Jerry’s passion for bird dogs began with birds. As a young boy, he raised chickens, pigeons, pheasants and quail in coops he and his father built in their backyard. At 15, Jerry became a Master Falconer and trained many birds of prey—red-tailed hawks, a peregrine falcon, a prairie falcon, a kestrel, a Harris hawk and a goshawk named Jessie.
At about the same time, Jerry followed in his brother’s footsteps as a trapper. Early winter mornings before school would find him on snowshoes, wicker backpack on his back, checking his trap lines. Selling the furs might have been the start of his entrepreneurial business acumen.
After an introduction to upland bird hunting by a high school teacher who owned English setters, Jerry bought a female Brittany spaniel in 1980 and trained her on ruffed grouse, woodcock and pheasants.
On a whim, Jerry entered his first English setter in a grouse field trial in 1987 and even though the dog didn’t place, Jerry was hooked. When Jerry and Betsy met in 1993, Jerry owned an extraordinary liver-and-white female pointer, aptly named Dance Smartly (call name Dancer). Betsy had joined him in his passion for field trial competition and together they won their first grouse championship with Dancer in 1995.
Over the years, Jerry became one of the most successful amateur trainers and handlers in the country. With Betsy as scout, they took CH Blue Streak, a dog they bred in 1995, to the pinnacle of success when Streak won the Michael Seminatore English Setter Cover Dog Award and the William Harnden Foster Award in 2002.
Together, Jerry and Betsy formed Northwoods Bird Dogs in 2002 and soon moved their operation from the Twin Cities to a rural location in east central Minnesota. The division of labor came naturally. Besides managing the kennel, Jerry is focused on developing and running the training programs. Betsy administers the business. In addition to 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.
