A full-service kennel offering boarding, grooming, training, and purebred puppies and dogs for sale. Our puppies are home raised and individually socialized to fully develop them into the best companion animals available to your family.
East Lane Kennel was founded based on the need of families to purchase quality canine companions at affordable prices. Carol Ramer has over thirty years experience researching pedigrees and evaluating individual dogs to develop the breeding programs that produce her "dream dogs". She has learned that an impressive pedigree can be very misleading. You have to have hands on experience with the dog that goes with that fancy title and name to truly know what you’re getting into.
Every puppy born in the Ramer home is raised with all the normal sights, smells, and sounds of family living. Our dogs thrive on inclusion! Pups are individually socialized daily to help them maximize their potential as a family companion.
Every puppy develops under the watchful eyes and helpful hands of toddlers through teens. Daily handling is a must for all our dogs. Every pup from our home is "kid tested" and "mom approved".
Multi-pet households are common these days, and your dog and cat can be the best of friends. Our puppies are all well acquainted with the feline members of the Ramer household and are expected to treat animals of all sizes with respect. The canine/feline language barrier doesn’t exist here!
Puppy availability
Because all our puppies are raised in our home, we can’t have every breed available all the time. You may have to wait a few months for a puppy from our home, but it will be worth the wait!
Our breeding stock is kept in top physical condition so as to produce sound healthy offspring. Adults are checked and cleared of all inherited disease before inclusion in our breeding program. Puppies are guaranteed in writing for a full year, two years if you are purchasing a show or breeding prospect.
We offer a small variety of breeds because we like diversity. (Our web site alone should tell you that!) We have spent more than 30 years becoming knowledgeable in breed standards, veterinary practices, and developing breeding programs that we can be proud of. And we share our knowledge with our community, working actively with our local, county and state 4-H programs.
Poodles – Toy and tiny Teacups
Over thirty years ago Carol’s father brought home their first white toy poodle puppy. Within a few years, several of these highly intelligent, easily trained canines became regulars around the farm. When Carol and Paul married, the poodles moved in with them and East Lane Kennel was founded.
Our poodle pups are bred to the AKC standard, just in a diminutive size. Toy pups grow into adult dogs standing 10 inches tall and weighing 8 – 12 pounds. Our tiny toys mature out to an 8-9 inch dog weighing 6-8 pounds. Our tiny teacups stand under 8 inches tall and weigh less than 6 pounds as adults. Most adult teacups are 6 inches tall and weigh 3-4 pounds.
Our teacups are not runts. They are selectively bred tinies from tiny parents. They are healthy, sound animals and not prone to illnesses or disease. When we say 3-4 pounds, we mean a fat, 3-4 pounds; not a toy dog with a digestive disorder or one that is starved down to size. We strive for proper proportion in our puppies, intense coats and solid colors.
Brittany Spaniel
The Brittany breed was brought to our kennel at the urging of owner Paul Ramer. An avid small game hunter, Paul liked the qualities of this small to medium sized hunting dog. Carol liked the gentle personality and the eager to please attitude of the breed, so the search was on to develop a line that could satisfy the weekend hunter yet be acceptable as a family companion during the rest of the week and the rest of the year!Our Brittanies are bred to be a 30 – 40 pound dog with an intense desire to please. A bubbly dog, the Brittany takes several years to mature out to "couch potato" status. Great with younger kids due to their smaller size, they make an ideal pet for the active family. And for the weekend hunter, the Brittany’s compact size fits great in a small kennel in the back of your SUV.
Labrador Retriever
You pick up a paper these days and you’ll probably find at least 10 advertisements for Labrador Retriever puppies with price ranges from $100 to $1000. What’s the difference? It’s sometimes very hard to tell.
Our first Labrador puppy was placed in our home as a 4-H project to raise and train to become a guide dog for a blind person. Wow, what a rush! We were hooked on the breed and when that first pup went off to become a guide, we were off in search of a new Labrador for our home.
Through trial and error we learned much about the breed: its good traits and its "trying" traits. We learned that certain field lines could be very demanding on a family with a full schedule; yet combined with a more laid-back, service performing line, an ideal match could be created. We strive for the all-around dog: one that will chase the ball for you in the back yard until your arm falls off, yet can immediately transform to a "bump on a log" when you’re ready to sink to into your favorite easy-chair to read or watch television.
Golden Retrievers
The Golden Retrievers came to our home the same way the Labradors found their way here: by being placed as a 4-H project by Leader Dogs for the Blind. The Labradors impressed us, but the Golden Retrievers astounded us. 8-week-old puppies seemed already housebroken and then were behaving as mature adults already by six months of age.
We were slapped back into reality soon after that experience by purchasing a few breeding prospects with impressive pedigrees from smooth talking breeders. Most lacked many of the traits that our first guide pup had exhibited and that demon called Canine Hip Dysplasia was rearing its head in almost every one. We quickly re-evaluated our program and began the tedious search for the dogs that had everything: brains, beauty, impeccable manners, and a healthy body to support these important factors.
Our ideal has become a reality with our Goldens. We produce fast maturing ladies and gentleman that are eager to please their families. Bred to the AKC standard for looks, and bred to our standards for trainability, health, and personality, our goldens are second to none. Look at our pups as a "golden opportunity."
Boston Terriers
Boston terriers ‘happened’ at East Lane Kennel when a beautiful example of the breed was abandoned by her owner after boarding. After bringing her in the house to socialize for adoption we were hooked on her and the breed. Highly intelligent and full of energy, the Boston Terrier has brought some fast action into the house. And there is nothing more adorable than a Boston Terrier puppy!
Shih Tzus
Shih Tzus are also bred here, on a very limited basis. When grandniece, Samantha, wanted a dog to show in 4-H, she chose a Shih Tzu dog. Her first dog took top scoring dog in her first obedience competition at just 8 months of age. Our Shih Tzus are bred for more that just a pretty face: We expect the whole package of brains, beauty, and health, just like in every breed we have.
The health and happiness of every puppy we produce is of the utmost importance. We will not knowingly allow an unfit puppy to go at any home or allow an unfit home to take any of our puppies. Every puppy we produce is always welcome to return to us if its family’s lifestyle changes and it needs to find a new home.
Carol Ramer has over 35 years experience breeding, training, and working with dogs of all breeds. She holds an Illinois food sanitation license and applies these same rules to food preparation for all dogs in her care. She is an active volunteer with the Illinois 4-H Program and is often asked to serve as a judge in animal related fields. She regularly completes continuing education courses and most recently attended a Symposium on animal nutrition at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.
East Lane Kennel is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and has been inspected and approved by the American Kennel Club.
Contact us
If you’ve been searching for your "dream dog", we may have your reality right here wagging its tail! Call us by telephone at (815)539-5321 or email us today. Happiness really is a warm puppy!