Please email bluestemkennels@gmail.com regarding future litters. Ruth is at right around 30 days gestation (God willing) and is starting to show. We go to the veterinarian for an ultrasound on July 13 and will hopefully see a pregnancy. I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted here, on Facebook, and on Instagram as news develops. Here are a few photos of her from the last couple of days:
Ruth having a rest on the living room floor yesterdayRuth side profile in the drivewayRuth having fun in the yard
Dogs generally don’t show much in the first 30 days, but I can definitely see and feel a little pooch. Keeping her cool in the heat and spending plenty of quality time with her indoors are a priority right now for the completion of a successful pregnancy. Please send us good thoughts and prayers for the weeks ahead.
Training
Charles is out dog training pretty much every weekend and spends time working on skills with the dogs daily. I went out for a training day with the Carolinas Chapter of NAVHDA towards the beginning of June and got some photos. My camera seemed to be focused on Sally, so here is a gallery of her training photos. You can click the first photo of the gallery to see an enlarged version, then page through the remaining enlarged photos.
Sally on pointSally pointing while gunners shootSally retrieving chukarSally retrieving to CharlesSally close-up on pointSally runningAnother shot of Sally retrievingClose-up of Sally retrievingCharles sending Sally to duck searchSally with the duckSally shaking off after giving up the duckSally swimming through water liliesSally with a duck retrieveCharles working with Sally on steady by blind
Her training day was basically a mock Utility Test and Sally is probably at the level of passing this fall, fingers crossed.
We also worked with Duke on skills for the Utility Preparatory Test and Obi for Invitational, but my photos of them were not as focused or plentiful. Here’s Duke’s selection:
Duke on pointCharles walking in to Duke’s pointDuke in the fieldDuke retrieving a bumper in the water
And last but not least, by a long shot, Obi:
Obi bringing in the dummy in the double mark retrieveCharles watching Obi work on the double mark retrieveObi on left with “S” litter pup Chase on right at a NAVHDA training day. Photo by Ian Taylor
One of our puppy owners caught the above photo of Obi with one of his pups and posted it to Instagram on Father’s Day, so cute!
Otherwise, when we’re not out training, we’re just hanging around the yard. Charles had some quail escape and Ruth found one in the back driveway.
Ruth pointing a wayward quail
With the temperatures rising, it was time to get the kiddie pool out for the dogs. They each have their own style of getting wet.
Ruth likes to sit in the pool and scoot aroundObi gets his whole body wetSally usually ignores it, but sometimes digsDuke doesn’t want his rear wet
So those are the goings on here lately, I will be sure to post in a couple of weeks once we get the ultrasound results on Ruth. Everyone have a safe and Happy 4th of July, please be sure to keep your dogs crated in a safe area while lighting fireworks (typing that just brought up a childhood memory of our family cocker spaniel attacking a Roman candle as it was going off). Dogs and fireworks don’t mix. The biggest problem with trained gun dogs is that they’ll run towards the sound of the shot thinking that there is a bird down and you lose your dog in the commotion if you’re not careful. So for everyone’s sanity, put the dogs up.
Please email bluestemkennels@gmail.com with inquiries regarding future puppies. Due to the high volume of telemarketers and robo-callers, I discontinued releasing my phone number online. Once you’ve emailed your interest we can arrange a time to talk.
As of right now, I have thirteen reservations with deposit for this litter that was just bred. As my deposits are fully refundable until the puppy is three weeks old, I can and do have folks back out or move their reservation to the following year at the last minute.
I will not be like the breeders in Europe who post photos of their mating dogs in a tie, that is just too graphic for me. We had our first breeding on May 30 and our last tie on June 2, so four days of breeding and one of those days had two ties. We’ve walked Obi and Ruth together since and he has shown no sign of being interested in her any further, so we’re going to assume that the breeding was a success.
The first week of July, I will take Ruth to the vet for an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. We will not know the size of the litter at that time. I do not take my females for a puppy count ultrasound due to the risk of disease exposure. A nearby breeder lost a litter to disease exposure from the vet going for a puppy count ultrasound and I just do not like the risk. After thirteen years of whelping puppies, I know what is going on during the whelping and when the female is finished, so a puppy count is not necessary.
Here are some photos of Ruth today, so that we have a benchmark to watch her tummy develop. I have recent photos of Obi that I’ll share in the training news.
Ruth running in the yard
We will repeat the breeding of Obi and Ruth one last time in the Spring of 2024, so anyone who puts down a deposit will roll over to that litter should they choose to do so. It is a double NAVHDA Utility Prize breeding, Ruth with a Prize III and Obi with a Prize I. Obi will be going to NAVHDA Invitational in Ohio in September. We will be keeping a female pup either from the litter this fall or the one in the spring (it is already factored into the reservation numbers), so it is a breeding that we’re relying on to produce great hunters and healthy family dogs.
Spring 2024 will also be the first litter between Duke and Sally. Sally just achieved her AKC Senior Hunter and has a NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II under our Junior Handler son Caleb. Duke has his NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize III also with our son as Junior Handler. Sally is preparing to run the NAVHDA Utility Test in the Fall right after Obi goes to Invitational. Duke is still young, but has fantastic hips and health with an amazing wire coat. I need to start compiling the stats (health clearances and hunt tests) for the two young dogs since Spring 2024 may bring their litter to the ground first, we just have to see what the good Lord and Mother Nature brings us.
“A” Litter 13th Birthday
Speaking of thirteen years, we can barely keep track of our human children’s birthdays, so we are bad about marking litter birthdays. April 30th was the 13th birthday of our “A” litter between Sue and Sam. I was staying home with my youngest son Caleb, who just turned 14, and decided that it might be fun to have puppies.
Little did I know that I was making a decision that would change the course of our lives entirely! Breeding and training Wirehaired Pointing Griffons has become our lifestyle. Care of the dogs and making sure that they are healthy and ready for both bird hunting season and hunt tests is ingrained in our daily routine.
I am in touch with two of the owners of “A” litter puppies who are still thriving! Whiskey is still going strong out in Nevada:
Old man Whiskey at thirteen from our “A” litter between Sue and Sam
Winston has a young niece from our 2018 “O” litter between Fire and Chief, so by my best guesstimate that makes Winston her uncle. They live together out in Colorado.
On the left is Breeze from our “O” litter, with her big uncle Winston from our “A” litter at 13
NAVHDA Invitational Training
Charles and Obi have been training for NAVHDA Invitational nearly every weekend. Last weekend a group from the Carolinas Chapter got together and we were lucky to have Terry Ann Fernando of The Accidental Bird Dog podcast and blog https://accidentalbirddog.com/ available to photograph. We appreciate her willingness to donate her talents.
Obi and CharlesObi on pointObi on point with the bird right in front of him.Obi holds his point while the gunner takes a shot.
Even though Sally is not going to Invitatational, she tagged along for the training to prepare for her Utility Test in the fall.
Sally stopped (looks like either a back or a stop-to-flush)Sally on point.A tongue-out point from Sally at the hot end of the day.
Speaking of end-of-training-day heat, Sally is going out again tomorrow with Charles and Obi to trains and she has some shag on her, so it is time to groom. Best wishes to everyone out there doing spring hunt testing and having puppies, I know that I missed my little ones this spring because of my daughter’s college graduation back in Nebraska. But hope springs eternal around here with the cycle of new life and I’m looking forward to puppies arriving at the beginning of August!
Charles, myself, the graduate Cordelia (22), Conrad (19) and Caleb (14) at the graduation reception.
Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you are interested in reserving a pup from our planned litter for Fall 2023. We will not be breeding or hunt testing in the spring due to some family travel obligations.
While I was in South Carolina wrapping up raising our last litter of pups, Charles took Obi, Sally and Duke out to the Sandhills of Nebraska and the prairie pothole region of North Dakota for some mixed upland and waterfowl action. The trip was a great success, especially with the new technology allowing Charles to work his regular job remote for a few days, then hunting a few days.
I don’t have a ton of details except that the dogs covered lots of ground and had plenty of wild bird action.
The first morning in the Nebraska Sandhills with a limit of sharptails. Obi, Sally and Duke.Duke went solo went some teal (also on Day One in the Sandhills)The end of the day photo from the first day in the Sandhills: a grouse limit, a woodduck and four teal.
The second day he had to work for his grouse limit, which he didn’t wrap up until the middle of the afternoon. He added one teal to this photo before he headed back to my mom’s house.
Grouse limit for day two in the Nebraska Sandhills. Obi, Sally and Duke.
He spent the next three days working, then picked back up for another grouse limit and a ringneck duck.
Sally (farthest away), Obi (on left) and Duke (in the foreground) pointing an antelope.Sally, Duke and Obi with the three sharptailed grouse and a ringneck duck on the third day of Nebraska Sandhills.
Charles then worked another handful of days before heading out again. I was really surprised with all of the negative reports that I had been hearing from locals and ranchers due to the drought that he had such great success each day.
His last day in the Sandhills was a super windy day (you can see by the dogs’ head furnishings blowing in the wind in the photo) and he decided to focus on waterfowl for the day. He took Duke out for the three snipe and Sally for the mallard drake. Mallard drakes are super difficult to jump hunt and Charles just happened to pop over a hill and the the duck was right there as he got up from the water. I have never shot a mallard drake.
Duke and Sally with three snipe and a mallard drake for the last day in the Sandhills.
Charles had another first when he shifted his hunting to the prairie pothole region of North Dakota. The very first spot that he and some of our neighbors down here in South Carolina hit had a low flying flock of Canadian geese. Charles was able to snag a goose out of the bunch. Although Sally is pictured here, none of the dogs really knew what to think of the goose flopping around since the largest birds they’ve ever messed with up to that point were mallards and pheasant.
Sally and the North Dakota Canadian Goose from day one.
Although he and the neighbors were there for four days, I didn’t really get a good run down of the bird numbers. As near as I can gather from our texts, the second day the neighbors got three roosters, Charles got two roosters and four ducks.
Griffons, pointers and setters on the prairie, with the neighbor Quentin on the right.
I don’t have any photos from the third day, but the report was that Charles got a pheasant double off of Obi’s point, two grouse and one duck.
The fourth day was another mixed bag, with the neighbors getting one rooster, Charles got three ducks, a snipe and the most exciting part was a Hungarian partridge! This is only the second hun that Charles has shot. I’ve only flushed one covey up in Montana in 2016 but never got in a shot.
The excitement of a North Dakota hun!Duke, Obi and Sally in harvested corn in North Dakota
So that was a wrap! Here’s the traditional North Dakota trip game bag shot, with the dogs posed underneath:
Obi, Sally and Duke with the 2022 North Dakota game bagThe beauty of a North Dakota sunrise
Aside from missing the hunt, I missed seeing the usual people of the towns that we visit down there. They are such interesting characters, I’m glad that Charles went and laid eyes on them. The cafe is still going, the same ladies are at the registers at the grocery store and the gas station owner still recognizes the regulars. Charles headed home after a long journey but the neighbors continued on to South Dakota where they had better pheasant numbers. But to us, sometimes the comfort of tradition beats the number of birds in the bag.
I have more news about some hunt testing success of some of our progeny, some health test results for Duke and social media pages where you can follow some of our pups, but I need to get on with the day for now. Good luck to those out in the hunting fields, Charles will be at it again in a few more weeks. I am going to wait patiently for woodcock hunting down this way after the first of the year. Talk at you more in a week or so.
We’ve got new owners ready to show up to take these guys and gals home next week, but we have our next litter planned for Fall 2023. If you’d like to get added to the list of reservations for that, feel free to email me at bluestemkennels@gmail.com. I’ll start contacting folks about interviews and deposits once these pups go home.
This coming week is consists of bird work (both retrieving a dead bird and seeing a live bird), walking on leash, crate exposure, coming into the kitchen to play, and riding in a car. I will try to catch some of it on camera, but working with birds and running a camera at the same time is tricky. I’ve done it in the past but we’ll see how it goes this year.
They’re starting to go up and down stairs and have had their noise conditioning. The neighbors even helped out unknowingly by sighting in their deer hunting shotguns just across the road for four hours one day last weekend. The pups will see the vet on Friday for their last checkups, microchips and shots.
Here is their last set of individual photos that I can promise before their homegoing pics with their new owners:
Male pup, Sebastian:
Male pup, Sebastian faceMale pup, Sebastian runningMale pup, Sebastian front
Male pup, Simon:
Male pup, Simon side profileMale pup, Simon side and frontMale pup, Simon running
Male pup, Samson:
Male pup, Samson frontMale pup, Samson side profileMale pup, Samson face
Female pup, Simi
Female pup, Simi faceFemale pup, Simi frontFemale pup, Simi running
Female pup, Sue side profile carrying an orange peelFemale pup, Sue front carrying an orange peelFemale pup, Sue face
It is always tough getting ready to let go of a litter of pups. I take comfort in the fact that these pups will turn into great dogs who will give their owners lots of joy throughout their lifetime.
It is time for me to sign off to attend to evening mom duties, but I hope that you enjoyed following these pups through their early weeks. I hope to catch some shots with the birds and of course we’ll have the homegoing photos with their new owners posted once they all go home.
Then it’s back to chasing wild birds and hunt test titles for awhile! Good luck to everyone out there in the fields.
With two weeks left before they go home, I think that we’re finally settled in on which pup is going where. As long as everyone shows up like they say that they are going to, these puppies all have their families. Our next litter is planned for Fall 2023 so if you are interested in talking about that once these pups go home, email bluestemkennels@gmail.com. I won’t start interviewing until after these puppies go home though, so please be patient.
I’m going to get right down to the business of posting the individual photos and this week’s video. As you can see, they are super active. I get them out running twice a day at this point. I am working on early noise conditioning, banging pans together when I put out their food. They are starting to come when called (right now, I just call them with “Puppies!”). They eat only kibble (Diamond Puppy) and drink from the water dish. So they are almost ready to go!
These photos are all unedited and just posted in the order that I took them for each puppy. You get what they give me and for every photo you see, there are ten that didn’t get posted.
Male pup, Sebastian:
Sebastian sideSebastian runningSebastian’s face with a stick
I’ll post one more update like this for seven weeks old, then the week of their eight week birthday will be homegoings (so no post then, too much paperwork to do). Once all of the puppies go home there will be one more post of them with their new families and then it will be on to posting about Charles’s hunting season and testing the dogs in NAVHDA.
I hope that all of the new families are out there getting excited to take these little ones home! Look for phone calls and emails coming up to confirm our pickup appointments and to answer any questions.
Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be placed on the backup contact list in the event of anyone backing out on this litter at the last minute. I will start doing interviews for our Fall 2023 litter once our 2022 litter goes home, so you can reach out about that too.
Duke’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test
You cannot put the pressure of your breeding kennel on a junior handler and our 13 year-old son Caleb had fun handling Cedar and Spruce’s Apollo “Duke” to a NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize III, so that is really all we can ask for. They tested at the Foothills NAVHDA Chapter in Hickory, NC on Saturday. The pheasant track was spot on and he did great in the water, but it took him 15 of the 20 allotted minutes to get started in the field search. To his credit, he was the last dog in the field and it reeked of bird stench after nine other dogs ran ahead of him, so I could tell that it made Duke a bit confused and timid, wanting to point every place a bird had been planted. I’ve seen pro trainer/handlers come up with a “No Prize” on Natural Ability, so we are not disappointed. At nine months old Duke is still young enough to Natural Ability test again, but we won’t and just continue on to prepare for the Utility Preparatory Test. But the most important thing for him and for Sally is to get out west into the wild bird fields this fall.
Caleb and Duke ready to runDuke in the fieldWaiting for the waterChecking of the attributes
“S” Litter at Five Weeks Old
The pups are growing like weeds and are large enough to run the yard. We’ll do that a couple of times a day going forward. They have their first collars on and are picking up and carrying around toys. They love to chew on each other and their toys. Caleb is also my puppy assistant and I catch him doing the silliest things sometimes, like getting in their dog house.
Caleb has turned into a puppy
Here are their individual pics. Keep in mind that this is just a snapshot of this puppy. This doesn’t show their personality, size or conformation very well at all. They are just now starting to develop their different coats and I’m getting a better idea of who will fit well where.:
Male pup, Sebastian:
Male pup, Sebastian faceMale pup, Sebastian body
Male pup, Simon:
Male pup, Simon faceMale pup, Simon body
Male pup, Samson:
Male pup, Samson faceMale pup, Samson body
Female pup, Simi:
Female pup, Simi faceFemale pup, Simi body
Female pup, Spokanne:
Female pup, Spokanne faceFemale pup, Spokanne body
I need to go ahead and sign off for now, the day is getting away from me and I need to start talking to folks about travel plans and puppy picks. I’ll be back next week on Tuesday, Monday has just become too crazy for me with kid activities and so the weekly updates will shift a day for the rest of their time with us. Good luck to everyone in the field with hunting and testing.
The pups are four weeks old and really moving and grooving! All are spoken for at this time, but if you’d like to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute, email bluestemkennels@gmail.com. That will also put you on our list for information about future breedings. Plus, I always post here. Our next litter is planned for Fall 2023.
I have to run my son to his fencing club practice, so let’s get down to the business of pictures and video!
Male pup, Sebastian:
Male pup, Sebastian faceMale pup, Sebastian body
Male pup, Simon:
Male pup, Simon faceMale pup, Simon body
Male pup, Samson:
Male pup, Samson face (it was hot out so he is panting)Male pup, Samson body
Female pup, Simi face
Female pup, Simi faceFemale pup, Simi body
Female pup, Spokanne:
Female pup, Spokanne faceFemale pup, Spokanne body
Female pup, Sue:
Female pup, Sue faceFemale pup, Sue body
They moved out on to the covered porch yesterday so that they get more acclimated to the outdoors to make them tough hunting companions. I had to get up in the middle of the night to put them in the dog house, but they were all in there when I woke up this morning. I’m hoping that they learn quickly that the dog house is warmer at night than the cement.
They also have transitioned from puppy mush with formula/canned food to just straight canned food. I suspect that once their teeth start to pop out, we’ll have them on kibble soon. Here is their video for the week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95zASVo8bmA&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch
Alrighty, it is time to get suited up for my son’s fencing club practice and on with the week. We’ll start talking about puppy placements next week and making sure that our travel plans are lined up for pickup.
Caleb and Duke run in the Natural Ability Test at the Foothills Chapter of NAVHDA on Sunday, so I’m hoping that they have great success!
The puppies have just opened their eyes and so it is time for individual pictures and kennel nicknames. All puppies are spoken for at this time, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the backup contact list in the event that spots open up prior to homegoing. Once these pups go home, I will start interviewing for the spots remaining on the Fall 2023 list.
Now that their eyes are open, we will start on puppy mush of puppy food and formula as we work towards solid food and weaning. They will spend more time out of the whelping box being exposed to both indoor and outdoor environments.
Here are the individual pictures. They are not very photogenic at this age where their eyes have just opened and are not super mobile except to scoot themselves around the whelping box. Once they get on the mush and have more exercise, they will become more mobile.
Male pup, Sebastian:
Male pup, Sebastian faceMale pup, Sebastian back
Male pup, Simon:
Male pup, Simon faceMale pup, Simon back
Male pup, Samson:
Male pup, Samson faceMale pup, Samson back
Female pup, Simi:
Female pup, Simi faceFemale pup, Simi back
Female pup, Spokanne:
Female pup, Spokanne faceFemale pup, Spokanne back
The evening is getting away from me and it is time for my son to do homework, but I hope that everyone had a nice Labor Day and maybe shot some stuff. Charles got out with the neighbors on some doves, so we didn’t spend the weekend crying about missing grouse opener in Nebraska. Looks like it was dry and hot out there, I’m not seeing much for body counts online so I’m assuming we didn’t miss much, but we still miss it.
The six puppies of the “S” Litter of 2022 are a week old today! They literally triple in size from the time of birth until now. They had their tails docked, dew claws removed and first vet check on Friday. Everyone passed inspection with flying colors and they are all super fat and adorable.
The puppies were fussing in the laundry basket at the vet after their tails and claws were done and Ruth just couldn’t take it anymore.
Ruth taking care of the puppies at the vet
They will stick with only nursing from mom until their eyes are open. Right now my main focus is keeping Ruth in food and water, then making sure that she gets plenty of potty breaks.
I took the pups out into the sun on to a blanket on the lawn and it didn’t faze them much since it was so warm. But their favorite place is in their box with wood chips and mom nearby. I took this weeks video outside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyx_zI5a52s&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch
I took this week’s photos after the video once they had gone back to sleep.
The puppies 8 week birthday will be Monday, October 17th, so I’m hoping to confirm with the new owners that they are available that week or the weekend following to pick up. I will be starting to call out tonight and am not sure if I will get through everyone or if it will take me a few nights. I emailed out my phone numbers if it is easier for you owners to call me than to try and reach you.
Charles has been working with Caleb and Duke on getting ready for the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test in a few weeks. Then Charles and Sally follow with another run at the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test in October.
He’s is starting to formulate his hunting plans for the fall, which sound like they will include a trip back to the middle of the country. I’d like to start taking some cracks at woodcock and ruffed grouse on this end of the country in the winter, we’ll see how it all comes together. Right now hunting season is just something to daydream about until we get through puppies and testing.
We had our first mating between Obi and Ruth over in Valentine, Nebraska on June 20th, so today should be their last day of breeding most likely. Assuming that everything is successful, that puts puppies being whelped at the end of August and going home around Halloween. I will be getting in touch with those on my reservation list soon, but wanted to get a blog post done. My son graduated about a month ago and it has been non-stop since the last week of school in the middle of May. If you’d like to be on my back-up contact list for this litter or are interested in future litters (the next will be planned for Fall 2023 since my daughter graduates from college in Nebraska in the spring), you can email me at bluestemkennels@gmail.com.
On Saturday, May 21st, something happened that we’ve been waiting on for our 12 years in NAVHDA. Obi and Charles got a NAVHDA Utility Prize I and punched their ticket to NAVHDA Invitational 2023. They tested with the Hudson Valley NAVHDA Chapter outside of Charles’s hometown of Newburgh, New York. If you’d like a step-by-step walkthrough of a NAVHDA Utility Test, you can go back to my blog post from October 28, 2021 titled “Our 2021 Utility Tests”. I wasn’t actually at the test this spring, I was at home in South Carolina taking care of kids and dogs, so it is tough to write about something that you didn’t participate in. I appreciate the Hudson Valley NAVHDA Chapter hiring a photographer to document the event, I think that this is something that all chapters should consider doing. Thank you to photographer Jacquie Kuritzky for the use of the photographs!
Obi at the UT test photo by Jacquie KuritzkyObi retrieving photo by Jacquie KuritzkyCharles taking instruction from the judge, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky
She also captured some photos of Sally on her first shot of the Utility Preparatory Test. She didn’t pass, but has plenty of time at the age of sixteen months. The only skill she didn’t perform was the retrieve of the dead duck, which led to the no-pass.
Sally and Charles, photo by Jacquie KuritzkySally has a high-style point like her great-grandmother Sue, photo by Jacquie KuritzkySally retrieving a chukar in the field, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky
The grand finale after the reading of the scores:
Charles getting the water cup for the Utility Prize I with Obi, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky
After our graduation reception here in South Carolina and our youngest son Caleb’s trip to YMCA camp, we headed out to my hometown of Valentine, Nebraska to see my family and have some fun.
Ruth, Obi and Sally wasted no time getting down the roadPuppy Duke is closest to the camera here, it took him a bit to figure out the game: run!All together now…Mama Ruth bringing it back inThen a swim behind the kayakTaking it way outSally and Obi swimming back to shoreRuth swimming back to shoreDuke swimming back to shore
All of this exercise was right when we got to town around the 14th, long before Ruth and Obi started breeding, so none of this should effect that. We had a good visit in Nebraska and the dogs enjoyed their outings.
The next step is to have a pregnancy confirmation ultrasound in a month, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Charles and I will keep working with Sally to get her UPT skills down for a fall re-test, then Caleb will run Duke in the Natural Ability Test. I need to find somewhere in Charlotte who does Penn-HIP x-rays for Sally in the next few months. I should probably also find a place that will collect and store Obi’s semen in case an accident were to happen. You hate to consider the possibility, but they are dogs.
One other item to note: we are not really planning on studding out Obi. He is a part of our breeding program and it would take a really special female with a fellow breeder friend to get me to stud him out. Stud services come with risks: there are sexually transmitted dog diseases, the female can turn and fight an unfamiliar male; there are just too many bad variables for us to want to do it.
I’ll keep you all posted as things progress here, everyone stay cool this crazy hot summer.
