NAVHDA Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

Fall 2025 Update!

November 28, 2025

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Where has the time gone? How has it been three months since I’ve written my last blog post? We’re in semi-retirement right now with no firm breeding plans. I appreciate y’all who have been checking in, you never know if an accident could happen with two females and a male on the property.

I also love the pupdates coming through email and text. I have totally neglected re-posting those, I feel terrible. Let’s plan those over Christmas break, since I decided to go back into teaching middle school English this year and it is hectic just keeping up with the dogs and a son in his junior year of high school. My head kennel tech/son Caleb is currently holding straight A’s since freshman year with hopes of going to either Clemson or The Citadel to major in urban planning and civil engineering. Our older son Conrad is getting ready to graduate from Metropolitan Community College Omaha with an Associate’s Degree in Information Technology. Our oldest, daughter Cordelia is the sales manager at an optometrist and is thinking of finally using her finance degree in banking.

Duke was our first dog to go into retirement this year, he went out to Oregon to live the good life with Ben. We really appreciate Ben giving Duke a great home. Duke has put out some nice puppies but we really want to focus on higher level hunting test dogs. A NAVHDA UT III is respectable, but there are enough VCs nearby between our Obi and our friend’s dog Gauge that we think that we have what we want for males here.

Briar has gone to live another fantastic retirement life in Virginia with Priscilla. I absolutely love Briar’s size and she is the sweetest dog, but she just didn’t have what we wanted in the ability to take pressure in training. She was my pick of that litter, we bought her back from someone and love her genetic contribution to the breed, but whatever happened with guns and pressure in training while she was away was not good. She has her Junior Hunter, but we were nervous to try more advanced things with her. So she is a beloved family pet to a couple who spends a lot of time with her along the James River.

More of Briar’s adventures in retirement

Sandhills Hunting

Charles and the rest of the pack: Obi, age 6, Sally, age 5, and Belle being almost two went out to the Nebraska Sandhills at the beginning of October for grouse and ducks this year and it was rough hunting. Caleb went with him and got skunked. Here is the run down of the game bag:

It was day four of the hunt when he and Belle got on the board with two grouse

Belle with a limit of woodducks at an old creek haunt of ours

After a week, Caleb came back home to get back to school after fall break. The dogs and Charles spent a few days of working in Nebraska, then they made their way up to North Dakota. The hunting is never a giveaway up there, but it was more productive in a short amount of time than the Sandhills this year.

Day One North Dakota: Obi and Belle with two roosters and a grouse

North Dakota Day 3: Sally, Belle and Obi with two ducks (one a nice drake mallard) and three roosters

North Dakota Day 4: Belle and Sally with three roosters and a grouse

Charles is actually packing up today to go out to South Central Nebraska for pheasants. It is going to be a snowy trip, so it will be interesting to see what comes of it. I will be back sometime over Christmas break, I hope that everyone enjoys their holiday season!

“W” and “X” Litter Homegoings

August 17, 2025

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All of our 2025 puppies have gone to their new homes and we are going into a semi-retirement period with no current breeding plans. We have two adult children in Nebraska and our youngest is a junior in high school, so we would like the freedom to travel right now. This is our fifteenth year straight of breeding Wirehaired Pointing Griffons and breeding requires considerable time at home. This isn’t a permanent closure, just a temporary pause. We’ll keep our social media and website updated as to when we have some breeding plans established.

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The song “Everytime You Go Away” from the mid-80s has been playing in my head a lot lately, with these two litters going home over the last couple of weeks. I will try not to make this post too sappy. It really helped to go through the photos and look at all of the happy families after we spent the weekend putting away the puppy things. I cry very little, but there were some tears shed this weekend since we are doing a semi-retirement to take a break and slow down our breeding program as we get older. My term as secretary of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association also expires at the end of the month, so it will be a nice time of renewal and rebirth as I go back to teaching middle school English Language Arts full time.

I’m just going to post the photos in the order that I have been posting their puppy photos.

“W” Litter Homegoings

Wynonna went out to the coast to Charleston, SC with Erin and her daughter.

Winston went across town to the other side of Charlotte with Lisa and her family; this is their second Bluestem puppy. Also pictured is Roux from the “T” litter between Obi and Ruth.

Winston with Lisa and family of Charlotte

Wade flew back home (to us) into Omaha to live on the other side of the Missouri River in Iowa with Joe and family. This is their second Bluestem puppy, also having Gus from the “Q” litter.

Waylon is staying right here on Lake Wylie with Marcus.

Wycliffe went up to Maryland with David.

Wycliffe and David on their way to Maryland.

Washington will live with Joanne and family in the North Carolina Sandhills on the other side of Charlotte.

Washington with Joanne and family of the NC Sandhills

“X” Litter Homegoings

Xander went home with Zach down into Central South Carolina. Zach got extra redneck bonus points for wearing a King Ropes hat, of which I’ve not seen one since leaving Nebraska.

Xander and Zach of Central South Carolina

Xavier went up to Virginia with Brianna and her husband

Xavier with Brianna and her husband off to Virginia

Xerxes will live between South Carolina and Mississippi with Reed and his family.

Xerxes and Reed headed for adventures in South Carolina and Mississippi

Xena will live in Georgia with Jon and family.

Xena off to Georgia with Jon and his family

Xantia joined the Air Force, currently stationed in Mississippi with Alec and his wife.

Xaria went to Upstate New York with Dara and Pericle.

Xaria with Pericle and Dara of Upstate New York

Xandra went up to Maryland with Amy.

Xyla went home to Ohio with Aaron (with the beard). I am pretty terrible with names unless I have them written down, so I know that the younger man is his son. This is his third Bluestem puppy, having an old girl from our “D” litter still going and another from our “Q” litter.

Xyla going to Ohio with Aaron to be his third Bluestem puppy

So that is it for puppy homegoings for awhile. I do hear from owners with photos and updates, so slowing down with breeding will give me a chance to share more of those. And of course we’ll still be testing and hunting. Stay tuned in the future, even if I don’t post as frequently, I’ll try to get on once a month. Get ready for fall, here it comes!

“X” Litter Seven Weeks Old

July 27, 2025

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I’m pretty sure that everyone is going to show up to pick up their puppies, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com in the event that someone doesn’t show up. We don’t have any immediate breeding plans for the future and are taking a little semi-retirement, so we’re not taking deposits or reservations on future litters at this time.

It is super hot here and these guys are all super crazy, so it keeps us super busy. Here’s the photos from the leash and bird exposure this morning.

Males:

Xander

Xavier

Xerxes

Females

Xena

Xantia

Xaria

Xandra

Xyla

And here’s the last video for this litter! Next blog posts will be of the photos of the new families. Always a fun and exciting time for everyone!

“W” Litter Seven Weeks Old

July 23, 2025

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All puppies currently have homes, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com in the event that anyone backs out at the last minute.

The six puppies of the “W” litter have had their leash and bird exposure, as well as plenty of kids’ cap gun fire. They’ll get their crate exposure after they come home from the vet’s office on Friday. At the vet, they will have their exam, first shots and microchip.

Of course here is the last weekly silly YouTube video:

We decided to forego the posed shots and just use action shots this week. These were actually taken on Sunday when everyone in the household was around to help. The “X” litter will go through the same process this coming Sunday.

Female:

Wynonna

Males:

Winston

Wade

Waylon

Wycliffe

Washington

Now normally we use a dead quail for the dead bird exposure, but our dead bird refrigerator died (things that you have when you train dogs) a few months back, so all I had was a chukar. I use zero pressure, there is no expectation for them to pick it up. New puppy owner can get bird wings online and yank them around the yard with string like I did here if they would like. I just put them in an exercise pen and drag the dead bird around until it gets their attention.

I also like to keep the live bird caged so that they can’t put their mouth on it. We don’t want to create any bad habits by letting them chase or put their mouth on the live bird. You can let puppies chase live birds for a little bit, but I think it is better to keep them on a check cord to not create a bird busting habit.

The first puppy from this litter goes home July 31 and most leave the weekend following. It’s always a joy to raise a litter and I can’t wait to see how happy all of the new families are when they pick up their new puppies.

We’ll be back one more time with puppy photos and videos on Sunday with the “X” litter, then it will be time to post homegoing photos after that.

“X” Litter Six Weeks Old

July 20, 2025

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All puppies are spoken for, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com in the event that anyone backs out at the last minute.

I’m going to make this a quick post because it is late. We’ve been battling the heat and so I was up early doing bird exposure with the “W” litter (photos on Wednesday), then midday was pool time (it was too hot and messy to get any good photos) and then it was birthday video and photo time in the evening.

Everyone is getting big and it is hard to believe that we are coming up on the puppies going to the vet soon for microchips and first shots. If I can get everyone in the house to come outside to help me wrangle puppies when I let them out, I do that. They are everywhere.

Here is this week’s YouTube video:

Then here are the individual puppy photos, starting with the males:

Xander

Xavier

Xerxes

Females:

Xena

Xantia

Xaria

Xandra

Xyla (who had just been digging in the red dirt)

Okay that is everyone! It is getting late here and we need to be up and around early to avoid the heat, so we’ll check back in on Wednesday with the last installment (until photos with their new owners) of the “W” litter at 7 weeks old!

“W” Litter Six Weeks Old

July 16, 2025

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All puppies have homes at this time, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to get on the contact list in the event of a last minute back-out (we had one just today, but were able to place the puppy quickly).

The face shots today are really terrible, I’m not sure why my camera decided to act up. I think it’s the 14 year old lens that just doesn’t want to focus right. We couldn’t get the puppies to hold still on the ground long enough to get face photos either, so Caleb had to hold them while I photographed them.

But here we are, female first:

Wynonna is staying in South Carolina.

Males:

Winston is going just across the border into North Carolina to be a second Bluestem puppy for this family.

Wade is going to Iowa and is also going to be a second Bluestem puppy.

Waylon is going to stay right here in the Clover/Lake Wylie area.

Wycliffe is going up the coast to Maryland.

Washington is going up the road a bit into North Carolina.

As you’ll see in the video, these guys are everywhere. It takes both Caleb and I out with them to keep them out of trouble and catch them up after kennel chores are over.

Now that I have the placements sorted out on this litter, it is time to focus on figuring out who-goes-where on the “X” litter. Having last minute back-outs has kept me on my toes and I really need to tune in to this project over the next few days.

Everyone is eating quite a bit of food and that creates quite a bit of poop and so I feel like I’m always shoveling. Which is actually what I am going to do now! Catch up with you all on Sunday with the six week update of the “X” litter!

“W” Litter Five Weeks Old

July 9, 2025

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All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.

I was totally not prepared to have to find a home for a puppy over 4th of July weekend, but one of my future owner’s elderly father fell and it was just not possible for him to watch a puppy and care for his dad. But I did it and hopefully that is it for this round of puppies, but one never knows when crisis will strike.

It has been super hot and I’ve been out giving the puppies pool time in the afternoons. I put the photos on Facebook and Instagram, I’ll get them up on the blog next post since I’m super tired and just need to get through this week’s video and photos!

We’ll do photos first since those are ready and the YouTube is still digesting. These guys just get cuter and more active by the week. They got their front nails trimmed yesterday and got their new collars.

Female:

Wynonna

Males

Winston

Wade

Waylon

Wycliffe

Washington

And here’s this week’s YouTube video:

So it’s time to start evaluating puppies for homes and talking to new owners about what they are looking for in a puppy versus what they are seeing in the videos and photos. So those of you up for a Duke x Briar puppy, think about what you want and I’ll start making earnest evaluations of these guys.

I’ll be back on Sunday with the five week update of the “X” litter, stay cool!

“X” Litter Four Weeks Old

July 6, 2025

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All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.

They moved out on to the back patio today, so with two kennels it’s like 101 Griffons back there. They seem to have adjusted well and are eating kibble and drinking water just fine. Both litters will get collars this week so that they are easier to catch up in the yard. They’ll get play outside of the kennel twice a day and have toys available to them while they are kenneled. I’m exposing them to loud noises as they are being fed, just as a part of the beginning of early gun conditioning. It will evolve into me firing the cap gun while they are playing in the yard in another week or so.

Here is the YouTube video for the week:

Here are their individual photos starting with the males.

Males:

Xander

Xavier

Xerxes

Females

Xena

Xantia

Xaria

Xandra

Xyla

I’ll be back on Wednesday with the five week update on the “W” Litter! Please reach out to me if you are looking for a female puppy, I’d love to chat.

“X” Litter Three Weeks Old

June 29, 2025

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All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.

We’re in our last few days indoors with the pups and this housekeeper will be so happy for it. There’s just a funk that goes along with keeping animals, no matter how clean you keep it.

The puppies will transition this week from canned puppy food all the way up through kibble. Once they move outside, they are given strictly kibble, the canned puppy food draws too many flies. So the “W” Litter goes out on to the covered back porch Wednesday, then this group will follow (in a separate kennel, there is room for two) a week from today.

Here’s the YouTube video for the week:

And here are the individual photos for the week, males first. And my camera has been acting up in portrait mode, which makes the flash go off a bunch of times right in the puppy’s face. So I opted to get sort of low light crummy photos instead of having them flinch a bunch of times from the flash.

Males:

Xander

Xavier

Xerxes

Females:

Xena

Xantia

Xaria

Xandra

Xyla

I wish that they would all pose nicely at this age, but the honestly don’t at all. There are no really good photos until you get them outside running around. They are kind of awkward before that. I’ll be back on Wednesday with the four week update on the “W” Litter.

“W” Litter Three Weeks Old

June 25, 2025

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All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.

Here is the three week update of the “W” Litter:

It has been unbearably hot here the last few days, but luckily all of the puppies are in the basement until they are four weeks old. Once they reach that age, they are able to regulate their body temperatures, plus they just get too stinky to be inside.

I haven’t started feeding these guys mush yet since they are so big and fat on mom. With there only being six, she can easily handle them. I will start mush tomorrow, just so that we can start the process over the week of them being able to gnaw on kibble once they get outside.

When I walked in this morning with the cameras they happened to be nursing, so I pulled a chair up to the kennel and stood leaning over the top to make this video:

When they are in this “in between” stage before they are running the yard, these are the worst individual photos to take. The lighting isn’t great, they don’t want to hold still, just not my best photography. But here they are anyway:

Female:

Wynonna