Heartland NAVHDA Chapter | Bluestem Kennels

Duck Opener and Fire’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

October 13, 2014

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, NAVHDA, Upland Hunting Trips, Waterfowl Hunting Trips Duck Hunting, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Jump Hunting Ducks, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, North Dakota hunting, Teal, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wood Ducks Leave a comment

Duck Opener

Nebraska High Plains duck opener on October 4th found us in our usual haunts up in the Sandhills. We didn’t get out into the field until around 9 AM both days; that is the nice thing about jump hunting as opposed to sitting over decoys. Sitting over decoys requires three things that I don’t like to do: 1) haul excessive amounts of gear 2) get up early 3) hold still. So even though Charles had brought up all of the decoys and blinds and such to do it, we just didn’t.

We work a network of small ponds, swamps, and beaver dammed creeks trying to keep the dogs on heel as best we can. It is about a 50% success rate on a jump as far as getting shots off. Sometimes a dog will spook a flock, other times we come across a pond that we didn’t know was there at full standing profile and scare them off, or take a shot at a single in one pond that sets off a giant flock in the next pond.

We’ve taken up enough of a pattern that the game warden was able to track us down on Sunday just because he wanted to chat and see what we’d gotten into. Charles took 3 teal and a hen wood duck on Saturday and I took 3 teal. Sunday was a 6 hour day in the field and I took nothing, Charles got 2 snipe and a mallard hen. I got a couple of videos, the first of Fire retrieving Charles’s mallard hen, her first wild duck retrieve: . The second is my first anything of the year, I think that I’ve shot at 15 snipe this year with no luck:

The photo from Saturday is a bit goofy, I just threw the camera up on the tripod, hit the timer and took the shot. I obviously did not review the pic for my odd facial expression while talking to the crazy dogs. Oh well, there it is.

Opening day, Saturday, October 4th.

BB and Charles with Sunday’s quarry.

Fire’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

Before I get into the test itself, I want to tell you about my new friend, Bob. He is 75 years-old and ran his 52nd NAVHDA test on Sunday. He is a retired truck driver from Pennsylvania who was en route to my beloved Sandhills and has been traveling out there for many years. Before he takes his buddies hunting in the Sandhills, they are required to read the famous Nebraska author Mari Sandoz’s novel Old Jules. I am certified as a middle and high school English teacher in Nebraska and have not read Old Jules. Bob laid quite a bit of grief and shame on me, so I will be going on to Amazon to pick up a copy later today since it is not available on iBooks.

My new friend Bob from Pennsylvania

Bob travels in style

His cool license plate

My favorite picture of the day was of Blaine Erkenbrack looking on as his daughter, Alexa, tossed the bumper for “Khloe”, a 14 month-old German Shorthaired Pointer. Khloe and the gang earned a Prize I, Score 112 in Natural Ability.

Blaine, Alexa, and Khloe.

Eight month-old Bluestem’s Prairie Fire “Fire” now has a NA I at the end of her name, with a maximum score of 112 points. Thanks to Senior Judge Mike Garriott of Falls City, Nebraska, Gabby Awbray of San Diego, California, and Darin Tolzin from Atlantic, Iowa for coming out to judge. It was a little chillier than what we’ve been used to lately, but there was no rain, and the breeze was pleasant, not a howling gale.

Fire found a number of quail in the field and pointed them all, but proceeded to rip almost every single one (catching the bird before it flushes, also known as a “trap”). There were a few that were able to get up and fly.

Fire working the thick tallgrass cover

Fire slamming into point. Two quail successfully flushed from this one.

Charles holds Fire’s collar while a quail flushes.

After 2 Natural Ability dogs ran the field, they did their track, so 2 field runs, 2 tracks, alternating. There were 8 Natural Ability dogs running for the day. The track was a mowed strip leading into a dense, food plot-sized growth of native tallgrass prairie. Conrad and Charles have been working with Fire quite a bit on the tracking skill and it paid off.

Fire successfully working the track.

Fire inherited her sire’s absolute love of water retrieving and had two great bumper retrieves.

Fire getting excited when seeing the bumpers

Fire bringing one back in

L to R apprentice from NJ, Gabby Awbray, Mike Garriott, Darin Tolzin, and apprentice John Green at the reading of the scores.

L to R: apprentice from NJ (sorry, I didn’t note the name), Gabby Awbray, Mike Garriott, Darin Tolzin, and apprentice John Green at the reading of the scores.

We were very pleased with Fire’s performance and enjoyed the day. Good luck to John and Cle, Fire’s brother, on his Natural Ability test in Tennessee this weekend.

Velma in North Dakota

Velma’s owner, Aaron, was up on the federal ground in North Dakota the weekend before the PLOTS land opens and got into some pheasants and sharptailed grouse. Velma is right next to Aaron giving him a kiss, we will be keeping a pup out of her breeding to Ben this spring for our next stud dog.

Aaron, his lab, and Velma WPG in North Dakota on Saturday.

Pupdate

Tyson up in Bangor, Maine sent over a nice report on the start of his hunting season, his pup, Moose, is from our 2014 “H” Litter between Sam and Mae:

It has been a crazy busy summer here in Maine with some vacation and lots of training with Moose. We feel so blessed to have such an incredible dog. He is fitting in great and does awesome with the kids. I have attached some pics for you. Moose spent most of the summer sleeping in the boat, as you can see.

The most exciting thing to report is that bird season officially opened in Maine on October 1st. And Moose got his first day in the field this Saturday. He got the chance to hunt with her good friend Spice who is an 8 year old female GSP that is an amazing Maine gun dog. She definitely showed him the ropes. They have spent some time training together this summer. Some good pics of Moose with some very rare Maine Pheasant. He also pointed the first grouse of the day at our first stop. Thanks again for an amazing dog!

Best,Tyson

Moose is looking handsome at 7 months old.

Moose spending some time on the Atlantic.

Moose and the elusive Maine roosters

Thanks, as always, to my owners for the updates!

Well, that is about all of the excitement I can handle for one day. Charles and the dogs head to North Dakota on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see what they come across. I’m sure we’ll all be jealous. Stay warm, until then.

Introducing Ben, etc.

July 15, 2014

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Uncategorized Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

Introducing Ben

We will be using Ben as the sire on the litter planned with Velma (De Jac’s Zip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah) for 2015. Ben is from our 2011 “B” Litter between Sam and Sue. We had him here as an overnight guest last week in order to get his hips X-rayed, which is really just a formality as there is no sign of anything wrong. It is just one of those things that you are supposed to do before breeding a dog.

Ben has a wonderful temperament: he only barked once or twice out in the kennel even though it wasn’t home and he let me mess with him up on the grooming table without putting up a fight. He is strictly a wild bird hunter of quail, sharptailed grouse, and pheasant here in Nebraska. He lives on a farm outside of Lincoln with Nate and his family. We plan on taking our next stud puppy out of the Velma and Ben litter, they really compliment each other well in their conformation.

Ben on point last fall on a hen pheasant.

Ben au natural, before any grooming

Ben after being brushed, before trim

Ben after a full trim and bath

Ben with Nate ready to head home

I was really blown away by Ben’s head furnishings, neither of his parents have anything near that long. I would put his eyebrows and beard at around 4 in. long. His face really makes me think of the West Coast show griffs. His body coat is more of the hunter lines liver coat, but it isn’t flat like some, it does have a curl to it like Sam’s. Then the chest and the legs have lots of gray fringe on them. He also isn’t too big, 64 lbs. and probably 23 in. at the shoulder, so really the perfect size and right in breed standard. We hope to get out this fall and do some hunting with him too, so I’ll have more pictures of him then.

Retiree Update

Mae is doing really well with my brother Ron, and his Siberian Husky Whisper. Whisper used to escape and run away all of the time, but that has changed now that he has an old lady. Mae was fixed before I moved her, so there will be no griff/husky cross puppies (although it was much talked about in jest beforehand). They sit around the yard all day, then play fight in the house at night.

Mae and Whisper doing what they do best.

Stan shared a cute picture of old Sue running with Savannah down the driveway, she seems to be very happy playing with the kids. Trey is 12 this year and passed his hunter’s safety, so game birds in Mellette County, South Dakota be warned.

Sue and Savannah on a jog.

Fire Training Update

Last weekend, Charles took our 5-month old puppy, Fire, out to Skyline Sportsmen’s Club in Thurman, Iowa for training with the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter. She did her first exercise with live shotgun fire and did just fine. She also retrieved bumpers from the water. The veterans of the chapter said that she is ready for her Natural Ability test, so we will go ahead and move that up to October of this year. We were talking about doing it in the spring, but will go ahead and move it up and do the UPT test in Spring of 2015. That way we can get her through the Utility Test prior to her coming into breeding age, probably Fall of 2015.

Pupdate

Cliff in Oklahoma sent over a great update on Bluestem Belle, from our “C” litter of 2012 between Sam and Mae. That would make her a littermate to Chester in New York and TracHer in North Dakota who we get frequent updates from. Here’s what Cliff had to say:

Belle has been just almost the perfect pet. She is so personable and most always very obedient. I will take partial credit on the obedient attribute. We had her spayed prior to her coming into heat the second time, so about 16 months ago. After going through one cycle of wearing doggie diapers and having to be careful what dogs we hunted around that first fall, I didn’t want to go through that again! She is an inside-outside pet. Inside when we are home, but outside if we are going to be gone more than a couple hours. We got our yard fenced shortly after bringing her home, so she has about half an acre to be in.

I continue to be amazed on how smart she is. She can open doors (we have door handles instead of door knobs), know toy names, and last week she fetched my socks and shoes to put on so we could go on a walk! When we go to our public walking area, I usually don’t have her on a leash unless we are about to walk past another dog or geese. She always wants to get in my truck to go someplace. There is a pub in Stillwater that allows pets on leash. Attached is a picture of her in front of a menu board.

She does great hunting, super nose and follows commands: verbal, whistle & hand directions. One of our most fun days out last season was the Jan 31st in north-central Kansas. We woke up to new and continuing snow. Belle loved hunting in that cold and snow. Attached are a couple pictures of her that day. She was caked in snow and had a vast number of icicles in her beard.

I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

Belle at Finnegan’s Pub

Belle in the Kansas snow

Belle on point

Thanks so much to Cliff for that update, I am pleased with how all of these pups have turned out and it really bolsters my spirit to hear from my owners. Infinite gratitude.

General Blog Ramblings

It is hard to believe that I’m fast approaching 300,000 lifetime hits on a totally homemade blog about an obscure breed of hunting dogs written by a gal who considers herself half redneck and half intellectual. I suppose I could sell ads on my YouTube videos and convert this over to a site where I could put ads on it, but it is a passionate hobby and am fearful of taking myself too seriously. But when I am able to see folks from all over the world reading it, like daily hits from Brazil during the World Cup (probably some Dutch and German griffon enthusiasts), it makes me feel pretty self-conscious and aware that I’m representing my breed and my sport internationally. I need to do a better job of being a professional about it and not so flippant. I appreciate you, my readers, for making me feel appreciated and tolerating my sometimes lazy and goofy posts.

I have also finally committed to going to Maine at the end of August for AWPGA National Specialty and the Korthals Cup. I am looking forward to seeing some good friends and meeting some of the East Coast US and Quebec griffonniers that I’ve only encountered online. If you’d like to join us, registration is open until August 1st http://www.awpganationalspecialty.com/.

Enjoy the end of summer and stay cool. Griffs love kiddie pools, so bust one out if you haven’t already.

One last thing: I finally updated the gallery on the About Us/Contact page to include the last two years of our adventures, so be sure to check that out. The button is in the brown top navigation bar.

NAVHDA Handler’s Clinic, our first Best of Breed, and other news…

July 1, 2014

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Dog Grooming, Kennel Update, Uncategorized Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Hunting Dogs, Hunting Nebraska, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA Handler's Clinic, Nebraska Sandhills, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Puppies, Valentine Nebraska, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

The Countdown Begins

It was only in the 50s when the sun was coming up this morning and it set Sam a-howling, which seemed appropriate to me because my first thought when I woke up was, “only two months left and it will be hunting season again”. Although I’m very excited, I’m also a bit nervous since we’ve retired all of our older females at this point and I’ll be hunting with Sam. It will be my first time hunting by myself with a male dog, and Sam and I have our moments where he thinks there is room for debate as to who is the dominate player in our relationship. But I’m sure we’ll get it sorted out and have a grand time as we always do.

Opening weekend 2011: Charity, Ryan Tompkins, Chas, then Sue, Sam, and BB.

Opening weekend 2011: Charity, Ryan Tompkins, Charles, then Sue, Sam, and BB.

Best of Breed

I am just beside myself at the success of Bluestem Big Sky Rendezvous NA I “Midge” in both the field and the show ring. She is from our 2013 “F” litter from Sam and Mae. Only a couple of weeks after her Prize I NAVHDA Natural Ability test with a score of 112, she took Best of Breed on June 20th at the Electric City Kennel Club Dog Show in Great Falls, Montana. The competition in Montana is tough and I am just thrilled. Infinite thanks to owners/handlers Lou and Lindsay Volpe.

Midge has a stretch after her BOB win at Montana Expo Park

NAVHDA Handler’s Clinic

The first and most important thing I have to say about NAVHDA Handler’s Clinics is: GO. I wish that we had gone 10 years ago, as it would have saved us numerous hours of time in both research and training. We were lucky to have 3 judges with us over the weekend: our own Tracey Nelson and Chuck Casanova, and our instructor, Jason Wade from the Sebasticook and Yankee Chapters in Maine. The first day was devoted to going over the Aims, Programs and Test booklet that covers the elements of the Natural Ability, Utility Preparatory, Utility, and Invitational Tests. We then scored two dogs at the Natural Ability level. The second day we scored a UPT and a UT dog, then finalized any remaining questions. It was a great combination of direct instruction, guided practice, then finished with independent practice. Kudos to Tracey and her family at Skyline Sportsmen’s Club in Thurman, Iowa for being gracious hosts to the Heartland Chapter yet again.

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Pupdates

Speaking of the NAVHDA Chapters in Maine, Tyson out in Bangor sent me a pic of Moose doing some work at a recent training day. Moose is from our 2014 “H” litter from Sam and Mae and is 12 weeks old in the picture.

Moose retrieving a chukar

Kaylee down in Missouri shared this cute pic recently of my pup Fire’s sister, Willow, working on the water retrieve. Willow is from our 2014 “G” litter of Sam and BB. I love the confident look in her eyes, like, “I’ve got this!”

Willow is proud of her duck dummy

I just love all of the pics that Susan and Tom up in North Dakota get of TracHer and the pretty flowers. Here is Susan and TracHer, who is from our 2011 “C” litter from Sam and Mae. Don’t be fooled by her show dog looks, she’s tearing up the sloughs, ponds, and prairies up there.

Susan and TracHer in the summer flowers

As always, many thanks to all of my owners for sharing photos with me and giving great homes to our pups.

Mae’s Retirement

We spent the solstice/wedding anniversary weekend up in the Nebraska Sandhills, enjoying time in the outdoors with family and friends.

Caleb, Fire, Charles, BB, Cordelia, Conrad, Mae, and Sam at our special swimming spot

Mae has been officially retired to Valentine, Nebraska to live with my brother, Ron, and his 1 1/2 year old Siberian Husky, Whisper. The initial introduction of the two dogs was a bit dicey, but they settled in with each other quickly and are good friends.

Mae and Whisper chilling in my brother’s yard

Burr season is here

As I was writing this, I received a panicked phone call from a griff owner asking about how to deal with burr mats in the coat. If we run the dogs in burrs, I try to brush them the same or the next day to prevent matting. Should I forget to do this and a mat develops, I try to brush it out with a wide toothed comb or burr puller. I make sure to grab the fur close to the skin before I start yanking on it with the comb. There are spray-on liquid detanglers that you can buy at the pet store to help with this. If it will not come out and the dog is crying and/or trying to grab your hand with its mouth, it is okay to cut the mat out with scissors if you have to.

I had better move on with my day, even though it seems like there is always more to write, but the littlest one is asking for me to fix him a hot breakfast. So everyone have a safe and Happy 4th of July! Keep the dogs inside or kenneled a safe distance from fireworks so they don’t try to eat them like my little cocker spaniel did when I was a child:)

Duck Hunting the Atlas Blizzard, BB’s NAVHDA UT and more news…

October 14, 2013

Charity Upchurch Hunting Tales, Kennel Update, Puppy Update, Uncategorized Bird Hunting, Dog Training, Duck Hunting, Ducks, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Hunting Dogs, Hunting Nebraska, Hunting North Dakota, Korthals Griffon, Nebraska Sandhills, Puppies, Sioux Falls South Dakota, Snipe Hunt, Teal, Water Retrieve, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

I think that I am finally caught up on my kennel e-mails and phone calls, but if you’ve tried to get in touch with me and somehow fell through the cracks, please reach out to me again at bluestemkennels@cox.net or (402) 682-9802. Charles has been on the road during the week for his corporate job 3 weeks in a row now, then we’ve been traveling on the weekends for hunting, testing and training. I’m currently taking care of the 3 dogs and 3 kids, working as a substitute teacher in middle school and high school English, writing for Lion Country Supply and finishing my master’s degree in secondary education. So sometimes the wheels just come off the bus and not everything gets done as it should. I did manage to get my introductory blog post on to the Lion Country Supply site: http://blog.lcsupply.com/2013/09/postcards-from-the-great-plains-first-post/ It is different than writing for here, where I just sort of talk to you like I would if you were sitting here at my kitchen table with me.

But what did get done as it should was our duck hunt in the Nebraska Sandhills on opening day. It was extremely cold and windy, as we caught the southeastern corner of what is being called the Atlas Blizzard that devestated the cattle industry in southwestern South Dakota (I’ve been following on another blog: Just a Ranch Wife http://www.justaranchwife.com/). It definitely pushed the ducks south and right to us that day. We both got our limits by midday and it’s a good thing because I had cotton pants on that just got completely soaked by the flying snow and I was locking up with some pre-hypothermia symptoms. Our favorite method is jump hunting, so we were taking the action to the ducks. I managed to catch a duck double that I shot on GoPro video and I posted it on our YouTube channel:

And the final shot on the day. Let me tell you a bit about these end of the day shots. I have my camera on a tripod and use the 10 second timer to take these. I don’t look into the mirror before we take them. I line everyone else up, hit the timer, then run into the picture. I will never look like one of those cool, sexy huntresses in one of these pictures. Like this one, I look like I have a damn chef’s hat on.

Charity and Charles with BB on 2013 opener of duck season

The following day was completely blue sky and right when we get ready to hunt, I realize that my license must have fallen out of my pocket the day before. No hunting license, duck stamp or HIP number anywhere. So I just carried the camera instead (after a good cry, of course).

Charles and BB started Sunday with a wood dock drake

Charles and BB leave the wooded pond

The head of a wood duck drake is one of the most beautiful gifts of nature

Charles and BB back in the open looking for snipe

I call this one “Anticipation”. This is Sam having to let BB go as lead duck dog for the first time.

Charles and BB creep into a wet spot

Snipe way up in the air

Charles and BB also got a snipe on Sunday

A week later, BB received her NAVHDA Utility Prize III at the Heartland Chapter Fall Test in Thurman, Iowa. Although I had planned on attending and helping out with the test, my kids all caught colds and we just really needed to stay home and recouperate. We had considered pulling out of the test the weekend prior just because of having too much going on, but we had already paid our fee, so off Charles went. BB had a “no-pass” in Sioux Falls in August due to not doing the duck retrieve, so we have been focused on water work in both our training and hunting. She did what needed to get done with the duck search, steady by blind, and duck retrieve. She aced the track, as always. She was the last dog to run in the field and she was false pointing piles of feathers and breaking on the flush, which she hasn’t done in awhile. But we’ve been so focused on getting over the water hump that she hasn’t been on upland birds since hunting sharp-tailed grouse at the beginning of September. But we’ll take it! So BB is now officially Bourg-Royal’s CB Bluestem JH, NA I, UT III.

Our co-owned female, Velma (De Jac’s Zip A Dee Doo Dah NA I) who is the same age as BB, is now dual registered with the AKC and NAVHDA, which was the final step in preparing to hopefully breed her within the next few months, in addition to the females who live with us. I paid her a visit a month or so ago in order to take pictures that the AKC needed for registration.

Velma at 2.5 years

I had originally capped my reservations at 10 but there were more folks really wanting to get on the list, so it looks like I’m at 13 now after 3 verbal commitments yesterday and in the process of finalizing with deposit. As we are trying for 3 litters, I have high hopes that we will have enough puppies!

Speaking of puppies, we have our fingers crossed that Sam’s stud successor will be born around Halloween! He is coming from the same kennel that we acquired BB, Bourg-Royal Kennel in St. Lambert-de-Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. Should he be born and it isn’t a litter of all girls, he will be parented by two French imports: sire GCH Fortis des Sonnailles du Haut Davy FD NA I and dam Crystal D’O des Roches de Vouise.

Fortis on point. Photo by Amy Caswell

Crystal on point and posed. Photos by Claudette Blackburn

We are so very excited and hope that all goes well for human mom, Renee, mama Crystal and the babies!

Last but not least it is time for some pupdates. We got word from Kyle in Illinois within the last couple of weeks that Gomer got his NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize I with a perfect score of 112 points. I don’t have the name of the chapter, but will keep my eyes out for it in Versatile Hunting Dog magazine. He is from 2012 “D” Litter from Sam and Sue.

TracHer from 2012 “C” Litter from Sam and Mae took a limit of sharp-tailed grouse with owner, Susan, a week ago. TracHer and Susan live up in North Dakota. Susan said, “It is so rare that I hunt alone with just one dog, and very nice to go my own pace. TracHer did great. Ranged a bit, but would come back in. It is also rare that I get my limit!! TracHer found and retrieved to hand all 3 birds. “

Susan and TracHer with a limit of sharp-tailed grouse.

TracHer’s sister (but not littermate), Midge, is from Sam and Mae’s 2013 “F” Litter and is really looking nice! I hear that she’s had some pheasants shot over her in Montana within the last couple of days.

Midge at 7 months old

Hearing lots of good reports from other owners as the season kicks off and I can’t wait to see the hunting pics!! Kyle from across town here said that he got Gomer’s brother Duke out on ducks, “I had the chance to get Duke out duck hunting a couple times this weekend. He did awesome. I didn’t get any pictures, but we got into the teal and wood ducks. ” Duke is also taking after his mama Sue, Kyle said, “I saw a while ago that you posted a picture of Sue with socks and toys in her mouth. That must be where Duke gets it from. We can’t keep socks in one place at our house, he finds every dirty pair and carries them around. Haha.” That really made me smile!

Oh this blog post has taken me way too long to write. Thank you owners for keeping me up-to-date with the pups!! What’s next for us? Saturday, Charles, BB and Sam leave for the big North Dakota trip. Charles will be focused mainly on guiding his old friend Ozzie from New York. A week from Friday, I leave for AWPGA National Specialty. If we can just make it through October, we’ll try to have a less insane November. But hunting season is only so long. And you only get so many hunting seasons in your life. So stay tuned for more craziness.

The Latest Happenings

May 18, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update AKC Hunt Tests, German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Central Iowa, German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Eastern Nebraska, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Korthals Griffon, Utility Preparatory Test, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies, Yankee Hill WMA Leave a comment

To those shopping for puppies: Our 2013 breeding season has come to a close and all puppies have homes. Feel free to call (402) 682-9802 or e-mail bluestemkennels@cox.net if you would like to discuss our breeding plans for 2014.

Mae’s litter has all gone home and I’m boarding a pup of Sue’s for one more week. We’ve really become attached to “Reagan”, the name that her new owners have chosen for her. Maybe they’ll chicken out at the last minute and we can keep her;) She still has accidents in the house, but I’d say she’s 3/4 housebroken. She comes when her name is called 90% of the time and even when she doesn’t come, she knows that you are talking to her, but she’s just trying to opt out of obeying. I’ve seen her chase tweety birds in the yard and she picks things up on her own to carry around in her mouth like a good little retriever. She keeps up with the big dogs running the property. I sure hope her new family is ready for her, because she has lots of juice! She does really well in the crate and I can keep her in there without protest for 5 hours or so and can handle about the same time in the outdoor kennel/run with BB.

11 week old Reagan striking a pose

Reagan and I on Mother’s Day

Phone pic when Reagan was carrying the bumper

More beautiful puppy families! Danny flew in from Austin, TX on the 8th to pick up “Flora” who will now be known as “Fern” and took her home as a carry-on. That is how we brought BB home from Quebec, so I know that can be a challenge. Danny just sent me an update today and it said:

I know this note is a little late, but I just wanted to update you on Fern. She is awesome! She’s fitting in to her family well. Our Airedale, Alli, seems to accept her alright. I do think that having a puppy around makes her nervous, though. Puppies have a lot of energy for a 10 year old dog to handle! When I got her home, I think she was shellshocked…the airplane ride was a little traumatic for her. Her personality is about 180 degrees from when I picked her up at your house. She is very outgoing and loves being by her family. I think she loves the kids a little too much! Very nippy. Poor kids don’t know when they can pet her safely without getting bit! So far she seems very eager to please. She likes to play fetch with just about any object. Her favorite thing to play with is frozen duck wings. Fern just goes bonkers for these things. Potty training is going pretty well. She has adapted to the kennel and doesn’t really whine but for about a minute, then just curls up with her little toy and sleeps. We’ve had a day or two of no accidents. Most of her accidents have been our fault, not paying attention to her when she goes to the door. I’ve been working with her on “here,” “sit,” and “down.” She will do anything for a treat.

Anyway, I just wanted to keep you up to date with Fern’s new family and her progress. So far, she has been a great addition to our family. Also, it seems like she is going to shape up to be a serious hunter.

Thanks,

Danny

Danny and family in Austin, TX

Chris and Elysia in Ohio had “Frieda” flown out to them in Dayton, Ohio. Chris is a dog handler with the US Army, so I know that she is in good hands! Elysia sent me a note and photo too, “She’s beautiful! And doing great. She loves the kids, gets very excited when she sees them. She’s pretty calm with us though. We’re missing one kid in our picture because he wasn’t being cooperative. They’ll be plenty more pictures though. Happy Mother’s day, we hope you had a great weekend! And thank you again for everything!”

Chris and Elysia’s family in Dayton, Ohio

“Fern” also flew out on Friday the 10th and is now living in Helena, Montana with our friends Louie and Lindsay. Lou is a childhood friend of Charles from back in upstate New York, they belonged to the same deer hunting camp back in the day. Fern is now known as “Midge” and has a 7-year old male griff friend, Murf. He’s fixed, so there will be no Murf/Midge progeny, but we hope that Midge turns out and we can tap into the great studs in Montana.

Lindsay, Frannie, Lou and the dogs

Gabe practices stacking Midge

Last weekend was the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter spring test. BB and Sam were tested in the Utility Preparatory Test. Even though she had the higher score of 164, BB did not prize because of lack of water search. She was in the middle of her heat and come to find out she had a nasty case of worms (courtesy of a dead squirrel she gnawed on in our woods), so we felt bad that it was sort of our fault that she bombed. It was really too bad because she aced the field work and even if she had given a III performance in the water, she would have had a prize I overall. It was just sort of a strange deal, because she had no sign of being ill until that day. She had been staying in the house full-time to help me babysit Reagan and to keep Sam from freaking out about her heat and we had seen nothing wrong until that day. I’m just thankful that nobody else got sick and we were able to get it treated.

Charles giving BB the release command (file photo from her NA test)

Sam’s field and track were okay, but he was the star of the day in the water, taking home a Prize II with a score of 163.

Sam and Charles (file photo from AKC test in March)

I’ve had folks asking me about what I’m writing for Lion Country Supply http://www.lcsupply.com/. I have been updating their product descriptions and will be branching out into blogging and product reviews once I get through the catalog. I am so excited to be connected with such a great company and look forward to having a long career of dog writing ahead of me.

Next up is the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of Central Iowa and the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of Eastern Nebraska’s double/double AKC Hunt Test Memorial Day weekend at Yankee Hill WMA near Lincoln. We’ll see if we can get a pass in SH for Sam or BB, it has been eluding us at this point, but we’ll keep trying. Call me or shoot me an e-mail if you would like to participate and I can forward on the premiums, it closes on Tuesday so you might have to overnight them!

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend, but don’t forget about the sacrifices made by the armed forces. I’ll be thinking of my Dad who passed away in 1998 at the age of 49 as a result of complications from Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. I know that he looks down on all of this dog craziness and smiles.

AKC Walking Field Trials and other updates

February 11, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update AKC Field Trials, Amateur Walking Derby Stakes, Bird Hunting, German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Lincoln, Gun Dog, Gun Dog Stakes, Heart of American German Shorthaired Pointer Club, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Nebraska Pheasant Hunting, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Open Walking Derby Stakes, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Waiting for puppies

Sue is very pregnant and about 3 weeks away from whelping and Mae is definitely showing and about 5 weeks away from whelping. I really need to get into gear and get the whelping boxes and areas ready! Right now I have 13 reservations with deposits. I would be willing to take additional reservations, but at this point have no idea how many puppies I will have. Anyone who makes a reservation and does not get a pup out of these litters can either have their deposit refunded or have it carry over to next year’s breeding season (I have 2 reservations for next year currently). Contact us at (402) 682-9802 or bluestemkennels@cox.net with any questions.

AKC Walking Field Trials

Charles and BB participated in the first AKC Walking Field Trial in the area for the year, down in Osborn, Missouri (just east of St. Joseph) over the weekend, put on by the Heart of America German Shorthaired Pointer Club. This was a much more relaxed atmosphere than the 250 dog trial that we went to near Lincoln last year, it really felt a lot like a hunt test, except that we were the only ones there with kids.

Unknown judge and handler in the Gun Dog stakes

Charles and BB, center, head out for the Amateur Walking Derby run

There were four dogs entered in each of the stakes that they were entered into: Amateur Walking Derby and Open Walking Derby. There was a male and female Vizsla pair that was braced together, then BB and a male German Shorthaired Pointer were braced together. In both stakes, the Vizslas took first and second, BB took third and the GSP fourth.

Charles and BB at the trial grounds with their third place ribbon from Saturday

The weekend’s ribbons: third place in both the Amateur Walking Derby and the Open Walking Derby

I would really like to see more diversity of versatile breeds in the AKC Walking Field Trials. Charles told me that one couple who traveled from Colorado to St. Louis for a WFT two weeks ago had a Spinone Italiano that was entered. I would love to see griffs, Weimaraners, Spinones and the other versatile breeds recognized both by the AKC and NAVHDA participate in the AKC Walking Field Trials, not just GSPs, GWPs, Vizslas and Brittanys. The way that BB is winning over her bracemate is NOT by running like a bat out of hell and ranging far and wide. That’s not to say that she’s “pottering” as is the technical term for what we normally call “bootlicking”. She is just diligent in finding every single bird in the field.

On Saturday, the bird planters double planted the field, hoping to get the two Amateur Walking Derby braces covered with one trip. Well, the GSP had one find and BB had FIVE. She “cleared the field”, as they call it, and had to plant more birds for the next brace. They didn’t make the same mistake the next day, but there were still plenty of birds, as the GSP once again had one find and BB had three. Some of the positive things that the judges said to Charles is that BB is very smart, meaning that she knows how to analyze the terrain for bird cover, understands how to work the wind and the bird scent cone. Of course, the judges would like to see her range farther, but there really is a place for these closer working dogs in the walking field trials. It really should be about finds and not about running haphazardly and missing birds. Like I say, I want to see more diversity of versatile breeds out there so we can show the judges how we do our thing.

The next field event in the area is the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Lincoln’s Hunt Test and Walking Field Trial on March 9-10. E-mail Tresha Moorberg at lincolngspc@gmail.com if you are interested in receiving premiums. As BB turns two at the beginning of March, she will age out of the Derby Stakes and now need to qualify for the Gun Dog Stakes. The AKC Field Trial Gun Dog Stakes require the same skills as the AKC Master Hunter test. So in the Derby Stakes, you are basically at Junior Hunter level skills, now we need to move up to MH skills. Our biggest challenge is stone steadiness on point and on honor. As my dogs are allowed to relocate without commands in the hunting field, they have a tendency to creep when the birds start moving. We are going to see if we can get Sam and BB ready for Senior Hunter test runs and Gun Dog Stakes walking field trials in time for the March test, but if not, it is something we will be working on all off-season.

Pupdate

Rick sent a great write-up with some photos of Sam and Sue’s 2012 “D” litter pup, Dottie, who is now 8 months old:

I wanted to give you an update on our pup, Dottie, and a recap of our winter hunting season here in Eastern Nebraska. The drought really took it’s toll on the habitat this year. We spent a lot of time trying out new CRP fields. Dottie has really developed nicely over the season. She did a good job with obedience and acclimating to the fields on her first outing in the fall. She covered a lot of ground, but the experiences were all brand new. We kept taking her out about every weekend, and by the last hunt in January, she was really doing great hunting out the birds. We didn’t encounter many pheasants for her to hone her pointing skills on, but it was a great year for quail, and she really did a great job working them out. Below are a few pictures from the season.

Here is a picture from our December 16th outing. Dottie sees something of interest here. We saw a few hens this trip, but the field must get hunted a lot because they spooked and flushed out pretty early.

Dottie checking something out.

December 28th. Rick and Dottie with the first “all Dottie” quail. She pointed the covey and located the dead bird! We’re still working on retrieving.

Rick and Dottie got a quail!

We went out again on a January 13th Hunt. This time Joey, my 9 year old son, was able to see Dottie in action. Once again, all we brought home was a single quail. (good thing we’re not counting on my hunting skills to feed the family all winter!) Joey sure liked seeing his dog in action. I think we’ve created a new hunter in the family. He’s asked to go every week since then.

Joey is fired up about bird hunting with some help from Dottie!!

Dottie and I were very fortunate the last weekend of pheasant/quail season to be invited out to my friend’s land to hunt with him and his griff, “Bear”. We had a lot of fun and got into a covey of quail that kept us busy for an hour or so. The dogs did great pointing out the covey after it broke, but we weren’t much of a shot. We bagged one out of the ordeal. (I can’t come home with just ONE quail AGAIN! 🙂 ). Luckily, the last field we hit yielded us some roosters to end the season. We bagged two to end the year.

Dottie and Bear found some roosters!

All in all, I’d have to say that reflecting back on the season, we had a pretty good first year with Dottie. Unfortunately, a lot of the CRP land we used to hunt is either out the program this year, or mowed down due to the drought, so it was a tough year to find good habitat for the birds. We’re really happy with Dottie. She is just excellent with the kids, and has a great demeanor.

I’m interested in working with her more this spring. I’m going to try and watch for any field trials that might be close to Omaha. I know you guys do this quite a bit, so any help or pointers would be great.

Thanks Again!

Rick & Dawn and Family

We are seeing if Rick and Dottie want to take a shot at Junior Hunter at the GSPC of Lincoln event in March, looks like she is ready to me with all the wild bird hunting, but I’ll let Rick and Charles talk through that one.

I had hoped to get the pregnant females out on some birds, but we might run out of time. This weekend we’re finishing preparations on the whelping areas, the weekend after that we’ve got our first Heartland NAVHDA Chapter meeting of the year, then the weekend after that I’ll be hovering over Sue waiting for the puppies to come. But we might be able to scrounge up some quail and do it this weekend, who knows. Thanks to Rick for the great write-up and photos, they are always appreciated and enjoyed! I’ll keep you all posted as to the latest.

Good luck tomorrow to the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon gang out in NYC for the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, I have plans to join you some year (just as a spectator!). Also, those of you going to Pheasant Fest in Minneapolis this weekend have a good time, hope some AKC griffs make it into the Bird Dog Parade!

Some Notes on Sue and Sioux Falls

May 23, 2012

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update Dog Training, German Wirehaired Pointer Club of Nebraska, Gun Dog, Heartland NAVHDA Chapter, Honoring another dog's point, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter, Sioux Falls South Dakota, South Dakota Pointing Dog Club, Steady to Wing and Shot, Water Retrieve, Whoa Training, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 1 Comment

By popular demand, I need to update you all on how Sue is doing! She is very heavy, but is still living outside for a little while longer. She and BB were sharing a kennel while Mae was on a strict diet after her puppies left, in order to get her teats to retract, but I recently moved BB in with Mae by the request of Sue (plus Mae is doing fine on getting back into shape). BB is still very puppy and likes to play, so Sue was getting tired of that business. She is still taking walks twice a day, but is moving much slower than everyone else and eats and drinks double her normal rations. We have houseguests over the Memorial Day weekend, but after they are gone I will be moving Sue into the house for monitoring. I suspect that she will whelp the first or second week of June.

A very big Sue in the yard this morning

Last weekend was the South Dakota Pointing Dog Club’s AKC Hunt Test in Sioux Falls, SD. The organizers are actually the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter, who takes on that name to put on AKC Hunt Tests. As there were a number of other griffons entered by fellow breeders that we had only visited with online and over the phone, we decided to go ahead and enter BB and Sam into the Senior Hunter Test even though we were unsure if the dogs were prepared.

We also entered the AKC Water Test, which is a requirement for the Senior Hunter title for the Spinone Italiano and German Wirehaired Pointer, but not the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (even though it should be). As I had all three children there, I did not anticipate being able to see anything worth taking pictures of, but as it was a hike to the pond, the organizers had me assist in handling the two dogs while our fellow testers kept an eye on the kids back at camp. I wish I’d had my video camera, because Sam and BB both did fantastic. It is a basic water retrieve, where the handler stands 6 feet from the bank, holding the collar of the dog. A thrower pitches a dead duck into the water and a blank shot is fired by a gunner. Once the duck hits the water, you release the dog and they swim to retrieve. It does not have to be retrieved to hand, but can be dropped within two steps of the handler.

Sam and BB’s AKC Water Test Ribbons

As avid hunters, one would think that Senior Hunter would be easy for us, but hunt testing and hunting are not the same thing. Similar to Junior Hunter, you are running in a brace with an unfamiliar dog, but unlike Junior Hunter that is only testing search and point, Senior Hunter has to be 100% steady to wing and shot (no creeping allowed at all, not a single step) and also back the other dog’s point. At the Junior Hunter level, the handler is firing a blank pistol at the flush, whereas at Senior Hunter there are gunners firing live ammunition and the dogs should retrieve. At the Senior Hunter level, you are allowed to use the “whoa” command for steadiness (which won’t be allowed at the Master Hunter level, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there).

As soon as you “fail” a step in the process, the dog and handler are pulled from the test. The first day, BB couldn’t help herself and busted a covey of quail. Both days, Sam creeped a couple of steps on his points. The second day, BB almost made it through the test, but of all things, she didn’t find a bird! This is the same dog that found 6 birds in 8 minutes during her first Junior Hunter run. Even though we didn’t take home any SH ribbons on the weekend, it was good for us to see what is required to pass the test and what we need to work on.

As Charles is the trainer for the big dogs (I’m puppy trainer and kennel tech [sanitation, exercise and nutrition]), he’ll be working on making the dogs absolutely staunch on “whoa”, regardless of the situation. We work on “whoa” in the yard, but they are kennelmates and they aren’t working birds. We should take advantage of some training days with the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter or the local AKC German Wirehaired Pointer Club of Nebraska so that we can attempt to replicate the testing environment with dogs from outside of our kennel. As he can use “whoa” in Senior Hunter, we are going to take advantage of that and work them towards the automatic response without command that is expected at the Master Hunter level.

We’re still bouncing around some training ideas and absorbing the suggestions we got from other handlers and the judges. Charles got up the next morning and flew out on business (non-dog, the one that pays the bills), so we haven’t had much of a chance to talk it through. We’ll keep you posted as to what direction we go with our training and how it is working. I think the absolute soonest we could get back into the SH field is at the August test in Sioux Falls, but we might decide to wait until Spring of 2013.

Our favorite part of the hunt testing environment is that it is fun and family friendly. It gives us something to do with our dogs in the off-hunting season other than having puppies and keeping up with exercise. I can see that this is a hobby that we will enjoy for a good portion of the rest of our lives. We are hooked!

Bluestem Kennels

Duck Opener and Fire’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

Introducing Ben, etc.

NAVHDA Handler’s Clinic, our first Best of Breed, and other news…

Duck Hunting the Atlas Blizzard, BB’s NAVHDA UT and more news…

The Latest Happenings

AKC Walking Field Trials and other updates

Some Notes on Sue and Sioux Falls

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