Korthals Griffon | Bluestem Kennels

“S” Litter Seven Weeks Old!

October 11, 2022

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We’ve got new owners ready to show up to take these guys and gals home next week, but we have our next litter planned for Fall 2023. If you’d like to get added to the list of reservations for that, feel free to email me at bluestemkennels@gmail.com. I’ll start contacting folks about interviews and deposits once these pups go home.

This coming week is consists of bird work (both retrieving a dead bird and seeing a live bird), walking on leash, crate exposure, coming into the kitchen to play, and riding in a car. I will try to catch some of it on camera, but working with birds and running a camera at the same time is tricky. I’ve done it in the past but we’ll see how it goes this year.

They’re starting to go up and down stairs and have had their noise conditioning. The neighbors even helped out unknowingly by sighting in their deer hunting shotguns just across the road for four hours one day last weekend. The pups will see the vet on Friday for their last checkups, microchips and shots.

Here is their last set of individual photos that I can promise before their homegoing pics with their new owners:

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

It is always tough getting ready to let go of a litter of pups. I take comfort in the fact that these pups will turn into great dogs who will give their owners lots of joy throughout their lifetime.

Here is their last video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InhOkKHC52U&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

It is time for me to sign off to attend to evening mom duties, but I hope that you enjoyed following these pups through their early weeks. I hope to catch some shots with the birds and of course we’ll have the homegoing photos with their new owners posted once they all go home.

Then it’s back to chasing wild birds and hunt test titles for awhile! Good luck to everyone out there in the fields.

“S” Litter Six Weeks Old

October 4, 2022

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With two weeks left before they go home, I think that we’re finally settled in on which pup is going where. As long as everyone shows up like they say that they are going to, these puppies all have their families. Our next litter is planned for Fall 2023 so if you are interested in talking about that once these pups go home, email bluestemkennels@gmail.com. I won’t start interviewing until after these puppies go home though, so please be patient.

I’m going to get right down to the business of posting the individual photos and this week’s video. As you can see, they are super active. I get them out running twice a day at this point. I am working on early noise conditioning, banging pans together when I put out their food. They are starting to come when called (right now, I just call them with “Puppies!”). They eat only kibble (Diamond Puppy) and drink from the water dish. So they are almost ready to go!

These photos are all unedited and just posted in the order that I took them for each puppy. You get what they give me and for every photo you see, there are ten that didn’t get posted.

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi:

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

Here is this week’s video with Caleb and the pups in the yard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C1zNCJSc_s&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

I’ll post one more update like this for seven weeks old, then the week of their eight week birthday will be homegoings (so no post then, too much paperwork to do). Once all of the puppies go home there will be one more post of them with their new families and then it will be on to posting about Charles’s hunting season and testing the dogs in NAVHDA.

I hope that all of the new families are out there getting excited to take these little ones home! Look for phone calls and emails coming up to confirm our pickup appointments and to answer any questions.

“S” Litter Five Weeks and Duke’s NA Test

September 27, 2022

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Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be placed on the backup contact list in the event of anyone backing out on this litter at the last minute. I will start doing interviews for our Fall 2023 litter once our 2022 litter goes home, so you can reach out about that too.

Duke’s NAVHDA Natural Ability Test

You cannot put the pressure of your breeding kennel on a junior handler and our 13 year-old son Caleb had fun handling Cedar and Spruce’s Apollo “Duke” to a NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize III, so that is really all we can ask for. They tested at the Foothills NAVHDA Chapter in Hickory, NC on Saturday. The pheasant track was spot on and he did great in the water, but it took him 15 of the 20 allotted minutes to get started in the field search. To his credit, he was the last dog in the field and it reeked of bird stench after nine other dogs ran ahead of him, so I could tell that it made Duke a bit confused and timid, wanting to point every place a bird had been planted. I’ve seen pro trainer/handlers come up with a “No Prize” on Natural Ability, so we are not disappointed. At nine months old Duke is still young enough to Natural Ability test again, but we won’t and just continue on to prepare for the Utility Preparatory Test. But the most important thing for him and for Sally is to get out west into the wild bird fields this fall.

“S” Litter at Five Weeks Old

The pups are growing like weeds and are large enough to run the yard. We’ll do that a couple of times a day going forward. They have their first collars on and are picking up and carrying around toys. They love to chew on each other and their toys. Caleb is also my puppy assistant and I catch him doing the silliest things sometimes, like getting in their dog house.

Here are their individual pics. Keep in mind that this is just a snapshot of this puppy. This doesn’t show their personality, size or conformation very well at all. They are just now starting to develop their different coats and I’m getting a better idea of who will fit well where.:

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi:

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

Here is their video for the week. We were so busy this weekend that I didn’t have a chance to get Caleb to help me with them in the yard. It is just too much for one person to handle and try to video when we’re in the yard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtJ2jke9twg&t=1s&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

I need to go ahead and sign off for now, the day is getting away from me and I need to start talking to folks about travel plans and puppy picks. I’ll be back next week on Tuesday, Monday has just become too crazy for me with kid activities and so the weekly updates will shift a day for the rest of their time with us. Good luck to everyone in the field with hunting and testing.

“S” Litter Four Weeks Old

September 19, 2022

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The pups are four weeks old and really moving and grooving! All are spoken for at this time, but if you’d like to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute, email bluestemkennels@gmail.com. That will also put you on our list for information about future breedings. Plus, I always post here. Our next litter is planned for Fall 2023.

I have to run my son to his fencing club practice, so let’s get down to the business of pictures and video!

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi face

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

They moved out on to the covered porch yesterday so that they get more acclimated to the outdoors to make them tough hunting companions. I had to get up in the middle of the night to put them in the dog house, but they were all in there when I woke up this morning. I’m hoping that they learn quickly that the dog house is warmer at night than the cement.

They also have transitioned from puppy mush with formula/canned food to just straight canned food. I suspect that once their teeth start to pop out, we’ll have them on kibble soon. Here is their video for the week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95zASVo8bmA&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

Alrighty, it is time to get suited up for my son’s fencing club practice and on with the week. We’ll start talking about puppy placements next week and making sure that our travel plans are lined up for pickup.

Caleb and Duke run in the Natural Ability Test at the Foothills Chapter of NAVHDA on Sunday, so I’m hoping that they have great success!

“S” Litter Three Weeks Old

September 12, 2022

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

The puppies are three weeks old now and starting to crawl around and bark. They’ve had some limited puppy mush, but mostly nursing still. I am going to ramp up food introduction this week and start to get them outside in the grass more. Charles was home tending the kennel this weekend while I attended to some activities off of the property, so I haven’t had time to touch base with my new owners recently. I plan on doing that over the course of this week just to make sure that we’re working on travel plans and if you have any questions.

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi:

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

Here is the video for the week, you can see how active they are getting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc3Il3cEFGM&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

I’ll be back next week where we’ll be halfway through this journey! Here’s a shot from last week when Caleb and I had the puppies out on the lawn. He has an activity tonight that I need to take him to, so I had better keep moving.

“S” Litter Two Weeks Old

September 5, 2022

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The puppies have just opened their eyes and so it is time for individual pictures and kennel nicknames. All puppies are spoken for at this time, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the backup contact list in the event that spots open up prior to homegoing. Once these pups go home, I will start interviewing for the spots remaining on the Fall 2023 list.

Now that their eyes are open, we will start on puppy mush of puppy food and formula as we work towards solid food and weaning. They will spend more time out of the whelping box being exposed to both indoor and outdoor environments.

Here are the individual pictures. They are not very photogenic at this age where their eyes have just opened and are not super mobile except to scoot themselves around the whelping box. Once they get on the mush and have more exercise, they will become more mobile.

Male pup, Sebastian:

Male pup, Simon:

Male pup, Samson:

Female pup, Simi:

Female pup, Spokanne:

Female pup, Sue:

Here is this week’s video where I put the puppies out on the back porch while I was getting ready to clean out the whelping box. They are still in walrus crawl mode but are starting to get around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYgDz8LUxG4&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

The evening is getting away from me and it is time for my son to do homework, but I hope that everyone had a nice Labor Day and maybe shot some stuff. Charles got out with the neighbors on some doves, so we didn’t spend the weekend crying about missing grouse opener in Nebraska. Looks like it was dry and hot out there, I’m not seeing much for body counts online so I’m assuming we didn’t miss much, but we still miss it.

“S” Litter One Week Old

August 29, 2022

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The six puppies of the “S” Litter of 2022 are a week old today! They literally triple in size from the time of birth until now. They had their tails docked, dew claws removed and first vet check on Friday. Everyone passed inspection with flying colors and they are all super fat and adorable.

The puppies were fussing in the laundry basket at the vet after their tails and claws were done and Ruth just couldn’t take it anymore.

Ruth taking care of the puppies at the vet

They will stick with only nursing from mom until their eyes are open. Right now my main focus is keeping Ruth in food and water, then making sure that she gets plenty of potty breaks.

I took the pups out into the sun on to a blanket on the lawn and it didn’t faze them much since it was so warm. But their favorite place is in their box with wood chips and mom nearby. I took this weeks video outside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyx_zI5a52s&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

I took this week’s photos after the video once they had gone back to sleep.

The puppies 8 week birthday will be Monday, October 17th, so I’m hoping to confirm with the new owners that they are available that week or the weekend following to pick up. I will be starting to call out tonight and am not sure if I will get through everyone or if it will take me a few nights. I emailed out my phone numbers if it is easier for you owners to call me than to try and reach you.

Charles has been working with Caleb and Duke on getting ready for the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test in a few weeks. Then Charles and Sally follow with another run at the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test in October.

He’s is starting to formulate his hunting plans for the fall, which sound like they will include a trip back to the middle of the country. I’d like to start taking some cracks at woodcock and ruffed grouse on this end of the country in the winter, we’ll see how it all comes together. Right now hunting season is just something to daydream about until we get through puppies and testing.

Take care until next week!

Welcome “S” Litter 2022!

August 25, 2022

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Puppies, South Carolina, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

On Monday, August 22nd we welcomed the “S” Litter of 2022, three boys and three girls. At this time all puppies are spoken for, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to get on the backup contact list in case of owners dropping out, or to enquire about future litters.

Ruth woke me up at 4 AM Monday morning, howling for a potty break, so I knew that we were getting close. By mid-morning she had hit the non-stop panting phase and was trying to make nests in the bushes surrounding our property, so when she wasn’t in the basement in the kennel with the whelping box, I’d have her out walking in the yard about 20 minutes of every hour. I finally took a lengthy lunch break and by the time I returned about 1:30 PM she had three pups with her, the third one had just emerged. It was about one an hour after that until 8 PM.

There was originally a fourth boy, making the total seven. He was extremely tiny at birth, but was strong enough to nurse with some assistance. I was pretty much working on him non-stop all day Tuesday, but by evening Ruth was pushing him away and I knew it was time to stop trying. He was gone when I woke up yesterday. I let the litter rest yesterday, focusing on walking Ruth and making sure that she looked healthy.

Today was the day of cleaning all of the wood shavings from the whelping box and kennel after whelping and making sure there wasn’t any bio-hazardous waste remaining, then replacing all of the wood shavings. While I was cleaning the kennel, the puppies and Ruth got to enjoy the sun out on the back patio.

Hunting Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies — Ruth and the three day old puppies hanging out on the back patio

I thought that they were going to squirm around when I put them in the fresh chips back in the box, but instead they went right to sleep. Here is the video that I shot of them at that point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GISfY1AiMKE&ab_channel=CharityUpchurch

It is getting late in the day and there is still so much to do, I’m still trying to get caught up since I pretty much lose a full day during whelping. We go to the vet tomorrow morning for vet check, tail docking and dew claw removal (the veterinarians here do it a day or two after we did back in Nebraska, so I’m not really used to it yet). I will be back on Monday with the one week old update.

Everything at once: UT Prize One and Breeding

June 24, 2022

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We had our first mating between Obi and Ruth over in Valentine, Nebraska on June 20th, so today should be their last day of breeding most likely. Assuming that everything is successful, that puts puppies being whelped at the end of August and going home around Halloween. I will be getting in touch with those on my reservation list soon, but wanted to get a blog post done. My son graduated about a month ago and it has been non-stop since the last week of school in the middle of May. If you’d like to be on my back-up contact list for this litter or are interested in future litters (the next will be planned for Fall 2023 since my daughter graduates from college in Nebraska in the spring), you can email me at bluestemkennels@gmail.com.

On Saturday, May 21st, something happened that we’ve been waiting on for our 12 years in NAVHDA. Obi and Charles got a NAVHDA Utility Prize I and punched their ticket to NAVHDA Invitational 2023. They tested with the Hudson Valley NAVHDA Chapter outside of Charles’s hometown of Newburgh, New York. If you’d like a step-by-step walkthrough of a NAVHDA Utility Test, you can go back to my blog post from October 28, 2021 titled “Our 2021 Utility Tests”. I wasn’t actually at the test this spring, I was at home in South Carolina taking care of kids and dogs, so it is tough to write about something that you didn’t participate in. I appreciate the Hudson Valley NAVHDA Chapter hiring a photographer to document the event, I think that this is something that all chapters should consider doing. Thank you to photographer Jacquie Kuritzky for the use of the photographs!

Obi at the UT test photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

Obi retrieving photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

Charles taking instruction from the judge, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

She also captured some photos of Sally on her first shot of the Utility Preparatory Test. She didn’t pass, but has plenty of time at the age of sixteen months. The only skill she didn’t perform was the retrieve of the dead duck, which led to the no-pass.

Sally and Charles, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

Sally has a high-style point like her great-grandmother Sue, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

Sally retrieving a chukar in the field, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

The grand finale after the reading of the scores:

Charles getting the water cup for the Utility Prize I with Obi, photo by Jacquie Kuritzky

After our graduation reception here in South Carolina and our youngest son Caleb’s trip to YMCA camp, we headed out to my hometown of Valentine, Nebraska to see my family and have some fun.

Ruth, Obi and Sally wasted no time getting down the road

Puppy Duke is closest to the camera here, it took him a bit to figure out the game: run!

All of this exercise was right when we got to town around the 14th, long before Ruth and Obi started breeding, so none of this should effect that. We had a good visit in Nebraska and the dogs enjoyed their outings.

The next step is to have a pregnancy confirmation ultrasound in a month, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Charles and I will keep working with Sally to get her UPT skills down for a fall re-test, then Caleb will run Duke in the Natural Ability Test. I need to find somewhere in Charlotte who does Penn-HIP x-rays for Sally in the next few months. I should probably also find a place that will collect and store Obi’s semen in case an accident were to happen. You hate to consider the possibility, but they are dogs.

One other item to note: we are not really planning on studding out Obi. He is a part of our breeding program and it would take a really special female with a fellow breeder friend to get me to stud him out. Stud services come with risks: there are sexually transmitted dog diseases, the female can turn and fight an unfamiliar male; there are just too many bad variables for us to want to do it.

I’ll keep you all posted as things progress here, everyone stay cool this crazy hot summer.

Spring Test Prep

May 16, 2022

Charity Upchurch Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, NAVHDA, Sire and Dam Ability, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, Nebraska Sandhills, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Now that our oldest son has finally completed his schoolwork for his senior year of high school, I feel like I can breathe! He finished on Friday and will walk across the stage in about a week and a half.

A quick update on our breeding plans: it looks like I’m full on reservations for Fall 2022 Obi x Ruth, but folks can and do back out. Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to get on my contact list for litters. The next planned breeding(s?) after that will be Fall 2023 since our daughter is graduating from college back in Nebraska in the spring of 2023. But accidents can and do happen, so I can’t totally count that season out even if I try.

In the meantime, Charles, Obi and Sally will be heading up to the Hudson Valley (NY) NAVHDA Spring Test this weekend. It will be Obi’s second and final UT run. He was a very high scoring Prize II at the Carolinas Chapter Test and Charles wants to see if he can get a Prize I. Sally will be running her UPT Test, the practice test for the UT.

Obi, Duke, Sally and Ruth in the kennels

When we’re not working with them in the yard or socializing with them in the house, the dogs spend their time in their kennels. They are crated indoors at night.

Charles, Obi and Sally have been putting in lots of training hours at various grounds in the area, but I hardly ever leave “Tiny Farm of Bethel, SC” since there is so much to do here! I managed to catch some pics of them working in the yard yesterday.

I hope that they have fun in New York and give it their best shot! Charles grew up right near where the test is being held and so he is going to get to visit his dad while he is there too.

Duke is almost six months old and is turning out nicely! His teeth all seem to be in their correct places, he is learning his commands, we’re working on getting his fitness built up, he has a nice coat and he isn’t too large. When we weighed him a few weeks back he was 30 lbs., so we are hoping that he tops out in the 50-55 lb. range but we will see. Dukes lineage is a combination of Coppershot, Des Battures and Stonyridge, so I am expecting great things from him!

I look forward to our trip to the Nebraska Sandhills this summer so that he can get a big long run in behind the truck! And do lots of swimming at the lake too.

Ruth has really bounced back from the puppies and now it is just a matter of watching and waiting for her next cycle. I suspect that it is going to be in July or August, but I will keep you posted. I normally do not do back-to-back litters with females, but it took us three attempts to get an outside male raised and turned out properly to breed with her. A female pup from this fall’s litter is going to a breeder, then we will keep an Obi x Ruth female for our program in 2023.

We are so blessed to have our place here where we can work with the dogs right in the yard. I’ve been busy planting domesticated flowerbeds and trying to keep the wild woods at bay as much as possible. My vegetable garden is already exploding with lettuce, spinach and collards. I hope to add chickens for eggs and meat goats next year. Charles keeps a funny collection of birds for training.

Domestic mallards and a rooster pheasant

He has a whole other quail house on the back hill that I’ll have to get pictures of later.

Good luck to everyone at their spring tests, may we all savor the thrills of victory and withstand the stings of defeat.

Bluestem Kennels

“S” Litter Seven Weeks Old!

“S” Litter Six Weeks Old

“S” Litter Five Weeks and Duke’s NA Test

“S” Litter Four Weeks Old

“S” Litter Three Weeks Old

“S” Litter Two Weeks Old

“S” Litter One Week Old

Welcome “S” Litter 2022!

Everything at once: UT Prize One and Breeding

Spring Test Prep

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