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.

Please note:  If you have e-mailed about future litters and have not yet gotten a response, I apologize.  I will be returning those e-mails after all of these pups have gone home, with the last of them leaving on the 30th.  So give me until the first week of August to get back to you.  I apologize for the delay, it is just a juggle with the kids home on summer break and all of these puppies and dogs to take care of.  Triage.

“K” Litter Homegoings

Here are some more photos of the “K” Litter homegoings.  So excited that they all found wonderful families!

Klaus went home with Brian and family to the Black Hills of Rapid City, South Dakota.  Their family likes to hunt the plains near Pierre.

Kato went home with Sue and her husband to Michigan.  They also have  a 5 year old rescue griff, who isn’t a hunter, so he’ll get all of the good jobs of chasing ruffed grouse and woodcock.

Kaden went home with Colin and his wife to be an army brat dog, currently residing in Colorado.  They are looking forward to checking out the bird hunting in eastern CO.

Konrad went to Holdrege, Nebraska with Bridgette and Marty.  They have lots of good upland and waterfowl hunting out that way, so I’ll be excited to see how they do!

Kennedy went to Kansas with Phil and Corinne.  Good quail hunting where they are at.

Karl went home to Central Iowa with Mert.  Pheasants have been hit pretty hard over there with the loss of habitat, but Mert is a member of Doc’s Hunt Club (where we held our field day for AWPGA National Specialty 2015).

Aaron and I will co-own Keri (now “Chewie”, short for Chewbacca.  All of our kids love Star Wars and the griff is known for looking like Chewbacca.  This pic was taken at Aaron’s place.)

And the last to go home was “Karma” who hopped a plane to San Diego to be with Shaun, while they wait for dad to get home from deployment.

“L” Litter Update at 7.5 Weeks

I have given up on trying to get any good action shots of the pups since the passing of my beloved Canon DSLR on our vacation. It is easier to just post a video.  So here it is: https://youtu.be/Ga_D5QCtsog

We go to the vet this afternoon for first shots and microchips.  They’ve had their final de-worming from me, I have all of the registration paperwork, and now it is just a matter of me putting the packets together once I get the shot records and the microchip information from the vet.  And of course, keeping them fed and cooled in the heat wave we have coming up over the next few days.  They begin going home on Saturday the 23rd and will all be home by the time the sun sets on Saturday the 30th.  One last big push, here we go!

Sorry that I’ve been absent from posting, but we took a family vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota (and Wyoming) and the Pine Ridge of Nebraska.  It was quite an adventure!  While we were there, we visited Badlands National Park, Minuteman Missile National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Devils Tower National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park (SD), and Ft. Robinson State Park (NE).  We also climbed Harney Peak in the Black Elk Wilderness, swam at Evans Plunge Natural Hot Springs, and saw the fossils at Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD.  We love our public lands not only for hunting, but for hiking and exploring too!  With the sad events over the last week, it is nice to have these fresh memories of how good America can be.

The Upchurches at “the faces”

In our absence Aaron, Keri and the girls watched over the litters.  And boy did they grow!  It is hard to believe that “K” litter pups are going home this weekend.  Here are some of the shots that I got of them before they went home.  I apologize that my photos aren’t going to be up to normal standards for awhile.  We were caught in a thunderstorm (with heavy rain and pea-sized hail) the entire 2 hour descent of Harney Peak and it killed my Canon Rebel XS DSLR.  So I’m down to my little Canon Elph until I can get to the camera store for a replacement DSLR.

All of the “K” Litter pups checked out in good health at Heartland Pet Hospital in Bellevue, Nebraska on Wednesday afternoon.

A pup getting some vet tech love

Dr. Andrew Kliewer DVM listening to their innards

A mess of pups trying out the new flooring

Charles helping me unload the pups from the vet visit

Velma hangs by while the “K” Litter mobs the food dish

Velma and the “K” Litter pups waiting to be let out

And it is already time to post homegoing pics!  Here is Karen going home to New Mexico with Rob and Joanne.  Her new name will be Mitzi Mambo and she’ll live on a mesa full of desert quail and jackrabbits.  She will be the sister of a few Cairn Terriers too.  Photo taken inside of their sweet rolling home (RV).

Kate and Maurice, from just across town in Papillion, Nebraska, decided that they didn’t have enough little ones to chase around and added Krystal to their pack.  She will become Murphy and will be chasing pheasants and ducks before we know it.

Kristov went home to Minnesota early this morning with Matt and his expecting wife, but I forgot to take a picture (oops!).  Hopefully I can talk them into taking a selfie and send to me to share with you all.

Kylla went home with Zoe and Peter to North Dakota.  She will become Olive, and my fourth or fifth pup to be a part of the Central Dakota NAVHDA crew.  NoDak has so many great hunting opportunities, we can’t wait to see her in action.

Rick and Peggy took Kalli home to Grand Island, Nebraska, in the heart of the Rainwater Basin, one of the top waterfowl regions in the country.  She’ll live next to a sandpit lake where she can swim as much as she wants.  New name TBD.

I have video of both of the litters, but I’ll need a bit more time to get it all put together.  I really want to get the photos out today, because in TWO WEEKS the “L” litter goes home too!  We still need to figure out picks, which we’ll work on early this week.  I have whole mess of homegoings tomorrow, so I can post those videos when I get those photos up.

These individual photos are in the same order of the individual photos that I took a few weeks back.

Laverne face, female

Laverne back, female

Laverne stacked, female

Lynda face, female

Lynda back, female

Lynda stacked, female

Lillian face, female

Lillian back, female

Lillian free stacked, female

Leia face, female

Leia back, female

Leia stacked, female

Lucina face, female

Lucina back, female

Lucina stacked, female

Larry face, male

Larry back, male

Larry stacked, male

Laius face, male

Laius back, male

Laius stacked, male

Laertes face, male

Laertes back, male

Laertes stacked, male

Luke face, male

Luke back, male

Luke stacked, male

Thank you to my daughter, Cordelia for being my puppy modeler.  And of course, thank you to Aaron and family for taking care of everyone while we were gone.  I had better sign off for now, as I still have paperwork to put together for the pickups tomorrow and of course, regular dog/puppy chores.

“K” Litter 5 Weeks Old

These are in the same order as the two week old photographs.  Keep in mind that 5 week old puppies do not stack perfectly.  I will get the puppy supply list written and posted over the next few days.  I am pretty close to being done with picks and the latest that the “K” Litter families will hear from me is Thursday afternoon.  Here is the video that I took of them yesterday: https://youtu.be/b0avkTVokZo

Karen will go home with Bob and Joanne to New Mexico.

Karen side, female

Karen back, female

Karen face, female

Kalli will go home with Rick to Grand Island, Nebraska.

Kalli side, female

Kalli back, female

Kalli face, female

Kylla will go home with Zoe to North Dakota.

Kylla side, female

Kylla back, female

Kylla face, female

Keri is going to stay here with Velma’s co-owner, Aaron (and his wife Keri!).

Keri side, female

Keri back, female

Keri face, female

Kennedy will go home with Phil and Corrine to Kansas.

Kennedy side, female

Kennedy back, female

Kennedy face, female

Krystal will go home with Maurice and Kate to Papillion, Nebraska.

Krystal side, female

Krystal back, female

Krystal face, female

Karma will fly home to Marc and Shaun in California.

Karma side, female

Karma back, female

Karma face, female

Kristov will go home with Matt to Minnesota.

Kristov side, male

Kristov back, male

Kristov face, male

Klaus will go home with Brian and Meressa to South Dakota.

Klaus side, male

Klaus back, male

Klaus face, male

Karl will go home with Mert to Iowa.

Karl male, side

Karl male, back

Karl male, face

Kato will go home with Sue to Michigan.

Kato side, boy

Kato back, boy

Kato face, boy

Konrad will go home with Bridgette to Holdrege, Nebraska.

Konrad side, boy

Konrad back, boy

Konrad face, boy

Kaden will go home with Colin to Colorado.

Kaden side, male

Kaden back, male

Kaden face, male

“L” Litter 3 weeks old

Here is the video that I took of them yesterday: https://youtu.be/9QMfBWQX-FU

Laverne back, female

Laverne face, female

Lynda back, female

Lynda face, female

Lillian back, female

Lillian face, female

Leia back, female

Leia face, female

Lucina back, female

Lucina face, female

Larry back, male

Larry face, male

Laius back, male

Laius male, face

Laertes back, male

Laertes back, male

Luke back, male

Luke face, male

This is going to be a short update and I’ll get more detailed information up over the weekend.

Too Hot

I know that I owe you updated individual pictures, but we are totally in survival mode right now.  It has been between 95 and 105 degrees every day for the last week and it shows no signs of stopping.  This not only provides challenges with the puppies, but keeping the big dogs comfortable is tough too.  I have had to groom down all of the big dogs and make sure that they have cool water in their pool and dog bowls all of the time.  For the puppies, I also make sure their dog bowls are full of cool water and occasionally haul five gallon buckets of water to their kennels to either dip them in or just rinse off the kennel floor to not only clean it (after poop scooping, of course), but to cool it down.

Oh and don’t think that my dogs are rich when I say that they have a pool.  It is actually just an old kids’ durable plastic sandbox that I fill with water.  That is the next scheduled dog improvement, to get a stock tank with a drain on it, but it will have to wait for next year.  This year we will continue this aspect on low budget.  Eventually we also want to get city water piped back there with one of those farm spigot water hydrant thingies, but we’ll just keep hauling water and running massive lengths of hose for a few more years.

Low budget dog pool

The dogs have also dug themselves various holes and dens around the property to beat the heat.

Free dog house and shade hole

“K” Litter

We moved the “K” Litter to my house last week so that Aaron could go on a fishing trip and so that I would have a chance to evaluate the pups and do picks.

I will be working on my breeder picks for the “K” litter over the weekend and will have them finalized by sundown Tuesday.  So “K” litter future owners, be prepared for some questions over the coming days.  I have a few that I’m settled on already, but still need to go over my notes from talking to folks in the past and doing some more evaluating on the pups themselves.

Here are some shots of our kennel techs and the move.

Aaron’s kennel techs Avery and Josie with the pups and Velma loaded in my truck.

A closeup of the pups

Two of my three kennel techs: Conrad and Cordelia moving the pups from the truck to the kennel.

They have gone to straight dry kibble and I am feeding Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy.  If you are looking to pick some up to transition your pup home, here is the store locator: http://www.diamondpet.com/where-to-buy/

Over the weekend, I will post a list of recommended supplies for when you bring your puppy home when I post the new individual pictures.  Oh but here is a photo of the doggy dinner pile:

K Litter chowing down

They also like to get out and about in the yard.  Here are just some random shots.

“L” Litter

Well in spite of my efforts and hope, I did end up losing those two males last weekend.  I rode it out without going to the vet to put them down, but it was a pretty rough ride.  Right before I brought the “K” litter over last weekend, I moved the “L” litter inside to try to help those two.  The basement was too cold, so we settled on the upstairs living room for a few days.

Indoor setup

My smallest kennel tech, Caleb.

Once the two undeveloping pups were lost, I knew that I needed to start to condition them to the heat, so they were back in the garage with a fan on them.  They are stumbling around a bit and their eyes are open.  I will get individual photos over the weekend.  Random shots.

They have also started on canned puppy food:

And then finally yesterday, with a heat index of 110-115, I had to move them outside.  I knew that I couldn’t keep the garage cool enough.

Oh and a few parting shots before I go and run dogs around some more.  I had to get an updated photo for the magazine earlier this week.  It is the puppy issue after all.  But then I wanted you to see what I really look like coming out of the kennel area.

What the world thinks a dog breeder looks like. Photo by Charles Upchurch

What a dog breeder really looks like.  Note the sweaty t-shirt.  I had washed the dog hair off of my arms though. Photo by Cordelia Upchurch

Time for more dog adventures, talk at you soon.  I will come bearing videos as well.

Note:  All of the puppies are spoken for at this time, but if you would like to be on the contact list in the event of a last minute back out, please email bluestemkennels@gmail.com.

I think it is so funny when people admit that they’ve been following my blog and YouTube channel for several years.  It makes both parties feel embarrassed, but it is really flattering.  If I think about it too much it makes me so self-conscious.  My personality is very split between extrovert and introvert.  When I’m around people, I’m very outgoing and talkative.  But I also love to spend lots of time home alone, just hanging out with the dogs, watching the birds, and doing the endless chores that go along with three kids and small dog kennel.

Oh and “the magazine” as it is known around here.  It takes a lot of time and patience.  It is like having to do a quarterly summative grad school group project.  I lose sleep over it and it makes me crazy.  But when it comes in the mail all shiny and chrome, it’s like “damn, we did it again”.  Thanks to my very good friend Amy Caswell-O’Clair of Soonipi Point Griffons in Newport, NH for doing this life with me.  It is great to work with someone so smart and kind.  She knows so much about griffons and training and grooming and breeding, it is fun for us to to share our experiences and knowledge with each other.  To get this amazing magazine, the Griffonnier, you have to join the AWPGA, the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association https://awpga.com/membership

Oh and while you are joining clubs, join NAVHDA, the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.  At their training days, they can help you train your dog.  And you get a magazine each month.  And it brings you good hunting karma (I made that part up).  One of my Facebook friends just got his premium membership package the other day and was so excited about it that he took a photo and posted it. http://navhdastore.org/membershippackages.aspx

NAVHDA Premium Membership Package.  Photo by Matt Kadlubowski

So if you want to be in the cool dog nerd clubs, there you go.  Okay puppies, must talk about the puppies.

“K” Litter

It is hard to believe that the “K” Litter is four weeks old today.  I was over at Aaron’s on Sunday and got some pictures and video.  Sorry that I’ve been slow to post them, between the magazine and the kids and the “L” Litter and the other dogs and Charles has been traveling for work…it’s just a lot.

Aaron and I were really busy talking, so I didn’t get many photos, but I did get some video.  I go and pick the pups and Velma up tomorrow to bring them over here while Aaron is on a fishing trip.  Plus it will be good to spend time with them to evaluate them and start to think about who goes where.  So I’ll be in touch with the future owners over the next week about specifically what you’re looking for in a pup and what I’ve got.

“K” Litter at 3 weeks old chowing down

Here is the video that I took of them: https://youtu.be/tmL7ve7C3V0

“L” Litter

Nine puppies of the “L” Litter are big and developing, with their eyes starting to open and starting on puppy mush.  Puppy mush is where I take canned puppy food and mix it with puppy milk replacer.  Right now they are eating it off of a spoon.  Once they get up on their legs over the next week, we’ll transition to eating from a dish.  Notice that I said nine.  Four males and five females.

11 were born, but there are two males that are just not developing correctly.  Amy has had similar situations where they just fail to thrive.  The other puppies are nursing from BB and eating from the spoon and getting big and fat, and starting to open their eyes.  I can’t get these two to latch on to BB and I have to basically force feed them because they won’t suck from the bottle.  They are wasting away and I can’t bear to watch it.  So I have an appointment at the vet to have them put down tomorrow.  Something like this is caused by internal organs not developing correctly and there is nothing that I can do to fix it.

This isn’t Disneyland.  Being a breeder isn’t all fun and playing with puppies.  I am sad, but in my sixth year as a breeder I’ve learned to harden my heart a bit to this.  There were years that I was just destroyed and crushed over losing pups.  But now I know that it is the nature of things and the reason that even though I have a health guarantee, I’ve never had to replace a pup or give a refund.  Because I am honest with my buyers that I’m not going to coddle a reject and send it home with them.  So may their little puppy souls rest in peace.

(Post-Script:  I had an honest conversation with Dr. Andrew Kliewer, DVM this afternoon.  He said that his wife, Susan, checked their hearts and initial internal organ function when I brought them in for tails and dew claws.  He said that when there is a large litter, it is possible that there are “premie” type pups.  Where they are internally normal, and will eventually function and perform the same as the advanced pups, and just need a little extra time.  And that two weeks is too early to make a call.  That there is not necessarily anything congenitally or genetically wrong with them.  As if the two male pups had read my post about having them put down, they started spoon feeding with their bigger siblings tonight.  Honestly, I cried when it happened.  I hope that they “power up”, as my kids say in video gaming.  I am not taking reservations on them until they establish themselves in the pack, but should they be ready for homes eventually, I will seek them locally.)

Here are some pics and a short video of the nine cute and healthy pups.  Two week-old puppies are just not very exciting.  It is amazing to look at the difference one week makes.  The next week of their lives is huge: https://youtu.be/dhphJSjuA_Q

We are getting into some dangerous heat over the next few days, so they might have to spend some time in the cool of the basement.  Our property is really shaded in, so we won’t have the worst of the heat, but I will have to keep a close eye out to make sure that they aren’t overheating.

Okay it is noon and it is 91 degrees already and I need to move some pups.  Talk at you soon.

RIP Sam

Sam (Sweetgrass Plainsman Samson, UT III) was our foundation stud who was retired on a sheep farm near Bowling Green, Kentucky.  On Saturday he ran out on to the road in front of a teenager speeding on an ATV and was hit and killed.  He will live on in the 70-some puppies that he produced, and I own his daughter, Fire and his grandson, Chief.  His painting hangs on my wall and he will never be forgotten.  I will pay him a more fitting tribute later in the summer when I’m not so busy with puppies.  But he was a damn fine dog and feel lucky to have had him in my life.  Sorry to Troy and Cris for their loss, they really loved him too.

“K” Litter at Two Weeks Old

All of the puppies of “K” and “L” litters 2016 are spoken for at this time, please e-mail bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you would like to be on the contact list in the event of someone backing out at the last minute.

As I said in my last post, their eyes are all open and they are eating mush of canned puppy food and puppy milk replacer.  They are starting to get their legs under them a bit.  They are three weeks old now, but I’ve been busy with this new litter and family in town, so it probably won’t be until Sunday until I get back out to see them again.

Here is a video of them hanging in the yard with Aaron and I over at his house.  The editing is kind of bad because movie maker was giving me fits today, but the puppies are still cute with bad editing.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG1jQJYFZ2o&feature=youtu.be

I give my puppies names, just so that I can keep them straight as I’m photographing and evaluating them.  I don’t actually call them by their names.  I call them all “puppies” as a group and you’ll see that they’ll actually respond after about 5 weeks or so.

You can’t tell anything about size by these photos because they are not always at the same distance away.  It is mainly for my records with coloration.  This has nothing to do with picks.  I do breeder picks between 5-6 weeks old.  They are not old enough to tell anything about them by these photos.  Except that they are cute, of course.

So here they are:

Karen face, female

Karen body, female

Kalli face, female

Kalli body, female

Kylla face, female

Kylla body, female

Keri face, female

Keri face, female

Kennedy face, female

Kennedy body, female

Krystal face, female

Krystal body, female

Karma face, female

Karma body, female

Kristov face. male

Kristov body, male

Klaus face, boy

Klaus body, boy

Karl face, male

Karl body, male

Kato face, male

Kato body, male

Konrad face, male

Konrad body, male

Kaden face, male

Kaden body, male

Okay, that’s everybody!  I’ll be back soon to post some one week video and pics of the “L” litter and 3 week old video and pics from the “K” litter.  Thanks for stopping by.

All of our puppies are spoken for at this time, please e-mail bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you would like to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.

Puppy Placements

I will give you the short business first, then tell you the dramatic tale second.

On March 29th we had an unplanned breeding between Bourg-Royal CB Bluestem JH, NA I UT III “BB” and Bluestem’s Otoe Chief, NA II “Chief”, so we have puppies available.  BB is imported from Quebec and Chief is the grandson of our foundation pair who was crossed on to a De Jac’s female.  These are going to be amazing hunters and family companions.  They were born on Friday, May 27: 6 males and 5 females.  Five of the males and three females have been spoken for at this point, so that leaves 1 male and 1 female available.  They will be ready to go to their new homes starting Saturday, July 23 and need to all be in their new homes by Sunday, August 1st.

I prefer to place my puppies in hunting and/or NAVHDA homes but will also consider quality companion homes with an active/outdoors lifestyle.  The deposit to reserve a puppy is $200, with $900 due at pickup for a total of $1100.  The pups come with tails docked, dew claws removed, de-worming, first vaccinations, microchip and a 3 year guarantee against fatal genetic defects or hip dysplasia.  The puppies do not automatically come with breeding rights, if you are interested in possibly breeding the dog down the road there are additional steps that you can discuss with me.

I ship via Delta Pet First/Air Cargo for and additional $500 out of Omaha Eppley Airfield, which is about 15 minutes from my house.  Includes airfare and shipping supplies.  The puppies take the first flight out in the morning and arrive at their destination midday.  It will be the heat of summer when these guys go and there is a strong possibility that flights can be rescheduled due to the heat on the tarmac at the connecting location.  I would really prefer if folks drove to pick up if possible.

I like to do phone interviews prior to taking a deposit, therefore if you are interested in going forward with trying to get a pup either give me a call at (402) 682-9802 or send me an e-mail to bluestemkennels@gmail.com with a phone number and a good time to call.  Placements go quickly when I have puppies available.  I look forward to speaking with you should I get a chance.

“L” is for Love

March 29th was my son Caleb’s 7th birthday and I remember it well.  It was state testing time and I had been called in to school to do elementary pull-out special education reading.  There was no room for us to work in the building, I had to just sort of make space in the band room or in people’s offices or wherever.  At one point in the day, I was up teaching in the foyer of the building.  Can you imagine trying to teach 6 little boys, some with mild autism, while people were coming and going?  Anyway, I was frazzled when I got home.  The dogs were all having fits in their kennels and I really just wanted some peace and quiet.  So I let them all out.

Charles gets home an hour later, looks out of the kitchen window and says, “BB and Chief are tied”.  Oh man.  I called the 24 hour emergency vet clinic and they didn’t do a morning after shot.  I called all over Lincoln and Omaha, no more morning after shots.  Where did all of the morning after shots go?  We did this a few times 20 years ago (not with griffons, but with our English Pointer and Brittany getting into the neighbor females).  I’ll have to see if I can order it from Australia and do it myself next time.  Yet I digress.

There’s a vet in Lincoln who will do dog abortions at 30 days with a positive pregnancy test.  So we do the relaxin test and it comes back negative.  BB didn’t look pregnant then.  Life goes on.

(Post-script: Folks have asked me why I wanted to terminate the pregnancy.  Several reasons: 1) Timing: this is a difficult time of year for hunters to take on puppies.  Really these dogs won’t have any leg for hunting until late season. 2) Heat: it is tough raising puppies at this time of year due to the heat.  I will basically need to be home all of the time over the last few weeks to watch them.  The heat also makes it difficult (but not impossible) to fly the pups.  3) Stud age: Chief is my next stud dog.  He just got a few months head start on me.  He won’t be of age to get a hip scan for a few months.  I am bound by the AWPGA Code of Ethics that states that I should only breed dogs over 2 years of age with hip scans.  I have had this litter approved by the AWPGA Board of Directors as an accident.  None of his ancestors have had hip issues and he has gone a full hunting season (including a full week in North Dakota) without issues.  I am still guaranteeing this litter against hip dysplasia.  It is a very desirable breeding and was actually planned for 2 years down the road.  They just beat me to the punch.  Maybe this is all too much information, but I suffer from a serious case of brutal honesty, so I know that dog breeder reality is a bit overwhelming for some, but I prefer that to the alternative.)

Then out of nowhere like 2 weeks ago, we’ve got teats and a belly.  Crap.  Maybe it is a false pregnancy?  Then like two days before they were born, I feel them move.  Crap again.  It was only one tie, it can’t be that many, right?

I wasn’t expecting them until Saturday.  I wasn’t ready for them.  I was out visiting the “K” Litter at Aaron’s place and picking stuff up for my older son Conrad’s 12th birthday and my 15 year old-daughter, Cordelia, calls me, “BB is having puppies.”

“Okay kiddo, you’ve got this, I’ll be home in 20 minutes.”

Cordelia, BB and the first 5 puppies

Here I was worried about raising city kids.  Cordelia is a star student and just made the varsity show choir as a sophomore.  But she knows how to get it done on the dog farm.  I also have to put in a plug for K-9 Kondo of Stapleton, Nebraska.  That house right there is their Dog Den 3.  You pull the roof off and you have a whelping box.  http://www.k-9kondo.com/

As there was a thunderstorm imminent and sprinkles were felt, the first thing that I did was put a tarp over the kennel so that I would have time to get my laundry room converted into the emergency whelping area.

Emergency whelping area

With a few ex-pens, a kiddie pool and some cedar chips, the emergency whelping area was deployed.  Saturday we finally got the garage kennel all ready to go.  Please ignore my junk.

Garage kennel

Whelping box

We were at the vet’s door at 7:30 AM this morning for tail docking and dew claw removal.  And puppy cuddles from all of my great vet techs at Heartland Pet Hospital.

A laundry basket full of puppies at the vet

That is the dramatic tale of the arrival of the “L” litter.  Everyone seems to be doing great.

“K” Litter

Rewind back to Friday, before the arrival of the new litter, I was spending time with Aaron and the pups at his house about 20 miles away from mine.  I was wearing these ghetto gym shorts with no pockets and I threw my van keys in the van and shut the door.  The stupid van computer locked me out.  So poor Aaron had to run me all the way back into town to meet Charles at the movie theater where Conrad and his friends were going to X-Men Apocalypse for his birthday.  But at least Cordelia was home and I was back on the road in time to relieve her before the storm.  I am feeling like a whirling vortex of drama this week.

But the two week old puppies have their eyes open and are really active.  They have started puppy mush of canned puppy food mixed with puppy milk replacer.  I am going to hold off on the detailed update on them for another day or so because I really need to get this post up and these “L” puppies some homes!  I have individual puppy photos to post and I need to pick out their “K” litter names.  I also have lots of video footage, so tomorrow I’ll get on that.  I will probably just add them to the end of this post, so just make sure to check back if you want to see all that stuff.  Until then…

The 13 “K” Litter pups and Velma

Chief’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

On Saturday, May 14, Bluestem’s Otoe Chief earned his NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II, 107 points.  Thank you to Jeff and Kris Hill for hosting at their gorgeous farm near Brainard, Nebraska.  Thank you also to judges Jason Marzolf, Chuck Casanova and Tracey Nelson for taking the time to evaluate our dogs.

We started the day out in the bird field, where Chief took off with lots of speed but either wasn’t really aware of the task at hand or wasn’t using his nose, but it took him awhile to get on to the birds.  He was not gun shy, but instead looked for birds when the gun was fired.  Once he got started, he was all over it.

Chief on the run

Finally getting down to business

Puppy Enthusiasm!

So that was where we lost our one point, we got a three on search and fours on everything else.

The water was a gimme, he did great there.

Git-r-done

Evaluation of Attributes

Teeth, eyes, and testes: normal.  Temperament normal.  Coat: medium dense, medium harsh.

The track was a little tricky for him, he stood there and pointed the pile of feathers for a solid minute.  We were wondering if he was ever going to get started.  But once he was on the task, he did great.

Is he ever going to move?

On the track

Although we love our Prize I, 112s, this was a solid performance and we’ll take it.  He was at the end of his age eligibility, so it was a make or break deal.

It was really a perfect day for a test, nice and cool with a little breeze.  The food at lunch was super delicious and plenty of good company.  The boys (ages 12 and 7) came along and we all had a fun day of it.

To find a NAVHDA chapter near you: http://www.navhda.us/chaptmap.aspx

Oh and welcome to our new neighbors, the MoKan Chapter, serving Kansas and Missouri!  We look forward to seeing what you all get going: http://mokannavhda.org/

“K” Litter One Week Old

Here are a couple of new puppy pictures, but I really like the video much better.  In the second part of the video where Velma is nursing, she suddenly took off because we had the garage door open and another dog came by.  Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7lGBpMbmfg

Wednesday night a female was lost.  It was big and hefty, so it isn’t like it wasted away.  I would rather have that happen then get to the vet appointment at 7 1/2 weeks to find out that there is some sort of internal organ problem.  But it is sad, even though it is the nature of things.

The first day that puppies can go home is Friday, July 8.  I would like to have them all sent home by Saturday, July 16.  I will be on the road running kids to camps on July 17 and would like to have Velma’s pups with their new people.

Folks have asked about picks.  I do breeder picks at around 6 weeks of age.  I will informally evaluate the puppies personalities and ask the owners what they are looking for in a dog, then go from there.

Well, that is all for now, check back with you in a week or so!

At one point, I took my phone number off of the website so that I wouldn’t get 4-5 calls a day, even when I didn’t have puppies.  But Velma has put me to shame.  Last year she had a smaller litter of 7, two months earlier in the season.  So I had 8 or 9 reservations ready for pups to go home right now.  Well, since I don’t force people to keep their reservations with me and things seemed strange with the timing, folks found pups elsewhere and I returned their deposits.  I wasn’t taking new ones because I hate taking reservations, then being like, “I don’t have a puppy for you.” So as of Friday morning, I have five reservations, and a gentleman this morning saying that the check is in the mail.  When that arrives, that’s six. (I got a call while I was writing this and now have seven reserved theoretically.) Update Monday, May 16th, all of the puppies have been placed.

Velma had fourteen (14!!) puppies yesterday, started at midnight, went all day, and she continued to whelp into last night.  What a mama!  I am so proud of my females and their powers of natural birth.

AKC/NAVHDA De Jac’s Zip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah, NA I “Velma” and the fourteen pups of Bluestem Kennels’ “K” Litter

Puppies will be ready to go home the weekend of July 9-10.  They are sold with limited AKC and NAVHDA registration, which means that they do not automatically have breeding rights.  Please speak with me if you hope to breed the dog in the future.  The cost is $1100 for the pup, a $200 personal check deposit mailed to me, and $900 cash at pickup.  This includes tail docking, dew claw removal, first vaccinations, deworming, microchipping, and a 3 year health guarantee against fatal genetic defects and hip dysplasia.

I will ship puppies to approved buyers via Delta Air Cargo Pet First out of Omaha Eppley, which is about 15 minutes from my house.  They would take the first flight out at 7 AM and arrive at their destination midday.  Shipping during the heat of summer is a challenge and the flight could be rescheduled due to temperatures on the tarmac at their connections.  If at all possible, please plan to pick up the puppy at my home.  The cost to ship is about $500 between the flight itself and the supplies that I need to do it.

This is a breeding that we believe in, as we kept a pup from the first litter last year to raise up as our future stud dog.  He will be doing his NAVHDA Natural Ability Test tomorrow.  Here are a few photos of Chief doing his work over the last few weeks.

Chief heading out to retrieve a dummy

A closeup of Chief on the water retrieve

Chief at full stride in the field

Chief in the grass

I don’t have very many good photos of the sire, Ben.  His owners are not camera hogs like I am.  I do have this photo of when I finished grooming him a few months back while I was working on getting him and Velma bred.

Ben fully groomed (please excuse my junk)

Ben is the son of our foundation pair, Sue and Sam, who were both preserve guide dogs and avid upland and waterfowl hunters all over the Great Plains.  There are gobs of photos of our foundation pair on the About Us/Contact page, but these are a couple of good retrieve photos from December 2010.

Our foundation bitch, Sue, mother of Ben

Our foundation stud, Sam, father of Ben.

This is one of my favorites of Aaron and Velma (Sorry for the low quality, I would have to go back to an old computer to get the original.  Maybe later.)

Aaron an Velma at her NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

Not having enough owners yet is actually really exciting for me.  As I was typing this I got a call from a US Navy Aircraft carrier out in the ocean and it looks like one of the females will be going to a Navy Pilot who will be working with the San Diego NAVHDA chapter.  So, if that goes through I’m down to seven spots.  How exciting!

This is also exciting for me as a breeder to see the work of a closely managed natural breeding.  No hormone testing, no reproductive assistance, no c-section.  Just old school farmer skills that must come from generations of knowledge.  Some of my cousins are respected cattle and horse breeders, so it must be in our genes.

I also wanted to drop in our most recent issue of The Griffonnier, the magazine of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association.  To receive this great magazine in the mail, please join us at awpga.com/membership.  I am the co-editor of the magazine and it keeps me busy.  Amy and I are very proud of it!  GriffonnierSpring2016_web

I will be heading out to Aaron’s to see the puppies tonight, check their palates and their overall health, and talk to Aaron and Keri about how we’re going to do all of this puppy rearing.  And of course take more pictures.  They already have an appointment at the vet on Monday to get a health check and their tails docked.  I will post up some new pics of them along with the final gender count tonight.  It was a pretty even split as we went along between males and females.

Talk at you later tonight.

Post-script: 10 PM

There are 8 girls and 6 boys and they are gorgeous.  Time to get ready to leave for Chief’s Natural Ability test in the morning, so I’ll write more on Sunday.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.