Meet the Dutch Haven Partners!

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1990: Four of the Groen kids loving on Cocker Spaniel puppies
Fenton & Shirley Groen began breeding Cocker Spaniels in 1990, passing their love of animals on to their seven children. Now that the kids are all grown, a number of us have carried on the family tradition, keeping Cocker Spaniels in our homes as part of our families, and exposing our own children to the miracle of raising puppies.

In the early 2000's, we heard about Cockapoos from friends who have a child with allergies. After a lot of research, we decided to try a litter. The puppies were so charming and adorable, they captured our hearts right from Day One.

We hope you enjoy perusing our site and looking at the pictures. We'd love to hear from you if you think it might be the right time to add one of our Cockapoos to your life!

Joe & Lydia Groen

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Lydia is a stay-at-home mom of five: Jack, Matthew, Benjamin, Elizabeth, and Samuel. We love taking road trips and often have dogs along. We are so blessed to have a large extended family and are thrilled that our kids get to spend so much time with grandparents and cousins! Our Cocker Spaniels Lilac, Dagny, Aurora, Ireland, Cocoa, and puppies Amy & Obi all get along well with our black Labrador Willow and Katie the cat. Our dogs are all great with the kids and are an essential part of keeping our lives full of fun and laughter. At the end of 2020, we fulfilled a lifelong dream of moving West, and were able to purchase a rural country estate in Oklahoma. Our connections in NH remain very strong and we have numerous trips back home already scheduled. We'll be continuing our partnerships and placing our pups back home with great families New England. Meanwhile, our whole family (including the dogs!) are enjoying the big skies and room to roam!

Fenton & Shirley Groen

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Shirley is a stay-at-home grandma with twenty-three grandchildren...and counting! Shirley often has a sewing or quilting project underway and also enjoys making photo books on Shutterfly. Shirley plays organ at church and enjoys making music on the piano at home. The dogs, Lucy, Charlotte, and Kallie love her busy household where grandkids drop by on a daily basis. The grandkids love playing with the dogs and puppies, and everyone enjoys the steady supply of melon that can be found in Grandma's fridge!

Jesse & Catie McLaughlin

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The McLaughlin family have been friends of the Groen clan for many years now. They have a busy household bustling with the love of animals all around. Tori, the oldest, loves researching best practices and implementing new programs with mom Catie to ensure the dogs are staying healthy, exercised, socialized, and groomed. AJ, Luke, and Noelle enjoy teaching the dogs new tricks. Their youngest, Lily-Cate, knows no world without doggies, and she and her friends are responsible for socializing the pups and introducing them to all the best Disney characters and songs! They all love the affection the Cocker Spaniels Princess, Scout, Bo Peep, and Miss Muffet bring to their home. There's never a dull moment in their home with a couple of Aussies and a cat to keep things well-rounded!

Robert & Barbie Lapointe

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Barbie is Lydia's sister and a full-time mom and homeschooler, while Abraham, Samantha, Marian, Timothy, Pippin, and Henry are full-time kids, walking the dogs down their quiet country road, playing in the woods or the frog pond, jumping on the trampoline, catching crickets for the chickens, and swimming at the grandparent’s lake house. Barbie and Robert have been very pleased to incorporate their kids in the joys and responsibilities of pet ownership, and Cupcake, Buttercup, Sweetie, and Kia have been happy to be included in this fun and exciting family!

Adam & Emily Vance

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Meet the Vance family of Greenland, NH. Originally from the Midwest, Adam and Emily have always been dog lovers. In grade school, Emily took any opportunity to write about dogs in reports or creative writing assignments. As a child, Adam, an avid outdoorsman, explored the woods on his grandparents farm with a dog by his side. Now, parents of four children: Jake, Julia, Genevieve, and George, and four spoiled and beloved pets: Darla and Milly the Cocker Spaniels, as well as Thomas the Maine Coon cat and Boston the chocolate Lab. The family enjoys spending time together hiking in the woods, playing on the beach, or snuggling up with the dogs on the sofa with a good book or movie. 

Josh & Nicole Olstad

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Josh and Nicole live in Farmington, New Hampshire on 5 acres of quiet wooded land with their four daughters Olivia, Danielle, Charlotte, and Clara. With both Josh and Nicole having pets growing up, and Nicole spending her high school years at the Groen house falling in love with their Cocker Spaniels and getting a small taste of puppy life, it was a great first choice for them to have a Cocker Spaniel as their first pet for their family! They have 2 beautiful adult Cockers now, Daisy and Lacey, and added puppy Luna early in 2022. The Olstad girls are so excited to help in the process of raising excellent and loving pets for others and will take their job of socializing and snuggling pups very seriously. Their favorite part so far has been brainstorming litter themes and future puppy names! 

Stephanie Osborne

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Stephanie fell in love with cockers more than 30 years ago, and they have been an important part of her family ever since. So when Covid combined with her youngest child heading off to college, it was time for another Cocker adventure! Maisy Mae has been a delight and a comfort...from trips to NH and Maine beaches to snuggles on the sofa for movie night. Maisy Mae enjoys getting together with Stephanie's adult children and their dogs, as well as weekly walks with her best friend Bella!

Bruce & Pam Trefethen

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In 2011, knowing our stud Poodle was getting older, Lydia started thinking about finding a new stud who would make a good father for future litters. It took surprisingly little sweet-talking to convince her parents Bruce and Pam that a Miniature Poodle would be a great addition to their family! Shortly thereafter, we were delighted to find Nico, who became our first official stud muffin. Young Anton was next to join the family, beginning his Dutch Haven career in 2018. Little brother Paddington is the newest addition, siring his first litter in 2021!


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They motivate us to PLAY, be AFFECTIONATE, seek ADVENTURE and be LOYAL. -Tom Hayden

Ready to Add a Cockapoo To Your Life?

Our waiting list is currently about 4-6 months long. We'd love to get to know you and have you join our waiting list!
Please fill out our application form to share a little bit about yourself and your lifestyle. 

What Our Clients Are Saying

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Having been Lab lovers for 50 years, our decision to have a small dog was not easy. Little did we know that Lucy would waltz into our lives and bring such joy, that it is difficult to imagine life without her. At 5 months she is a bundle of energy, loves people and dogs, and is intensely curious about everything, except big, noisy trucks. Lucy's transition to our home was made easy due to the care she received by Lydia of Dutch Haven Dogs. Murphy, the stuffed dog with a beating heart, came with Lucy, and can still be found each morning cuddled underneath her. Lucy has slept through the night all but the first 2 nights with us. The written routine given to us helped to get us through those first unknown weeks. Included in the pages of information given to us were tips about personality, behavior, and care. I remember Lydia telling us when we came to get Lucy, that she massaged the puppies' paws and ears daily so that they were used to being touched. To this day, it is part of my "loving" routine. And we do love her so very much. Fondly, Sandy, Kittery, ME
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​We cannot say enough wonderful things about Dutch Haven dogs. Our pup has been such a delight for the short few months we’ve had her. Everything about this process was amazing. Communication, answering questions, supplies, lists. Not to mention the love and care these pups get before we get to bring them home. My girl is an angel, she loves people. She’s friendly, she’s sweet. I couldn’t be happier. ~Heather, Eliot, ME
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I am forever grateful to Dutch Haven Dogs for uniting me with my Gemma (Santa Clara) back in 2015. From our first conversation, I knew Dutch Haven not only had the knowledge of the Cockapoo breed, but also had the passion for what they do. They raise their pups surrounded by children who nurture them with all the love and cuddles! My Gemma is the smartest, most loyal dog, and she remains by my side as my best friend. Thank you Dutch Haven for breeding dogs with good health, temperment, and beauty. Huge shout out to you from us in CT!!! Christie, North Haven, CT
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Getting my dog from Dutch Haven was the best experience I could imagine. We got Dublin 6 years ago and I still think of the first time I contacted Dutch Haven to picking him out to bringing him home. The process was seamless. I happily waited 9 months for my puppy knowing he was coming from a loving, healthy family breeder. We were kept updated about our place on the waitlist, and photos were shared once our litter was born. My dog is very healthy and happy and I credit a lot of that to Dutch Haven being so reputable and caring of their dogs. When I get another dog, it will be from Dutch Haven! Thank you and hello from Dublin! Kristin, Dover, NH
Come see more of what people are saying about their Dutch Haven pups on our ALL GROWN UP page!

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