Bluestem Kennels

Sam’s Stud Dog Retirement

It was only just today that I added my contact information back on to the site, but a few weeks back it wasn’t on here.  Troy and Cristen were on their way back to Kentucky from an elk hunt in Colorado and were looking for a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon in the process.  He kept scouring the internet looking for our phone number and eventually found it and called.  I picked up the phone on that rainy evening and Troy was asking if I had any pups or dogs available.  We don’t currently have any pups and I don’t sell started dogs, but we had been thinking about re-homing Sam for several weeks.  He has sired over 65 puppies (so he’s made his contribution to the breed) and with 3 other dogs that we are hunting and training, we just didn’t feel like we were spending enough time with him.  So, I told Troy about Sam and he agreed to drive up from where he was camping in Lincoln to visit us.

Charles and I hit it off with Cristen and Troy immediately.  Very down home, hard working folks who have been long time dog owners and know how to give Sam a great farm home.  I had been hesitant to put anything out about wanting to re-home Sam because of the flood of calls and e-mails that would ensue.  I just seemed to know that the right person for Sam would find us.  Troy has a job where he can take Sam along with him and last I heard, Sam hadn’t left Troy’s side.  I am so glad that Sam has a new bud and I hope that they get to spend several more years in the field together.

Cristen, Troy and Sam

Troy giving Sam a bath back in Kentucky

Training and Hunting

We’ve gone back to skeet shooting in order to get ourselves ready for the big push coming soon.  We head to North Dakota for five days starting on Saturday looking mainly for ducks and pheasants, but sometimes sharptailed grouse and Hungarian Partridge find their way into our sights.

Charles shooting skeet

On Saturday, September 19th we chased snipe at our normal spot, but only saw a pair.  The flock that we had been going after previously must have moved on and there were no new arrivals.  Charles bagged one, but I didn’t take the time to photograph.

The following day, we spent the morning out for the last day of Nebraska Low Plains Early Teal Season.  We did spot a pair of ducks, but hesitated to identify them properly, so they were up and gone by during the time that we were hemming and hawing.  Game and Parks is very clear that we can only shoot teal during that early season or we’ll lose the privilege of having it.  Better safe than sorry.  As the day got on, we decided to sit for doves.  I hate sitting over decoys for anything, it is like fishing with a gun, not really for me.  I didn’t even get a shot off, but Charles managed to bag one.  Once again, not even worth taking a photo of.

The spread of dove decoys

Dove hunting is obviously very serious business.

Watching and waiting…

The following weekend, on Sunday, September 27th we had a good day out training Chief for the field portion of the NAVHDA Natural Ability test and Fire for the Utility Test.  With Chief we’re mainly focused on extending his range and pointing.  Fire is currently in the process of getting steady to wing, shot, and fall.  We are using the Smith method of e-collar around the loin, then stimulating the dog if it breaks on the wing, shot or fall.  Right now she is steady to the wing, but she really wants to go on that shot.  She is probably 50/50 steady on the shot.  We get good stop-to-flush, which is when the bird gets up surprisingly and she doesn’t chase it.  Her retrieves are really nice.  I don’t photograph when I’m running the e-collar remote while Charles guns, so most of these are with Chief.

Fire on the run

Chief on the run

Chief and Fire

Chief on point with Charles walking in (22 blank pistol)

Chief on point. He doesn’t quite have the tail style down yet.

A quail going up and away

Nebraska Sandhills Duck Opener

We spent the weekend of October 3-4 in our usual spot for Nebraska High Plains duck opener.  It was a very gray and rainy couple of days.

Dreary Sandhills

The numbers were not what we were used to and when we did get into a bunch of of ducks, we just weren’t in position to take them.  We jumped this little puddle, probably 20 feet wide by 10 feet across that held 5 teal.  We broke the wings on two of them (each of us taking one) and they landed in the grass.  Since we didn’t have dogs out, we went back and got Chief for the retrieve.  He found the first one about 20 yards from the pond.  When we weren’t making progress finding the second one, we brought out Fire and BB.  BB did an amazing job locating the green-winged teal with the broken wing about 60 yards away from where it went down.

BB’s fabulous retrieve

The next thing we did was walk about 7 miles along a creek that has been turned into a network of beaver dam ponds.  This area has produced for us year after year.  Of course, we’re loaded for ducks and see tons of snipe.  On our second sweep, we were loaded for snipe, but saw nothing.  This is a spot that we’ve taken duck limits for 3 people on opening day, but there was no mojo that day.  I was done.  I had been rained on and all sweated up, so I camped out in the truck while Chief and Charles took 7 snipe in another spot.  I was lazy and didn’t get a picture because I had sat in the truck freezing for 2 1/2 hours.  But Charles said that Chief retrieved every single one of them to hand.

Sunday was a similar story.  We spent several hours walking a very tough 5 miles along a winding creek with a tangle around it, hoping for wood ducks and saw nothing.  We went walked another couple miles at another spot and got a big flock of teal up out of range.  One of the big ponds was full of ducks, but we didn’t have our canoe with us to get at them.  Again, I bail towards the end of the day.  Charles and Fire took a nice wood duck drake.  That was it on the day.

Charles, Fire and the Wood Duck drake with no woods in sight.

Pupdates

Congratulations to Matt and Chloe on their recent accomplishments!  Chloe is from our 2015 “J” Litter between Sam and BB.  You can sure tell that she is Fire’s sister (but not littermates, Fire is a year older).  She just earned her NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II here at the Heartland Chapter test.

Chloe’s water approach Photo by Pam Robinson

Matt and Chloe

She also just finished her last leg of her AKC Junior Hunter title on Sunday!  She picked up a fourth place ribbon at the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Nebraska’s Amateur Walking Puppy AKC Field Trial on September 17th.  Congratulations AKC/NAVHDA Bluestem Blooming Sunflower JH NA II “Chloe” and Matt!!

George and Harry (a girl) from our “H’ Litter between Sam and Mae have been busy.  George dropped me a line, saying:

Harry is shaping up to be a pretty good girl. We’re seeing glimpses of the adult dog at this point – she’s very sweet. I believe she my be the most outwardly happy dog ever. The tail is always wagging!  She got out last fall almost every weekend, and by my count had just under 50 birds shot over her.

This fall we’ve chased sharpies, but after three times and no birds, I’m giving up on them for the year!  Blue grouse and ducks have been productive.

We had Harry spayed after last fall. We considered doing the hunt testing and breeding her for a while; however, it seemed like breeding is best left to folks that are more dedicated, responsible, invested, you know the type. It does no one a favor to half-ass genetics.

I’m attaching a few pictures. Pheasants were from last fall. It was the last day of hunting, and she put a limit in my bag as well as a companion’s later the same day.

Pictures of aspen are from this weekend and last. We jump shoot ducks off of beaver ponds in this area, and the scenery is to die for this fall.

Wishing you the best in your autumn pursuits!

Harry and last fall’s pheasants

Harry and the aspens

Harry in the leaves

Tom and Susan up in North Dakota are always busy this time of year with TracHer and crew.  TracHer is from our 2012 “C” Litter between Sam and Mae.

Tom and Susan with TracHer at the right, and a load of sharptailed grouse

TracHer retrieving a duck

Tom, Susan and Friends on ND pheasant opener, TracHer on the right

TracHer retrieving a pheasant

I am going to do a better job posting closer to weekly, it is too much to go several weeks during hunting season without blogging, then try to get it all down.  My tales get pretty lean, I leave pictures out that I wish I could include, and just drop whole topics when that happens.  Sorry to have been absent this summer, but I appreciate your patience while I took a break.  Things happen, right?