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Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppy Rodeo

June 13, 2010

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , , , , Leave a comment

Today my kids and I decided that all of the puppies needed to walk in the forest.  Between coaxing and carrying, we got them all down the hill and moving on the path.  I can’t say that I blame the pups for being hesitant to hike.  Walking in the forest is no stroll in the park here, as the hills are steep and the trail is muddy with the thrice daily rainstorms we’ve been having.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies

Making their way

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies

Sticking with mom

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies

Making their way home

I wasn’t able to get any individual training done over the weekend, as I spent all of my dog time with the litter as a whole (and the house and family needed attention too).  I’ll get back at it tomorrow.

Observing NAVHDA Training Day

June 12, 2010

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

This morning we made the trek to Thurman, Iowa to observe the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter’s June Training Day.  Up to this point in our dog training/child-rearing adventure that is life, we never had the time to explore NAVHDA in-depth.  Charles was always actively involved in the Pheasant’s Forever Chapter and skeet league; that always seemed to be enough.  He seems to be interested in getting Sam into doing some NAVDHA training after observing today.  I don’t think I will be getting involved (outside of working with Sam at home) until we add a new female pup to the pack within the next couple of years.

The training session was split into two groups, puppy and adult dog.  NAVDHA training at the pup level is the same as the instinctive hunting method we’ve been using to train our dogs when they were pups.  I met this adorable 9 week old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy from Grand Island, Nebraska and it was love at first sight!

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy

Cute 9 week old pup from Grand Island, NE

The first thing the trainer did was give the dog the scent.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy

Griff pup getting the quail scent

He turned the quail loose and she was after it!

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy

Giving chase

Meanwhile, the adult dog group was practicing their field skills.

NAVHDA Training Day

A brace of German Shorthair Pointers

Bracco Italiano NAVHDA

Bracco Italiano taking the field

Charles observed the adult dog group for the entire two hours, while I only made a brief foray into this crowd.  I mainly observed the puppy training and tried to keep my three kids out of the way of the whole scene.   Overall, it was a good experience and something we feel will make a good addition to our training regimen.

Rain delay

June 10, 2010

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update , , , , , , Leave a comment

My puppy conditioning program has been delayed by today’s rain, so I thought I would take the opportunity to provide some general information about the kennels.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Kennels

The Kennels

My dogs were brought up in the house as pups, but as they grew older and we added more human babies to the family, we moved them outside.  The puppies currently reside in Sue’s kennel, but receive plenty of attention.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies

We love puppies (the girl in the glasses is my daughter's BFF, the rest are mine)

We are located on a forested acre in Nebraska’s Loess Hills, about a mile from the Missouri River (as the crow flies).  The Loess Hills formation is typically associated with Iowa, but there are some hills on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.

The dogs love to spend time sniffing about the forest and are exercised for at least 30 minutes a day in the off-season.

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Sam pointing an unknown forest critter

Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

It's tough to focus on sitting when we want to move

Wirehaired Pointing Griffons

We have our own sledding hills in the winter

Maybe later on today I can get back on track with getting the pups out.  But for now, the housework beckons!

First vaccinations

June 7, 2010

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , , , , Leave a comment

The litter did very well at the vet today, nobody peed or pooped on the floor, and nobody yelped, jumped or cried when they got their shots.  Everyone has a clean bill of health!

Practicing our crate skills for the journeys to new homes.

The weigh in was as follows (new home states in parentheses):

1. Alpha Male (Nevada) 8 lbs. 1/2 oz.

2. Alpha Female (Alabama) 8 lbs.

3. Male #3 (Minnesota)  7 lbs. 15.5 oz.

4. Male #2.2 (Rhode Island) 7 lbs. 15 oz.

5. Male #2.1 (Wyoming) 7 lbs. 13 1/2 oz.

6. Female #2.1 (Idaho) 7 lbs. 1 1/2 oz.

7. Female #2.2 (California) 6 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.

Examining the examination room

Weekend at the pond

June 6, 2010

Charity Upchurch Sire and Dam Ability , , , , , , Leave a comment

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

Having fun at the pond

Sam is not afraid to get out there!

Dad gets him back out again

Heading back in with dad

“A” litter: five weeks old

June 4, 2010

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , , , , Leave a comment

Today the puppies are five weeks old.  They are such little piglets, I have to feed them twice a day.  They barrel out of the kennel door to sniff the plants around the yard and roughhouse with each other.  I’m so excited when they respond to the whistle command to come back into the kennel.  They’ve been taking turns riding around in the crate while I run errands.  This week they are going to need more practice in the crate and being away from the litter and mom.  I hope that I can get Charles to thaw out one of his grouse wings so that we can play “wing on a rod” this week.

Dogging it down

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