Bluestem Kennels

Our final week together brought the wrap-up of individual crate conditioning, leash work and wing exposure.

Cesario gets after the wing

Cidro takes a turn on the wing

Carmelita takes a run with the wing

When I finished individual work with the wing, I put it in the kennel with the pups and let them play with it for awhile.

The litter attacks the pheasant wing in the kennel

These drills with the wing and the live bird have nothing to do with their ability to point.  Pointing is natural and they will point anything that interests them at this juncture in their lives: bugs, each other, the kids, a leaf, etc.  These activities are about exposing them to the scent of birds and that games involving birds are fun.

The next step was to expose them to one of our live pigeons in a harness.  This is a bit more delicate exercise, as you want to keep the bird from flapping as much as possible in order to not frighten the pup.  We only do this very briefly, as you can see in the video.  As they get older, they will be better prepared for longer exercises involving live birds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDAnn-hTqRI

Saturday the 5th began the homegoing process for our puppies; it is always thrilling to see how excited our new owners are to see their pups.  The first to go home was “Candida”, who will now be known as “TracHer” by Susan and Tom in North Dakota:

Tom, Susan and “Candida”, now “TracHer”

Received an e-mail update on her arrival in North Dakota from Susan:

The drive home was, in a positive way, uneventful.  No accidents, due to lots of stops.  TracHer was very subdued for the first couple plus hours….hardly moved, didn’t want to be held…   Little by little, whining included, she started responding to us.  The first night in her kennel, we got up 3 times to take her our, last night here at home…out at 10:30pm, major crying at 1:30 so out again, then not a peep until 5:30.  By 10 am she has met the big dogs briefly, and now I’m off to the studio/work so more kennel time.  I think she will work out just fine. 

Midday brought the homegoing of “Carlos” to Missouri.  Joe had lots of hunting stories from the Dakotas, which made us very excited, as we know bird numbers in Missouri are struggling.  I will ask Joe for an update as to how things are going in a week or so and his choice of the dog’s new name.

Joe and “Carlos” heading to Missouri

Mid-afternoon brought the arrival of Cliff and Marilyn from Oklahoma.  We apologized for the heat upon their arrival (it was in the high-80’s) and they laughed.  Good thing that “Carlita” has a short coat, which should be perfect for down further south.

Cliff and Marilyn with “Carlita”, now known as “Belle”, Oklahoma-bound

With a rough start on the ride home, Cliff said that Belle is settling well at home:

Well we made it back to OK safe and sound about 7PM Sunday.  Belle didn’t settle down leaving Bellevue Sat., so Marilyn held her almost all the way to St. Joe.  Belle had a couple bouts of motion sickness Sat, but had no problems on the 5 hr drive today (split up into 3 segments).  She stayed in the crate Sat evening and woke me up 3 times.  Each time I took her out to potty and just stayed up after the last time at 6AM.  She played real hard with the twins and everyone tonight after arriving in Stillwater and is now sleeping soundly.  Funny how she readily goes into the crate to lie down (we leave the door open) on her own.  
 
Belle already knows her name and even likes to play fetch.  We’re having a great time!  It was a pleasure meeting you and your family.  We’ll keep in touch.

The next homegoings were on Monday for “Cesario”, who flew to New York, and “Cidro” who also flew to Wisconsin.  Sal in New York will be hunting “Cesario” on land upstate and said of the puppy’s arrival, “the puppy is doing great, slept well last nite with just an initial fuss. He seems to be adjusting well. I will send you some pictures ASAP. Thanks again for all your help!!!! Sal”.

Ben and Katie in Wisconsin are looking good with “Cidro”, now known as “Remy”, who will certainly be ready for the grouse and woodcock:

Ben and Katie in Wisconsin with “Cidro”, now “Remy”

Ben was also kind enough to provide an arrival update:

So after much discussion and debates we finally settle on our name that we both liked, ” Remy” wife thinks it’s a cute name , I like cause kind of short for Remington, Great bird gun! So Remy, has been exploring the home, and loves the outside but unsure of being indoors, does excellent with the crate and nighttime sleeping, no problems with that, a little whine but he is really comfortable with it. We go for yard walks, and he plays with our terrier mix dog Dexter during the day. he is only 1 1/2 yrs, but he was jealous the first day, now figured out Remy is staying, so he adapted he better cause Remy is bigger than him already! I have been feeding my dogs the last years Diamond food , chicken and rice, so I was glad you did too, I won’t have a problem with Remy not eating, he digs right in. So all is good as we all adjust a little, Thank you so much for all you do, it’s been a great experience.

Now I am down to one puppy, Carmelita, who flies home to Colorado on Friday.  It is a good thing that she already has her flight reservation and her AKC/NAVHDA transfer paperwork signed, because everyone (Charles included) is getting way too attached and wants to keep her.  But a deal is a deal and I’ll get up early on Friday to put her on the plane.

I’ll keep you updated on these pups, plus I need to catch up with my “A” and “B” litter owners, as the “A” litter just turned two years old and the “B” litter was one a few months ago.  Plus, we’ve got big dog adventures to share and have another litter on the way in June!  My how time flies and how these dogs keep a person busy.