Bluestem Kennels

The “N” Litter is all in their new homes!  I missed a couple of photos in the process, sorry to BJ from Tennessee who took home Norman and Robert from Oklahoma who took home Nichole for spacing that off!!  Here is everyone else:

Rick from Virginia flew Nicholas back to his new home

Alan from Missouri takes home Namaste

Paul and his wife take Nellie home to Texas

Jayce and Noah on their way home to Iowa.  This is Jayce’s second Bluestem pup.

Eric and his wife took Nefertiti to the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Lori took Newman across town to West Omaha.  This is her second Bluestem pup.

Scott and his gal took Nettie home to Missouri

I hope that everyone does great with their new pups!  We are having the same experiences too with our own new little one, Stonyridge Zoro.  My husband Charles and son Conrad went and picked him up in Wisconsin the same day that the “N” Litter started to go home.  The slideshow play or you can flip through the photos manually.

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And what all of the new “O” litter owners have been waiting for, new photos of their little ones!  They are just over three weeks old and will be ready to go home May 19-20.  They are all spoken for at this time, but feel free to drop a quick note to bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be placed on the contact list in the event that someone drops out.  Here is a video that I took of them in the whelping box having some breakfast: https://youtu.be/TipjqY9YSQ0

You can click on the photos in the mosaic below to see them full size.  The pups are currently eating canned food and are up on their legs more.  Depending on how the weather goes, they will be able to move into the outdoor kennel within the next week to week and a half.  Also in that time, we will transition from canned food to kibble.

All of the puppies are spoken for at this time, please e-mail bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you wish to be placed on the contact list in the event that anyone backs out.  For those of you who have already emailed, please be patient for a response as we’ve been busy dog farming and not a lot of time for computers this last week.

We’ve had most of the “N” Litter go home and we’ve just welcomed a new pup, a little boy named Stonyridge Zoro to the family.  But those photos will all have to wait until later.  I also have some cute photos of the “N” Litter playing with a dead quail.  But I have to get these up for the new “O” Litter owners before they die from waiting.

Females

Oprah

Ophelia

Olivia

Males

Osgood

Omar

Obediah

Osborne

Orville

Otto

Owen

Oliver

Otis

Speaking of these guys, on the move with their eyes open, it is time to get them started on some puppy mush today.  I had to do these photos indoors because we had a cold snap that hasn’t left yet (it is supposed to break tomorrow), but the 6 week stacked photos should be in the warm sunshine!  Looking forward to it.

Until next time then.

At this time, all 2018 puppies are spoken for.  Please email bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you would like to be placed on the contact list in case anyone backs out.

This is where it all just gets sort of absurd.  Females who live together tend to cycle together.  So those of us who only breed for spring puppies due to fall hunting are very busy right now.  Right now the “N” Litter puppies are coming it at around 8-10 pounds, so it is like having a gang of small terriers to hang out with.  Then there’s the “O” Litter puppies, they are like hoagie buns with legs at a little under a week old.

Right now my life is kids and dogs.  I’m always messing with one or the other.  I have to make sure that “O” Litter mama Fire gets plenty of trips outside and is fed and watered at all times.  The big puppies want to run and play and eat and poop.  We have the run and play covered with the 3/4 acre fenced yard, but the food demands and sanitation needs seem to be never-ending.  The weekly process of de-worming is always a lightly organized wrestling match.

I’ll start with the “N” Litter photos at 7 weeks old!  We go for first shots, microchips and health exams on Wednesday.  It would probably take me an hour to label these with names my youngest son’s birthday party is in seven hours and I still need to spend time with these guys, frost and decorate a cake, wrap presents and clean my house.  So along with making a new video, it will have to wait until tomorrow.  But I wanted you guys to at least have some new still pics.

“O” Litter Photos

Not much going on in the whelping box but nursing, scooting around, squeaking and pooping.  They will be one week old on Saturday.

It is time to keep moving.  I’ll put together an “N” Litter video and try to label as many of those pictures as I can sometime tomorrow.  I should also do a puppy supplies and training materials post soon.  And of course, these guys need to carry around some dead birds.  Until then, enjoy these sweet little faces!

All of the “N” Litter puppies are spoken for and I am waiting for the whelping of the “O” Litter puppies prior to doing more interviews.  I currently have reservations for three females and two males on the “O” Litter and should know within a few days if I will have any puppies available to those who have submitted applications and expressed prior interest.  Once the puppies are whelped I will work through contacting everyone who has applied or e-mailed previously.  Thank you for your patience, there is so much manual labor that goes into my kennel and household, I find it tough to manage the amount of email traffic that I receive.

Here are the six-week individual photos of the litter.  I am going to work on getting a new video posted between tomorrow and over the weekend, it just depends on how my schedule works out.  Please excuse some of the weird poses that these guys are in; six-week old puppies and an eight-year old boy are quite the combination.  Thank you to Caleb for posing the puppies (correctly most of the time).  If you look at the last video or wait for the new one, you’ll see that everyone has correct structure.

“N” Litter Males

Norman

Nicholas

Noah

Newman

Females of the “N” Litter

Namaste

Nichole

Nefertiti

Nettie

Nellie

Oh my goodness, those faces!!  I have the boys pretty much figured out who is going where.  I’m going to be evaluating the girl pups and working with the new owners over the next few days to figure out where we are with the girls.  I will have everyone’s homes figured out by Sunday night and will let the new owners know via e-mail, then confirming by updating this post with the location of the new home.

Waiting on the “O” Litter

I was finally able to snag a few of pictures of pregnant Fire.  She is due tomorrow and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to whelp right now.  I will update Facebook as soon as she begins whelping and with regular updates as to puppy numbers.

It has been kind of wet lately, so I haven’t had a chance to take stacked photos of these guys yet.  It looks like it is supposed to clear off on Wednesday, so I’ll get one of the kids recruited to pose the puppies on their six week birthday.  It is sooo hard to believe how soon they will be going to their new homes!

They are totally on solid kibble now and are drinking water from the dish too.  As you can see, they are really enjoying the spring weather and getting out to stretch their legs and play.

Our “O” Litter is right around the corner and they should be arriving later in the week!  I currently have five puppies reserved with deposits on the “O” Litter and several applications pending the arrival of the puppies.  I don’t want to sell more spots than I have puppies, so this is the easiest way to avoid that.

Here is the “N” litter running around with my boys in both photos and video: https://youtu.be/L1rAc65rncw

Peeking out

On the move

Checking out mom

With Conrad (13) and Caleb (8)

Having a chat about puppies

Running about

So look forward to those six week stacked shots later on in the week and probably a litter announcement not too far behind!!  Happy Spring!!

The “N” Litter is about 4.5 weeks old now and if the weather would cooperate, they would be ready to move into the outdoor kennel.  It looks like it will be Wednesday when they can finally go out.  Right now they are eating Diamond puppy kibble mixed with soft food.  In another week or so I will cut the soft food altogether and just do dry kibble.

All of these puppies are spoken for and I have five deposits for Fire’s litter due at the end of March.  I have decided to wait until Fire whelps before doing any more interviews.  I prefer to sell puppies that I have rather than betting on puppies that I don’t have yet.  I don’t do X-rays or ultrasounds because that is just more dragging the female around and it really isn’t necessary.  What comes out is what comes out.  So I appreciate everyone’s patience who has submitted an application and we’ll see where we stand in a few weeks.

These guys have their eyes wide open, are walking around well and are almost climbing out of the whelping box.  They love to chew on each other and run around.  Here is the YouTube video for this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6KcR4CxRPQ&t=28s 

Here are a few still shots of the litter, I will get individual updated photos next time:

Here comes spring, I am looking forward to more daylight in the evenings to spend time in the yard with the dogs.

The same weekend that these guys start to go home, Charles and our son Conrad will go to Wisconsin to pick up a new male pup from Stonyridge Kennels.  We are excited and hope that the little guy turns out to be everything that we hope for him and help to influence our future breedings.

Enjoy the coming of the light tonight and I’ll check back in soon.

All of these puppies are spoken for and I have taken sufficient interest for my second litter of 2018 as well.  Thank you to everyone for your vote of confidence as a breeder.  If you have sent in an application or have e-mailed about receiving one (or with any other questions for that matter), I will be in touch soon when I clean out the inbox (P.S. I am back in school the rest of this week and will be working on kennel correspondence over the weekend and into next week).

I am taking today to get through learning the video camera system on my DSLR and the video editing features of Windows 10 Photos.  It took a few hours, but I finally figured out how to get it all done to some modicum of decency.  Here is the YouTube video of the puppies at three weeks old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJngbnzMXqc

I took individual photos of nine puppies today!  How fun!  They are all growing nicely and outgrew the kiddie pool in the living room, plus the weather has been improving, so they are back in the whelping box until it gets warm enough for them to move outside in a couple of weeks.  They will also start on puppy mush food this week.  I don’t actually call the puppies by these names.  They will be called by the collective “puppies” along with the clanging of food pans very soon.

Reminder to the future owners (I will also be sending an email tomorrow or responding to what I have), these puppies turn 8 weeks old on Wednesday, April 4th, so I’d like to have them picked up by Sunday, April 8th.  These photos hardly capture the personality of these puppies, so although you may have a preference for a particular puppy and we do our best to have it all turn out the way that everyone wants it to, the final placement decisions rest with me right after the six week birthday of the pups.  In eight years, I haven’t had a placement complaint, so I’ll take that as a compliment.  But we’ll talk as we get closer and as the puppies grow and show more individuality.

It finally feels like spring and it was 55 degrees out when took these pictures out on the back patio.  I have just enough time to get these photos uploaded and labeled with names, then I have to get supper on, then get ready for a choir concert.

Here are the boys of the “N” Litter 2018, Bluestem Otoe Chief, NA II x Bourg-Royal CB Bluestem JH, NA I UT III:

Norman, male, back

Norman, male, face

Nicholas, male, back

Nicholas, male, face

Noah, male, back

Noah, male, face

Newman, male, back

Newman, male, face

The girls of the “N” Litter 2018:

Namaste, female, back

Namaste, female, face

Nichole, female, back

Nichole, female, face

Nefertiti, female, back

Nefertiti, female, face

Nellie, female, back

Nellie, female, face

Nettie, female, back

Nettie, female, face

I will try to keep the blog updated with new photos every week now that they have their eyes open, they will sure change quickly!  Enjoy the video and photos, until next week!

All of these puppies are currently spoken for with deposits.   Email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to request an application for our second litter of 2018.

We are expecting a second litter at the end of March to go home at the end of May.  I have several applications to review and to set up phone interviews with.  If you have submitted an application, please be patient with me in getting those processed and phone calls scheduled.  I already have two deposits on this litter with one more on the way, so I have room for probably 5-7 spots, but we won’t know until Mother Nature gives us those puppies.

“N” Litter 2018

At 4 AM on Wednesday, Feburary 7th, I heard a howl from the whelping area and I arrived to find BB with one pup in the box already cleaned up and one just delivered that she was working on.  Over the next twelve hours, we ended up with twelve live births.  One pup faded quickly and didn’t make it to having their tails and dew claws done on Thursday.  I took eleven to the vet on Thursday, but two faded in the night (as predicted by the vet, they were weak and did not have the ability to suckle) and by Friday morning we had nine healthy, vigorous puppies left: five females and four males.  That is the nature of whelping a large litter, there are always a few fade-outs in the first couple of days and I’ve grown to accept that sad part of the process over the last eight years that I’ve been breeding.

BB the day before she whelped.

The view from the whelping box.

Here are the photos from going to the vet of BB and the pups immediately after their visit I took a video of them in the laundry basket at the vet that is on my Facebook page Bluestem Kennels ~ Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

Here they are settled in on February 10th, right before I left for New York City to attend the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

And finally, the photos that I took today at nine days old.

My handheld camcorder died over the last year, but my new DSLR has video capabilities.  It is just a matter of me figuring it out here over the next few days and I’ll get to posting some new YouTube videos.  Folks have asked about individual photos and I won’t take those until their eyes open at two to two-and-a-half weeks old.

I will post weekly updates until the puppies go home at 8 weeks old.  This litter will go home starting Wednesday, April 4th at the earliest, with most of them going home the weekend of April 7th and 8th.

An update about the Westminster Kennel Club dog show will be forthcoming as I prepare an article for the Griffonnier, the magazine of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association.  I currently serve as co-editor of the magazine and we were nominated for the 2017 Dog Writers of America Association Breed Club Magazine award.  If you would like to become a member to receive a copy of our quarterly publication celebrating all things Griffon, join online at https://www.awpga.com/membership

Congratulations to all of the WKC winners and to all of the future owners of these great pups!  I’ll be back with a new post as soon as possible.

If you are interested in being considered for a puppy from one of our two litters that we are breeding this year, please e-mail bluestemkennels@gmail.com and I will send you over a questionnaire.  I had over 100 initial contacts to sort through to start with and having more inquiries coming in daily, I needed a way to narrow the search for owners down.  For those of you who have already responded with a completed questionnaire, I will begin sorting through those tomorrow and send you an e-mail receipt that I have received you questionnaire and am processing it. (I need to make the questionnaire an online form that submits through the website, but I’m my own website admin and not there yet).

BB was first bred by Chief on December 12, so that has puppies being whelped the second week of February and going home sometime at the beginning/mid-April.  Fire has now been bred by Chief, with first tie being January 19th.  They had another tie this morning, so we are still in the midst.  Fire’s pups will be born mid to late March and go home mid to late May, if all goes as planned.

If all goes as planned and as it has gone in the past, I could have 20-25 puppies this season.  That number could be lower, just depending on what Mother Nature decides to give me this year.  It might only be 10 between the two litters.  We just don’t know until we get there.  I do ask for your continued patience as I am not only a dog breeder, but also a mom of three whose husband travels for business frequently, the co-editor of the AWPGA magazine, a substitute middle and high school teacher, a youth wrestling coach and a show choir stage mom.

I may not be super accessible, but I breed great dogs!!

Pregnant BB having her breakfast today.

Speaking of which, we’ve had some good hunts recently.  Back at the beginning of the month Matt and Charles went out with Fire.  The only bird on the day was Matt with a single quail.

Matt, Fire and Charles with a quail.

After that round of snow melted and before we got pummeled with these two rounds of Arctic air and snow these past few weeks, there was one day of 50 degree weather.  The roads were a little muddy, but I went for it.

Starting off a good hunt in the Missouri River valley.

BB, Chief and I worked our way diagonally across this area.  When we got to the far corner, Chief went on solid point in a clump of grass.  I kicked up a rooster and knocked it down on the second shot.  Chief was right on him and brought me the bird.

Good boy Chief

BB went on the lam down the river a ways, but Chief and I got on to a covey of quail not thirty yards away from the rooster.  There were probably twenty total that got up in three flushes, which made it confusing for Chief when I knocked one down out of the first flush.  I finally reined BB back in and she got right to finding the bird.

Good girl BB on the quail retrieve

We stumbled around some more looking for that covey of quail, but it was getting late, muddy and dangerous.  I was tripping over logs covered by grass and the wind was picking up and bringing a storm in.  And it was almost time to get the kids from school.  So as I was pulling back and trying to get the dogs out of there BB located the covey again and busted them up out of range.  Later on our way back, Chief went way out on after a rooster.  I was just in way too big of a hurry to get out of there and I had done what I had set out to do.

A selfie with Chief, BB, a rooster and a quail.

Just this past Saturday, Charles and our ten month-old pup Ruth went out and knocked down five quail and a rabbit.  She has been a little slow with her wild bird retrieving consistency (which is very common when training a pup), but Charles said that she retrieved these with no hesitation and brought them to hand.

Ruth, a cottontail rabbit and five bobwhite quail.

We’re down to a week left in hunting season and Charles is talking about taking some time off from work to get some more time in the field.  I need to work on lining up new puppy owners (hang in there guys!) and getting ready to go partake of the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York City in a few weeks as a spectator!  Thanks for checking in and I’ll keep you all up to date on the happenings.