Lager was raised in our kennel but obviously had no problem adapting to his new home and new life…..and Betsy and I are very grateful!
"It’s going great, we just love him and he is adjusting so easily to everything. My only concern is he is getting petted so much he may not have any coat left soon. He loves his 4 mile runs in the morning, and we have been walking him at night. He and Sam are like long lost friends, and the kids adore him.
"Thanks for everything, you guys are very good at what you do."
Our clients are bird hunters and owners of field trial competition dogs. Since both seasons start in September, I’ve been on a serious regimen of pre-season conditioning.
I exercise our dogs using four-wheeler workouts, free runs, training time on wild birds or some sort of combination, depending on the age and experience level of each. So twice per week, I’m up early in the morning—while it’s still cool—to “road”—as we call it—our dogs. While I’m gathering equipment and readying the four-wheeler, the dogs are going wild, barking and bouncing around their kennel runs. They love roading and can hardly wait to go. Over the years I’ve developed quite a system—most of it custom. (I’ve gotten to know a local metal works guy quite well!) Two bars extend from each side of the four-wheeler and one longer bar extends forward from the front bumper. With room for two dogs per side bar and five dogs off the front, I can safely accommodate 13 dogs.
Each dog wears a roading harness—similar to a sled dog harness—which is clipped to a heavy-duty bungee cord which is then clipped to the bar. Just like a sled dog race, I work quickly to harness the dogs and start. As soon as I move forward, all is quiet as the dogs start working.
My goal here is building a cardiovascular base for endurance so I road for long times at a slow speed, say 8 – 9 miles per hour, which is just fast enough to have the dogs leaning into their harnesses but moving in a pace gait. I start with a mile or two and slowly increase it to about nine miles.
It’s vital to keep the dogs cool and hydrated. After 10 minutes, I stop at a deep pond and let all dogs loose to drink and to cool off. At 20 and 40 minutes, I drive the four-wheeler right into a shallow creek and let them all rest for a couple minutes. Most
won’t drink much at 40 but all relish splashing around in the water.
After about an hour, we’re headed back to the kennel and the dogs are tired but happy. I can’t say who likes this early morning routine more—the dogs or me.
In addition to ‘flocking’ puppies for exercise and handling, we also work them together at times on liberated birds. During these workouts they learn to read what the other dogs are doing by observing their body posture and tail action. They also get used to having other dogs around them and to stay focused with distractions. While reading the other dogs, they are attracted to one that is acting birdy and naturally learn to back (if they have it their genes), as the above puppies certainly do! Clockwise from left to right they are: Chardonnay, Moose, Chablis and Lager. Moose is by Long Gone Murphy and CH Long Gone Madison and the other three are by Blue Shaquille and Houston’s Belle’s Choice. What a fun group of puppies!!
Betsy and I try very hard to match our dogs with the expectations and requirements of our buyers……and to make sure the dogs go to good homes where they will have a great life. We are extremely happy to hear from new owners like Jim.
“Snoop (Northwoods Porter) is adjusting very well with his new surroundings. His kennel mates are accepting him pretty well. His human sisters are spoiling him rotten. He may have forgotten how to walk since he was picked up and carried so often. Thanks again for picking such a nice dog for our family.”
