About Us

We are a medium size training facility located in western Minnesota, one mile north of the town of Madison.  We are only 10 miles from the South Dakota border, and a fair amount of our training grounds are in the pastures of the glacial hills between Clear Lake and LaBolt, SD.  We are also fortunate enough to be located near the Lac qui Parle Goose Refuge, giving our dogs a lot of experience retrieving Giant Canadas in the early season, and the smaller Eastern Prairie Population geese during the regular season.  In addition, our area is a prime spot for pheasant hunting.  We’re so close to South Dakota that we can shoot their birds!

Our kennel is capable of housing 20 dogs, but we limit our client dogs to 10-12 at a time in order to give them the attention needed to help them reach their full potential.  And while we do work with other breeds, we specialize in offering complete professional training for retrievers.   In addition to training hunting dogs, we offer a training program for those owners interested in the hunt test game.  Our training season begins April 1st and runs through September. 

Northern Plains Retrievers is a family run operation.  While I am responsible for the training program, my wife Julie is in charge of whelping and socializing the few litters of labrador retriever puppies we have each year, including the pointing labrador puppies.  My sons, Nathan and Michael, pitch in by throwing birds, doing some obedience training, and feeding dogs.  My assistant trainer, Pete McGinty, is experienced in all aspects of the training program and has been a valuable asset for us.

We hope you think of us whether you have a retriever you would like trained, or are looking for a quality lab puppy. 

                                                    Wade Stottler
                                                    Owner / Trainer
                                                    Northern Plains Retrievers