Duckhill Kennels continues the original model of breeding a sensitive tractable dog that equally excels as house dog or duck dog or upland dog. As owner of Wildrose Kennels, Robert Milner brought the British Labrador program to the U.S. in the early 1980's. At Wildrose Kennels he also began the development of a gentle training process for retriever gundogs, with the publication of Robert Milner's Retriever Training for the Duck Hunter. Duckhill Kennels continues that tradition and quest for breeding of cooperative sensitive dogs and a simplified gentle training process. Milner's goal is to empower the duck hunter to train his retriever into an excellent gundog and conservator of game.

Robert Milner founded Wildrose Kennels and remained owner operator until 1995 when he sold Wildrose Kennels. He pioneered gentle retriever training and the breeding of dogs to fit that gentle training process. Milner first began importing British Labradors and breeding them in the early 1980's for their wonderful qualities of calm demeanor, great hunting initiative, and ease of training.