Betsy has always lived with dogs. Beginning with a series of golden retrievers that her father used for pheasant and duck hunting, in addition to being the family pets. As soon as she was out of college and on her own, she owned several Labrador retrievers. She will never forget May, an English-bred, black Labrador with an uncanny intelligence and fierce loyalty.
In addition, beginning as a child and for most of her life, Betsy has spent time every summer at a Minnesota lake cabin owned by her grandparents where she developed a passion for the natural world. It was fitting that by education and profession, Betsy was a horticulturist, landscape designer and writer.
But when Jerry and Betsy met in 1993, Jerry owned an extraordinary liver-and-white female pointer, aptly named Dance Smartly (call name Dancer). She was smart, beautiful in motion and extremely talented. Immediately, Betsy became hooked on bird dogs and field trials, culminating in the their first grouse championship with Dancer in 1995.
Together, Jerry and Betsy formed Northwoods Bird Dogs 2002 and soon moved their operation from the Twin Cities to a rural location in east central Minnesota. The division of labor came naturally. Jerry manages the kennel and is focused on developing and running the training programs. Betsy administers the business. Besides bookkeeping and client communication, her responsibilities include maintaining the website and writing the blog posts.
Both Jerry and Betsy take immense pride in their breeding program and are always present for the whelping, care and raising of their puppies. Even on busy days, they make time after feeding for their favorite chore—a puppy walk.
