Bluestem Kennels

Charles tuned up his bike and hooked up “The Springer” over the weekend.

On their way

Down the street

The roading harness that is on the dog was purchased separately.  “The Springer” required a slight modification, because a small plastic piece that attached the rope to the breakaway device (the part that detaches from the metal arm in case a post gets between the bike and the dog) snapped.  Charles resolved the issue by simply tying the rope to the breakaway device.

The dog rope tied directly to the breakaway piece

After the modification, Charles took a nice long ride with Sam.  He even tested the breakaway device post-modification and it was still effective.  Both Charles and the dog seem to be satisfied with the product.  I think this is the first time we have ever purchased anything made in Norway, so good job Norwegians:)

Charles also worked on the commands “fetch” and “out” with Sam.  The fetching part was easy and smooth, but we still need to work a little more on “out”.  He should automatically release the dummy on the “out” command, but we still have to pry on his mouth a little.  We’ll just keep practicing.

He first tossed the bumper

Out with the bumper

They also worked with a pheasant dummy

Sam fetches pheasant dummy

Sam retrieves pheasant dummy

Out with the pheasant dummy

Sam fetching pheasant dummy on another throw

Sam is only two-years old, so we are working on polishing him up on commands now that his natural abilities have been tested in the field.  We are also working toward the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test and hoping he will be ready for it in the fall.  We’ll keep you updated on his progress.