Northwoods Chablis: January 2009 – September 2021

Northwoods Chablis (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2009)

In an auspicious pairing, Paul Hauge bred Blue Shaquille to Houston’s Belle’s Choice in 2009. Out of the eight puppies whelped, he chose four—two males and two females—for Betsy and me. One of the females was mostly white with an elongated spot next to her right eye and a distinctive black patch on her rump and tail. We named her Sally and later registered her as Northwoods Chablis.

Courtesy of her line-breeding to Paul’s dog Houston, Sally showed natural staunchness and strong backing instincts. She also displayed other traits of that line—lofty carriage, poise around game, strong scenting ability and “the gait.” Paul described “the gait” as a dog that could run with a glass of wine balanced on its withers without spilling a drop.

Sally had beautiful conformation and showed great poise and confidence during training exercises.

At an early age, Sally exhibited a seriousness towards hunting and finding birds; by the end of her first season she had pointed and held to flush dozens of ruffed grouse and woodcock. A hard-core grouse hunter and client of ours, Bob Senkler, spotted her blossoming talent and became her new owner.

By the time she was a derby, we were winding down our field trial participation but couldn’t resist a bit of competition. We entered her in spring derby stakes where she won several placements and was runner-up for the 2011 MN/WI Cover Dog Derby of the Year award.

Sally developed into a top-notch grouse dog and spent her autumns in the woods hunting grouse with Bob. But she also had such desirable genetic qualities that Betsy and I chose to breed her. So she spent her winters and springs whelping and raising puppies.

Sally was successful in all aspects of her life, including as a dam. She whelped 35 puppies from six litters. Jerry and Betsy have carried on her legacy and bred Sally’s sons and granddaughters. Here she tries to snatch some sleep just minutes after the final puppy is whelped.

Sally was a phenomenal producer. Her first of six litters was sired by Northwoods Blue Ox—a pairing that turned out to be a nick and one we repeated three more times. (A nick is a breeding term describing two individuals that when bred produce above average offspring.) In it were three field trial winners: Northwoods Bees Knees (Mike Donovan), Northwoods Tesla (Tim and Monica Cunningham) and Northwoods Grits (Bob Senkler). In addition, that first breeding produced outstanding grouse hunting dogs Northwoods Biscuit (Ryan Gould) and Northwoods Sweet Tea (Ken Balfanz).

Sally was also bred to CH Houston’s Blackjack and Blue Riptide and produced outstanding puppies.

Even though she maybe couldn’t cover as much ground as she once had, Sally hunted in the grouse woods every fall in her final years. Photo by Julie Sandstrom.

After her retirement from hunting with Bob and our breeding in 2017, Sally found a wonderful life with another dedicated grouse hunter, Julie Sandstrom. Sally lived in the house, slept on her own chair and happily hunted on private land managed for grouse production.

I have many wonderful memories of Sally. Foremost were the days I hunted her and Chardonnay, her litter sister, in a brace. Each worked the cover independently and yet knew the other’s location. One would point and by the time I got to the point, the other would be backing. Etched into my mind is the sight of those two spectacular dogs—standing tall and proud to the flush of a grouse.

One of Jerry’s most memorable days with Sally was when she was a puppy. Braced with Ben McKean and his stellar setter Addie, many birds were found, pointed and shot.

Another good memory was during her first fall on a November hunt with our friend and client Ben McKean. On that day, braced with her nine-year-old grand-dam, Blue Silk, young Sally held her own in finding and pointing grouse. Sally even trailed and found a wounded grouse that had eluded Silk. That day was a harbinger of her future mastery in the woods.

Betsy and I are grateful for those who played an important role in her life: Paul Hauge for producing and choosing her for us; Bob Senkler for being a passionate grouse-hunting owner; and Julie Sandstrom who cared as much about her as we did and filled her final years with ample comfort, love and opportunity.

RIP sweet Sally. Your life brought happiness to many and your prowess and spirit lives on through your puppies.