There will be no admonition about the importance of a healthy dog in this post. Nor will there be finger-pointing about overweight dogs, a too-common issue.
Rather this piece is about performing a simple monthly routine and keeping track of your dog’s health. You might say, “I know all that,” but when questioned, you can’t remember when your female came into heat, mumbling “Sometime last August, I think. Or maybe July.”
Truly, Jerry and I know. For no matter the number of dogs you own, it is, practically speaking, impossible to remember all pertinent information regarding your dog’s health—from something as simple as whelp date to specific issues, vaccinations, injuries, surgeries and medications.
To accomplish , we recommend monthly Dog Care for each dog and always keep a log.
Begin monthly Dog Care
On about the same date each month, set aside about 20 minutes for what we simply call Dog Care. This is a focused time to thoroughly examine your dog—independent from petting it while you read the newspaper after a hectic day.
• Weigh, using a scale.
• Check ears, eyes, inside mouth, teeth, paws, pads, toe nails.
• Feel body for scrapes, hair mats, ticks, other bumps and bruises.
• Trim nails and dew claws as necessary.
• Administer medications (heartworm and flea/tick medication) as necessary.
Keep of log—by dog—of all pertinent information
For each dog, Jerry and I use 8” x 5” heavy-duty index cards and staple the most current card on top. Vixen (age 12) has 15 cards now and Royce (age 10) has 12. A notebook kept by the kennel or in the feeding area could work. Creating something online could also be an option.
We record all health-related issues by date. (This should be easy because you’re now doing monthly Dog Care, right?) You can jot down weight, any issues and meds administered. Also note seemingly insignificant issues, such as vomiting or diarrhea. We also record trips to the vet, vaccinations and heat cycle dates.
Feeding amounts & weight issues (Sophie’s card)
Part of our monthly dog care includes weighing each dog. While we can usually catch weight issues—whether too thin or too heavy—by looking and feeling, weighing a dog is irrefutable evidence of a problem. If too thin, we increase amounts or feed twice per day. If too heavy, we cut back amounts or move to lower calorie food.
Trips to the vet (Sophie’s card)
For all trips to the vet, we note the diagnosis and any prescribed medications—including dosage and administration instructions. This information can be useful if the same problem occurs on the same dog or another dog.
Vaccinations (Queen’s card)
I know most people simply rely on their vet to track vaccination dates and send out reminder postcards but why not know exactly when your dog’s last Rabies vaccination was given?
Day #1 of heat cycle (Dusty’s card)
The is good information to note for short-range and long-range reasons. It’s important to get a feel for timing of your dog’s cycles and then be able to gauge when the next cycle will be. Too, since several of our females have had false pregnancies (symptoms include not eating well and swelling of mammary glands), the behavior is easily explained if it happens about nine weeks after Day #1.
Best of all….whelping dates (Comet’s card)
Jerry and I both agree that the best part of our business is whelping puppies. Even after more than 80 litters, we still are in awe when a dam whelps. It is at once miraculous, exhilarating and joyful. Log the whelp date and start a card for the litter.
A couple final ideas!
1. Find a great vet and develop a great relationship. Bring the staff cupcakes. They are invaluable!
2. Be proactive about your dog’s health. Become familiar with recommended vaccinations, i.e., what is it really for and when does it expire. What is a “wellness exam” and does my dog really need one every spring?
3. A picture is worth a thousand words. Take a photo of a wound, injury or even a nasty stool. It could help in an emergency consult with your vet or it could help track improvement.
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The extraordinary pointer male, CH True Confidence (2009 – 2023), will be awarded a bird dog’s highest honor when he is inducted into the Bird Dog Hall of Fame on February 10, 2024. The prestigious event will take place in Grand Junction, Tenn., home of the National Bird Dog Museum. CH True Confidence, call name Bob, was owned by Frank and Jean LaNasa of Isanti, Minn.
Bob had a distinctive pedigree. He was sired by Two Acre Bulldog, a son of CH Funseeker’s Rebel out of Rester’s Tiny Dancer, a granddaughter of this year’s other elected Hall of Fame dog, CH House’s Rain Cloud, through his son CH House’s Rain Water.
Bob’s dam, Bar P Annex, was sired by Bar P Shadow, bred to Bar P Xena. Xena is the daughter of CH Front N’ Center (another dog Frank and Jean owned) bred to CH Hard Driving Bev, a multiple grouse champion.
In stature, Bob was stunningly handsome with a beautifully shaped head and perfect conformation. He was mostly white with dark orange ears and a distinguished mark on the right side of his muzzle. Bob’s temperament was a 10 and on point, he exuded confidence and poise. Never hardheaded or willful, Bob was, as his pro handler Luke Eisenhart mentioned, “a dog handler’s dream.”
Perhaps, most importantly, Bob had uncanny intelligence—clearly evident in his keen, brown eyes. He adapted to all terrains and cover types and could find and point birds anywhere.
As a two-year-old, Bob won his first runner-up championship placements at the Region 19 Amateur All-Age and National Prairie Chicken Open Shooting Dog trials. His next three placements—two championships and another runner-up—were in shooting dog stakes.
At these trials, Frank handled Bob and Jean scouted. But when Bob was six years old, they decided to give him the best opportunities and, in 2015, placed him on the open all-age circuit with pro handler Luke Eisenhart.
Over the ensuing five years, Luke was phenomenally successful. Bob placed in 11 championship stakes and on five different birds—from prairie birds to bobwhite quail.
Bob’s tally of placements and honors is exceptional.
• 6 Championship wins
• 11 Runner-up placements
• 2 First Place and 2 Second Place honors in classics
• 6 consecutive years qualified for the National Championship
• Top qualifier in 2019 and 2020 Continental Championships
One of Frank’s fondest memories was Bob’s last trial. As usual, Bob was part of Frank’s string when he trained on the North Dakota prairie during late summer.
“In 2020, I decided I would run him in one last trial after he had a really good summer. I entered him in the Dr. D.E. Hawthorne Open All-Age Border Classic (held in Columbus, N.D.) and he placed first among 35 contenders at 11½ years of age,” Frank said.
Besides placements, another measure of a dog’s worth is what it produces. So far, Bob has sired eight champions with a 29-36-164 record. Jerry and I vouch for Bob’s prepotency and our progeny should soon add to those numbers. We bred Northwoods Comet (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen) to Bob in 2021 and to Bob’s son, CH Southern Confidence (call name Big), in 2023. Every puppy of both litters shows the bird-finding, style, poise, intelligence and temperament of the sires. (Interestingly, the sires of both Big and Comet, parents of the 2023 litter, are now in the Hall of Fame.)
Frank and Jean retired Bob from the field trial circuit in 2021. He lived his last years in the house and even though the kennel was about 100 feet from the house, “We could never get him to get near the kennel again!” Frank said.
Congratulations to Frank and Jean on this most prestigious award for your most deserving dog, CH True Confidence.
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What is the Bird Dog Hall of Fame?
Bill Brown, long-time editor of The American Field, initiated the idea for a Hall of Fame in 1953 and simple rules were announced one year later. The first year of the awards followed in 1954 when five dogs (must be deceased) and five people (living or deceased) were inducted. Since that initial year, two dogs and two people are inducted.
“He’s a dream come true for me.”
~ Nik Zewers, Minnesota
“These two dogs are my greatest joy.”
~ Joey Paxman, Montana
“He’s the smartest dog I have ever had.”
~ Josh Matel, Minnesota
In the Winter 2024 issue of Gun Dog magazine, Jeremy Moore’s column highlights Ben McKean and CH Northwoods Sir Gordon, Ben’s seven-year-old setter male out of RU-CU Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon.
Jeremy mentions Ben’s decades-long history of grouse hunting but the focus of his piece is field trials and Ben’s championship placement with Gordie in April 2023 at the Region 19 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship.
Jeremy describes several of Gordie’s attributes: “Built long, tall, and rugged…a sight to behold…evenly masked blocky, black head….a powerhouse of a dog with magnificent carriage on point.”
He also writes, “…Gordie arguably runs as well as he has in his career. Maybe better than any dog Ben’s ever owned and competed with before. Their target is on winning field trials…”
See our blog post about Ben and Gordie’s championship win. https://northwoodsbirddogs.com/region-19-has-a-new-champion-ch-northwoods-sir-gordon/
]]>Santa Claus and his team of nine reindeer didn’t miss a stop at our winter kennel here in the Red Hills region of southwestern Georgia/northern Florida.
All dogs received special treats in their dog dishes this morning.
From all of us at Northwoods Bird Dogs, a very Merry Christmas to you, your friends and family!
]]>Steadiness in a bird dog means the dog stays where it points until either a shot is fired, or, after the shot is fired and the dog is released by the handler. The former is called steady to wing and the latter is steady to shot.
Since either type of steadiness isn’t a natural behavior, dogs need to be trained to be steady. Done well, steadiness training is the epitome of bird dog polish. Done poorly, it can create problems around game ranging from over-cautiousness to blinking birds.
But before all that, you need to know when to start steadiness training.
Steadiness training, started too soon, gets in the dog’s head and distracts it from focusing on how to properly point birds. Started too late, the dog can develop habits that make training difficult. The best time to steady a dog is when it will point and stay on point until you flush the bird. However, there are nuances involved and it’s crucial to understand the dog’s genetics and experience.
The important genetic component is the pointing instinct. That instinct varies on a continuum from wanting to point everything to not wanting to point at all.
These dogs are cautious by nature
and are prone to pointing where the birds were
and not where they actually are.
Young dogs with lots of instinct will point the first bird scent they encounter and let the handler flush. But those points are motivated by instinct alone. The dogs have no idea what they’re doing, are unsure of what to do next and so they stay on point.
These dogs are cautious by nature and are prone to pointing where the birds were and not where they actually are. They need to learn to use their their intellect and experience to determine when to point. They have to develop boldness to jump in and see if the bird is really there. To encourage the dogs to figure that out, don’t flush in front of them. Instead, wait until they either move on or move in. You should only begin to flush in front of the dogs when you’re pretty sure the dogs have a bird pointed.
These dogs are usually bold towards birds
and have no qualms about rushing in towards scent
and flushing the bird.
For young dogs that have little pointing instinct, the development is different. These dogs are usually bold towards birds and have no qualms about rushing in towards scent and flushing the bird. They need to be exposed to birds until they learn they can’t catch them. They’ll use their intellect and experience to eventually slow down, stalk and point which then allows you to flush the bird.
Once either type of dog points only when birds are present and allows you to flush the birds, steadiness training can begin. However, there is an additional behavior to look for—reduced desire to chase the bird. After finding and pointing enough birds, most young dogs begin to show more interest in the scent of birds rather than the sight of them and so chase less.
The pointing instinct of most young dogs lies somewhere between these two extremes. Determine where your dog is before you begin steadiness training. For all dogs, it will take not only ample bird exposure but also time for them to mature. Most young dogs will be well into their second season before they’re ready for steadiness training.
Enjoy the process!
]]>For a business idea that originated in the grouse woods of the Lake States, dogs out of our breeding now live and hunt wherever there are wild birds.
This selection of photos from clients shows dogs pursuing not only ruffed grouse (including one extremely steady setter) but Hungarian partridge and ring-necked pheasants. Correspondence from other clients mentions chukars, prairie chickens, woodcock, blue grouse, sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse and California, Gambel’s, Mearns and bobwhite quail.
]]>“I don’t get it. They’re the smartest creatures on earth, and yet every day he has to ask me if I want a bacon treat.”
© 2021 Glenn and Gary McCoy/Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication
]]>Even though Northwoods Bird Dogs was conceived decades ago in the grouse woods of the Great Lakes states, Jerry and I have also trained and hunted our dogs in the open prairies of places far to our west. That we now have clients spread across the country is a testament that our dogs do equally well in either terrain.
Just to be sure, though, Jerry loaded up the dog box and dog trailer with as many dogs as would fit—from seasoned adults and young dogs to puppies—and spent virtually the entire month of September in western North Dakota and Montana. The objective was coveys of Hungarian partridge and sharp-tailed grouse.
Here are highlights of his trip.
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