Bluestem Kennels

Future breeding and litters

I was supposed to be taking this year off, but it was the time to have one last litter with Ben and Velma, then things surprised me with Chief and BB.  I will be taking 2017 off from breeding, but have 2 litters planned for 2018.  Chief will be bred to both Fire and BB in 2018.  We will be keeping a female pup from Chief x Fire and will also be bringing in an outside stud pup in 2018 to ensure continued genetic diversity in our bloodlines.

“L” Litter Homegoings

So many happy families here!  At this point, the pups are all settled into their new homes an it sounds as if they are doing great!

Melanie and Shane will have Lynda right outside of Lincoln, Nebraska near Branched Oak Field Trial Grounds, so they’ll have lots of opportunities to run and play (and hunt!).

Mel and Lynda

Jayce and Austin take Laertes home to Central Iowa.  Austin farms and says he is starting to see pheasants again, which is a great sign since things have been so down there.  Iowa used to battle South Dakota for #1 pheasant harvest, but big corn (unfortunately for hunters) changed that.  Austin also has friends in the Dakotas to take his buddy on adventures.

Jayce, Austin and Laertes

Leia went home to Colorado with LeAnn, Jim, and Calt the Pudelpointer.  With Calt only being 5 months old, they have some training work ahead of them.  Good luck to Calt and Jim on their upcoming NAVHDA Natural Ability test with the Rocky Mountain Chapter.  Colorado looks like the place to hunt some dusky grouse, that will be on our list of trips over the next few years (like, maybe next fall).

Larry went to the far southeast corner of Missouri to do “lots of hunting” with Mark.  Mark is a Missouri Conservation Officer and also the father of a son with autism.  Their family had to be certain of solid temperament both in breed and bloodlines for that reason, as the dog has to assist and be a companion to their son’s service dog.  Plus Mark loves to hunt, so the griff was the perfect fit.  Thanks to Robin Parks of Cottonwood Griffons in Texas for introducing us.

Larry and Mark

Lucina went right across town to Papillion, Nebraska with Brent and is family.  Brent recently moved from South Dakota and so he has connections up there.  Plus he has been picking out brains about good spots down here in Nebraska (you know, you can only help a brother out so much though).

Lillian went home to Northern Minnesota with Lindsey, Todd, and family.  They also have a cabin in Canada, so this pup will have lots of “Northern Exposure”.  Their daughter in the photo (I missed her name) is studying Classics (Greek/Latin) at my undergraduate alma mater here in Omaha, Creighton University.  I promised her that she will find a job and won’t starve with a liberal arts degree (mine is in English Literature).

Clinton flew in to take Luke as a carry on back to Colorado.  He had lots of little kids waiting for him upon his arrival.  Clinton is new to hunting, but his wife Karen grew up hunting in Wyoming where her folks still have a place.  Luke will have four acres on the east side of Ft. Collins to roam.

Clinton and Luke

Luke with his kids in Colorado

Mike and Jeanne took Laius back to Missouri, just a couple of hours south of Kansas City.  Jeanne is a vet tech, so there will be lots of good care there and plenty of love from those kids.  Missouri is world famous for its duck hunting, so I’m sure that there will be plenty of that in the future too.

The family for Laius

Sue Update

One last thing before I take my oldest son to get his braces off.  I recently found out that old Sue is still alive.  Sue is the great-grandmother of these puppies and is 12 years old.  She lives near White River, South Dakota with Savannah, Trey and their new cattle dog.

I will be sure to post the article reprint of “Early Exposure for the Gun Dog Puppy” from the Summer issue of the Griffonnier later on today, but I’m just out of time for now.