About Us

        Welcome to Dunham Lake Australian Terriers!

 Our Mission Statement:

To breed with integrity; healthy, sound temperament Australian Terriers, which are well socialized and meet the conformation standard for our breed. Improving upon the breed, producing quality not quantity Australian Terriers, in the Midwest. Producing show puppies, but focusing on raising Aussies as loving family companions. To be a helpful resource for others interested in the Australian Terrier Breed. 

About us

We are living out our dream with our 3 children, living in the country in beautiful Northwestern Wisconsin. We have 4 dogs, three of them are Australian Terriers, one Australian Shepherd, 4 cats and 3 horses. They are all our companions and live in our home. (well not the horses :^)Having owned dogs and cats for over 40 years, including having hand-reared Cockatiels, we decided to research a dog breed that fit our family that we could show and eventually breed. In 2005, we discovered the Australian Terrier and fell in love with this charming little dog. They were a difficult dog breed to locate in the Midwest, Wisconsin and Minnesota, where we live.  We are grateful to our breeder for providing us with our beautiful Aussies! 

Our two younger daughters have worked with a very experienced trainer twice a week, teaching our dogs both conformation and obedience.  We actively show our dogs in local AKC dog shows, in both conformation and Junior Showmanship.  It's a wonderful family activity that we enjoy as often as possible.  Junior's has helped develop our girls confidence.  Working with their dogs is a great way to teach responsiblity, patience and good sportsmanship. It's a wonderful program. I also enjoy stewarding ringside, volunteering when I can, it's been a great learning experience seeing how things work from the inside out. The girls enjoy working at our club, assisting where needed at dog show events. 

While we enjoy showing our dogs, and I believe, as a reputable breeder, it's good to know how your dogs compare to the standard in the show ring, they are first and foremost our companions and members of our family. They sleep in bed with our kids and have the run of the house.  Our dogs get to do what dogs like to do, run around and play with our kids on 40 acres in the country.  All of our Aussies are great with the elderly and young alike. We take our Aussie's to visit at our local nursing home, they are always a welcomed sight.      

We helped a very caring family who had an immediate need to find a new home for their Australian Terrier. We provided interim care for their Aussie, until we were able to find a proper home for this adorable little guy.  Based on our observations of him and his personality we found him a new home with this loving family.

"Jack" at our home with his new family.This is a very adapable breed, making them easy to fit into a new living environment.  Look at this happy family with their new puppy renamed "Ozzie"! Click here for Ozzie updates. 

Our Program

Our litters will be few and selective, focusing on only healthy Aussies with sound temperment that comply with our breed standard.  We have beautiful show dogs that we enjoy showing. This being said, our breeding goal is to raise sound, healthy puppies for families as companions. We have bred show quality pups, and we are concerned about improving on the breed, but simply put, placing our puppies in loving homes is our first priority.  

We health test our dogs prior to breeding, Eyes (ACVO/CERF), Thyroid (T4/TSH/VTSH) and Patella's, all have been examined by a qualified veternarian, all results were normal and healthy.  

Because we have so few dogs and plan to stay a small professional breeder, our puppies receive constant individualized attention from us. We have a special whelping room in our home, built special for our mother dog and her puppies. The room is private, away from the other dogs and activities, with in-floor heating and with plenty of windows.    

By the time our puppies will be ready to go to their forever loving homes at 12 weeks, we will have started them on outside potty training and over-night crate potty training. Our puppies have been taught sit, down, come and know their given names before they join their adoptive families! See video's on puppy page. At 6 weeks of age, they are already weened and eating solid food.  The following few weeks, before they leave to their forever homes, they are taught proper behavior by their mother and our other dogs, which is important. 

Along with good health, appropriate health testing for this breed and good nutrition, the enviromment in which a puppy is raised is key.  Our puppies receive constant socialization with not only adults and children, but our 4 cats, Molly our very loving Australian Shepherd and of course our three Australian Terriers!  These factors contribute greatly to a puppy's life experiences and will translate into the way they will perceive people and animals they will meet through-out their lifetime!

It is our desire to introduce our puppies to a variety of experiences which will make them more comfortable in many situations. It has been said, that every puppy by the time he is 4 months old should have met 100 different people.  The puppy should be introduced to people with hats, glasses, backbacks, children and adults. This goes for all breeds, not just the Aussie. Ultimately, this will result in a happier dog and a very well adjusted companion for you.

Adopting an Australian Terrier from Dunham Lake

We love talking about Aussie's if you have questions about this breed, just drop me an e-mail at info@dunhamlakeaustralianterriers.com or give me a call at 715-689-2675 or visit Australian Terrier Companions for more information and photos!