Korthals Griffon | Bluestem Kennels

Our First NAVHDA Utility Test

August 26, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update AKC Hunt Tests, Korthals Griffon, Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter, NAVHDA, NAVHDA Utility Test, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Sioux Falls South Dakota, Steady to shot, Utility Prize III, Water Retrieve, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon 1 Comment

On Saturday, August 17th was our first North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) Utility Test in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter. In the running were Sweetgrass Plainsman Samson “Sam” age 5 and Bourg-Royals CB Bluestem “BB” age 2 with my husband Charles handling both dogs. The Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter is one of the best in the country and folks come from all over to participate in their events.

They came from far and wide…

The Natural Ability dogs were first in the field on the day, with Sam as the first Utility Dog who ran. His very first point was not on one of the planted chukars, but was a wild rooster pheasant! The gunner said that he was twitching to fire, but it isn’t that time of year just yet! Sam did fairly well on his first three finds, but it just started to get out of control. The field was packed with birds and he was finding them every 45 seconds in some places. He just came apart. Sam has been hunting wild birds his whole life but has only received steadiness training in the past year, so he just couldn’t handle the overwhelming number of birds. His pointing and retrieving never fail, but his habit of breaking on the shot came out in full force. He probably had 10 total finds, but only held on maybe 3 or 4 of them. Afterwards, Apprentice Judge Leo Boman told us that we need to go ahead and make a correction with the dog in the field, not letting him mess up over and over without trying to right it. This is different than AKC, where the dog is supposed to work without correction and commands or face an order from the judge to “pick up your dog” (meaning you failed). So that was a great tip for future handling.

Charles walking in on one of Sam’s points

Although it shows Charles carrying a shotgun, it is not loaded and only the two chapter gunners do all of the shooting for the test.

A bird in the air, Sam breaking on the shot

A bird in the air, Sam breaking on the flush

Sam on retrieve

Charles was pretty disgusted as he walked out of the field with Sam, but I knew that was where the dog would make mistakes and his time to shine would come later on in the day. We had to shake it off quickly because we were running 2 out of the 3 utility dogs that day, so it was a short break until it was BB’s turn.

BB has become an outstanding field dog and proved in this test that she is ready to move on to Master Hunter runs in AKC (American Kennel Club) Hunt Tests. She had 4 or 5 finds and every single one was textbook steadiness. There was even a point where Charles chose to run after a bird to try to flush it and BB just stood there stone still.

BB stands steady with a bird in the air (see it up between the trees?)

BB retrieves to hand

Another bird in the air with BB standing steady

BB on retrieve

Moment of Impact: BB stands by as a bird gets hit in front of the smaller cottonwood

We walked out of the bird field with BB feeling as if we’d taken our first steps toward a Utility Prize I. We were very hopeful. It was time for a delicious lunch of chili and cornbread. You can’t beat the food at NAVHDA tests!

The next order of business was the duck search for the utility dogs. Sam was up first and we had no worries about his performance. Swam the full 10 minutes and searched the pond thoroughly. He did not find the duck, but that isn’t the point of the exercise.

Sam going hard on the duck search

BB’s weak spot is the water. With Sam always dominating the retrieves while we are duck hunting, she just hasn’t had a chance to get fired up about it. She did an okay search, then came and sat down by Charles at around the 7 minute mark.

BB out on the duck search

Afterwards we talked to Dan Griffith, who is a full time trainer of German Wirehaired Pointers and a very experienced Utility Tester. We were wondering if Charles should have re-cast her out into the pond. Dan told us that if you re-cast without judge’s instructions, it is automatically a one point deduction. If the judge wants you to re-cast, they will tell you. Do not re-cast on your own. Another great handling tip for the future.

The Natural Ability dogs did their duck retrieve first (which BB had no problem with at her test, NA Prize I with a perfect score of 112). The setup for the Utility dogs was that they walk on leash on heel through a set of posts to the blind. The dog is released from the leash and “whoaed” behind the blind. Shots are fired and the dog has to stay steady behind the blind. The dog is then moved just outside of the blind so that he can mark where the throw of the duck lands. More shots are fired and the duck is thrown.

Sam marks the throw. You can see the heeling posts in the foreground.

We were in no way prepared for the 50 yard duck retrieve that they set up for the Utility Dogs. The throw was way outside of shotgun range and it is only because of Sam’s absolute love of swimming and water that he was able to pull it off. We had not trained for that distance at all.

Sam brings in the duck

At that point, we knew that it would take a miracle for BB to get that duck. She did great in the blind and I saw her mark the throw, but she got distracted by the decoys next to the shore and would only go about 20 yards out to search (within shotgun range). We tried to cast her farther, but to no avail. BB did not get the duck and received No Prize as a result.

The final event was the track. Flight feathers are pulled from a pheasant or duck and left in a pile at the start. The pheasant or duck is either allowed to run and hide on its own, or if a carcass is used, it is dragged to a particular spot. Sam never follows a track from point A to point B. He knows that the bird is there, he just wants to go to points C. D, and E, then pee on them, then find the bird. So he did the track…sort of:)

Sam comes back from his track with the duck

BB does an amazing job of tracking and always goes from point A to point B flawlessly. But as she didn’t get the duck, it was all for naught. So we ended the day with Sam earning a Utility Test Prize III. It was our first test and I was just happy to bring home a prize, especially on Sam who has just been a wild bird hunting dog for so long. BB was perfect in everything but the water. We will hunt her alone on wild ducks down in Missouri for early teal season in a few weeks and then Nebraska High Plains duck season a few weeks after that.

It was a great time in Sioux Falls and we learned so much from folks. It was great seeing Cliff Koele of Coppershot Griffons, home of several NAVHDA Versatile Champions, who recently announced his retirement from testing and breeding. He will now focus on fishing and mentoring other breeders/trainers. We had so much fun with all of our fellow handlers, the volunteers and the judges. We learned and laughed. It’s just dogs after all.

Congratulations to our fellow griffoniers who also participated in the weekend from Aux Lake Kennel! From left to right: Keith Feldhaus and Deke UT I, Scott Moore and Josie as observers, Rick Jones and Jessie NA II and the godfather himself: Larry Woodward and Holly UT I. Thank you Kim Jones for allowing me to use your photo. We had a chance to spend time with the Joneses since Jessie ran on Saturday, but only saw everyone else briefly as we were ships passing in the night. Their UT dogs ran on Sunday.

Aux Lake Crew

Wow and a big thank you to the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter for a great test. We will be back.

I have so much more to write about, but am just out of time for today. I will be sure to post again later this week before hunting season starts on Saturday!! I have some pupdates that I need to clear out of my queue before I get way behind! Talk at you later this week.

Summer comes to a close…

August 13, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update Korthals Griffon, Lion Country Supply, Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, OFA, Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Pheasant Bonanza, Sioux Falls South Dakota, Utility Test, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

It has been a very busy summer of work, family, travel and dog training here. Sorry that I have not had a chance to keep you all updated, with the kids all at home with me, it makes it challenging to find the time and quiet space to do it all. I suppose it would make the most sense to me to work backwards chronologically with the news.

On Friday we will be traveling up to Sioux Falls, SD to run Sam and BB in the NAVDHA Utility Test at the Fall Test of the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter on Saturday. They have been doing well in practice and I’m hoping that they both prize. Some folks grumble about whether they get prize I, II or III, but it is one day in the life of a dog. If the dog is having a bad day, there is something in the environment that they don’t like, the conditions are not what we are used to, etc., etc., the dog might not get the prize we want. In the recent issue of Versatile Hunting Dog, NAVHDA’s magazine, two of my most respected dog training mentors ran dogs in UT and NA and didn’t prize at all. These are folks who have been doing this way longer than we have, or most folks I know have, for that matter. We don’t reach some sort of state of dog perfection and never have a bad day or a bad score. So any and all NAVHDA prizes are celebrated here!

The last couple of weeks we have been on the road on summer vacation. The dogs stayed over with our friends at Pheasant Bonanza in Tekamah, Nebraska (http://pheasantbonanza.com/) while we were gone. They have a full training and boarding set-up there, we elected to board only. It is nice to take your dog specifically to a place for gun dogs that is clean and well-maintained. The dogs came back healthy and happy. (Not a paid endorsement)

BB’s OFA hip certificate came in the mail while we were on vacation, so she will be ready to be bred sometime around the new year. We are still working out who we are going to use as a stud, so we will be sure to keep you posted.

While we were traveling, I spent the day in the Lion Country Supply office. Right now, I am in the process of updating their catalog of over 2300 dog training supplies. It was cool to meet the people and see the facility. My favorite part of the office was the gun dog humor found on the restroom doors. Instead of Women and Men it was Setters and Pointers, ha!

Setters and Pointers on the restroom doors at LCS

The kids dropping me off at the office.

Before we left for vacation we were training every chance we had! Every weekend was spent on trips to the pond and field. Even when we were sitting around the backyard, we were practicing blind dummy retrieves and “whoa”.

Sitting in the yard: Mae, BB and Sam

BB brings in the goose Dokken Dead Fowl dummy from a blind retrieve

Sam’s goose blind retrieve

I suppose I should explain a blind dummy retrieve. That is where the dogs have to stay in the yard on “whoa” and one of us goes way back into the woods and hides the dummy without them seeing where we placed it. One of the dogs is then released to go fetch the dummy. The dummies are not scented and the dog is only finding them by sight, which is fairly difficult for them.

We had a cool new dog box shipped out to us from Michigan. It is a hound style box and the dogs have lots more room and are able to stick their heads out of the side of the box. It will make the long distance trips much more comfortable for the dogs and we are glad to have finally retired the “slave ship”. It was a nice enough dog box, but it just didn’t have enough room for multi-day roadtrips.

BB and Mae getting ready to depart on the maiden voyage of the dog box

Sam and Mae at the pond in the new box

Well that pretty much sums things up for the time being, I will be sure to update you all next week as to the outcome up in Sioux Falls, keep your fingers crossed for a good Saturday for us! I am still running behind on returning voice mails and e-mails, so I apologize to those of you who have reached out to me and I haven’t gotten back to you. I have dedicated time set aside this week to get caught up before we head north on Friday. Talk at you next week!

Oh and hunting season starts in two weeks! Woot!

Sue in the Sioux Nation and Other Updates

July 3, 2013

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Nebraska Sandhills, Puppies, South Dakota Badlands, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon 1 Comment

Breeders and hard hunters/field trialers have difficult decisions to make when it comes to aging dogs. According to the AKC, females can be bred until they are 12. The USDA has nothing to say on breeding age. So, do we breed and hunt them until they fall over? Breed and hunt them until they are too old to go into the field, then put them down or place them in a pet home? Some breeders do keep their retired stock as pets, but that just isn’t practical for us as we have limited space, are constantly on the move during hunting season and our travel equipment only holds so many dogs. We’ve decided that four dogs is our current max and that that our older dogs will be retired around 8 or 9. So now where do they go? I’ve found that back in my home country in North Central Nebraska and South Central South Dakota, there are good folks looking for trained hunting dogs, even if they are on the senior side.

Sue just turned 9 after her last litter went home and the age of 8 is the cutoff in the code of ethics for the AWPGA, so it was time. I was so excited to find a great home for her just off the southern border of the South Dakota Badlands. It seemed appropriate that since her registered name with the AKC and NAVHDA is Sweetgrass Sandhill Sioux that she would find a new home in the land of the Sioux Nation, just north of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.

Stan and his family were just thrilled to meet Sue and she really took to them right back, as she is such a friendly dog. Savannah just turned six and couldn’t stop petting to her and talking to her while we were there.

Savannah and Sue

Their son Trey is 11 years old and this is just the perfect time for him to be getting a hunting dog into his life, as it is time to harvest his first grouse and pheasant, which are in abundance right outside his front door!!

Trey and Sue on the porch overlooking the hunting grounds

We enjoyed having a nice long visit with everyone and the South Dakota hospitality. Stan and I even have some mutual family friends that we told funny stories about. I really couldn’t have asked for a greater blessing for Sue. What I thought would be a sad time, was really one of the most joyous things I’ve ever done. Equally as joyous as placing a puppy in a new home. What a great thing to be able to give a family the dog they deserve, even though her sweet personality will be missed here.

Stan, Debbie, Trey, Savannah and Sue

Since I was just so happy that Sue had found her new family, I refused money, but got something far more special in return. As both Stan and Debbie work with tribal members, they gave me a star quilt with a unique design called a broken star.

Trey and Debbie holding the broken star quilt.

And Debbie presented it to me in the traditional Lakota fashion of wrapping it around the recipient like a shawl. We were laughing because Stan was teasing us that the neighbors were going to drive by thinking that they had “gone native”.

Debbie presenting Charity with the star quilt in honor of Sue

Mitakuye Oyasin – All are my relatives – Lakota

Training Update

Sam and BB are working on getting ready for the NAVHDA Utility Test with the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter in Sioux Falls. For our 17th wedding anniversary on June 22nd we went out on a training date instead of going out to eat or to an event. We worked on steady-in-blind. We just so happened to have 7 live farm-raised flying mallard ducks in our holding pen that had been making a complete mess of the place, so it was time to use them before we had to travel the next weekend. So I would take a duck to the shore about 20 yards down from where the training blind was set up. I also had an e-collar so that he could use the beeper function to let me know when he was ready for me to throw. Charles would then walk the dog in while carrying his shotgun, “whoa” the dog behind the blind, get into position to shoot, then beep me on the e-collar. Once he beeped me I threw the duck in the air and high and as far as I could and he shot it. At that point, the dog should still be sitting behind the blind. He would then walk back to the dog, tap it on the head and say “okay, fetch”. They then go out and retrieve the duck from the water. It was a good way to spend an afternoon.

Sam bringing in a duck

BB bringing in a duck

Pupdates

Congratulations to Susan and Tom in North Dakota and “C” Litter 2012 (Sam/Mae) pup, TracHer on earning her Natural Ability Prize III with the St. Croix (MN) NAVHDA Chapter on June 18th!

Four month old Goose from “E” Litter 2013 is already packing some serious style! After a stay at Prairie Wings Kennel in Colorado, she is already steady to shot and retrieves to hand. Way to go Stephen, Taylor and Goose!

Goose showing off her style

Goose’s sister Zoey is also enjoying some time in the field down in Oklahoma with her owner, Jimmy. He says this is a pic from his first homemade field trial:)

Zoey in the field

Thank you as always to my wonderful owners for continuing to keep me updated on how the pups are doing!

Coming Soon

We’ll be heading out to the pond for the 4th to get the dogs some more swimming, our favorite exercise this time of year, and work having them sit in the canoe.

BB goes in for her hip X-rays on the 10th as part of her final clearance for breeding in the spring. We’ll also keep practicing for the Utility Test.

Have a Happy 4th of July and make sure to be careful with your pups and fireworks! Leave them the house or if outside, far away from where fireworks are being launched.

The last pup home and lots of pupdates!

June 8, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Dog Training, Hudson Valley NAVHDA, Korthals Griffon, korthals griffon puppies, Missouri River, Missouri Uplands NAVHDA, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Steve Anker, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies Leave a comment

Over Memorial Day weekend, Reagan returned home to Colorado at 12 weeks old with Pam and Josh! Josh is so excited to have a hunting dog of his own and will make a great trainer!

Josh, Reagan and Pam

We had considered running Sam and BB down in Lincoln in AKC testing that weekend, but it was just too much to try to do that and a homegoing at the same time. We’re signed up for UT in Sioux Falls in August with the Midwest Tri-State NAVHDA Chapter and I’m pretty sure we’ll just focus on training between now and then. And of course, just having fun! Took all the dogs to the pond this week for the first time since last year, but needed to get some grooming time in too!

Sue ready to be groomed while Mae swims with the kids. Sam and BB off running.

There were plenty of pupdates over the last few weeks! We heard from 3 year old Gauge out in Wyoming, who is from our “A” litter (Sue/Sam) and is the brother to Whiskey in Nevada who we hear from. He is doing great in the field and home according to Sean and Amber. Here’s what Amber shared with me, “We absolutely love him and have fallen in love with the Griff breed for his loving side as well as his commitment to our family. He is an extraordinary dog in the field and works beyond our expectations. We could not be any happier with him, and wanted to share that with you.” We are so glad to hear from you, thanks Amber, Sean and family!!

3 year old Gauge pointing a pheasant

3 year old Gauge in the water

Let’s go backwards by order of age here. Next up is Chester from our 2012 “C” (Sam/Mae) litter. I pulled his trainer’s photos off of versatiledogs.com. Chester is trained by Steve “Hoss” Anker in New York. Here is what “Hoss” had to say, what a hoot:

Don’t hold it against me…butt….recently through the A-TEAM kennels, in training, training for NAVHDEEEEEE stuff, we have uncovered an unknown SPECIES of caninus familiarus known as the GRIFF-A-GATOR.A Woolie, droopey eyed, shaggy, hound-like, pointing animal, water oriented, replete with enough hair to clog up a 12 inch drain pipe.Shown here in intense A-TEAM training………INTENSE….

Chester in the water

Mannnnn….look at those choppers, looks like a hairy bear trap on legs.

FETCH…OUT……Good Boy!

Chester working on fetch

Is that the GRIFF-A-GATOR or is that the LOCH NESS MONSTER? Not sure…WHAT SAY YOU….You hairy woolie hairball pointing dog types..?

Chester swimming

Chester got a Prize II with 106 points recently on his NAVHDA Natural Ability test with the Hudson Valley Chapter, but owner Sal and Hoss are bound and determined for Prize I, so they’ll be back at it again soon. Good luck guys!!

Our “D” litter from 2012 (Sue/Sam) recently had their 1 year old birthday and I got a cute “then and now” card from Rick and family. Rick said, “Thanks again for introducing her into our lives. She’s a wonderful member of our family, and a great asset in the field. I’m looking forward to this fall, and her first full grown season of eastern Nebraska upland hunting.” Thank you so much, Rick, Dawn and family for being great owners!!

Happy 1st Birthday “D” Litter and Dottie!!

Dottie’s sister Abby recently scored a Prize I Natural Ability with 112 points at the Missouri Uplands Chapter of NAVHDA Spring Test. Keep up the good work over in Illinois, Rob and Abby!!

Jimmy down in Oklahoma did some great video work with 3.5 month old Zoey from this year’s “E” Litter (Sue/Sam) both on water and land, that I put together in a YouTube video:

He also sent over a nice shot of her fetching up a stick out of the water. What great work, Jimmy, thank you!! You are doing awesome training!!

Zoey brings in her stick

And what hunting dog doesn’t love off-roading?!?

Zoey in the dune buggy

Zoey’s sister GiGi is also having a great life in Maryland. Marilyn said, “GiGi is progressing. I think a little slowly because my husband babies her. She walked a mile with him on the leash today. As a teacher I know kids don’t learn until they are ready. So it must be for puppies! We love her!”

Ben and GiGi taking a nap together

GiGi on a walk

And Midge in Montana from this year’s “F” litter (Sam/Mae) at 12 weeks old is having fun exploring the headwaters of the Missouri River. Thanks Louie and Lindsay!!

Midge in the Mighty Mo.

Midge watching the kids

Midge’s sister, Fern, is also doing well. Danny down in Texas said:

Fern is doing great. She’s a machine. Never stops or slows down. Potty training is going pretty well, but she still has some days that it just doesn’t click. We love her. She is very very sweet and lovable. She wants to be by me all the time, until we get outside. I think my other dog tolerates her. Fern attacks her and wants to play all the time. Basically, my old dog will let Fern growl and bite her neck and hold on until she’s had enough, then she just tosses her to the ground and tries to walk off. But, Fern will never give up! I’m waiting for Fern to take cues on when to stop.

One can’t help but feel good after going through all of those beautiful pics of pups and hearing all of the stories. I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am to all of my owners for sharing their lives with us. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with it all and wonder why the heck I put myself through all of this craziness. But this is why. This must continue. I can take a few months out of my life each year to get to play Santa Claus and spread some joy. Thanks for the happiness in return.

I’ll be sure to get out training with Charles and Matt over the summer to get some updated photos and talk about that process. Now that Mae and Sue have dried up their milk thoroughly, it is time for all of us to get in shape for hunting season (me included)! Thanks for coming along on our journey and I’ll talk at you soon.

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

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.

Puppy season winding down

May 5, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

Puppy season is quickly coming to a close and it has felt very busy! I have started up my writing position with Lion Country Supply http://lcsupply.com and it feels like I’m either working on my writing for them, talking on the phone and e-mailing with the new owners of these litters or out in the kennels and yard taking care of pups and dogs. I am terribly behind on my e-mails, so if you’ve tried to e-mail me recently and haven’t received a response, I apologize and am working to get caught up today and tomorrow. If you want to talk to me right away about next year’s breedings, please call me at (402) 682-9802. Otherwise, I am working to get caught up on e-mails as quickly as I can and promise to be in touch.

Here are the still shots that I caught of the “F” litter out at the pond last Sunday. It is hard to believe that three days later we got two inches of snow! But that is Nebraska for you!

Fern having a good time at the pond

Frieda looks just like her mom with her cheesy grin

Francis pointing the kids in the water

Flora having a seat in the flowers

I also captured a video of them running about at the pond:

All of the “E” Litter has gone home with the exception of the one that I used to call “Etta”. Her owners have named her “Reagan” and she is boarding with us (as a housepet) until Memorial Day weekend.

BB and Reagan snoozing under my desk

Just Reagan napping under my desk

We had two puppies go home since my last post: Edna went across town with Rob and his family a week ago Friday and Francis went home with James and his girlfriend to Western Wyoming yesterday.

Edna becomes Maggie and moves across town with Rob and family

Francis becomes Skilo and will chase birds in the wilds of Western Wyoming

Sam and BB are taking the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test in two weeks, so we are working on getting trained up for that. We know that we aren’t 100% on all of the elements, which is why we are doing UPT. We are planning on doing the UT in Sioux Falls in the fall. Sounds like we also have a “double double” (where the dog has an opportunity to test 4 times in a weekend) in the hopper for Memorial Day weekend down at Yankee Hill WMA near Lincoln to see if we can pick up a passing SH run for Sam or BB. I haven’t gotten the premiums or the details yet, but got a phone call from a member of the local AKC hunt test underground yesterday. I’ll let you know the details when I have them if you’d like to participate.

This week, Flora flied home to Texas as a carry-on on Wednesday and the two remaining sisters, Fern and Frieda will catch flights to Montana and Ohio (respectively) on Friday. I’ll be sure to update you with the homegoing pictures and pupdates next weekend. Talk at you then.

“E” Litter 8 weeks and “F” Litter 6 weeks

April 25, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

It has been a busy week of homegoings for the 8 week old “E” litter this week! I will just give you a quick run-down with the photos:

Esther went home to Cheyenne, WY with Stephen and Taylor on Saturday

Also on Saturday, Jimmy’s family came by and took Edith home to Oklahoma

Right afterward, Brian’s family took Evangeline to Eastern Missouri

Sunday, Bob and Faith took Edward to Minnesota, eh.

Elizabeth started the journey to Maryland with Ben and Marilyn on Tuesday.

We were excited to meet all of the new families and are hopeful for years of fun, adventure and love for all of them! Looking forward to getting updates about how they are doing in the future!

I have 3 puppies from the “F” litter left here with me. Two will leave soon and one will board with me until Memorial Day weekend.

Edna will move across town on Friday

Eustace will catch a plane to Ohio on Monday

Etta will be my temporary pet until she leaves for Colorado

All of the “E” litter puppies had 100% pass rate on their veterinary inspections and weigh between 10 and 14 pounds. Speaking of passing inspection, right before Ben and Marilyn arrived on Tuesday, a vehicle marked “State of Nebraska: Department of Agriculture” pulled into my driveway. It was time for my annual surprise inspection as a licensed commercial dog breeder. He checked the that the kennels are in good order, with proper equipment, housing and sanitation practices, that the dogs all look healthy, then reviewed my health records and veterinary plan. Those inspections always make me nervous and I’m always happy to pass with no required corrections needed.

Oh we mustn’t forget the “F” Litter! It has been raining every day for a week, but they are finally starting to move around outside the kennel a bit. Usually once they get to the point of crossing the threshold of the fence, it is all over from there. So by this time next week, they will be all over the place.

The “F” Litter at 6 weeks: Fern, Frieda, Francis and Flora

Fern in action

Frieda playing in the dirt

Francis stretching out

Flora peeking out of the dog house

It is supposed to be a sunny and warm weekend, so it will be the “F” litter’s turn to go on an outing away from the house. I will be sure to capture some new video of them before they start heading for their new homes soon too! Having two litters at once has been a wild ride, but there isn’t anything better than watching helpless little sausages turn into big strong dogs right before your eyes!

Spring is finally here for good this time, hoping that it comes to those of you still buried in snow soon. See you next week!

“E” Litter 7 weeks and “F” Litter 5 weeks

April 18, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

I had just sat down to write my blog post for the week, running a little behind schedule, when I popped over to my e-mail. What a surprise awaited there! I was offered and have since accepted a web writer position with Lion Country Supply http://www.lcsupply.com/. I am really just beside myself with excitement, who would have thought that having a passion for hunting dogs and having an English degree would somehow come together to have a purpose. I mean, a purpose other than entertaining you fine folks, which is a great purpose too! So I’m not going to have the focus to edit down my video for the week just yet. Plus I’m running into my time that we have to go to the vet for microchips and shots here in a few hours, so I had better get my pictures posted and say what I have to say!

The “E” litter is ready to go, the first pup leaves on Friday. They are full of energy and are running up and down the hills of the woods. They love to eat their kibble and fight with each other. They use their noses and find interesting things to drag around (and fight over).

We picked up some male chukars to train Sam and BB with, so Charles dispatched a few in training, so we brought them out to the pups. (Just as an aside: chukar roosters are loud. They are not quiet or melodic like pigeons or quail. Our bird holding pen sits right outside our bedroom window and these chukars are like rooster chickens. I know when the sun is coming up!! I can’t wait to get through this pot load so we can get back to quail.)

Edna and Edith chew on the chukar

Edward and Esther mess with the bird

Everyone had a turn with the bird in the woods, but I was shooting with the camera phone and so the pictures were cruddy at times. Then they would drag it into a brush pile or something and you couldn’t see anything. But you get the idea with this. Plus I missed Esther with my good camera, so I wanted to make sure to get her in. Here are this week’s “E” litter pics.

Edna will be the first to leave on Friday. But she will just be across town so I will see her

Eustace will fly to Ohio on the 29th

Edith (left) will go to OK and Edward to MN this weekend.

Etta is going to hang with me until Memorial Day, when she’ll go to CO.

Evangeline will go to MO on Saturday

Elizabeth with roadtrip to MD starting on Tuesday.

Elizabeth will roadtrip to MD starting on Tuesday.

The “F” Litter is getting quite big, it won’t be too long before they are hitting the road themselves! I’ve finally got them broken to dry kibble, so it is nice not having to deal with the canned food. They are climbing in and out of the dog house and chasing each other around the kennel, so this weekend they should be ready to start roaming the hills here. If it stops raining long enough for them to (it has been raining here since yesterday morning, but we are in a drought, so we really can’t complain at all. At least it isn’t snow like it is out west and further north.) I have also made my picks, it is much easier with 4 puppies. The male is going to western Wyoming, Fern will stay in my breeding program and move in with friends in Montana, Freida will go out to Ohio and Flora will go to Texas. Mae’s pups also had a chance to check out a chukar.

Mae’s pups check out the chukar. Clockwise from top left: Frieda, Francis, Flora and Fern

Closeup of F litter and the bird. Freida, Francis, Flora and Fern

Freida, Fern and Francis chowing down.

Flora doing some laps around the kennel.

It is about time for me to go pick up Charles for a celebratory Thai lunch and then haul some muddy pups up the hill to go to the vet. I am truly in awe of how something that started on a whim (breeding dogs and blogging) has turned into a full blown real deal. I never once growing up thought that I would be a professional crazy dog lady, but I guess that is where I’m at and I have a feeling that this is only the beginning.

Next time I’m back here, we’ll have pictures of “E” litter puppies with their new families!

“E” Litter 6 weeks and “F” Litter 4 weeks

April 10, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

Caleb enjoys a puppy attack

Everyone is happy and healthy these days, now if the weather would just decide what it wants to do. It was nice all last weekend, until we decided to take the “E” litter puppies down to our friend’s pond, when the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. I managed to get some video and some still shots of our outing. It was also good for the pups because they spent an hour to an hour and a half paired up in the truck dog box. Good practice for traveling soon!

Pups paired up in the dog box

I took individual pictures of most of the “E” litter puppies out at the pond, but noticed once I got home that I missed a couple, so Elizabeth and Eustace’s pictures are taken in the back yard.

Esther taking it all in. She will live in Wyoming.

Edward watches the kids in the water. He will live in Minnesota.

Evangeline has her nose to the ground, she go home to Missouri soon.

Edna hanging with the kids’ stuff, she will stay in Sarpy Co., Nebraska.

Edith is hiding out from the wind, which is a good skill in Oklahoma.

Etta will continue her investigations in Colorado.

Eustace is heading to Ohio.

Elizabeth is ready for some beach time in Maryland and mountain fun in West Virginia.

Here is this week’s video. I finally figured out some settings on the upload to YouTube that makes it high resolution (like I see it in the original video file), I apologize for the fuzzy quality on the previous videos.

The “E” litter critters will start going home in a week and a half, I can’t believe it! They have all grown so big and healthy, I look forward to some nicer weather this weekend (it is has been a bit wet this week) to get out and enjoy some more adventures with them. If you are a future owner, please check your e-mail to verify the microchip information to be given to the vet, along with a list of items for traveling with your pup and what you need when you get home.

Of course, the “F” litter is growing too. I’ve finally gotten them on to puppy food and they are moving in and out of the dog house on their own.

The “F” litter having some chow

Caleb is head puppy socializer. Clockwise from left: Fern, Frieda, Francis and Flora.

Francis and Frieda peer out of the doghouse.

Here is their video for the week, just hanging out in the dog kennel.

Pupdates

I apologize for having a backlog of pupdates!! Here is “D” Litter (Sue/Sam 2012) Gomer, having a good time in the snow a few weeks back in Illinois:

10 month old Gomer in the snow

Here’s a recent one from Whiskey out in Nevada, from our “A” litter from Sue and Sam in 2010. Hard to believe that he is three years old. He is pictured here with his new friend Dude, the curly horse.

Three year old Whiskey and his friend Dude

Year-old TracHer up in North Dakota, from our “C” Litter from Sam and Mae has caught and killed seven squirrels this winter. My dogs are all very jealous because they would love to catch and kill a squirrel!

TracHer with squirrel #7

Trac’s brother, also from the “C’ Litter, Chester, is quite big stuff out in New York! My husband received this message on the versatiledogs forum a few weeks ago from his trainer:

Greetings from the wonderous Isle of Long. (Long Island)

We have just about put the pin in the training for a big fella, (about 75 lbs) which is one of your very own pups. We are all but finished up with the classical training, my mystical powers being used to convert the likes of a big Wooley Haired Pointing Dog named CHESTER, owned by a fella named Sal, from New Hyde Park into a well behaved gun dog. All I can say to YOU is- Nice Work…….You should be proud.

Chester is a very biddable dog, very cooperative, easy to train, hard charging, obedient….and twelve other positive adjectives. Nice Job.

All my hard (sort of) work has paid big dividends, and the big fella is now a viable hunting companion. Lord keep em so…..

By the by, he’s only 10-11 months old?

Hoss

Here’s some pictures of Chester from the retrieving clinic recently put on by the Hudson Valley NAVDHA chapter. What a massive beast!

Chester showing off his style

Chester is definitely the coolest dog in the bunch (middle).

Showing off his retrieving skills

He is very polite on the table

Thank you so much to the owners who send me these great pictures!! It really helps me to put scooping poop into perspective:) All of the hard work is worth it when you can put these pups with fabulous people and watch them grow into the dogs I dream they will become. I’ll be back next week with more!

Puppies everywhere

April 2, 2013

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Korthals Griffon, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

The puppies are all doing great, but the people are a little under the weather. Hopefully we can shake this stomach bug that made its way through the house over the last four days and all get better to enjoy the nice weather that is finally going to arrive. The “E” litter moved outside about a week ago and the “F” litter will be following them soon. It will be nice to have my house not smell like a dog kennel anymore:) It is so hard to believe that we are already on the countdown to puppy homegoing at 8 weeks old. The “E” litter will be 8 weeks on April 24th and the “F” litter on May 8th. I am planning on reaching out over the course of this week to talk to everyone about transportation plans. I will finalize puppy picks around 6 weeks old, so please be patient with me. So let’s get to the fun stuff, the pictures!

“E” Litter at 4.5 weeks old

E Litter chowing down on puppy kibble in the kennel.

Coming out of the dog house door

Peeking out of the dog house door

Stepping up

On the move

Big stuff

On the sniff

Up we go

Puppy party

And a video of them eating puppy kibble:

Another video of them just hanging around the kennel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxZ4wI4jYUA

“F” Litter at 2.5 weeks old

They are still hanging out in the whelping box, but it will soon be warm enough for them to move outside. Their eyes are open and they are moving around a little, but things should start picking up here within the next week. It will be time to start them on mush once they start moving around a bit more.

“F” litter taking a nap

Since I had them out in the living room while I was messing with them to take the video, I went ahead and took some individual pictures and came up with some names. The only one that has any meaning is the boy, Francis, since he was whelped the same day that the new pope came into office.

Francis’s face (boy)

Francis’s back (boy)

Frieda’s face

Frieda’s back

Fern’s face

Fern’s back

Flora’s face

Flora’s back

I have updates from past puppies, but I’m going to hold those for one more week so that I can get to feeling better. This weekend was very busy with Caleb’s 4th birthday and Easter, so I’m planning a quiet weekend at home with the puppies next weekend and I’ll be able to take time to write and add more pictures. Until then, please keep me in your prayers for strength and perseverance in this busy time!

Bluestem Kennels

Our First NAVHDA Utility Test

Summer comes to a close…

Sue in the Sioux Nation and Other Updates

The last pup home and lots of pupdates!

The Latest Happenings

Puppy season winding down

“E” Litter 8 weeks and “F” Litter 6 weeks

“E” Litter 7 weeks and “F” Litter 5 weeks

“E” Litter 6 weeks and “F” Litter 4 weeks

Puppies everywhere

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