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“B” Litter Puppy Update: Mowgli in Kearney

June 28, 2011

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I was just feeling guilty about neglecting the blog for a couple of weeks, when one of my new puppy owners (2011 litter who went home in April) came to the rescue!  I’ve been a full time Girl Scout leader the last few weeks, getting my certifications through the council and the Red Cross so that I can host Girl Scout camps.

But back to the dogs!  Joel, Jenn and their girls out in Kearney, Nebraska sent pictures and an update of four month old Mowgli (formerly known as Buster).  Looks and sounds like he’s having lots of fun!

We thought you would like to see a few pictures of Mowgli.  We love him and can’t imagine life without him.  He loves to point any bird he can find.  Mowgli and I exercise a lot.  He is happiest when he is with us! He has yet to run off from us, when we are hanging around outside he wants to be where we are so he never goes far.  Another funny thing is, when I take Mowgli out to exercise people stop us all the time to comment on him.  They ask what breed he is and say he is such a nice looking dog. We are having a great time with him and I am certain he is the most handsome boy I have ever seen!

Mowgli and the girls look like they were ready for Easter!

Mowgli cruising on the boat

Tongues wagging!:)

 

Bluestem Kennels joins the Nebraska Kennel Club

June 15, 2011

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Cordelia and I are the newest members of the Nebraska Kennel Club, with BB at 14 weeks

Bluestem Kennels is proud to announce that we are now members of the Nebraska Kennel Club, Omaha’s AKC all-breed club.  Cordelia and I are looking forward to taking conformation handling classes and possibly doing some dog work with Canine Good Citizen and obedience.  The NKC does not sponsor hunt tests, so we will work with our hunt testing contacts through NAVHDA once we are ready to begin AKC hunt testing.

The next NKC dog show is at the Qwest Center, Omaha on July 15, 16 and 17.  For more information, see the NKC website at http://www.nebraskakennelclub.com  Hopefully, the levees will hold and you won’t need a boat to get there.

We’re still working with BB on “sit”, but she’s really doing well with “fetch”.  I’ve been meaning to shoot a quick video of our “fetch” work, but it has been crazy busy around here, so hopefully I can get that posted for next week.

Dog days of summer

June 7, 2011

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I have managed to work daily with “BB” on sit, stay, release (I use “okay” as the release command).  She does great on stay and release, but doesn’t have the “sit” pose down just yet.  So, after the command “sit” I push down on her rear and lift her chin just slightly, to put her in the position that I want.  I then give the “stay” command (you could also use “whoa”) with the stop hand signal.  Right now, I’m backing away facing the dog, so that I can catch her if she moves, but eventually I should be able to walk away with my back turned to her and she shouldn’t move.  Here’s a shot of her enjoying the “doggy pool” on a hot day this week:

BB cools off at 13 weeks

Summer is here and with it comes so many distractions!  All three kids are home, Charles just had a week-long break and the heat and humidity have gone off the charts here!   Another glitch in our training is that the private land that we normally use for water and light field work is underwater from the Missouri River flooding.  It is supposed to crest around June 15th, after a major release of water from Gavin’s Point Dam and they are projecting a record crest.  Our prayers go out to all who are being affected.

Stranded RV on River Road, Plattsmouth, Nebraska

I received a puppy update from Kyle in Nevada, via an e-mail from his father, Stan (who’s as sharp as a tack in his 80’s).  Stan reported that “Shady Lady” is up to 24 pounds and did some great tracking and retrieving practice up in Montana with Kyle.  Stan says it best, here’s the quote from the e-mail, “The other day in Montana she found and retrieved the hidden pheasant wing from 100 feet downwind!  Dropped it at Kyle’s feet!  Sign us ………. “Happy”.  I always appreciate the great updates and photos from my puppy owners; thanks Stan and Kyle!

Shady Lady from our "B" litter at 3 1/2 months

Spring in the Sandhills and other adventures

June 1, 2011

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, Puppy Update, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

We had a surprise visit last night from Kyle and his three month old pup from our recent “B” litter, named Duke.  It was a shock to see how large he is, most likely pushing the 30 pound mark.  I wasn’t able to get a measure on his shoulder, but he is tall enough that BB can run between his legs.  As Duke lives within 15 miles of our house, so we will be seeing the most of him out of any of the pups from our litters.  It will be exciting to watch him develop!

BB, Sue, Duke and Sam having a Griffon party

Duke points BB

BB and Duke had a great time playing together

Memorial Day weekend was spent up in my hometown of Valentine, Nebraska.  The dogs went for a run out on some public land outside of town and enjoyed the exercise in a change of scenery.  Working the dogs in different terrains in the off-season makes for confidence in varied environments during hunting season.

Sam and Sue on a run through the Sandhills

BB and Cordelia also take in a jog

BB swamping in a wet area near a windmill

Our next stop was Merritt Reservoir, a popular local fishing and swimming hole.  The dogs and the kids had a great time playing in the water and sniffing around.

BB points the kids playing in the lake

Sam takes a dip

Sue wades deep in the chilly water

Sam surprises us with a treasure: a brand new minnow bucket full of live minnows

In BB news, we took her to the vet for her 12 week shots and she weighs 17 lbs., a 7 lb. gain from when she arrived.  We’re getting close to being finished up with housebreaking and I’m going to start a daily obedience training regimen.  She has “come” down, but I’m going to work daily on sit, stay, whoa, and heel.  We’ve started cap gun conditioning while she’s playing in the kennel with Sue and will continue to work on “fetch” with the pheasant wing.

BB at 12 weeks

BB picks up the duck dummy while Duke looks on

Bluestem Kennels is now an officially registered kennel with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association http://www.navhda.org/.  We look forward to training and testing BB with the local Heartland Chapter http://www.heartlandnavhda.com/.