Alpha Female took the direct flight from Omaha to Atlanta this morning. The last word from the happy new owner was that “Maggie” was laying in his lap as he was driving back to Alabama.
My last goodbye for the year
Kudos to Delta Pet First/Air Cargo for the shipping of these pups. Every pup showed up on time and well handled. The guys at the Omaha facility were helpful in every way. I plan on working with them exclusively for my air shipments going forward (I did not receive any compensation for that plug, it is an honest recommendation).
I’m trying hard to keep myself from looking at the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy ads online. There is a female pup out there that I have my eye on, but I should really hold out to see if we can get a foundation animal next year from either Holland or France.
My blog writing calendar is going to become a little more sporadic now that the puppies are gone. I’m looking forward to doing some book reviews, pup training articles, pedigree profiles and adult dog training updates before the hunting season starts, but my three kids would really like to soak up some of my attention now that the pups are gone.
Charles and Sam will be working on “steady to wing and shot” at the NAVHDA Heartland Chapter’s training day on Saturday, so that will be my next installment. Until then…
The clouds and rain finally dispursed yesterday evening, so we headed down to the local dog training wildlife management area to give Sue, Sam and the last pup (Alpha Female) a big run.
Sue, Alpha Female and Sam
Half of the WMA had been grazed by a herd of cattle, which made the area easier to negotiate. The other half would have been difficult for the pup and my kids to wade through, since the grass was waist to shoulder high, typical for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.
Getting a good run in
Full speed ahead!
Fun was had by all!
Charles, Alpha Female, Sam, and Sue on the cow trail
The old farmer saying about corn was “knee high by the Fourth of July”. This year, it is more like “head high”!
Sue and big corn
Alpha Female flies to Atlanta on Thursday, with her final home destination of Alabama. It will be time for us to focus on polishing up our training on Sam and Sue, while getting some pedigree research done (Pedigree Profiles are coming to the blog starting July 11th).
We are looking forward to the Heartland NAVHDA Chapter’s Training Days on July 10th and September 11th, with our eyes on the big prize of sharptail grouse and prairie chicken opener in my Nebraska Sandhills on September 18th.
We will miss the little pups, but are pumped up for a great hunting season and Sam’s NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test.
Sean, Amber and their beautiful family from Wyoming met us yesterday in Centennial Park in North Platte, Nebraska. “Gauge” will be a part of a young hunting family, with grandpa leading the way with training and hunting expertise. Sean is eager to begin training and I suggested several books to assist in the process, which I will be reviewing on the blog in the coming weeks.
Sean and Amber get to know Gauge
Family Picture
Some random notes from our trip. We stopped for lunch at Skeeter Barnes in Kearney. On our way out of the restaurant, we spied this interesting way to transport a dog on a motorcycle. I couldn’t resist sharing.
Born to be Wild
On our way home, we stopped at another Kearney destination, the Archway Monument. We had visited “the arch” on a previous excursion and the kids begged for a return trip. If you ever need to get out of the car at this point and have a half-hour to spare, it comes highly recommended in my book, especially for kids. The Archway Monument is a totally immersive and interactive exhibit covering the history of the Great Platte River Road from the prairie schooner to the Porche.
Archway Monument, I-80 at Kearney, Nebraska
It is a rainy Fourth of July thus far in Bellevue, but hopefully the skies will clear in time for fireworks. Best wishes to all of you for the holiday!
We needed a change of setting yesterday, so I drove the pups over to Papillion to Walnut Creek Recreation Area, managed by the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District. It is truly a nice little spot, few people and plenty of hills replanted in native prairie.
Nosing around upon arrival
We made our way down to the pond, where they couldn’t resist the attraction of swamp stink.
Frog hunting
Alpha Female swamping
Male 2.1 swamping
The pups are very used to the dense forest floor forb cover, but I made a point of walking through some different types of heavy cover in this open setting.
Busting through native prairie
A run through the wildflowers
Back to the swamp for some cattails
We mucked about the place for a good hour or so, walking up into the hills, then dipping back down by the pond. These pups are going to homes in Alabama and Wyoming and the cover will be much different, but it is good to expose them to a variety of cover types, so that they are not afraid to hunt in new places.
The road to the private pond is washed out from the flood, so yesterday we took the drive out to Two Rivers State Recreation Area for a swim. The sign said “no pets allowed” on the beach, but I had driven nearly an hour to get to a 50 ft. by 10 ft. area of sand on a 1 acre pond (yes, lame), so I was willing to take the risk.
I started off by letting the pups hang out with the kids in the very shallow water.
Checking out the water with the girls
Checking out the water and Caleb
The next step was to have Cordelia take a pup out into the water and get it wet, the same way I did a week or so ago in the kiddie pool. It has to be all positive, with lots of praise and encouragement.
Male 2.1 gets wet
Alpha Female gets wet
Finally, I took them out one at a time into a little bit deeper water. I petted the pup, got it wet, then set it into the water, holding on to its torso with its legs hanging free into the water. When I saw its legs start to make dog paddle motions, I let it go to swim!
Male 2.1 swimming
Alpha Female swimming
Both during and after their little swims, I lavished praised on them. It was not my ideal introduction to water, but it was what I had available at the time and seemed to be a positive experience for the pups. Luckily, I should have access to the private pond back for next year’s litter (barring any floods).
Right now, I’m focused on getting these little pups some sort of new experience every day. It doesn’t have to be for a very long period of time, but just something to keep those little brains active and curious.
Charles tuned up his bike and hooked up “The Springer” over the weekend.
On their way
Down the street
The roading harness that is on the dog was purchased separately. “The Springer” required a slight modification, because a small plastic piece that attached the rope to the breakaway device (the part that detaches from the metal arm in case a post gets between the bike and the dog) snapped. Charles resolved the issue by simply tying the rope to the breakaway device.
The dog rope tied directly to the breakaway piece
After the modification, Charles took a nice long ride with Sam. He even tested the breakaway device post-modification and it was still effective. Both Charles and the dog seem to be satisfied with the product. I think this is the first time we have ever purchased anything made in Norway, so good job Norwegians:)
Charles also worked on the commands “fetch” and “out” with Sam. The fetching part was easy and smooth, but we still need to work a little more on “out”. He should automatically release the dummy on the “out” command, but we still have to pry on his mouth a little. We’ll just keep practicing.
He first tossed the bumper
Out with the bumper
They also worked with a pheasant dummy
Sam fetches pheasant dummy
Sam retrieves pheasant dummy
Out with the pheasant dummy
Sam fetching pheasant dummy on another throw
Sam is only two-years old, so we are working on polishing him up on commands now that his natural abilities have been tested in the field. We are also working toward the NAVHDA Utility Preparatory Test and hoping he will be ready for it in the fall. We’ll keep you updated on his progress.
All of the new owners who drove have made it home safe and sound.The last word from California was that Hank and Female 2.2 were asleep at home on the couch together; I wish I had a picture of that:)
Pete from Nevada also made it home yesterday. Alpha Male “Whiskey” did not have any potty accidents in the truck or in any hotels. Whiskey is following his 8-year old daughter around everywhere she goes, I’m sure he remembers all of the love from my 9-year old girl.
I was so excited to receive pictures of Male 3 “Winston” at home in Minnesota meeting the other family members.
Winston meets Stella the German Wirehair Pointer
Winston meets the cat
I will have to check in later on today with Stephen from Rhode Island to see how things are going there with Male 2.2. Right now, I need to get ready to go pick up my daughter from Girl Scout camp.
One last note though, in case you haven’t been counting, I have 3 pups left to go home. Female 2.1 should fly on Tuesday, I will meet Male 2.1’s family when I go to pick up my son from grandma camp, and Alpha Female boards with me until July 8 when she flies home.
We took our final forest hike as a pack yesterday.
Cordelia, myself, Caleb, Sue and pups
Last hike as a whole pack
Two strong souls braved the wilds of Interstate 80 and arrived last evening to pick up their new best friends.
Hank from California and Female 2.2
Pete from Nevada and Alpha Male
This morning I answered a 3 AM wake-up call to take Male 2.2 to the airport. He is currently en route by air to Boston, with his final destination being Rhode Island. When I left, he was sleeping soundly in his crate.
Vaya con dios Male 2.2
It is exciting to see them leave the litter and go off to fabulous new homes. I look forward to receiving updates and photos from the owners about the progress of their training and success in the field.
We went to the vet yesterday and today, split into two groups. Here are the new weights:
1. Alpha Male: 13 lbs. 4 oz.
2. Male 2.2: 12 lbs. 12 oz.
3. Male 3: 12 lbs. 11 1/2 oz.
4.Male 2.1: 12 lbs. 5 1/2 oz.
5.Alpha Female: 12 lbs. 4 1/2 oz.
6.Female 2.1: 11 lbs. 1 1/2 oz.
7.Female 2.2: 10 lbs. 11 oz.
The sun came out after a rainy visit to the vet, so we took a walk out in the forest. These walk shots are difficult because I have Sue on a leash in one hand and the camera in the other. I was completely shocked when I downloaded the pictures and found one of Alpha Female doing a perfect point. That was complete luck.
Perfect Point
Wanderers
Cordelia training for pack leader
Hiking
Still hiking
A funny story from yesterday. I turned the pups loose from the kennel and they went barreling down into the forest, as usual. When I finished cleaning up the kennel, I went out and called for them and they weren’t coming back like they normally do (they are getting pretty good at responding to the whistle and also the command “kennel”). I saw a big puppy hubbub over on the other side of the property line, on a very muddy slope, in a big patch of nettles. When I made it over there, I discovered that my neighbor had a failed meat smoking experiment and had thrown a whole pork shoulder into the forest (he throws bones out for my dogs all of the time, so I wasn’t worried about poison or anything). The pups had “hunted up” the pork shoulder and were all gnawing it. By the time I got the pork away from them (I gave it to Sam) and the pups back into the kennel, I was covered in mud and nettle stings!
For Father’s Day, Charles purchased himself “The Springer”. As you can see in this low quality YouTube video, it is a spring-loaded bar that attaches to your bike for running a dog. I can’t wait to see it in action in person!
Yesterday, Charles took Sam to our local dog training Wildlife Management Area. He said that it was full of turkey and Sam was doing some great points, but as you can see from the photos, we are in dire need of a camera upgrade for the field.
Sam
Sam pointing
Sam pointing again
Speaking of flights, I’m hoping that the temperature stays down in the connection cities so that we don’t have to reschedule. I’m starting to get anxious with all of the preparations and transportations that are coming up.
It has been a rainy, muddy weekend, so not really a good one to get out to take pictures of the pups. Hopefully later this week.
Bluestem Kennels 