We are pleased to announce that our first breeding of the year is complete between our 3 year old male, Sam, and our new 5 year old female, Mae. Sue was anticipated to come into season first, but Mae surprised us. Mae and Sam bred from January 9-11, therefore pups are expected March 13-15. Hey game birds, “Beware of the Ides of March!”, new hunting puppies will be here!
Hunting photos of Sam can be found on our “About Us” page (I have yet to load this season’s, but they can be found on the individual blog posts containing the hunting tales on bluestemkennels.com [pre-10/01/2011] and versatilehunter.com [10/01/2011-present]). His pedigree is a link at the bottom of the “About Us” page.
Mae came into our home on December 3, 2011 from That’s My Point Kennels in Wheatland, ND where she had successfully whelped and nursed 3 previous litters and was known as “Aspen” http://www.tmpkennels.com/ As you can see from the previous owner’s website, she was raised with young children. At the age of one, she successfully scored a Prize II on her Natural Ability Test from the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA).
Mae’s Natural Ability Test Results
Her AKC/NAVHDA pedigrees also spoke of her potential for us. Her sire, Marquis Georgeous George hails from French import blood and the prestigious Herrenhausen kennel. Barbara Young of Herrenhausen is an AKC and International Conformation Judge, therefore she knows and breeds good dogs. The dam, Full of Grace, is out of the famed Fireside blood. Fireside’s Spontaneous Combustion won 3rd place in the sporting group at Westminster last year and was the first Wirehaired Pointing Griffon ever to place at WKC.
Mae’s AKC Pedigree
The hunt testing results and the strong conformation background in the pedigree drew me to “Aspen”. She was the Butcher family’s companion in the home and field, therefore even though I was nervous about bringing a new member into our pack, I thought that these things put together boded well for “Aspen” being a good match for us and our breeding program.
I made the following YouTube video this morning of all my dogs running in the yard, just as a visual reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSb7jdZXPz8
Mae has thrived in our home and in the field. Not even a week after bringing her home, we had her out on planted hen pheasants for training:
(Click on any of the photos to see a larger version)
Mae working the field on December 9, 2011
One of Mae’s points 12/09/2011
Another point on 12/09/2011
Charles walks into Mae’s point
Mae retrieves on 12/09/2011
After our first training day with planted birds in a controlled environment, we felt comfortable enough to use Mae to assist in guiding at Pheasant Haven right before Christmas.
Sam (front) and Mae (back) with the hunters on 12/22/2011
Sam, myself and Mae guided a hunt on 12/23/2011 also
The afternoon following the December 23rd preserve hunt, we were on the road for the Sandhills where we busted up some cattails with the whole gang, Mae included, on Christmas Eve:
Mae on the left, with the rest of the pack, Charles, and the Christmas Eve Sandhills pheasant
Charles and all four dogs on the dunes
We spent a couple of hours on Christmas Day chasing grouse with Mae and the rest of the pack, but didn’t find any. We’ll be back for them in September!
Our last outing was on January 2nd with some chukar and quail from a game farm that we had never used before and wanted to try out. It is important for newer dogs to get individual training attention when they are usually braced (in pairs) or ran as a pack.
One of Mae’s points on 01/02/2012
Charles shoots one of the chukars over Mae on 01/02/2012
Charles walking into one of Mae’s points 01/02/2012
Closeup of Mae’s point that Charles was walking into
Double chukar flush over Mae and Charles 01/02/2012
Mae had more than one retrieve on 01/02/2012, but this was the only photo that turned out well
Even though we’ve only had Mae a limited time, we are confident in her ability to produce quality puppies for our kennel and contribute to our development of the breed.
I will close with a picture of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon breed’s founder Edward Korthals. This was taken in 1891 when he was presented the German Kaiser’s award for breeding. I use this photograph as guide for the dogs that I will continue working to create. Mae fits into this perfectly.
Korthals and his prize specimens
To reserve a puppy from one of our spring 2012 litters, please call (402) 682-9802 or e-mail bluestemkennels@cox.net
Bluestem Kennels 