey with English Springers began actually before I was born. The year was 1990, and my parents wanted a dog and researched several breeds that would be a good family member. They found a picture of a Springer in a book, and the description of the temperament  seemed to fit what they were looking for. They found a local dog in the paper and a few weeks later brought their puppy home. Unfortunately for them, they didn't know how to find a responsible breeder and "Benny" started having epileptic seizures at 10 months old. He was uncontrolled on medications and the seizures began to cluster and get worse. Shortly after a year old Benny was put to sleep. Devastated and blindsided by the untimely loss of their young puppy, my parents found the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association who got them in touch with a local Breeder & member in their area. My parents met up with Denise and Keith Vanhousen, Vankeiden ESS, (who were also Breed & Agility judges at the time)- at a local show and spent time building a relationship with them. A year later they brought home "Maggie"  who was our loving family pet for 15 years.  I doubt if anyone knew that they were going to launch me on the long, crazy road of dogs!!!

After Maggie passed in 2007, My mom swore she would never get another dog, but sure enough, less then 2 weeks later, she was picking up the phone and calling Keith & Denise Vanhousen yet again!  It just so happened that the stars aligned and she had a litter with a puppy available. Soon, a Liver & White puppy named "Charlie" joined our family. All Denise had to say was "His father loved agility!" 

"Whats agility?" I asked. Little did I know that thought would forever change my path in life!

I googled "agility" and I found a YouTube video of a dog running an obstacle course....I was blown away!!! After one afternoon of research, printing out the entire AKC rulebook and reading it cover to cover, I decided that Charlie and I were going to get an Agility Championship, compete at The Agility Nationals and anything else I could think of... you know, having NEVER competed in a dog event! Without even starting, I was totally head over heels in love with dog agility.

I started training Charlie in my living room and my dad helped me build agility equipment with PVC and wood we bought from home depot. When Charlie turned a year old we took our first agility class. The rest is history! Agility of course led to me conformation shows, and needing ANOTHER springer and then of course I needed to try obedience, rally, hunting, tracking, dockdiving.....and the list goes on!

Charlie became my first Master Agility Champion and qualified and competed at the national level. He went on to obtain 4 Master Agility Championship Titles in AKC and could do anything else you asked of him on a whim! I am incredibly grateful to Keith & Denise Vanhousen of Vankeiden ESS for producing a dog like Charlie. He was a true ambassador for the breed, and a once in a lifetime dog. I am hopeful that maybe someday I will have another dog with a temperament close to Charlie's. Charlie's versatility, temperament, drive and easy ability to adapt to anything is what got me hooked on the breed. He was the first of several dogs and several journeys that started me on a path of joy, passion and a purpose. In the past 16 years I have explored most avenues of dog training and personally handled and placed over 100 AKC titles on my Springers. I am currently active in AKC Agility, Obedience, Rally, Tracking, Conformation and Hunt Training. Each dog that has come into my life has taught me incredible lessons involving connection, respect and above all else how to grow smarter from our previous experiences.

English Springer Spaniels are incredibly intuitive, smart, enthusiastic, energetic and happy- and I am so thankful to share my life with such amazing animals & the people who love them.

I am a performance person through and through, and believe a strong balance between drive, structure, temperament & health are paramount to success in all venues. I'm always available to chat about my dogs and my goals or pass along a referral for those looking to add a springer into their lives. 

-Amanda Brown

Epoch English Springer Spaniels 

Very seldomly we will be planing a purposefully bred litter which will be from akc registered, fully health tested parents, which are both active show performance and companions with titles, proven in their venues.  I strongly believe in raising our english springer spaniel puppies  with early neurological stimulation, temperament testing and evaluating to be placed with the correct family.  Interested in a puppy? Head over to our puppy section to fill out a screening questionnaire. 

Please see our list of Resources to see if this is the right breed for you.