Meet Our Family
We are a family of 11 located on a small farm in Central Texas, just outside of Waco. Our farm consists of some cattle, a few chickens, horses, farm cats and, of course, our wonderful Bernese Mountain Dogs and Poodles with their puppies! All of the children pitch in and help us to care for our dogs and are a large factor in the puppies socialization before they go to their new homes. Like kids, puppies love attention and our children's goal is to make sure your puppy will be off to a good start. There's nothing like a lot of children to make sure the puppies get the social interaction they need for a healthy disposition. With all that we have going on, we couldn't do it without Kaitlin Tindell (on the left of the picture below) and Corrie DeBoer. No words can describe the encouragement Kaitlin is to our family through thick and thin; delivering love, service and just generally being the closest of friends. It's no wonder the phrase is often echoed through our kids, "Let's show Aunt Kaitlin!" when they have a wonderful new find such as a frog, a cicada or schoolwork they are excited about. "Ate" (A Tagalog term of respect for elderly including Grandparents) Corrie is obviously not a biological Grandma to any of us but she is in the most important way--that is, she is "Grandma" in our hearts!
Our Name
What does, "Echt K9" mean?
Our last name, Krosschell, is a Dutch name that starts with a "K" and is followed by 9 letters. "Echt," is a Dutch word that means, "Authentic", "Bona-fide", "Sincere", "Genuine", "Real", "True" or "the real thing." Since we breed happy, healthy canines, we felt this name was a natural fit.
Our last name, Krosschell, is a Dutch name that starts with a "K" and is followed by 9 letters. "Echt," is a Dutch word that means, "Authentic", "Bona-fide", "Sincere", "Genuine", "Real", "True" or "the real thing." Since we breed happy, healthy canines, we felt this name was a natural fit.
Our Story
We began on our quest for the perfect family/farm dog when we lost our black Lab, Rio, to old age. Having six young children and other small critters (like chickens and ducks) that we wanted to let free-range, our replacement needed to be of a different caliber than the gregarious, fun loving Labrador (though we loved our Lab, our chickens felt very differently).
We began looking near and far for the "perfect" dog. One breed after another were removed from our possible list for one or multiple reasons after further looking into the breed. Then, one day, our kids were at a dear friend's house for a few hours. Our friend owned a Greater Bernese Mountain Dog (a cross between a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and a Bernese Mountain Dog). She sent us a darling picture of our 2 year old inspecting the dog's ears inside and out while the dog endured her check-up peacefully. The prognosis: Our search was greatly narrowed -- we had found the right track! Looking deeper, the Bernese Mountain Dog really stole our hearts. We purchased our first Berner and she fit like the missing puzzle piece into our family.
We began looking near and far for the "perfect" dog. One breed after another were removed from our possible list for one or multiple reasons after further looking into the breed. Then, one day, our kids were at a dear friend's house for a few hours. Our friend owned a Greater Bernese Mountain Dog (a cross between a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and a Bernese Mountain Dog). She sent us a darling picture of our 2 year old inspecting the dog's ears inside and out while the dog endured her check-up peacefully. The prognosis: Our search was greatly narrowed -- we had found the right track! Looking deeper, the Bernese Mountain Dog really stole our hearts. We purchased our first Berner and she fit like the missing puzzle piece into our family.
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One day, while talking to another friend who owns poodles, I jokingly told her, "I should breed my dog to your poodle. We could call them Bernedoodles!" To which she replied, "You wouldn't be the first one to do that. In fact, they make a wonderful pair." We began learning about the numerous benefits of this match (the genetic diversity aspects of hybrid vigor, health, coat qualities, etc.) and thus was born Echt K9.
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Our Puppy Socialization Team
The Echt K9 puppy socialization team the globe has never equaled the likes of! Highly honed, skilled and focused, they will not stop, sleep or rest until your puppy is 100% socialized. This tirelessly dedicated and trained crew has over 38 years experience (their combined ages). Their ceaseless call to their parents is, “Can we play with the puppies?” To which their Mom responds, “We go over this every time at breakfast. You know you have to finish your ice cream before you play with the puppies!” Then the chorus erupts, “Ahhh Mommm!”
The Echt K9 puppy socialization team the globe has never equaled the likes of! Highly honed, skilled and focused, they will not stop, sleep or rest until your puppy is 100% socialized. This tirelessly dedicated and trained crew has over 38 years experience (their combined ages). Their ceaseless call to their parents is, “Can we play with the puppies?” To which their Mom responds, “We go over this every time at breakfast. You know you have to finish your ice cream before you play with the puppies!” Then the chorus erupts, “Ahhh Mommm!”
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We are glad you have found us and hope to connect you with your missing piece as well!