Wirehaired Pointing Griffon | Bluestem Kennels

“G” Litter Homegoing and “H” Litter 2 weeks old

April 13, 2014

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

A week ago today most of the puppies of our “G” Litter 2014 from Sam and BB went to their new homes. It was a big day for everyone. So big that I forgot to photograph both of the puppies and owners who went home to Minnesota. Gascon went home with Will and Gabriella went home with Brad, but I have no pictures! Hopefully, I can catch up with them later.

Here are the parting shots:

Gus flew home to Tennessee with John

George is in North Dakota with Jeff

Gayle headed to York, Nebraska with Curt and family

Gertrude went to Missouri with Kaylee

Gemma went to Broken Bow, Nebraska with Jeff and Mac.

Gilbert went to Roca, Nebraska with Karl and his wife

Garnet stays in Omaha with Charlie and family

Gisele flew to Mexico City, Mexico with Charbel

We enjoyed meeting everyone and sending these fabulous puppies home with them, but spending the afternoon with Charbel was quite a treat. He is the real “Most Interesting Man in the World” from the Dos Equis commercials and has had many adventures all over the world. Bluestem Freyja will be the first Wirehaired Pointing Griffon/Korthals Griffon registered with the Federacion Canofila Mexicana, the AKC of Mexico.

Tuesday, Gene flew to Texas to be with Colby and I hope to get a picture out of them as well. Charles and I are keeping Gallixe and Ginny will stay in Omaha with Gil and his family starting on Friday. So I have two puppies in my living room that I’m trying to keep from peeing and pooping on my carpet (that I am swearing I will tear out myself this summer, luckily, there is old oak flooring underneath).

Although it was almost 90 degrees here yesterday, today we are back down in the 40s and rain, so it isn’t quite time to put the “H” litter puppies outside yet. They are getting quite fat and their eyes are open. I took them outside yesterday to get some video and pictures of them. Today they got their silly names. Here we are, “H” Litter 2014:

Girl: Hope

Girl: Harriet

Boy: Hez

Boy: Harold

Boy: Herbert

And of course, the weekly YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prwTEPhu3Y8&feature=youtu.be

For those of you who are future “H” litter owners, I would like all of the puppies to go home between their 8 week birthday on Tuesday, May 20th and the end of Memorial Day weekend on Monday, May 26th. I sent an e-mail to that effect. If you have any problems with this timeframe, please let me know immediately. I love being with the puppies and look forward to puppy season every year, but I am already starting to dream about post-puppy adventures with my kids this summer.

This week we’ll be working on getting the pups up and moving around some more, as well as trying them on food mush. As there are only 5 of them, it isn’t as pressing to get them on to solid food as it was with 13. But either way, it will be time to stuff some puppies into an Easter basket or something next weekend, so keep your eyes out for that and check in with you then.

“G” Litter 6 weeks old and still waiting for “H” litter

March 24, 2014

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

Puppy shoppers please note: My 2014 reservation list is currently closed and all puppies born or unborn this year are spoken for. Next breedings are scheduled for Spring 2015.

Poor Mae is just completely miserable and has been for the last 5 days or so. She either lays around and moans, sleeps and snores really loudly, is at the door wanting to go out for every tiny tinkle or turd, or outside walking around (tinkling and micro-turding). According to my calculations, as of today she is 3 days overdue from first mating. But she was with Sam for another 5 days after that, so there is no cause for alarm just yet. Just as a precaution, I took her to the vet today. She weighs 81 pounds and is “full of puppies’ as the vet said. The vet tech asked me whether or not she has “had a large litter before”. Well, not yet, but I think that this will be the first. We didn’t bother to do an X-ray since we’ll know how many puppies are in there soon. She is dilated and should start labor at any time. If she doesn’t start by Wednesday, the vet will induce with the oxytocin shot.

Giant pregnant Mae in the woods

Giant pregnant Mae flopped out on the kitchen floor

BB’s 13 puppies are doing very well and growing like weeds! At 6 weeks old, they only have 2 weeks to go before they head to their new homes. Here are some snapshots from their running around the yard yesterday.

Laying in the leaves

“Whassup?”

On the run

Charles generates a mob scene with the quail

Sniffing the quail

More sniffing the quail

First retrieve

And of course, the weekly YouTube video:

I have some pupdates and brags from previous year’s litters that I need to be sure to get up next time I blog, which should be soon to welcome the “H” litter! It’s for real this time, next time your hear from me there will be more puppies!! Send us good vibes!

“G” Litter 5 weeks old and waiting for “H” Litter

March 19, 2014

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

I figured that I had better get this week’s blog post knocked out before Mae starts whelping (to those who are puppy shopping, all of my 2014 litters are spoken for and my next breedings will be for Spring 2015 puppies)! We started out this morning in the first stages of pre-labor, where there is quite a bit of unproductive grunting around (like she’s going to poop or pee) but nothing comes out. She is taking a nap now, but I have to get this done, then go grab a new bulb for my heat lamp and some more bags of puppy kibble at the farm store, then we’ll be ready to rock and roll. Puppies should be here tonight or tomorrow if things go the way that I think they will. But who knows what mother nature has in mind, it might be over the weekend.

Mae full of babies on the front sidewalk (the metal goat photobomb was an accident)

“G” Litter turned 5 weeks old on Sunday and has transitioned to the kennel and insulated dog house well, their body heat and snuggling keeps them all warm with these variable temperatures. They’ve even woken up a couple of mornings to dustings of snow. It didn’t seem to bother them this morning at all, they were whining at the gate to get out into the woods when I went to give them some more food. They are going through 1-2 gallon buckets full of kibble every day and are on straight Diamond Puppy kibble now with nothing else added. They enjoy playing with the human kids and running around. Less than 3 weeks to go until they go to their new homes and I’m not sure if I am ready to let them go! I don’t even have to chase them around the woods to get them back into the kennel when play time is over, I just call them in and they all come. That will probably change soon as they get more bold and independent.

Here are their individual photos for this week. Some of them are better than others. It has more to do with my photography and being in a hurry than it does with the puppy. Some of them posed lovely, some of them are a bit odd and blurry. But hey, it is better than nothing.

Girl – Ginny

Girl – Garnet

Girl – Gayle

Girl – Gertrude

Girl – Gemma

Girl – Gabriella

Girl – Gallixe

Girl – Gisele

Boy – Gene

Boy – Gus

Boy – George

Boy – Gascon

Boy – Gilbert

And last but not least, the weekly YouTube video:

I will keep you posted on Facebook and on the blog for when the “H” litter arrives. Wish us luck!

“G” Litter 4 1/2 weeks old

March 13, 2014

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

Sorry for the delay in posting this week. The puppies were moved outside on Sunday when it was almost 70 degrees, just in time to move Mae into the house this Sunday to prepare for her whelping next week.

For those people who are out surfing the web for puppies, all of my 2014 litters are spoken for.

The puppies are up and running around. They have no problems getting up and down the stairs into the dog house and seem to enjoy having the extra space that the kennel provides. And I like it that they aren’t stinking up the house anymore (but that will soon change with Mae’s litter coming soon!). They are drinking from the water dish and eating both soft canned puppy food and snagging kibble out of BB’s food dish.

Mae is really big, her teats are like 4 inches off of the ground. I didn’t get a chance to take a shot of her before posting this, but I’ll get one for next week’s blog. She shouldn’t whelp until the end of the week, so I should have time. I’m hoping for 8 puppies, but I just don’t know until they are here!

I ran out of time to take individual pictures, I will do that over the weekend, but here are some quick snaps from the kennel:

A face in the crowd, around the food dish

Waiting for mom

Play fight!

Running amok

4 1/2 year old Caleb is still light enough to be able to climb up the kennel fence (because the gate is locked) and hang out with the puppies whenever he wants. Luckily, all of my females are tolerant of this and it’s never caused a problem.

Caleb peeking down on to the puppies

And last but not least, the weekly YouTube video:

“G” Litter is 3 weeks old!

March 4, 2014

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

BB and her 13 pups

The frigid weather has been pretty unrelenting, so we’re having to improvise with some of our puppy conditioning. Usually we are able to spend some time outside at this point, but our highs have been in the single digits and teens for the last two weeks. It appears that we’ll be lifting out of that trend, but I’ve got the puppies on a pretty good schedule that gives them enough exercise and stimulation for their little legs. They are spending their first 30 minutes to 1/2 each morning in the kitchen on the linoleum to help them get their legs underneath them. It is much easier for them to walk on their blankets since they can dig their claws in, but the hard surface makes them have to concentrate on keeping their legs steady and upright. Next, they go out into the ex-pen out in the living room (as in the photo above) to relax in the sun. There is an open gate on the pen so that BB can move in and out as she wants to. The kids come home after school to play with the pups off and on throughout the afternoon and evening. The puppies stay with us during our evening family time, then travel back to the whelping box for the night.

Caleb (4), Conrad (9) and Cordelia (12) hanging out with the puppies

Yesterday, I gave them their first taste of mush, which is a milk and soft puppy food mixture. Today, they had their first official meal with the puppy pan. Here it is on the weekly YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJkKq059tw&feature=youtu.be

All of their eyes are open and their vocalizations are now barks, growls and howls. They like to play with one another too. Here are some updated individual photographs (to those of you new to the site, yes they are all spoken for):

Girl: Ginny

Girl: Garnet

Girl: Gayle

Girl: Gertrude

Girl: Gemma

Girl: Gabriella

Girl: Gallixe

Girl: Gisele

Boy: Gene

Boy: Gus

Boy: George

Boy: Gascon

Boy: Gilbert

Well let’s hope for some warmth soon so that we can get outside! Mae and Velma are due for more puppies in two to two and a half weeks!

“G” Litter 2 weeks old!

February 25, 2014

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

The 13 puppies hanging out

The puppies are all doing well, gaining weight, and growing. Their eyes are starting to open and should be done opening by this time next week. They are starting to try and get up on their legs and their grunts are sounding more growly and bark-like. (Yes, puppy shoppers, all of these are spoken for.)

The litter and mama BB hanging out in the living room.

I will take new individual photos next week once their eyes are all open. In the meantime, here are a few closeups of them sleeping.

And last but not least, the YouTube video for the week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IVjOuE9Czw

Due to the continued cold, the puppies are still getting supplemental heat in the whelping box as their full time hang-out at this point. I’m hoping that the weather turns around in time for them to move outside when Mae’s pups arrive. I’m projecting Velma’s whelp date around March 18th and Mae’s around March 21st, so they will be close. I currently have 14 reservations on those two litters, but as it is Velma’s first litter the same as it was with BB, it is possible that it could be quite large. This is Mae’s last litter prior to retirement, so I’m expecting an average sized litter from her.

I think that we are all ready for this winter to be over, but we aren’t quite there yet. Until next week, stay warm!

“G” Litter 1 week old!

February 19, 2014

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

For those of you who are new to my site and looking for puppies: all of these puppies are reserved, plus I have an additional 12 reservations on my other two 2014 litters coming in March. Anyone who wishes to make a reservation at this point should be flexible about waiting for a puppy until our 2015 litters. I’ve had kids out of school on break recently, so I am a little behind on returning phone and e-mail messages, but will get back with everyone today.

Some common questions that I’m seeing from future owners: 1) the first date that I can release the pups to go home is on Sunday, April 6th, their 8 week birthday. 2) I do breeder picks, those with reservations do not pick on their own in order of their reservation. I have too many people spread out too far to do it that way, plus I am with the puppies every day and know them the best. You will not know which puppy you will be receiving until towards the end of their stay with me. Once the pups are around 5 weeks of age, I will start asking more detailed questions about what you are looking for and you will have seen pictures and videos while they grow up. You can then tell me if you have a preference for a pup. I’ve never had any complaints about where I place my pups because they are all fabulous!

BB and the 13 puppies at 1 week old

As far as the pups themselves go, they are doing great. It is amazing to watch something come out the size of a large bratwurst turn into something guinea pig sized in the course of a week. I was able to get them moved out of my living room and back into the whelping area at the end of last week, which makes it much easier when I have to go places. Let’s just say that females with puppies don’t care too much about their housebreaking training:) I took a short video of them on Sunday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93eFsxP3Lgg

At this point, they are really just eating, sleeping and squeaking. They are getting bigger and stronger every day. I will check back in with you next week and hopefully some of this spring-like weather will stay around.

Welcome “G” Litter 2014!

February 12, 2014

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update, Uncategorized Korthals Griffon, NAVHDA, NAVHDA Natural Ability Test, Puppies, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Leave a comment

I can’t believe that this is the “G” litter for Bluestem Kennels, coming into our 4th year of breeding. And “H” and “I” should be coming in a month!

The 13 puppies of Sam and BB’s “G” Litter were born on Sunday, February 9th and it literally took the whole day. We were up walking around at 5 AM and went to bed at 10 PM. There are 8 girls and 5 boys. BB has decided that her favorite time to get attention, be fed and go walking outside is between midnight and 2 AM, so I haven’t had the best nights of sleep, so I apologize to the new owners for not getting e-mails or phone calls out yet.

BB with 8 puppies in the whelping box

I thought for sure that with 13 that I would be bottle feeding, but BB has been doing awesome with nursing them well. It really helps that we have them right in front of the wood burning stove, so that they are not having to expend energy keeping warm. With normal-sized litters we’ve been able to keep them in the basement utility room or in the garage with space heaters and heat lamps, but this cold weather and with there being so many of them, they need to be where it is extra warm. It is also nice that my youngest boy, Caleb, will be 5 next month and has finally learned to not mess with the puppies at this age. The weather is supposed to warm up and they will get bigger and able to regulate their body temperature, so I won’t have to have puppies in my living room forever.

First night by the fire

I didn’t have anything set up by the fire after they were born, so I just put them on a blanket and slept next to them that night. I did have to fish a few out of odd places in the middle of the night, but they survived it and stayed warm. They are now set up with the small kiddie pool with a blanket in the bottom, with the x-pen around it to deter kids and other dogs.

They went to the vet Monday morning for their tail docking, dew claw removal and vet check. Dr. Kliewer at Heartland Animal Hospital checked them all over and said that they are perfect! I was sure that with so many of them that there would be a “dud”, but there’s not a single one. These are the individual puppy photos that I store on here for my records and so we can track their development. Try not to get too attached to any of them! They are all spoken for and I will do my best to get them all grown up, but one never knows. I also name them for tracking purposes and don’t expect the new owners to keep these names. They never get called anything other than “puppy” by me:) They are completely in random order and may be taken from different distances which might account for size differences. The coat differences I note only help me to tell them apart as they grow. Photos taken at 1 day old, right before we went to the vet for claws and tails.

Girl: Ginny

Ginny has a white blaze on her forehead and small liver spots on right side, above the tail, then most of the tail is liver.

Girl: Garnet

Garnet has a white dot on her forehead, a white dot on her neck, a tiny liver spot on the left bottom part of her back and a larger liver block on her right belly.

Girl: Gayle

Gayle has a solid liver head and her entire left side is liver. She also has liver spots on her right neck, underarm, belly and above the tail.

Girl: Gertrude

Gertrude has a small white dot on her forehead and is spotted liver heavily all over her body. Liver on most of her right side.

Girl: Gemma

Gemma has a white dot on her forehead and two large liver spots set on a diagonal on her back, the left one higher than the right. Small liver spot on left belly and above tail.

Girl: Gabriella

Gabriella has a think white blaze on her forehead, has a large liver spot on her back that is shoulder to shoulder, a tiny liver spot on her lower left back, then a liver spot above her tail that extends down into the tail.

Girl: Gallixe

Gallixe has a white blaze on her face and an entirely white back with a small spot above the tail. Her neck is 1/2 white and 1/2 liver.

Girl: Gisele

Gisele has a white blaze on her face and and entirely white neck and body except for a small spot above the tail.

Boy: Gene

Gene has a white dot on his forehead, large liver spots set diagonally with the right higher than the left. A tiny liver spot on his right belly and a large liver spot above his tail.

Boy: Gus

Gus has a white blaze on his face with two large diagonal liver spots that do not touch at the back. The right spot is higher than the left. The rest of the body is white.

Boy: George

George has a liver head and white upper back. His lower back has a large liver spot in the center, with a smaller one on the left. Also has a small liver spot above the tail.

Boy: Gascon

Gascon has a white blaze on his face, a white upper back, a small liver spot in the center of his lower back and a liver spot right above his tail.

Boy: Gilbert

Gilbert has a tiny white spot on his forehead, his body is entirely white except for a small liver spot above the tail.

Okay, that is everybody! Here is a shot of them today at 3 days old.

“G” litter 3 days old

I will be sure to get phone calls and e-mails out to the new owners before the end of the weekend. As this was a large litter, I am willing to take a few more deposits for possible 2014 puppies. Right now I have 10 other reservations and 2 more litters on the way, so there is a possibility of having more than 10 puppies yet this year. There are no guarantees, so I just ask that anyone who wants to make a reservation at this point be flexible and open to getting a pup in Spring 2015.

Pupdate

I was just thinking about Gomer from Sue and Sam’s 2012 “D” litter after I saw his NAVHDA Natural Ability Prize I with a Perfect Score of 112 points at the Spoon River Chapter Fall Test in the latest edition of Versatile Hunting Dog magazine. Lo and behold, I just got some new photos of him and his family, with the announcement that he will be a big brother to a human sibling soon. Congrats to Kyle and Jenna!

Kyle, Gomer and Jenna

Gomer and Jenna in the pool last summer

Gomer says, “Who needs a dog box, I get to ride in the front?!”

Thanks to Kyle for the update and his great work with Gomer towards the Natural Ability Prize.

Well, it is time for me to go to my son’s Valentine’s Day party at school. I will be sure to keep you posted with the new puppies and the upcoming litters. Oh and Happy Valentine’s Day!!

A Day in the Snow

February 5, 2014

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

This has been a cold and dry winter, but we did get a nice batch of snow last night that let the kids stay home and play in it with the dogs!

Tor gets after Mae

Tor blazes a trail down the hill

Sam shows Tor how the boys play

Sam tries to jump on the sled with Cordelia while Tor follows

All boys on deck: Sam, Conrad, Caleb and Tor

All boys on deck: Tor, Conrad, Sam and Caleb

BB is too big for the fun, but is keeping warm by the fire

BB is too big for the fun, but keeps warm by the fire

Stay warm and safe, everyone!!

Yard Play Photos

January 30, 2014

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

I just took the camera out for our daily backyard run and I wanted to share the pictures. BB is huge and will be having her puppies around Valentine’s Day. Mae is a heavier set dog anyway, but I can see that her nipples are already dropping 2 weeks post-breeding. This is Mae’s last litter and BB’s first, so their bodies change at different rates.

BB the pregosaurus

Old mama Mae

Tor is doing well at 12 weeks old now. He loves to play with the big dogs and his kids. He is generally pretty spoiled, but listens when he is called, is almost housebroken, retrieves dummies, likes to run in the woods, sleeps in his crate at night and when we are away, and will hang out in the outdoor kennel with BB for a few hours without bawling his head off.

Handsome Tor striking a pose.

About a week ago, Charles pulled a quail out of the freezer and was playing fetch with Tor using it. I hadn’t used my big camera in quite some time, so I was pretty out of practice and the camera was a little slow to respond. Here was the best shot I got, which isn’t great, but will have to do.

Tor with a frozen quail

Boys will be boys: Tor gives Sam a pounce

Sam is just being big friendly Sam. He and Charles went out hunting these last few weekends, but only saw one rooster or so and didn’t bag anything. After a busy hunting season full of travel, we are all happy to stay home with the new puppies on their way!

Sam nosing around

I need to get down towards Lincoln to get some photos of Sam and Sue’s 3 year old son, Ben, who is the sire of my co-owned female, Velma’s, puppies. Aaron said that Velma is doing well and is showing some changes in eating habits, so we assume that the breeding is going ahead for puppies to whelp mid-March, at the same time as Mae does here.

Pupdate

Lindsey in Montana shared this photo of 10 month old Midge, on right. She is hanging out on the farm with her big brother Murf, who is not from our kennel but is also a griffon. Midge is from our 2013 “F” litter between Mae and Sam. We hope that she turns out well, as she is a part of our future breeding program if so. There are many quality up-and-coming studs in Montana that we are evaluating for potential future use.

Murph and Midge

I know that there are many folks out there looking for griffon puppies right now and I just want to give them a quick message. Although I have 3 litters planned for this spring, I have 23 reservations. With 2 first litter females (BB and Velma), there is a possibility that I will have more than enough puppies, but there are no guarantees and it is likely that some folks may have to wait until 2015 for a puppy from us.

The whelping area is all set up and the countdown to BB’s puppies is on. With the end of hunting season tomorrow, it is doubtful that I will have any news until her puppies are whelped. Send us good thoughts for a smooth whelping and I will keep you posted!

Bluestem Kennels