About Us
Thanks for visiting our website! We are a family of dog lovers who are dedicated to preserving the Labrador breed.
My "real job" is a rural mixed animal veterinarian. I love fixing critters, both small and large, and I love providing affordable and quality care to the animals in my community! My husband Wesley is a farmer. He prides himself in the commercial cow herd and beef cattle operation. He claims he has no hobbies since he lives and breathes farming 24/7, but I suppose his hobby is supporting my multitude of hobbies. (Yeah, he's a saint!)
Labs were always Wes's breed of choice. My childhood dog/best friend was a Golden Retriever named Roxy, who was the best dog! So he actually had to talk me into a Labrador instead of a Golden when it came time for us to pick out a dog of our own... I came upon the opportunity to own my first show-quality Labrador, Flare, about a year after I graduated high school. Throughout our college years, Flare and I did everything together, including obedience, therapy work, and conformation shows.
Shortly after graduating college, Wes and I got married and I got accepted into vet school. My girls Flare and Bean followed me to school and were the best 'practice patients', anatomy models, and study buddies during those long four years at school. We also managed to begin our breeding program during that time, with those two as our foundation.
I have always had a strong interest in genetics and purpose-bred dogs. Flare turned out beautifully, so under the guidance of her breeder, Dr. Pam Doubek, we did all of her health testing and gave it a whirl. Our first litter of puppies in 2019 was produced from frozen semen from Nipntuck Firecracker. I poured my heart and soul into that litter and they turned out to be great pets. I fell in love with the process of giving the puppies the very best start and providing great families with great companions. Over the years we have experienced the highs and lows of raising dogs. It is not a hobby to take lightly, they call it the "heartbreak hobby" for many reasons, but there are lots and lots of happy moments as well.
Our son Russell joined our family in 2022 and has pretty much been "raised by dogs". The Labs are so good to him, so playful and patient with his toddler boy shenanigans. They are his best friends! He does a great job of socializing puppies, too.
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Swanger Farms
Home to us is our farm, located at the edge of Iowa’s Loess Hills. Wes is the seventh generation of his family to live on and work this land—something we are incredibly proud of and grateful for.
Our cow-calf operation is at the heart of our farm and a big part of what we love about this way of life. There is something special about raising livestock together! We also enjoy growing corn, beans, and alfalfa.
We also operate a small feedlot, where we finish our own home-raised calves to produce high quality beef. Agriculture our livelihood and a way of life that has been passed down through generations (our son will hopefully be the 8th gen!), and we are proud to continue that tradition while building something of our own.
Our Facility
Our Home
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In 2024, Wes and I built our dream "shouse". We went with this style of house so that we could have plenty of space for our dogs! It is a little slice of heaven in the middle of nowhere; we absolutely love living here.
Kennels

Our kennels are located in the shop part of our "shouse". Our dogs enjoy each other's company and prefer to stay in groups (rather than alone in individual kennels) so we made the kennels huge and spacious (10'x20' with a large outdoor run) to accommodate a few dogs in each. Each dog has their own Kuranda bed, but despite this they prefer to pile up all on one bed because they love to snuggle!!
Couch Potatoes

We have a living room in the shop with couches and a TV, where the dogs love to curl up and chew on a bone at night. Outside, we have a huge yard plus plenty of farm/pasture ground for the dogs to roam, as well as a ravine with a small creek right next to our house where they love to hunt, play, sniff, swim, roll in mud, find treasures, and get in trouble.









