Meet the Family Behind Nosam Kennels
We're the family behind Nosam Kennels! What began as a shared passion for sporting dogs has grown into a breeding program built on years of professional training experience, firsthand knowledge, and a commitment to producing exceptional German Shorthaired Pointers and Hungarian Vizslas. And if you've ever wondered where our name came from, Nosam is our son Mason's name spelled backward!
A Little About Our Family
Nosam Kennels is truly a family endeavor. My husband, Alex, and I have spent years training, handling, hunting, and raising sporting dogs together. Our son, Mason, has grown up surrounded by this lifestyle and has even begun making his own memories in the show ring with our dogs. Pictured with us is Zoe, our second Vizsla and the very first dog in our breeding program. Now almost 13 years old, she's where so much of our story began. Today, we're fortunate to have multiple generations of dogs in our program that trace back to her. Watching the dogs we've raised go on to accomplish incredible things, while also seeing our own family grow alongside them, has made this journey especially rewarding.
Our Background in Professional Dog Training
Before breeding became our primary focus, professional dog training was our career.
I'm a Penn Foster Certified Dog Trainer with over a decade of professional experience. Earlier in my career, I served as the head trainer at a pet resort before Alex, and I went on to successfully operate our own professional gundog training program for approximately eight years.
Together, we've worked with numerous sporting breeds and dogs from a wide variety of breeding programs. Our experience includes developing young hunting dogs, preparing and handling dogs for AKC Hunt Tests and NAVHDA evaluations, and professionally guiding upland bird hunts. I'm also an approved AKC Hunt Test judge, and Alex is currently working toward his own judging approval.
In 2024, we decided to close our training program to outside clients and shift our attention to our family and breeding program.
How Training Shaped Our Perspective on Breeding
Working with dogs from so many different breeding programs taught us something that still influences every decision we make today: Training can develop natural ability, but it cannot create genetics that aren't there.
We've worked with dogs that seemed to possess everything naturally: confidence, bird sense, cooperation, retrieving desire, and an instinctive understanding of their job. We've also worked with dogs that required significantly more training to develop those same skills, and others whose genetic limitations couldn't simply be trained away.
That experience showed us the importance of thoughtful breeding decisions and how genetics influence temperament, natural ability, and trainability. It also taught us that impressive pedigrees and titles only tell part of the story. Knowing a dog firsthand, understanding how it handles pressure, how it works with its handler, how it behaves at home, and what qualities it consistently produces are equally important.
This is the perspective we bring to our breeding program today.
Why We Do What We Do
Our passion has always been for versatile sporting dogs that can do more than excel in one environment.
We love a dog that can spend the day hunting, demonstrate its abilities in a hunt test, step into the show ring, and still be a wonderful companion at home. We're especially proud when families take the dogs we've produced and continue developing their potential. Whether they're earning titles, hunting wild birds across the country, or introducing their owners to the world of sporting dog events, those accomplishments mean a great deal to us. We value families who share our appreciation for these breeds and understand the importance of preserving their natural abilities for future generations. For us, breeding isn't simply about producing puppies. It's about applying everything we've learned through years of training, handling, and living with these dogs to make each generation better than the last.
The Next Generation of Nosam
One of the most rewarding parts of our journey has been watching our breeding program develop across generations.
Dogs we once raised as puppies have become accomplished hunting partners, titled competitors, and the foundation for future generations of Nosam dogs. We're proud of what we've built, but we're equally excited about what's still ahead.
Nosam Kennels has always been a family passion, and we're grateful for the families who have trusted us, supported our program, and given our dogs opportunities to demonstrate everything they were bred to be.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us!