Sire and Dam Ability | Bluestem Kennels

One more trip to the pond

August 23, 2010

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, Regional Update and/or Misc., Sire and Dam Ability Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Korthals Griffon, Nebraska Game and Parks, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Teal, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

We had to celebrate our return home with a trip to the pond, possibly our last swimming trip for the year. I think these pictures do a good job of showing what devoted family members our dogs are.

Sue and Sam watch attentively as dad winds up to throw Conrad in the water (by request)

Splashdown!

Caleb and the dogs muck about

Dad, dogs and kids

Sam is neck and neck with Dad, while Sue trails not far behind

Nebraska is more of a river state than a lake state and this time of year our lakes and ponds do something we call “turn over”. My hydrologist friends tell me that it isn’t actually that the water “turns over”, but the warm conditions and runoff create blooms of algae and bacteria. I knew I should have called a “no go” to our trip when I saw the water, but I couldn’t resist the warmth of the sunshine and coolness of the water.

I exchanged e-mails with Greg Wagner of Nebraska Game and Parks and we won’t know if we get an early teal season for Labor Day weekend until August 31st. We are ready!

Pup in the pasture

July 6, 2010

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, Puppy Update, Regional Update and/or Misc., Sire and Dam Ability Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

The clouds and rain finally dispursed yesterday evening, so we headed down to the local dog training wildlife management area to give Sue, Sam and the last pup (Alpha Female) a big run.

Sue, Alpha Female and Sam

Half of the WMA had been grazed by a herd of cattle, which made the area easier to negotiate. The other half would have been difficult for the pup and my kids to wade through, since the grass was waist to shoulder high, typical for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

Getting a good run in

Full speed ahead!

Fun was had by all!

Charles, Alpha Female, Sam, and Sue on the cow trail

The old farmer saying about corn was “knee high by the Fourth of July”. This year, it is more like “head high”!

Sue and big corn

Alpha Female flies to Atlanta on Thursday, with her final home destination of Alabama. It will be time for us to focus on polishing up our training on Sam and Sue, while getting some pedigree research done (Pedigree Profiles are coming to the blog starting July 11th).

We are looking forward to the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter’s Training Days on July 10th and September 11th, with our eyes on the big prize of sharptail grouse and prairie chicken opener in my Nebraska Sandhills on September 18th.

We will miss the little pups, but are pumped up for a great hunting season and Sam’s NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test.

Dog Training: Bike exercise and fetch with Sam

June 28, 2010

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Sire and Dam Ability Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

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.

Weekend at the pond

June 6, 2010

Charity Upchurch Sire and Dam Ability Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

It was a great weekend to enjoy some time at the pond. Sam’s “Alder’s Edge” bloodline really shines when we go for a swim. Bill and Barb Jensen’s “Alder’s Edge” griffons are known for their love of the water. Sam has “Alder’s Edge” blood in the 4th and 5th generations on the dam’s side of his pedigree.