All puppies currently have homes, but feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com in the event that anyone backs out at the last minute.
The six puppies of the “W” litter have had their leash and bird exposure, as well as plenty of kids’ cap gun fire. They’ll get their crate exposure after they come home from the vet’s office on Friday. At the vet, they will have their exam, first shots and microchip.
Of course here is the last weekly silly YouTube video:
We decided to forego the posed shots and just use action shots this week. These were actually taken on Sunday when everyone in the household was around to help. The “X” litter will go through the same process this coming Sunday.
Female:
Wynonna
Female Wynonna on a leash walkFemale Wynonna checking out the pigeonFemale Wynonna with a dead chukar
Males:
Winston
Male Winston on a leash walkMale Winston checking out the pigeonMale Winston with the dead chukar
Wade
Male Wade on a leash walkMale Wade checking out the pigeonMale Wade with the dead chukar
Waylon
Male Waylon on a leash walkMale Waylon checking out the pigeonMale Waylon picking up the dead chukar
Wycliffe
Male Wycliffe on a leash walkMale Wycliffe checking out the pigeonMale Wycliffe with the dead chukar
Washington
Male Washington on a leash walkMale Washington checking out the pigeonMale Washington with the dead chukar
Now normally we use a dead quail for the dead bird exposure, but our dead bird refrigerator died (things that you have when you train dogs) a few months back, so all I had was a chukar. I use zero pressure, there is no expectation for them to pick it up. New puppy owner can get bird wings online and yank them around the yard with string like I did here if they would like. I just put them in an exercise pen and drag the dead bird around until it gets their attention.
I also like to keep the live bird caged so that they can’t put their mouth on it. We don’t want to create any bad habits by letting them chase or put their mouth on the live bird. You can let puppies chase live birds for a little bit, but I think it is better to keep them on a check cord to not create a bird busting habit.
The first puppy from this litter goes home July 31 and most leave the weekend following. It’s always a joy to raise a litter and I can’t wait to see how happy all of the new families are when they pick up their new puppies.
We’ll be back one more time with puppy photos and videos on Sunday with the “X” litter, then it will be time to post homegoing photos after that.
All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.
They moved out on to the back patio today, so with two kennels it’s like 101 Griffons back there. They seem to have adjusted well and are eating kibble and drinking water just fine. Both litters will get collars this week so that they are easier to catch up in the yard. They’ll get play outside of the kennel twice a day and have toys available to them while they are kenneled. I’m exposing them to loud noises as they are being fed, just as a part of the beginning of early gun conditioning. It will evolve into me firing the cap gun while they are playing in the yard in another week or so.
Here is the YouTube video for the week:
Here are their individual photos starting with the males.
Males:
Xander
Male Xander faceMale Xander body
Xavier
Male Xavier faceMale Xavier body (while howling)
Xerxes
Male Xerxes faceMale Xerxes body
Females
Xena
Female Xena faceFemale Xena body
Xantia
Female Xantia faceFemale Xantia body
Xaria
Female Xaria faceFemale Xaria body
Xandra
Female Xandra faceFemale Xandra body
Xyla
Female Xyla faceFemale Xyla body
I’ll be back on Wednesday with the five week update on the “W” Litter! Please reach out to me if you are looking for a female puppy, I’d love to chat.
All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.
Here is the four week update on the “W” Litter.
Here is the video of the litter shot today:
Here are their individual photos, starting with the female.
Wynonna
Female Wynonna faceFemale Wynonna body
Males:
Winston
Male Winston faceMale Winston body
Wade
Male Wade faceMale Wade body
Waylon
Male Waylon faceMale Waylon body
Wycliffe
Male Wycliffe faceMale Wycliffe body
Washington
Male Washington faceMale Washington body
They’ve made the transition to the outdoor kennel and are now on hard kibble as well as nursing from mom however much she’ll tolerate it. They’ll get daily time in the yard and lots of play with Caleb and I. I’ll let folks know once availability ends and the spot has been taken, then come back on Sunday with the four week update on the “X” litter. Stay cool and enjoy the 4th of July safely!
All puppies have homes at this time, but email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to be on the contact list in the event that someone backs out at the last minute.
The puppies chose not to wait until I was done teaching school for the semester and arrived during the last week. Briar and Duke’s “W” Litter arrived on Wednesday, June 4th. Luckily Caleb was home to watch over the process. He is not the first one of my children to whelp a litter of puppies, Cordelia helped BB whelp a litter 8 years ago to the month. There are five boys and one girl in the litter of six.
Sally and Obi’s “X” Litter pups arrived on Sunday, June 8th. Puppies started arriving about 10:30 AM and we were done by 3:30 PM. There are three boys and five girls in the litter of eight. No stillborns in either of the two litters. They both have their whelping boxes and kennels in the basement until the pups are four weeks old, when they get too stinky to be inside and they are able to regulate their body temperature.
So that brings us to a total of eight boys and six girls between the two litters, for a total of fourteen puppies. I need to reach out to folks with 2025 reservations to see if they are confirmed, then check in with the people who have reservations for 2026 to see if they want to move up a year. Then I would be open to taking new deposits.
My females absolutely hate the camera at this point, so I try to limit the exposure. At around two weeks when the puppies’ eyes are open, we can start taking individual pictures.
Here are the Briar and Duke pups at one week old:
Six snugglers of Briar and DukeBriar and the pupsCloseup on a yawnerFaces
Here are the photos of the three day old litter between Sally and Obi:
Nursing babiesSally and the pupsCloseup of nursing pups
So like I say, right now my priority is getting in touch with my folks with deposits down and figuring things out from there. Briar and Duke’s litter will be 8 weeks old on July 30th, so that is when they can start going home. The weekend following is August 2nd and 3rd. Sally and Obi’s pups will be 8 weeks old Sunday, August 3rd, so that is the first day that they can go home. The following weekend is August 9th and 10th. All puppies need to go home by Sunday, August 10th due to my school schedule next year.
Thanks for reading and I’ll post again a week from today when the “W” litter is two weeks old!
If you’d like to inquire about future litters, feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com. I have been quite busy as of late and am a few days behind on responses, so I apologize if you’ve sent an email this week and haven’t heard from me. Tomorrow is email day and I’ll get back with you then.
Yesterday the pups got their first shots, microchips and veterinary examinations at Steele Creek Animal Hospital right across the border in Charlotte. I’ve been going there for my orthopedic tests since we moved to the Carolinas, but the vet that I normally use doesn’t have weekend hours so I wanted to see how these folks did. I was very impressed with the professionalism, they even checked for the boys testicles without me having to ask. All of the pups checked out with a clean bill of health, weighing in between ten and twelve pounds.
Dr. Schuver of Steele Creek Animal Hospital of Charlotte
Here is this week’s YouTube video:
Here are the last individual photos of them. We did live bird and dead bird introductions. They were smitten as expected!
Female:
Female, Victoria, checking out the live quailFemale, Victoria, picking up the dead quail
Males:
Male, Vaughn, pointing the live quailCaleb walking Vaughn from the live bird to the dead quail station
I would have gotten more leash pictures, but I have a feeling that my telephoto lens is on its last legs and it was struggling to focus while they were walking. Each pup was walked on the leash by Caleb.
Male, Vaughn, picking up the dead quailMale, Valentino, checking out the live quailMale, Valentino, picking up the dead quailMale, Vincent, checking out the live quailMale, Vincent, picking up the dead quailMale, Vance, getting walked out to the live quailMale, Vance, checking out the live quailMale, Vance, picking up the dead quail
This is the exact sequence that I’ve been following with my pups for several years now and it seems to be a good first impression on birds. Of course, the owners need to continue the process of bird and noise exposure, but at least it isn’t a brand new process starting out.
Really there is nothing left to do now but send them home! I’ll make sure to catch up on the phone one more time with all of the new owners before you head over to my house. Looking forward to meeting everyone in person and getting these little monsters home!
All of these puppies have homes, but if you’d like to talk to us about future litters shoot us an email at bluestemkennels@gmail.com.
I’m a day late to post because yesterday the basement was just beyond stinky with the pups and the weather was nice enough to move them and their kennel to the back porch. They’ve made the transition from puppy mush to kibble over the last week and they still nurse when Briar lets them.
Here is this week’s YouTube video:
And here are their individual photos. Although most of the new owners and I don’t decide who is going where exactly for a couple of more weeks, we did decide that the girl is going to Kentucky to live with an electrical lineman and his girlfriend since he is gone for long periods of time during storms and she’ll be able to handle the female better. Now it is just a matter of figuring out which male will go where!
All of the puppies are spoken for, but feel free to reach out to bluestemkennels@gmail.com to inquire about future litters.
After we did our puppy video and individual puppy pictures, the little ones got their first mush meal. I mix canned puppy food with puppy milk replacer and they love it. It is always a mess since I start by spoon feeding them, then blobbing some on their blanket and letting them find the bowl. They should be ready for the puppy saucer going forward, but it is good to have the first taste out of the way so that I know they are ready for it.
First taste of puppy mush
The pups are getting up on their feet, barking, howling and wagging their tails. They are starting to seek and enjoy human attention. This is where I feel comfortable really starting to take them out of the whelping box and playing with them. If we get a warm day soon, we can go outside (but it looks like that is at least a week away).
Here is this week’s YouTube video:
Then here are their individual puppy photos. This is probably going to be the last time that I can get their individual photos by myself on an elevated surface. We’ll either have to be on the ground or I’ll have to have Caleb help me going forward.
Female:
Female, Victoria, faceFemale, Victoria, back
Males:
Male, Vincent, faceMale, Vincent, backMale, Valentino, faceMale, Valentino, back (you can see his heart spot, hence the name)Male, Vaughn, faceMale, Vaughn, backMale, Vance, faceMale, Vance, back
I spent lots of time playing with and feeding puppies today, so I need to get on with my evening. I’m glad to share with you all these cute little beings and how they grow and develop. I’ll be back next weekend.
All pups are spoken for, feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com about future litters.
I felt comfortable enough with my veterinary support team in Bellevue, Nebraska to take Briar back with us to visit our adult children. The Christmas visit had been planned for a long time, but Charles left Duke and Briar together in the dog box in North Dakota in October, we confirmed a pregnancy right after Thanksgiving, so we nearly cancelled. I’ve whelped far more litters in Bellevue and have made sure to breed a line that whelps naturally without complications.
I’d had her set up sleeping next to me on a blanket in the AirBnB, but the night of the 26th she was restless and digging at the carpet under the nightstand. There was a mudroom adjacent to the outside door and it was open to the living room so that I could just set up an ex-pen to keep her from running the house tearing stuff up while she was whelping. I took up residence on the living room couch and heard the first pup arrive around 11:30 PM Central/12:30 PM Eastern (that is why their birthday is on the 27th, since that is when most of them were born, and even the first two were after midnight Eastern).
Even though the sandbox was there, she had dragged a blanket out on to the floor and was whelping on the blanket on the floor. After the second pup was born, I lifted Briar off of the floor and into the plastic sandbox with a different blanket to keep the mess contained. I didn’t have to take any sacs off of the puppies, she did it all herself and had the five pups by 1:30 AM Central/2:30 PM Eastern. Four boys and one girl, all healthy and nice with no stillborns.
We drove straight from Bellevue to home in Clover, South Carolina in one 18 hour shot. The sandbox fit perfectly in the back of my Toyota Sequoia and we kept the heat cranked up. The trip home was uneventful, we just had to make sure that Briar was walked away from the dog polluted gas stations and truck stops for fear of tracking disease in to the nest. We got the kennel set up in the basement the next day.
They are growing like weeds and all seem healthy at one week old yesterday. I have matched the puppies with their owners and the one immediate alternate knows who they are. If you are farther down the list, I’ll be in touch soon and let you know what it looks like for Sally and Obi’s litter later in the spring/summer (or if anyone drops out of this litter).
Here are their one week photos:
V Litter One Week Old
I don’t take individual photos, take videos or assign them names until they are two weeks old. This is because of potential mortality during early life, which is totally normal for breeders. These all appear healthy and strong. I will be back next Saturday to let you all know how they are doing!
For those who have emailed me in the past week, I will be sure to get back with you tomorrow, I’ve been busy matching up owners for these little ones and with the holidays. I hope that it was merry and bright for you all!
Fall 2024 was one of the busiest we’ve ever been with hunting travel, testing and hosting events! We started off in September with Obi’s NAVHDA Invitational pass, hunting the Nebraska Sandhills in October, Charles headed up to hunt North Dakota the second part of October, Charity finishing off her National Specialty Chairperson role at the 2024 AWPGA National Specialty North Carolina in November, which was the same weekend that Charles helped spearhead the Saluda River NAVHDA chapter’s first test in Newberry, South Carolina, then right after we hosted our family Thanksgiving at an AirBnB in Atlanta, Georgia, Charles headed back out to Nebraska for pheasant season! Phew! We’ll be staying home and playing with puppies for most of 2025 and we’re looking forward to it.
You can always reach us at bluestemkennels@gmail.com then we can connect via phone from there.
VC Wyo Plainsman Kenobi NA I, UPT III, UT I x 2 “Obi” and Charles with their NAVHDA Invitational Pass Photo by Ted WentinkObi on point at NAVHDA Invitational. Photo by Terry Ann FernandoObi retrieves a chukar to Charles with an Iowa skyline in the background. Photo by Terry Ann FernandoCharles got a grouse and a duck or two, Caleb got two ducks our first day
The one memorable push from the first day was we circled a pond full of ducks. The boys were on the south side and I was on the north. I had the easier walk, so I could have easily ran in and busted up the ducks off of the pond to get my own shots in. But I’ve had plenty of ducks in my time and Caleb had zero. So since I couldn’t see where the guys were at I held back. By the time the ducks were flying and the boys were shooting, I was way out of range and running in at the last minute.
Although I totally got skunked on this trip to the Nebraska Sandhills, the best part was watching Caleb connect with his first sharptailed grouse on our second day. I couldn’t see who was shooting and all that I could see was the grouse getting totally smacked. It was great shooting by Caleb and I was very proud to be there for his first grouse.
Our fifteen year-old son, Caleb, with Obi and his first sharptailed grouse in the Nebraska SandhillsHe also got a duck later on, so we took a photo of that back at his grandma’sCharles and two grouse from the same day, in my mom’s backyard with the dogs
Caleb really upped his game on the last day with two sharptailed grouse and a duck
Caleb with two grouse and a duck, Charles with two grouse in my mom’s backyard with the dogs
Sorry for the unceremonious photos, most of the time we are just documenting what we can as we are tired and hungry by this point!
While Caleb and I headed back to South Carolina after the third day, Charles stayed on in the Sandhills for a bit longer and then continued on to North Dakota for their pheasant season.
Obi and Duke with the first North Dakota roosterBelle and Obi with a couple of roosters and a grouse in North DakotaBriar retrieving a rooster on day two of North DakotaDuke and a couple of roosters on the last day of North DakotaThe natural beauty of North Dakota never disappoints
Once Charles returned from North Dakota, we were right in the thick of the first NAVHDA test for the Saluda River NAVHDA Chapter, which Charles helped found and Charity was National Specialty Chairperson for the 2024 AWPGA National Specialty North Carolina in Winston-Salem and Pinehurst, North Carolina.
Belle, 19 Griffs Texas Bluebell, earned her NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize II with 102 Points with Caleb as her junior handler. Since Charles was so busy organizing, there is photo of that unfortunately.
Charity with the Best of Breed trophy and other trophies and ribbons at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Photo by Ann SummerfeltBriar is now Bluestem’s Carolina Briar Thicket JH after finishing her AKC Junior Hunter title at Nationals. Owner-handled by Charity. Photo by Charles Upchurch.Judge Michelle Clemens, myself with Sally as the bye dog, then Jessica Frazier with Jewels in AKC Junior Hunter at the Sandhills Pointing Breeds Club. Photo by Jim Clemens.Jewels and Sally with a double point with their noses right on a quail. Photo by Jim Clemens
All of the “thank yous” for the specialty are in the Griffonnier, the magazine of the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, but I’d like to most especially thank my husband Charles for putting up with all of this and helping as the field chair.
Once we wrapped up the specialty and the NAVHDA test, we enjoyed a quick Thanksgiving in Atlanta, Georgia with our East Coast family, then Charles was on the road again to return to Nebraska for pheasant season.
Obi and Belle with the first pheasant of the first day in NebraskaCharles with Obi and Belle and some Nebraska pheasants and quail at the end of the first dayDuke and Sally with a rooster of day three in Nebraska
Charles was pretty worn out in the Nebraska pheasant hunt, so I don’t think that he got good photos of each day.
Nebraska is also about connecting with our folks from home
I really apologize for the four month photo dump and not much writing to go with it, but sometimes it is all I have in me. Especially after all of this activity and organizing, and now we’re going into the last 10 days before Christmas!
I realize that I have photos of hunts from some of our puppies and retired dogs that I have not had a chance to post, but those will have to wait until the new year.
I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Now that National Specialty is over, I will have more time to communicate with you all.
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:
Male pup, Tobin, faceMale pup, Tobin, back
Female pup, Tabitha:
Female pup, Tabitha, faceFemale pup, Tabitha, back
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)Obi makes the blind retrieveObi on his way back from the retrieveObi on the right of the photo, making his way back to Charles on leftDuke with a water retrieve, Sally in foregroundSally with a duck retrieve
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.
Bluestem Kennels 