Charles tuned up his bike and hooked up “The Springer” over the weekend.
On their way
Down the street
The roading harness that is on the dog was purchased separately. “The Springer” required a slight modification, because a small plastic piece that attached the rope to the breakaway device (the part that detaches from the metal arm in case a post gets between the bike and the dog) snapped. Charles resolved the issue by simply tying the rope to the breakaway device.
The dog rope tied directly to the breakaway piece
After the modification, Charles took a nice long ride with Sam. He even tested the breakaway device post-modification and it was still effective. Both Charles and the dog seem to be satisfied with the product. I think this is the first time we have ever purchased anything made in Norway, so good job Norwegians:)
Charles also worked on the commands “fetch” and “out” with Sam. The fetching part was easy and smooth, but we still need to work a little more on “out”. He should automatically release the dummy on the “out” command, but we still have to pry on his mouth a little. We’ll just keep practicing.
He first tossed the bumper
Out with the bumper
They also worked with a pheasant dummy
Sam fetches pheasant dummy
Sam retrieves pheasant dummy
Out with the pheasant dummy
Sam fetching pheasant dummy on another throw
Sam is only two-years old, so we are working on polishing him up on commands now that his natural abilities have been tested in the field. We are also working toward the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test and hoping he will be ready for it in the fall. We’ll keep you updated on his progress.
All of the new owners who drove have made it home safe and sound.The last word from California was that Hank and Female 2.2 were asleep at home on the couch together; I wish I had a picture of that:)
Pete from Nevada also made it home yesterday. Alpha Male “Whiskey” did not have any potty accidents in the truck or in any hotels. Whiskey is following his 8-year old daughter around everywhere she goes, I’m sure he remembers all of the love from my 9-year old girl.
I was so excited to receive pictures of Male 3 “Winston” at home in Minnesota meeting the other family members.
Winston meets Stella the German Wirehair Pointer
Winston meets the cat
I will have to check in later on today with Stephen from Rhode Island to see how things are going there with Male 2.2. Right now, I need to get ready to go pick up my daughter from Girl Scout camp.
One last note though, in case you haven’t been counting, I have 3 pups left to go home. Female 2.1 should fly on Tuesday, I will meet Male 2.1’s family when I go to pick up my son from grandma camp, and Alpha Female boards with me until July 8 when she flies home.
We took our final forest hike as a pack yesterday.
Cordelia, myself, Caleb, Sue and pups
Last hike as a whole pack
Two strong souls braved the wilds of Interstate 80 and arrived last evening to pick up their new best friends.
Hank from California and Female 2.2
Pete from Nevada and Alpha Male
This morning I answered a 3 AM wake-up call to take Male 2.2 to the airport. He is currently en route by air to Boston, with his final destination being Rhode Island. When I left, he was sleeping soundly in his crate.
Vaya con dios Male 2.2
It is exciting to see them leave the litter and go off to fabulous new homes. I look forward to receiving updates and photos from the owners about the progress of their training and success in the field.
We went to the vet yesterday and today, split into two groups. Here are the new weights:
1. Alpha Male: 13 lbs. 4 oz.
2. Male 2.2: 12 lbs. 12 oz.
3. Male 3: 12 lbs. 11 1/2 oz.
4.Male 2.1: 12 lbs. 5 1/2 oz.
5.Alpha Female: 12 lbs. 4 1/2 oz.
6.Female 2.1: 11 lbs. 1 1/2 oz.
7.Female 2.2: 10 lbs. 11 oz.
The sun came out after a rainy visit to the vet, so we took a walk out in the forest. These walk shots are difficult because I have Sue on a leash in one hand and the camera in the other. I was completely shocked when I downloaded the pictures and found one of Alpha Female doing a perfect point. That was complete luck.
Perfect Point
Wanderers
Cordelia training for pack leader
Hiking
Still hiking
A funny story from yesterday. I turned the pups loose from the kennel and they went barreling down into the forest, as usual. When I finished cleaning up the kennel, I went out and called for them and they weren’t coming back like they normally do (they are getting pretty good at responding to the whistle and also the command “kennel”). I saw a big puppy hubbub over on the other side of the property line, on a very muddy slope, in a big patch of nettles. When I made it over there, I discovered that my neighbor had a failed meat smoking experiment and had thrown a whole pork shoulder into the forest (he throws bones out for my dogs all of the time, so I wasn’t worried about poison or anything). The pups had “hunted up” the pork shoulder and were all gnawing it. By the time I got the pork away from them (I gave it to Sam) and the pups back into the kennel, I was covered in mud and nettle stings!
For Father’s Day, Charles purchased himself “The Springer”. As you can see in this low quality YouTube video, it is a spring-loaded bar that attaches to your bike for running a dog. I can’t wait to see it in action in person!
Yesterday, Charles took Sam to our local dog training Wildlife Management Area. He said that it was full of turkey and Sam was doing some great points, but as you can see from the photos, we are in dire need of a camera upgrade for the field.
Sam
Sam pointing
Sam pointing again
Speaking of flights, I’m hoping that the temperature stays down in the connection cities so that we don’t have to reschedule. I’m starting to get anxious with all of the preparations and transportations that are coming up.
It has been a rainy, muddy weekend, so not really a good one to get out to take pictures of the pups. Hopefully later this week.
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.
Making their way
Sticking with mom
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.
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!
Cute 9 week old pup from Grand Island, NE
The first thing the trainer did was give the dog the scent.
Griff pup getting the quail scent
He turned the quail loose and she was after it!
Giving chase
Meanwhile, the adult dog group was practicing their field skills.
A brace of German Shorthair Pointers
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sam pointing an unknown forest critter
It's tough to focus on sitting when we want to move
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!
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):
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.
Bluestem Kennels 