Puppy Update | Bluestem Kennels

Bluestem Kennels joins the Nebraska Kennel Club

June 15, 2011

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update American Kennel Club, Dog Training, Korthals Griffon, Nebraska Kennel Club, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

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

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, Puppy Update Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Missouri River, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

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 Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Merritt Reservoir, NAVHDA, Nebraska Sandhills, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Valentine Nebraska, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, 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/.

Welcome CKC/NAVHDA Bourg-Royal CB Bluestem

May 6, 2011

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Bourg-Royal Kennel, Puppies, Quebec, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Charles holds "BB" following the pick Friday night

A week ago today we flew from Omaha into Quebec City, Canada to begin the process of picking and bringing home our new female puppy. We arrived mid-afternoon, did a little walk about in Vieux-Quebec (Old Quebec City, where we stayed), then drove out to nearby St. Lambert-de-Lauzon, the home of Renee Fortier and Gilbert Tremblay. Renee and Gilbert hold one of the six Wirehaired Pointing Griffon kennels in the province of Quebec, where their shared language with France facilitates the importation of fresh bloodlines from champion European stock. The reason that we chose a puppy from Renee and Gilbert is that their dogs hold both show conformation titles, proving their structural soundness, and NAVHDA hunt test titles, proving their hunting instinct.

Charles and I picked our puppy based on energy level, curiosity, nose-to-the-ground and attentiveness to the bird wing. Her registered name with the CKC and NAVHDA will be Bourg-Royal CB Bluestem, recognizing the names of both kennels. Following registration with the CKC, I will be able to transfer her registration to the AKC. It is interesting to note on her pedigree that even though her sire, Cyr, is a French import, he shares a common ancestor with my current female, Sue. Both Sue and Cyr have Hudson de Rives de L’aure three generations back.

BB Pedigree

Flying with a puppy in the cabin was not as traumatic as I expected it to be. The flight attendants allowed me to sit her in the bag on my lap, with just enough unzipped so that her head could stick out. I had an international health certificate and vaccination record, so customs wasn’t a problem either.

My cute carry-on

We thought that “Bea” was going to be her call name initially, but over the last week it has developed into “BB”. The focus of this week has been on bonding, physical exercise and nutrition. She was just shy of 10 pounds when I took her to the vet for a physical the day after our arrival home and I’ve been working hard at putting muscle on her. This consists of her exercising and eating three times a day. She had no problem with going on runs with the big dogs and kids, but getting her to ramp up her eating was a little tricky. I tried wetting down the dry kibble with puppy formula, adding canned food and then finally I tried different bowls. Her intake is finally up where I want it, so I’m feeling good about that small victory. Here’s some photos of her out exercising:

Check me out!

Partners in crime: BB and Caleb

Intensity

Like a typical puppy, she sleeps most of the day, but her energy level is increasing daily. She’ll get up and play a little with toys on her own during the day and in the evening her friend the cocker spaniel gets to come back into the house so that they can play together. I put the cocker out during the day so that she can have time away from dogs and totally solidify her bond with people.

I don’t want to put too much pressure on her right away, but I don’t want to neglect my goal of having her ready to hunt by grouse opener September 1st either. I brought out a pheasant wing a few days ago and let her check that out:

BB with the wing

Charles introduced her to a live chukar yesterday when he transferred some of our training birds from the transport box into the holding pen. As I get to call all of the puppy conditioning shots when it comes to our own litter, I’m going to let him decide how he wants to continue with the bird exposure. Also, we will be doing NAVHDA training with this puppy and I’m planning on taking some AKC conformation show handling classes with her, so she’s got her work cut out for her.

Welcome, BB, the next generation of Bluestem Kennels!

Puppy Transition Time

April 25, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, VV, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 2 Comments

A week ago today, the last two puppies flew to their new homes. Four of them were picked up here at the house the weekend prior to Easter and I wanted to share the pictures of them with their new families. It was such an exciting time for everyone!

It was a rainy Friday afternoon when Ted picked up “Barb”, who will now be known as “Sammie” and live outside of Beatrice, Nebraska. Looking forward to sharing to some great Southeastern Nebraska pheasant trips with Sammie and Ted! Ted and Melody had stopped by on a sunny day a couple of weekends previous, when I took this photo:

Ted and Melody

Kyle and Beth also came by on gloomy Friday, April 15th, but happily took home my “Bart” who will now be known as “Duke” and live in the neighboring Omaha suburb of Ralston, Nebraska. I hope that we can invite Kyle and Duke for a quick trip up to Pheasant Bonanza someday.

Beth, Kyle and Duke

Nate and Emily came by Saturday morning to pick up “Ben”, who will appropriately keep his name, as he will live outside of Benet, Nebraska. Nate’s wife, Julie and their second daughter, Lydia, had business to attend to in Lincoln that day, but I’m sure they welcomed him home with open arms! It will be fun to get together with them to watch the dogs and the kids grow!

Nate, Lydia and Ben

The sun came out Saturday afternoon, harkening the arrival of Joel and his sunny family: wife, Jenn, and daughters Julie (my “pen pal”) and Jaycee. “Buster” will become “Mowgli” and live in Kearney, Nebraska. Joel is a native of Northwestern Kansas, an area that was very well promoted at Pheasant Fest (the National Pheasants Forever Convention held here in Omaha in January). We had already planned a fall trip down there, as we’re able to hunt not only pheasants, but it is the only habitat that holds both the greater and lesser prairie chicken. It will nice to be able to get some “tips” from a local and maybe get together down there at some point.

Jenn, Joel, Julia, Jaycee and Mowgli

Monday, April 18th came very early for me, as “Betty” and “Bess” made the trip to Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. “Bess” was the first to land homeward, arriving in Salt Lake City, to make her final home as “Page” with Randy and Pam in Nibley, Utah. “Betty”, who will now go by the name of “Shady”, touched ground in Sacramento, to make her journey home with Kyle and Kerrie to Sparks, Nevada.

Yet my puppy adventure is far from over. Friday morning, Charles and I board a plane for Quebec City, Canada to pick up a female puppy who is sired by a French import. We are very excited to bring new blood into the Western North American Griffon bloodlines. I will give the full details about the breeder, pedigree and the different North American Griffon phenotypes upon our return, but here is a photograph of the sire and dam that I took when we visited the kennel in Quebec last summer:

Dam Belle and Sire Cyrano with Cordelia and Conrad

Vive le Griffon Korthals!

Pupdate: 8 week birthday is here!!

April 14, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 3 Comments

Tomorrow the magic of joining the puppies with their new families begins! This week has been chock full of adventures to ramp up their little hunting brains.

Monday we took a trip over to Willow Creek Recreation Area in Papillion. I knew the terrain to be varied, with a pond and a tallgrass area, so I thought it would be a good spot for us. Last year when I took the puppies to this location, it was completely empty. This year there were many people there enjoying this little bit of the country in the suburbs, and who can resist puppies?

Everybody in Nebraska loves hunting puppies

Yet even with the constant attention, we still managed to get some work done: a little water and waterfowl exposure and some tallgrass practice. Check out the video of what we did and saw on Monday at Willow Creek: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QWvmxkcNqc

Swamping!

At this point, I emphasize that there is no pressure or scolding involved in any of these sessions, so that is why I call it conditioning instead of training. Keep in mind in viewing the videos that this is the first time for the puppies to be exposed to any of these conditions or situations. Hesitation and trepidation are completely normal responses and will naturally be overcome with continued proper exposure and training by the new owners.

Also with these videos, I use profuse amounts of verbal praise for the puppies, in a very baby-talk voice. I found myself muting the sound in my final stages of post-production, so I apologize if you find the audio annoying (guess I need to start downloading some country music to dub over).

Tuesday morning had us on the “back hill” of my property in the new puppy training pen that I built out of plastic snowfence and metal fence posts. We began our feather work by playing with a pheasant wing that I pulled out of our freezer and thawed out. Here is the video of our play time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottTY3N6O4E

From the back hill looking towards the house...things are getting greener!

Ready to retrieve!

Tuesday afternoon we ventured to the veterinarian for first shots and final health clearances. The pups are weighing between 12 and 14 pounds and all look great!

Wednesday was sort of my “final project” day for the puppies. We spent a few morning hours on terrain work (once again including water, waterfowl and tallgrass) on some private land along the south bank of the Platte River, about a half mile west of the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers. Here is the video of our Platte Valley time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjc_OXceE60

The boys have no trouble keeping up with my running, even through tallgrass

The afternoon was spent back home on live chukar exposure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8aKm9T_BR0

Throughout the week, we have also been working on crate conditioning. They’ve driven in town, on the highway and a bit of light off-roading crated up and none of them have gotten car sick or made a mess of their box, so I consider that a success.

Cruising in the dog box

What a week it has been and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of pups. I am confident that they have everything that it takes to be productive hunting companions as well as delightful family pets.

Pupdate: 7 weeks!

April 8, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

A week from today, the puppies will be going to their new homes! I know I have some excited new owners out there, so I thought I had better get an update on for today.

This week we were able to work on pair crate conditioning. This is where I take two of the puppies and place them into a crate, then take them for a ride in the car for a half hour or so. Once we get home, they then spend an hour in the crate. Everyone did fine, there was no car sickness or excessive crying. Today we start on individual crate conditioning, where one puppy takes a ride with the people, but by themselves in the crate. Then they spend two hours in the crate by themselves. My final step in this process is once everyone has had their individual conditioning session of 2 1/2 hours, at the end of the 7th week they do 6 hours in the crate. They are provided with food and water during the 6 hour session, but potty breaks are only before and after. It is a stressful process for all of us, but very important in starting out a traveling hunting companion.

I was going to pick up my chukar today, but we had a big rain yesterday and didn’t think I’d get out to working to pups on it until after things dried out, so I’m heading out to the bird farm on Sunday instead.

The pups have thoroughly mastered getting around the property with mom, so next week I plan on getting them out for a run away from the property and without mom. I was going to do it this week, but they weren’t quite aggressive enough yet on running my area with mom and I wanted to get their confidence built up before I took the next step. Here is the video that I made this afternoon of the puppies running wild in the forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGzhjcS0Pk

The final countdown begins to their new lives and we’re working hard to get them ready!

Pupdate: 6 weeks!

April 4, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 5 Comments

The older the pups get, the busier things are around here. This week was the beginning of individual conditioning, which consisted of four steps. The first step was to take the pup out of the kennel by himself/herself and place a collar on. I then carried the puppy to the back of the property and had him/her follow me back to the house. Next, the puppy and I went out to the front yard, where I placed a leash on the collar and had them drag it around, just to get used to the feeling of the leash. Lastly, we went into the house where I did some housework while the puppy stayed with me.

In addition to the individual conditioning, we are also getting out as a litter 2-3 times a day. Yesterday evening, I was finally able to get the whole litter to walk from the kennel out to the back hill with me and then back to the kennel without having to carry anyone to goad them along. I will manage to get this on film before they go home, but in the beginning, just working the dogs is difficult enough. Charles has been contributing to the puppy conditioning by firing off a children’s cap gun while we are sitting around on the back patio. It is near enough to the kennel that the puppies can hear it, but far enough away that it is just another noise to them.

There are a few videos that I took this week. The first one is just of the puppies getting out of the kennel and playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_au1MH33HI There are a couple of videos of pups showing off their natural retrieving abilities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-79m48wvndk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FQGO8XQ5QY. There’s also a crazy video of all of my dogs, the puppies and my kids on the loose (which consists mostly of me getting after a kid or a dog, but may be amusing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMPoValFiCM

Here are some photos from our individual time outside:

Barb at six weeks

Bart at six weeks

Ben at six weeks

Bess at six weeks

Betty at six weeks

Buster at six weeks

All of the puppies are doing things the way that I want them to at this point and are all creeping up on the 10 pound mark. This week we will be beginning crate conditioning and will try to take our first adventure away from mom and the home turf. I’m also going to be getting in touch with local game bird breeders to see if they have any immature birds that we can work with.

For those of you shopping for a puppy, all of these have homes that they are going to, but it isn’t too early to get a reservation for next year. I will be taking six reservations for the 2012 litter and have already taken two firm reservations with deposits, along with several seriously interested parties. If you would like to complete an application for puppy placement of our 2012 litter, e-mail us bluestemkennels@cox.net.

Pupdate: Five weeks old!

March 27, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 1 Comment

The puppies are getting very active and ready to begin the initial conditioning processes. One of the most important first exposures to a future hunting companion is new terrains and environments. Even though that by the time they leave my house, running the entire property will be easy and familiar, this is a video of their first visit to the “back hill”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbc_Hi5cYWw Giving them practice with new environments attempts to eliminate nervousness when exposed to different places such as their new homes and the variety experienced in a hunting season.

The weather on Saturday also gave us a taste of something new and different, here is a video of the puppies eating breakfast in the snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn8-uX18vyU

For my future puppy owners, the pups are currently eating Diamond Puppy kibble (in the purple bag). Most puppy buyers wish to continue the puppy food that they are eating here, but I’m sure the puppy will eat any high quality puppy kibble without hesitation from day one. To locate a Diamond dealer near you, the website offers a search: http://www.diamondpet.com/dealer_locator/

The puppies are also having daily socialization with myself and my children, both indoors and outdoors. This important activity has been ongoing with my older children since birth, but now that the puppies are “tough” enough to deal with handling from even my youngest family member, we are working/playing with them more. Here are some photos of the puppies “hanging out” on the floor of the utility room with my two-year old son Caleb and I. Bonding with humans is absolutely the most important part of starting with a puppy. The human-dog bond is what begins the process of obedience. Without emotional bonds, dogs have no desire to please humans.

Snuggling with "human mom"

Caleb takes a turn snuggling

Caleb "hugs" a puppy

More hugs and snuggling!

We love puppies!

This week, the puppies will begin individual work with me, away from the litter and their mother. Being away from the litter and mother for the first time is stressful, but it is extremely important in beginning the process of separation from the litter and gaining the confidence to be independent from them. I’m looking forward to spending individual time with the puppies and get a better idea of their individual personalities.

Pupdate: Four weeks old!

March 17, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 2 Comments

Wow, the puppies sure have changed and grown in the last week! Right after I shot the video last week, they began escaping their “sandbox” in the laundry room and were running amok. Luckily, mother nature worked in my favor and made it nice enough to move them back outside. Initially, they remained in the dog house with the door flap closed, but the kids and I brought them out to play for the almost 70 degree weather yesterday and they’ve decided that outside is where it is at!

I’ve constructed a rock ramp for them to get in and out of the dog house and have opened the door. Naturally, in the event of a weather change, I will hustle them back into the dog house and close the flap so they aren’t going in and out (unless they are so motivated that they push the door open).

They have started to eat mush consisting of Iams puppy food watered down with puppy milk replacer. Today (Friday 03/18), I was able to get a video of them eating http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zm4XDosBbA. I was also getting a little disgusted at the resolution of my YouTube videos, so I’m hoping that these new settings on the camera and software improve things!

Here are their face shots this week, too cute!!

Bluestem Barb

Bluestem Bart

Bluestem Ben

Bluestem Bess

Bluestem Betty

Bluestem Buster

With the lovely weather and the active puppies, I was able to shoot a nice long video (taken Thursday, 03/17), so I’ll let you take a look at that in place of body shots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVTq_dZSJ1U They are all weighing in at right around 5 pounds and are just a joy to be around for my entire family! We are half way to getting them to their new homes and we’re planning on enjoying our time playing with and conditioning them!

Bluestem Kennels