NAVHDA | Bluestem Kennels

“T” Litter Three Weeks Old

August 20, 2023

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update Blind Retrieve, Duck Retrieve, East Coast Wirehaired Pointing Griffons, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, Puppies, South Carolina Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

The two three week old puppies of the “T” Litter are getting pretty active, just today I caught them growling, chewing on and pawing at each other in play. They aren’t terribly steady, but they can push themselves up on all fours and toddle around a bit. Right now their front end is the strongest so that they can push themselves up to get to the teats as needed, but over the next week or two the rear end will catch up and they will be four wheel drive machines.

Although they are still primarily nursing, they are getting some puppy mush each day, which is canned puppy food and milk replacer. Since they aren’t very steady on their feet, I mainly spoon feed it to them. That will all change soon as they transition to a food bowl. When I introduce the food bowl, I also start banging loud pots to condition them to loud noises. I am pretty loud as it is and I was doing some cleaning and running the vacuum near them recently, so I consider that the start of noise conditioning also.

The day before last Ruth found an oppossum in the barn and had it cornered under the (totally unused in South Carolina) snow plow blade. After I got Ruth kenneled back up, I picked it up with a couple of shovels, threw it in a trash can, then pitched it out into the field near the dog kennels. Well it decided to take up residence in the rock and brush pile behind the dog kennels, so Ruth has a toy to torment. I hope that it moves away soon. You hear her locate it at the end of this week’s video:

I didn’t take much for candid pictures of them this week, but here are there individual photos. I’ll be sure to take more this week with them doing so many cute things, like attacking each other in the way that siblings do.

Male pup, Tobin:

Female pup, Tabitha:

We got out this morning to practice water work with the dogs. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but here is a gallery of some nice photos. All of the ducks lived. You can click on the first thumbnail photo to se a larger version, then page through the training photo gallery:

Free swim: Duke in front, Obi and Sally behind (and a silly Pointer named Dolly very top)

I was late to sit down today with all of the training, then just spending time with the family. So now we are on to homework time with my son and I need to get after it. Post again next week.

“T” Litter Two Weeks Old

August 13, 2023

Charity Upchurch AWPGA, Kennel Update, NAVHDA, Puppy Update American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, NAVHDA Invitational 2023, Puppies, Puppies from Hunting Parents, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 1 Comment

The two puppies of the “T” Litter turned two weeks old yesterday. They are starting to open their eyes and ears, they are moving around quite a bit more and are huge compared to when they were born. My webhost has changed some of the settings on posting video links so I hope that I have this in correctly:

The puppies are still primarily nursing and sleeping. We’ll start on little spoonfuls of puppy mush, which is canned dog food and milk replacer mixed together, just so that they get a sense of eating something other than mom’s milk.

Ruth really does not like the camera around the pups, so it disturbs her to try to get too many photos or videos. She will become more relaxed with it as the puppies get older and more independent.

Here are their individual photos.

Female pup, Tabitha:

Male pup, Tobin:

Tobin, male pup, face (his eyes are fine, there is just one that hasn’t finished opening, totally normal)

I’ll be back next with with another update on the puppies.

In other news…

The big dogs have been keeping busy, Sally’s hip and elbow screenings came back normal and we’re waiting on her thyroid. Obi just had his elbows x-rayed and his thyroid tested. Both of them are with Charles in New Jersey this weekend at a special East Coast NAVHDA Invitational training. Sally is just prepping for UT but we’re closing in on the final weeks before Invitational in September for Obi. Considering the fact that only about 25% of Griffons who make it to Invitational pass the test, the odds are against us, but every effort is certainly being made to be part of that 25%.

I have some news myself that I’ve been keeping under my hat a bit. Over the summer I was nominated to run for the position of secretary for the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, the national AKC breed parent club. Much to my surprise, I won the election and will take over as AWPGA secretary effective September 1. This is not my first position within the club, I was editor of the Griffonnier magazine from 2014-2018 and most recently was the show trophy chairperson for the Eastern Regional Specialty in Pennsylvania back in March.

I want to thank my fellow candidate, Kendall DeSanto, for running a clean race with me. As we are longtime friends in the breed, there was no mudslinging involved. You may recognize Kendall from his presentation of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon breed in past years at the National Dog Show that is televised on Thanksgiving (hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia). Here’s a photo that I took of him showing at the 2014 AWPGA National Specialty in Maine.

Kendall DeSanto in 2014 at the AWPGA National Specialty in Maine

Thank you to the membership for having the confidence in me to carry out the duties of secretary for the club. I will devote myself to the cause. Thank you also to outgoing secretary Beth Schweibinz for all of your hard work and guidance that I will need in the coming months during the transition.

So between Invitational, puppies and my new board of directors position, there is a lot going on here! I’ll be back next week with another update on the pups. Everyone keep working hard, hunting season will be here soon for some relaxation and fun!

Two New AKC Hunt Titles!

May 10, 2023

Charity Upchurch AKC Hunt Tests AKC Master Hunter, AKC Senior Hunter, Dog Training, Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Korthals Griffon, Montana Brittany Club, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, North Dakota Pointing Dog Club, Puppies, Rappahannock Brittany Club, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Pending AKC approval, Sally is now Bluestem Sally Forth SH, NA II! She and I got our last AKC Senior Hunter pass at the Rappahannock Brittany Club AKC Pointing Dog Hunt Test in Dillwyn, Virginia on Saturday, April 29th. Since we did not title her in Junior Hunter, it took five passing runs for the title. The first four we received at the AWPGA Eastern Regional Specialty in March. We went five passing runs in a row, which was very exciting.

I appreciate all of the judges assistance in guiding me through my first hunt test title. I’ve been in the gallery for 10 years now and it was finally time to step up to the plate. I have to give the most credit to Charles for training her; all I did was go in and drive a truck that he built. This is not going to be a common event for me until I get my last child out of the house in four years. Even then, I expect it to be infrequent since I enjoy wild bird hunting more.

This photo was taken right after we jumped out of the truck at our AirBnB at the end of the day, so my jaeger lead is not on correctly. Also, I am in sneakers instead of my boots. Of course it bothers me now looking at the picture, but I was too excited and tired at the time to care.

Charity and Sally with their last SH pass ribbon in Virginia

Our second new title comes is one that has been a long time in the making! Plus it was the same weekend that Sally finished Senior Hunter. At eleven years-old Bluestem TracHer became an AKC Master Hunter at the North Dakota Pointing Dog Club/Montana Brittany Club joint AKC Pointing Dog Hunt Test. TracHer is from our “C” Litter between Sam and Mae (both of whom have crossed the rainbow bridge). Congratulations Susan on a job well done and staying with the dream for so long!

Bluestem TracHer MH with owner-handler Susan and Wirehaired Vizsla, Condi, and her first Senior Hunter ribbon

Bluestem TracHer MH, the spitting image of her dam Little Lady Aspen, NA I “Mae”

Also at the Rappahannock Brittany Club test, Charles and Obi got their first AKC Master Hunter pass. AKC Master Hunter takes six passing runs for the title, so we’ve got some miles to travel before that is done.

Charles and I both had some fashion faux pas in our photos. He’s already changed out of his hunt test hat and boots in the photo. Do not try to handle dogs in Crocs:)

Obi and Charles with the first AKC Master Hunter pass ribbon.

Before we worry about finishing Obi’s AKC Master Hunter, we have to get through NAVHDA Invitational in September. Charles traveled with some dog training buddies out to Moberly, Missouri this past weekend for some in-depth training.

Obi with Charles backing Tracy Johnson’s Vizsla way off in the distance at Missouri Valley Outfitters

A liver German Shorthaired Pointer backing Obi’s point

The perspective of the following photo is interesting since it was taken by the person who planted the duck for blind retrieve practice on the bank of the pond opposite Charles as the handler. So Obi was sent from the far side of the pond to swim across and retrieve the duck on the bank that is in the foreground of the picture.

Obi retrieving a duck to Charles, in orange on the far bank.

I wish that I could give credit to the folks who took the photos out in Missouri, but Charles didn’t give me any names. He seemed very pleased with the results of the weekend training in Missouri after being a little disappointed in not getting more passing runs in Virginia the weekend prior.

Duke is a year and a half old and is currently zero for eight runs in AKC Senior Hunter. He is a young, stubborn pup with a lot of prey drive. He does not want to hold still when that bird is getting kicked up, even with commands. We have a long road ahead and he is doing many things right, it only takes one mistake to get pulled from an AKC test. Here he is looking cute at the vet office for his rabies shot.

Duke is cute at a year and a half and 62 pounds

Ruth has become my dedicated canicross dog. Canicross is a sport that is more popular in Scandinavia and Canada, where the handler wears a hip harness with a bungeed dog lead attached to it and you go hiking. Right now we are exploring the trails of Kings Mountain National Military Park, where the American Revolutionary War Battle of Kings Mountain took place. It is a good way for two old moms to get out, plus I take our fourteen year old son Caleb too.

Ruth on the canicross harness back at the beginning of April, it is much greener here now.

One of our “P” Litter puppies from our surprise litter between Ruth and Stonyridge Zoro got out preserve hunting with her girl in Kansas at the end of March. Great job Madilynn and Rose!

Rose and Madilynn excited about their first rooster together!

I don’t have whole lot to say about the Westminster Kennel Club dog show this year since I was teaching swimming lessons and busy around the dog farm here. One thing that stood out to a lot of us long time followers is that the stands were completely empty. I hope that in the future the club is able to move it back into Manhattan at Madison Square Garden in February for the experience that we all miss. The last MSG show was in 2019 before COVID. I just feel blessed that our daughter Cordelia and I were able to go in 2018 since there is a chance that it may never happen again in Manhattan. The Piers where the benched show and breed judging happened are completely falling apart into the Hudson River, so we all may be stuck going to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens in the future.

Empty stands at WKC 2023, I stole this screenshot out of someone’s Facebook video.

Charles will keep plugging along here with training for Invitational and I’ll be prepping for breeding season here in a couple of months. I’m expecting Ruth to come into season late July with pups whelped in September and going home around Thanksgiving.

I currently have thirteen reservations with deposit for our Fall 2023 litter. As my deposits are fully refundable until the puppy is three weeks old, this list often shakes up at the last minute with folks having life events that lead them to hold off until the following year. If anyone is reaching out at this point looking for a pup, they need to be comfortable with the fact that it could be Spring 2024 before I have any puppies available. But it is all up to the good Lord and Mother Nature, so we’ll see what is provided to us. Email bluestemkennels@gmail.com for inquiries.

Happy New Year 2023!

January 9, 2023

Charity Upchurch AKC Hunt Tests, AWPGA, Bird Dog Training, Kennel Update, NAVHDA, Puppy Update AKC Hunt Tests, East Coast Griffons, Hunting Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, Puppies, South Carolina, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Happy New Year from Bluestem Kennels, the South Carolina home of hunting AKC and NAVHDA Wirehaired Pointing Griffons!

We are still awaiting Ruth’s winter heat cycle, but it looks like it will be any day now. We are taking a break from breeding this cycle, but that will drive when she comes into season this summer for our Fall 2023 litter with Obi. We still have spots left on the 2023 reservation list and then we’ll also go for one last litter from Ruth in Spring 2024 before she retires from breeding. Most likely we’ll also do a first litter of Duke and Sally for Spring 2024. Contact us at bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you’re interested in a pup from us in the future.

Puppy Brag!

While I was busy with puppies in the fall, I missed an accomplishment announcement for the first Ruth and Obi pup to NAVHDA test Natural Ability. Congratulations to Clint and Bluestem Ramble on Rosalind “Rosie” on their NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II, 101 points at seven months-old! They tested on September 10, 2022 with the Keystone Chapter in Central Pennsylvania. That is an amazing accomplishment for a first-time handler and young pup, we couldn’t be more proud!

Congratulations to Clint and Rosie on a NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II at seven months-old!

Duke’s Health Scans

Then right after the pups went home at the end of October, I got Duke over to Steele Creek Animal Hospital in Charlotte for his hip and elbow x-rays and advanced bloodwork. We are so happy that everything came back looking good! It is only through close work with our veterinarians that we keep our dogs and puppies healthy for hard hunting.

If you look at the graph on this report, the square represents that average of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon breed. Duke’s chances of developing hip issues are significantly lower than the average. Obi’s are slightly lower, but both are perfect for stud dog purposes.

Also his elbows show no sign of problems, which is another good thing. We had extensive bloodwork completed on his thyroid, liver and kidneys and that all came back normal. The reason that we tested the liver and kidneys even though it is not required by any breed clubs is that there are starting to be problems in certain bloodlines in the Upper Midwest where the pups are getting liver and kidney problems at young ages. We have a friend with a pup (not from us) who is battling it now and it is not something that we want to bring into our breeding program.

East Coast Griffon Event Announcement

I almost forgot this! The AWPGA is hosting a regional specialty event in York and Wellsville, Pennsylvania from Thursday, March 16 through Sunday, March 20th. Thursday is a field training day, Friday is the regional specialty dog show in York, Saturday and Sunday are AKC Hunt Tests in Wellsville. I will be driving up on Thursday so I’ll miss the field day, but I will be hanging around at the show on Friday, then running Sally and Duke in AKC Senior Hunter on Saturday and Sunday. After spending ten years in the gallery and helping out at hunt tests, I’m finally going to handle myself. I don’t know that I’ll get any passes, but we’ll have fun running anyway. There is a Facebook group called “AWPGA Eastern Regional Events 2023” that has all of the details. https://www.facebook.com/groups/375079241463081

Our Training

Charles has been working with training Obi for NAVHDA Invitational, Duke and Sally for UPT or AKC SH, and Ruth just to keep her active. Here’s just a couple of random training photos from the last couple of months where he is working with our Griffons and the English Pointers of the neighbors’.

Ruth with the green collar on backing the Pointers in December.

Obi on the right backing one of the Pointers yesterday.

We hope that every one of our puppy owners and followers had a blessed holiday season. We were lucky to have our two adult children come back to us in South Carolina from Nebraska. Here is a photo of the five of us at the harbor in Charleston: Charles, Conrad is 18 and an Information Technology student at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Cordelia is 21 and a senior in Agribusiness at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Caleb is 13 and is in eighth grade here in SC and then me.

I’ll get back on the blog once Ruth comes in to heat here in the next few of weeks, then we’ll know a little bit more about our puppy making schedule this summer and fall. Stay warm until then, especially my poor people up in North Central Nebraska and South Central South Dakota who have snow drifts up to ten feet tall and are still getting roads and driveways cleared for travel. They have my prayers daily.

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

September 27, 2022

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

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.

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.

R Litter Confirmed by Ultrasound

December 30, 2021

Charity Upchurch NAVHDA, Puppy Update, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Gun Dog, Hunting Dogs, Hunting Wirehaired Pointing Griffons, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Puppies Leave a comment

The Bluestem Kennels “R” Litter was confirmed by ultrasound today! Please see the earlier breeding announcement blog post for additional photos of the parents and our “About Our Dogs” page for pedigrees and health clearances. Right now, we have 11 reservations with deposits. This is going to be a large litter so there is a possibility that if you put down a deposit and made a reservation now, that there could be a puppy available. We are also repeating this breeding in the fall, so if you get on the list and don’t get a spring pup, you could get a fall pup: bluestemkennels@gmail.com.

Why do back-to-back litters? Ruth is young, in her prime breeding years at age 5 and we are finally in a place where we can expand our breeding kennel. She is the great-great granddaughter of Am/Can CH Duchasseur Moustache, UT I, an AWPGA Hall of Famer from Quebec, Canada. The Quebecois bloodline was joined with our strong foundation blood from the upper Midwest US. A fantastic combination of health, hunt drive and family companion.

Obi is a new start for us, coming out of a small breeder in Wyoming. He has hips in the top 10% for the breed recorded by Penn-HIP. He is the most silly, gentle male we have ever owned as a family dog. He also has great biddability and is easy to train. We have high hopes to eventually take him to NAVHDA Utility Prize I in his life.

So this is the beginning of the next chapter.

I had to stay outside during the ultrasound due to COVID restrictions. York Vet in York, South Carolina

Ruth resting with her little sister Sally a couple of nights ago

As we read test scores and judges evaluations in NAVHDA’s Versatile Hunting Dog magazine, as well as talk to other owners and breeders, it is tough for us to decide where to go next with bringing in outside blood again. We are keeping a male from this litter, so our backs are a little against the wall to come up with a mate for him somewhere. Now that I’m within halfway decent driving distance of Quebec, my eyes wander up there (also because I love the food and hanging around Vieux Quebec “est tres bien”). But I need to do my research on any new paperwork and veterinary requirements. But that is not where we are right now!

We need to focus on getting ready for the puppies. They are taking over the guest bedroom from the guests. I will finally have a whelping box with a bed next to it, like I’ve always wanted. So now it is just time to watch and wait! I will post more pictures of Ruth as she gets bigger and some of Obi training and just playing in the yard (once this rain goes away).

Happy New Year from Bluestem Kennels! Going into our twelfth year of puppies in style!

Hunting Season Opener 2020

September 17, 2020

Charity Upchurch Hunting Tales, NAVHDA, Puppy Update, Sire and Dam Ability, Upland Hunting Trips, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons NAVHDA, NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, NAVHDA Utility Test, Nebraska, Sharptailed Grouse Hunting, teal hunting, Wirehaired Pointing Griffons Leave a comment

Like everything in 2020, our opening weekend was a little different than normal. Many of our “go-to” spots are still flooded out, but luckily the bounty of the Sandhills still provided.

Opening day we split into two parties, with Fire and I taking one dune ridge and Charles, our buddy Ryan, Ruth and Obi went on the ridge to the south of me. It’s funny the difference that one valley makes. Fire and I hiked for five miles and saw absolutely nothing, while Charles and Ryan saw about 14 sharpies and Charles limited out by noon. Which was good because the high temperature got up to 105 that day, a record for a September day in Nebraska. Obi was having a great first outing as he got all of the retrieves that day.

Charles and Obi headed back to the truck

Obi and Ruth with Charles and a limit of sharptailed grouse opening day

Day two we decided to all three hunt the same ridge with all three dogs. Charles and Ryan stayed up high and I worked the mid-level hills closer to the valley. We had planned on crossing the valley once we got to the fence, but they had seen a group of birds get up that I did not, so I met up with them at the top of the ridge and we headed back the way we came. I saw a group of about ten of them get up and go around a dune, so I hoped that we’d be into birds soon.

It wasn’t too much longer until Fire went on a super-stylish point down in a little bowl. It was one of those where their body is posed in one direction and their head is cocked to the right as if to say “The birds are right here!”. With scenting conditions so difficult in the Sandhills, I’ve only had this happen one other time in twenty years of hunting. So I ran down in front of Fire and sure enough, a group of five got up right in my face. Due to the direction of the wind, with them taking off right into it, they shot straight up into the air and I shot right underneath of them. One peeled off and flew back towards Ryan and he took it down.

Ryan is a traveling geology technician, so he hadn’t been out with us hunting in five our six years while he’s been on the road. It was great to have him on the bird board again. We continued our push and I sort of meandered toward the lower hills like I normally do. Up at the top of the ridge the guys got up another small group and Ryan took another bird out of it. Fire was hanging around with me, so we hiked up to where the guys were to try to help them find the bird since they seemed to be struggling to locate it. It took us a good five minutes, but Fire put her nose to the ground and went about 40 yards to the south and came back with the runner.

I’ve been battling plantar fasciitis in my right foot for about nine months, since we chased roosters in January outside of South Sioux City. Where I used to be able to do 8 miles of dune stomping in a day, I’m down to about 5. The guys used to be up in the 10-11 mile per day range and now they’re at a little over 8. We’re all between the ages of 45 and 50 now. Ryan made the dreaded statement that, “Someday we’re not going to be able to do this anymore!”. I’m hoping that isn’t for another 25 years or so, but I guess we just don’t know. The oldest grouse hunters that I’ve seen have been in their mid to late 70s, but that was 10+ years ago. We’re the old hunters of our part of the world now.

With that being said, I bailed out of the last three mile push of the day all three days. So when the guys went out on day two and Ryan brought back his third bird for the limit, it was a great feeling just to be there. I don’t have a good idea of how many sharptailed grouse and prairie chickens I’ve taken out of those hills, but I’ve done it. And it hope to do it again, but it just wasn’t this trip.

Ryan and Fire with a limit of sharpies

Day three was at least a bit cooler. At least the outside temperatures. Let me just say that if you buy the Kindred Creamery Ghost Pepper Colby Jack Cheese, which is the hottest pepper cheese that I’ve ever eaten in my life, wait to eat it until you get home. Don’t eat it during the hunt or you will regret it.

We went to the spot that we call “Lone Tree”, but the pasture with the lone tree and the grouse flock that we normally hunt had cows in it. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the years is that the grouse don’t hang out with the cows. So we tried a new dunefield. And sure enough right when we got into it, a group of about ten got up at about 150 yards and sailed away. We walked for another hour looking for them, but never saw them again. The guys hit one more spot and Charles took a single with Ruth on retrieve. It was the end of the trip and everyone was done posing for photos.

Charles with some worn out dogs and a single.

Someone made a post on one of the Facebook bird hunting forums that three guys and three dogs had been in the Sandhills for three days and hadn’t seen a thing, so I feel lucky that we didn’t get skunked. I hope that we get out chukar hunting in Nevada someday because I’d like to see how it compares to the difficulty of hunting sharpies in the Sandhills. If it wasn’t for my bum foot, which is only impacting me at long distances, I’m really in the best shape cardivascularly that I’ve been in 10 years now that I work as a lifeguard part-time and swim a mile once or twice a week, then walk once or twice a week too. The orthopedist said that it will take time to resolve, so I just need to be patient and keep training.

“I’m getting skunked in the Sandhills”

Introduction to Iowa

There is a big swath of public swamp right on the other side of the Missouri River from where we live, so Charles decided to pick up an Iowa license and took Ruth over there a couple of days ago after work. They managed to stir up a blue-winged teal and a dove.

Hunting Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Teal

Ruth in the back of the truck with an Iowa teal in her mouth

Hunt Test Pupdates

Congratulations to Brent Haefner and Bluestem Madeline the Huntress, NA III can now add a UT III to the end of her name. They passed the very difficult NAVHDA Utility Test at the Minnesota Chapter Test recently with 174 points. Brent said that the hardest part of the training was for the duck search, where the dog has to stay out in the pond for ten minutes swimming and searching for a duck. Maddy is from our 2017 “M” Litter between Chief and Fire.

Brent and Maddy Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Bluestem Madeline the Huntress, NA III UT III and Brent

At the IllIowa Chapter test, Derek Gilsdorf and Bluestem Captain Augustus Mccraer “Gus” got it done in the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, earning a Prize I 110 points. Here’s Gus with his recent haul of teal down in Kansas. He was from our surprise 2019 “P” litter between Zoro and Ruth.

Bluestem Gus Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Gus got the ducks

I love to hear news of our past puppies, but it is tough to stay in touch with 150 people (that’s why I have a blog). Feel free to share your pup with us at bluestemkennels@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to share it with everyone here.

The Griffon that started it all…

Good old Sue is still out on the prairies of South Dakota doing her retirement thing at almost 17 years old. She is the great-grandmother of our current female Ruth and the first Wirehaired Pointing Griffon that we ever owned. It makes me happy to see her spending time with the family; her current mama Debbie is from Texas originally and moved to South Dakota to be a nurse on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation.

Stan and old Sue

Up next

The hunt tests all have waiting lists these days, so it doesn’t look like we’ll be running Ruth here in a couple of weeks in AKC Senior Hunter like we had planned. Charles will be back in the Sandhills for duck season in a few weeks and is headed up to North Dakota with our pal Aaron too. I’m going to stay home with the kids and wait for Nebraska pheasant season to open on Halloween.

Obi went to the vet today to get his PennHIP x-rays. He weighs 54 lbs and Dr. Arndt of Harvey Oaks Animal Hospital said that his hips look “terrific”. That is such great news, so it seems like the stars are finally aligning for us to have a quality outside stud after seven years of trying.

We’ll check back in after Charles returns from North Dakota and see if he gets any interesting photographs. And hopefully some birds and great outdoor experiences too. Best wishes to everyone out there chasing their bird dogs around the wilds.

Before I die I will shoot a snipe and other tales from the prairie…

September 12, 2015

Charity Upchurch Hunting Tales AWPGA, NAVHDA, NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, Nebraska Sandhills, Snipe Hunt, sora rail hunting, Teal Leave a comment

My poor neglected readers, I can tell that you miss me. Yet hunting season is upon us and who needs any other muse? I typically write forwards chronological, but today I’m feeling reverse chronological. That way my title makes sense.

Snipe, Sora and Early Teal

Charity and Charles ready for some fun

Yesterday we hit the local swamp in search of snipe, sora rails, and early teal. It is a pretty popular swamp, as there were a couple of sets of duck hunters in there before we were. Since we were late to the party, we went to the other end of the parcel. We spent an hour or two there and each of us missed a sora rail. At that point we figured that the duck hunters had moved on, but first Charles wanted to go to town for a hot dog.

So when you roll into small town Nebraska with a crazy dog box in the back of your truck with dog heads hanging out of it, a travel carrier on top with stickers from all over the country, and both of you are dressed in camo: you are crazy old man bait. The old man had some great tales: how he had just intentionally ran over a whole flock of turkeys (because of the myth that they kill pheasants and grouse. He even showed us the carcasses in the back of his truck), his pheasant hunting escapades in South Dakota, how much he wants to retire to Oklahoma (really? why?), he showed us pictures of his purple ’67 Dodge Charger, then proceeded to do a massive burnout with his pickup (when you squeal your tires on purpose) on his way out of the gas station. I love Nebraska.

We went back to the main parking lot of the secret swamp and had the place to ourselves. But the duck hunters had left their mark. Shame on them.

Party foul

Once we got up into the swamp, Charles got a sora after I missed a few. Then with his keen eyes, he spotted a couple of teal on some open water about 20 yards ahead of us. I love how teal just let us jump them, we never get away with it with mallards. Charles grabbed Fire by the collar and I grabbed BB (here is where good heeling training would come in handy, but we’re pretty rusty), and we crept up to the pond. When the two teal jumped, Charles hit the one in the lead with his first shot, I hit the one behind with my second. Both were really solid hits, his to the head and mine to the body, so we didn’t have any flapping in the water (which I hate). Fire was right out on the water retrieve, which BB proceeded to steal (bad dog). Fire went back out for the second duck too. Chief had no clue really, we just had him out there for exposure.

From there we made our way out to the snipe field. It is sort of a wet field that cattle graze so that the grass is all short. It is really muddy in places and where is isn’t muddy it is pocked with deep cow hoofprints. This place kicks my butt, I have yet to shoot a single thing there and I’ve been hunting it for years. It has even claimed a pair of my rubber boots: I sank in and couldn’t get out, so I had to walk by to the truck in my socks. During dry years, we stumble across the embedded boots every now and then.

We worked the eastern end of the field to no avail, we figure the flights aren’t in yet. We work the central part of it, and again nothing. Right as we start to slack off and let the dogs work ahead…BB locks on point and Chief and Fire proceed to bust a flock of about 10. Out of range, no chance of a shot. Yet the way that snipe work there are always stragglers. Charles knocks a couple down. I proceed to whine about how many snipe he’s shot and how I’ve yet to hit one, so he lets me walk ahead. I proceed to blast away at another 5 with no success, while he bags a couple more. As we’re walking back, BB again locks on a solid point. I go in for the flush and yet again miss the snipe. But wow, to have a dog who knows how to point snipe, that is pretty awesome.

Charles with four snipe, a sora, and a teal

Charity and Fire with a Teal

AWPGA National Specialty 2015

I just had to drive a couple of hours over to Des Moines, Iowa for the National Specialty this year. It kicked off on Thursday morning with a fun hunt at Doc’s Hunt Club in Adel, Iowa. I accidentally left my camera at the hotel that day. But we had a good turnout and folks took turns taking their dogs out with birds. I sent all of my dogs to the Sandhills with Charles, so I didn’t have any. We did a lot of visiting and had a burger and hot dog lunch in the clubhouse. There was a tracking seminar held in the afternoon, but I have worked AKC Tracking tests with our local kennel club before, so I skipped and sat in the hot tub, then took a nap:) In the evening, we had our annual meeting and welcome reception.

Friday was the big show. It was great to see so many owner handled dogs. Remember Gino Troy from the NAVHDA test in May? Well his bitch took Best of Breed. Yay, Gino and Brie (and his breeder Kristi Rogney of Whiskeytown Sporting Dogs).

Best of Breed Ring

L to R: Kristi, handler, Brie and Gino

We were free for the rest of the afternoon and evening, so I found a new home at the Court Avenue Brewing Company in the Historic East Village of Downtown Des Moines. The people there were so friendly and the atmosphere so nice (like a mini Old Market Omaha Upstream Brewery), that I thought that I’d give them a free plug. If you need some beer and grub in Des Moines, this is the spot. It was packed on Saturday for the Iowa vs. Illinois St. football game, but I had the place to myself on Friday after the specialty show.

Court Ave Brewery Des Moines

AWPGA steins

We had a great time at the banquet Saturday night following the supported entry show, where I won a set of four of cool beer steins in the newly launched pre-banquet games (pictured here with 24 oz. each of Nebraska Brewing Company India Pale Ale). I had the winning bid on the silent auction of two books to add to my collection of dog books in French that I can’t read.

French Griffon Books

So, that puts learning French on my to-do list over the next few years.

The food was excellent and so was the company. There are some things in life that I just love above all others. Food is one of them. From left going clockwise: roll, seven layer dessert bar, pork chop, potatoes, creamed corn, green beans with bacon, spring green salad, and a fried boneless chicken breast in the middle.

I took some of everything.

Jay Hoth of Switchgrass Sporting Dogs was solo, with Lisa back in Oklahoma looking after the kids. He had some company at the banquet: Sheryl Dierenfield, Shona Welle, and Kina Palmer on his right all from Colorado, then myself and Julie Baker, both from Nebraska on his left.

Jay Hoth’s big date

I wish that I had won this sign in the games, but I didn’t. Some of my other problems:

Addiction

I was able to put my amateur auctioneering skills to use at the live auction. When I was a child growing up in Valentine, Nebraska, there just wasn’t a whole lot to do sometimes. So my dad would take me to the sale barn to watch cattle being auctioned off. Between that and all of my time spent as “auction model” in my younger days for Pheasants Forever, I was able to pull it off.

Charity auctioning off a cool welcome sign

I was under the impression that supported entry on Sunday was later than it was, so keeping with tradition, I overslept the morning after the banquet and missed it (last year in Maine, I overslept and missed my flight).

It was a small turnout, only 37 dogs entered in the specialty show, but we managed to have a heck of a good time regardless. Great job, Ruth Vogel and the 2015 specialty committee. Next year, we will be turning it up in Helena, Montana Sept. 19-26. Hunting seasons will also be open, so we’ll be there!

Sandhills Sharptailed Grouse Opener

Charles and the dogs had a great opening weekend in the Nebraska Sandhills chasing sharptailed grouse. They limited out within two hours of their start time each day. Only 8 shells shot and 6 birds in the bag! I kept saying to myself in Des Moines, “I can’t believe I’m missing opening weekend to watch a dog show”. But I’m pretty committed to my dog club friends and glad that I didn’t miss them being in the neighborhood.

Opening day limit. From back to front: Fire, BB, and Chief

Day 2 limit, back to front: Sam, Fire, and Chief

Parting thoughts

I have probably missed around 100 snipe in my hunting career, so I’m going to be in pursuit. Probably starting tomorrow. I’m taking at least a semester away from teaching and am just going to hunt and dog train full-time. I had thought about going solo and doing Wyoming sage grouse in a week, but I really need to get into shape (and save our money) for duck opener in the Sandhills the first week of October, and North Dakota mixed bag mid-October. Here’s sort of my goals/timetable:

I’m going to handle Chief for the first time in NAVHDA Natural Ability in the Spring.
Charles will NAVHDA UPT Fire in either the spring or fall of next year.
We’re going to train BB back up, giving her a year off from whelping, so that I can handle her in NAVHDA UT in the fall of 2016. Depending on where Fire is at, she may also UT at the same test with Charles.
In the next 2-3 years, I want to do Nevada chukar. I am not in shape enough for that terrain. Also, I have Montana staring me in the face next year, I’d like to chase some mountain grouse (blue, spruce, ruffed, ptarmigan) and the sage grouse while we’re there. Time to get to work.

I was super excited to see Brian Koch make contact with the Himalayan Snowcock in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada within the last couple of weeks. He doesn’t have this pic up on his Ultimate Upland website yet, but here’s the photo from his Facebook page:

Brian’s Himalayan Snowcock encounter. Photo by Brian Koch ultimateupland.com

That is one for the bucket list! Keep chasing birds

Hunting season ends, breeding season begins…

January 11, 2015

Charity Upchurch Uncategorized American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, AWPGA, Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

It has been absolutely arctic around here. We stayed close to family and did not venture out for grouse, pheasant, or Canadian geese while we were in Valentine. It was very cold outside and several of us were sick with colds. It has stayed cold down here in Bellevue, so nobody has been out anywhere except for the yard. But the good news is that while we were hunkered down in Valentine, we think that Sam and BB got the job done. So, fingers crossed, BB is about 3 weeks along. Velma has just become fertile and is with Ben down in Springfield, Nebraska. They will stay together for two more weeks and see what happens. So if Mother Nature smiles upon us, puppies in March.

Yet if you call or e-mail me, I’m going to refer you to another breeder. I currently have 16 reservations with deposit on file and just have no idea how successful these litters will be. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed and wait and see.

The dogs have been coming in the house quite a big with the cold temps, but I didn’t get the camera out until we were outside today.

Caleb let himself into the kennel with BB and Sam while Charles and Conrad were shooting archery.

Conrad getting his archery practice in!

BB and Fire on a tear in the woods

Fire on a lope, you can still see the shaved patch on her abdomen.

Fire and Caleb

BB, Sam, and Fire

Sam Profile

Fire Running

BB heading in

Sam Eyes

Sam looks on while BB and Fire battle in the yard

Pupdates: Christmas Cards 2014

It’s funny that both of the cards that I received from puppy owners were from the “C” litter of 2012 of Sam and Mae. Not that I can say anything about Christmas cards, I just don’t send them anymore. I figure I send everyone a card everytime I write up a blog post, right? Some cute photos of Chester from Long Island, New York came in Sal’s Christmas card:

Happy Chester

Running Chester

Peaceful Chester

A cute card from the owners of his sister, TracHer, far right, up in North Dakota. Susan in read with Zephyr, also a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (but not from us). Tom with Max the baby German Wirehaired Pointer and TracHer.

We hope that everyone had a great holiday season and is ready to tackle the New Year ahead. Charles is talking about one more hunt before the Jan 31 close of season, but I’m out of time. I will keep everyone posted with breeding season, please join NAVHDA and the AWPGA, and stay warm!

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