During the evening of January 9 and lasting into the early morning of the 10th, Northwoods Chablis whelped five puppies—four males and one female. This litter, by Blue Riptide, is her last.
On both top and bottom, this litter represents the origins and core of our setter breeding program. On the top, Riptide is out of Blue Chief, one of our most prepotent sires, while his dam Blue Blossom through CH Blue Streak goes back to our first setter litter in 1995.
Chablis is out of one of our favorite nicks, Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice. She carries the best of CH Houston’s Belle, CH First Rate, CH Blue Streak and CH Blue Smoke, which again, goes back to our first litter.
Chablis’ puppies are now five weeks old. On a warm, sunny winter day in Georgia, Jerry and I carried them onto the grass and brought along play toys and a bowl of water.
The puppies romped and scampered until they could no more and then curled up for naps.
Five of the eight puppies out of Northwoods Carly Simon by RU-CH Erin’s Promethus are now with their new families. Three males flew to Minnesota, another male flew to Virginia and one female puppy landed in Wisconsin.
That leaves three with Jerry and me. We kept two puppies for ourselves and the male chosen by the owner of Prometheus, John Mathys, will live with us until spring.
The reports so far are very good. Not much is more fun or more heartwarming than pupppies but they do require attention, care and diligence, especially at the beginning.
Ben and Maureen sent photos, too.
Just so you know, we really love this puppy!!! He is a bit of work but tons of fun. We have ice fished 5 days and he seems to like it as much as I do. ~ Maureen & Ben, Minnesota
This little man has taken Richmond by storm. Eeryone loves him, especially us. As you’re well aware, he’s a feisty one. We love that (although not sure my 9-year-old Lab would agree). Thanks so much. ~ Beth & Vance, Virginia
We just wanted to send you a note that we are so in love with our puppy already. He is such a good boy and is so fun to be around! He is learning very quickly and we are so impressed. Our other older dog is thrilled to have a playmate and they have been enjoying each other’s company. ~ Annie & Dan, Minnesota
He is doing great!! Very few accidents in the house!! We go for walks, just short ones. Everybody absolutely loves him where ever we take him!! ~ Teresa & Kevin, Minnesota
Mocha had another great year on the Montana prairie. I guided over her 25 days already and hunted over her another 10 days. ~ Mitch, owner of Mocha (CH Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2014), Montana
Every now and then it’s good to reflect on the past year. It can be tempting to focus on sad times—and especially this year when many dogs died. Beloved dogs May, Franny, Prancer, Chardonnay and Blossom are gone but will remain forever in our hearts.
In the midst of our grief and pain, though, puppies were born and puppies always herald joy and hope and never fail to make us smile.
In addition, during the hunting season Jerry and I received lots of communication from clients. Whether calls or text messages or emails, these reports always made us feel happy.
Some themes were evident in the correspondence this fall.
• Bird dogs get tired after a day in the field and are rewarded with naps on the furniture.
• It doesn’t seem to matter the bird or the state. Dogs found birds.
• Age of the dogs doesn’t seem to matter. All dogs got plenty of action.
• There’s no bigger smile on a handler’s face than after his young dog places in a tough derby stake.
• The hunting tradition continues…sometimes from hunter to son to grandson and other times from hunter to daughter.
So, it’s been a good year. Jerry and I are proud of our dogs and are extremely grateful to their owners. Our best to all in 2017!
Jade is a great pup, and did well for the early season. Now we are waiting for late season grouse and a couple trips to Oklahoma for quail. ~ Frank, owner of Jade (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2015), Michigan
Dixie is a rock star. Here she is with her best friend Penny hunting with my dad in Montana. ~ Isabel, owner of Dixie (CH Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016), Texas; her father Sam, owner of Penny (CH Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2013), Colorado
Here’s Biscuit with a proud look over her birds. She found a covey of what I think was 6. I got 2…but they were whizzing all around me. No stopping Biskers! ~ Ryan, owner of Biscuit (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, 2011), Minnesota
Here’s a screen shot of Stella’s GPS. 30 miles for a Saturday. I think that might be a record. She was fine and ready to roll the next morning!!! ~ Laura, owner of Stella (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2015), Illinois
Grandson, 3 woodcock. Son, 3 woodcock. Izzie, 30 woodcock, 8 grouse. Priceless. ~ Jeff, owner of Izzie (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer, 2011), Minnesota
Roy snuggled into Kate at Barry’s house last week. ~ Chris, owner of Roy (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, 2012), Wisconsin, and Barry, owner of Kate (Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2010), Minnesota
Here’s Lacey with our younger son Austin. She is definitely a cuddle dog! She is obviously doing well and we love her! ~ Missy, owner of Lacey (CH Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2016), Pennsylvania
Maddie ends 2016 having placed in each event she was entered in by placing 3rd today. Go Maddie! Now for a few weeks enjoying hunting. ~ Robby, owner of Maddie (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2015), Maine
Loki had a wonderful day. 6 birds. ~ James, owner of Loki (CH Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016), Minnesota
Three points, three roosters. Emma rocks. ~ Howard, owner of Emma (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2015), Montana
Coop is doing very well with his training. We are so happy with him. He is a handful, but such a pleasure to own. His natural ability is a testament to you and your breeding of pointers. ~ Tim, owner of Coop (CH Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2016), Massachusetts
Rae on the left, Willow on the right, after a tough day of hunting. Notice the leather chairs, both heads on armrests, hunting boots, setter lamp. Priceless. ~ Gregg, owner of Rae (Sunny Hill Sam x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016) and Willow (CH Ridge Creek Cody x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2013), Wisconsin
Yesterday Jenny got her turn 3 different times. Lots of bird contact. She was bumping and chasing woodcock all over the woods and then a flash point stop to flush on this grouse. I knocked it down and Jenny was on it. Her prey drive is so high that she never stops hunting. ~ John, owner of Jenny (CH Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016), Michigan
Here’s Sadie holding point on a chukar. ~ Bob, owner of Sadie (CH Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chablis, 2013), Minnesota
If only all of our dogs’ lives were as long and happy as Blossom’s.
Blue Blossom, call name Tina, was out of our best field trial setter, 4X CH/4X RU-CH Blue Streak, and another grouse champion, Grouse Hollow Gus. She lived with Jerry and me for about six years but for the majority of her life, Tina was the treasured hunting partner of Tim Esse.
Tina was trained as all our other dogs are—on wild bobwhites in Texas, native prairie birds of North Dakota and on ruffed grouse and woodcock in northern Minnesota. She was perhaps best-suited to the latter and gained quite a reputation as a star member of Jerry’s grouse guiding string.
Because Jerry and I are also breeders, our hunting females get bred. With a bit of kismet, we chose Blue Chief for Tina in 2006 and that cross became our first nick.
We repeated Chief x Tina for three consecutive years. Her famous puppies are legion—Cooper and Cammie, Elle and Daisy, Ollie and Peanut, Bee and Banshee —and they are scattered across the country. Tina’s legacy will continue because we continue to breed one of her special sons, Blue Riptide.
Jerry and I retired Tina in 2008 after her last litter. We sold her to Tim, a passionate grouse hunter from the Twin Cities who schedules the rest of his life around the fall season. For one thing, his job enables him to work remotely. For another, he has family living in northern Minnesota and can easily slip back and forth.
Throughout these eight years, we’ve stayed in touch with Tim and were always so happy to see Tina. As late as this fall when Tina was 14 years old, Tim took her hunting 15 times.
We were deeply saddened to receive an email from him in late November. “Tina is in hunting heaven,” he wrote.
There’s nothing better than a bird dog puppy at Christmas.
The litter out of Northwoods Carly Simon by Erin’s Prometheus is now four weeks old. Suddenly, they seem so grown up.
And with good reason. Jerry and I think some of the biggest changes occur between two and four weeks. At first, puppies are totally dependent on their dam for everything—food, elimination, protection and grooming. Their only senses are smell and touch. They spend their entire time nestled together, nursing or sleeping.
From those tiny, practically interchangeable creatures, individual puppies emerge. They gain two more senses—sight and hearing—and teeth appear. We begin feeding them dog food softened with warm water. Paws first, they dive in and gobble it up until muzzles and front legs are covered.
Puppies have no fear at this age. Socialization increases with both Carly and their littermates but this is also when Jerry and I spend time with them so they become accustomed to people.
A major change is their mobility. Little legs are gaining enough strength to support their rear ends and they waste no time testing them out. They leave their heated nest and stagger around the dog house to eliminate and investigate. We then removed the barrier between their house and kennel run and they quickly scrambled out the door.
We also think much of the success of a litter depends on the nature of the dam. Carly is amazingly patient and gentle. I’ll never forget one quiet afternoon when Carly was stretched out on her side. A big male puppy crawled over the pile of his littermates towards Carly’s head. When he got as far as he wanted, he crawled up and fell asleep sprawled across her neck. Carly didn’t budge.
Although there is some biological basis to the timing of when a dam whelps, Jerry and I haven’t figured it out. In fact, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for us and our dams. We take their temperatures; we watch their appetites; we listen for scratching and other signs of nest preparation. And in our 21 years of breeding and subsequent crowding around whelping nests, dams have whelped at all hours of the day and night…sometimes even stretching across 24 hours.
So we were grateful to Northwoods Carly Simon on the morning of Saturday, November 26. She began at about 7:00 and in a couple spurts and then a final female, she was done and resting by 12:30 p.m.
Carly whelped eight puppies. Two are tri-color females and six are males. Of the males, two are tri-color and four are black-and-white. Although this is Carly’s fourth litter, it’s her first by RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus.
One might think after countless litters and many bleary-eyed vigils that Jerry and I are now blasé about whelping puppies. Not at all. We still consider the whole thing miraculous. We’re still amazed at the sight of a tiny sac, resembling a bubble when it first appears, and we’re still in awe when the dam’s instincts kick in and we watch her careful, thorough ministrations to her newborn.
The National Grouse & Woodcock Hunt (NGWH), put on by the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), is a big deal. This year, the 35th, began on Tuesday, October 11, and ran for four days. Part get-together/part fund-raiser, it is headquartered at the Sawmill Inn in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
In addition to plenty of good food, camaraderie and the opportunity to support a worthy organization, NGWH is bird hunter heaven. There is a sporting clays competition, shooting lessons, trap demonstrations and two days of guided hunting competition in the woods of Itasca County.
Jerry and I felt honored to be asked by RGS Director of Member Relations and Outreach Mark Fouts to put on a dog demonstration. So last Wednesday, October 12, we found ourselves at the Grand Rapids Gun Club where the RGS hosted its Outdoor Festival.
Jerry and I brought three dogs that hopefully would behave well and not embarrass us too much: Northwoods Carly Simon, above on left, pointer Northwoods Platinum and Northwoods Nirvana. Nirvana demanded some attention but the most difficult aspect was the tough conditions—really cold and windy.
The most important command for a bird dog is WHOA and very often misunderstood and misused. Jerry spent quite a bit of time explaining how we train and then demonstrated on Platinum. Luckily, she was perfect!
A highlight for us was seeing so many friends and clients. Amazing how small the bird dog world is…but also heartening that it is filled with talented, fascinating, committed hunters and dog lovers from all over the country.
We know many people involved with RGS and the NGWH. It was fun for us to see Andy Duffy and Boo, his eight-month-old setter male puppy out of our Carly Simon and Sunny Hill Sam. We last saw them in April when Andy pulled out of our driveway in Georgia with tiny Boo on his lap.
Many thanks to Mark and the crew of the NGWH for hosting such an outstanding event.
Serious beggars! Rose continues to teach Stella all the tricks! ~ Laura, Illinois, owner of Rose (Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost, 2010), on left, and Stella (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2015)
Business email inboxes and message queues are often full of boring stuff. But Jerry and I are always eager to read correspondence from a client who has bought a puppy or an older dog, especially if photos are included.
It appears that our dogs—whether setters or pointers—have some things in common. They are “outstanding” in the field. They like the water and will endlessly retrieve Frisbees or dummies. They seem to have an affinity to the females in their households and some are savvy about finagling a comfortable spot to rest.
Nothing makes us happier as breeders than knowing our progeny are living happy lives with loving families. Many thanks to our wonderful clients!
As Zada approaches three years old, I would like to thank you again for an outstanding bird dog. She has the great fortune of living in eastern Montana…hunting 90+ days every season. Pictured here with my son, Tommy and a hun. ~ Tom, Montana, owner of Zada (Ridge Creek Cody x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2013)
Woodland’s Blue Hunter turned 16 today. He was the best hunting dog I’ve had, never a false point, always brought back what I shot (even when I didn’t know it) and didn’t miss many birds in the woods. ~ Tom, Wisconsin, owner of Hunter (Blue Chief x Woodland’s Mohawk Daisy, 2000)
So proud of Emma. Shot 4 sharptails over her points ….she retrieved 2 perfectly but wasn’t too interested in the others…But, so happy with her overall…runs big but not over the horizon …she relocated 4-5 times on a running bird but I kept up with her and she finally locked her down…up she went…bam…down she went. Just love her to death. THANK YOU for providing me such a magnificent hunting buddy!!! ~ Howard, Montana, owner of Emma (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2015)
Jenny loves to retrieve in the water. She just won’t quit. She does well without the pfd…..just getting her used to it so she can ride around on East Bay in our boat. She’s very smart. Picks up stuff very quickly…heel, whoa, come. She has a nice fast pattern in the woods. Looks me up and stays to the front. Totally ignores the 209 primer pistol. She is more than ready for birds. ~ John, Michigan, owner of Jenny (Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016)
We cannot express how happy and in love with this dog our entire family is and how happy we are that we found you and Jerry to get our dog from. My wife and I joke that Remi is the “hub” of our family. She literally has a different relationship with each of us (my daughter, son, wife, and I). We took Remi to my parents’ house, about an hour north of Traverse City, Michigan, right on Lake Michigan. ~ Dave, Minnesota, owner of Remi (Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016)
John and I ran Dixie out at a state park on Saturday with her new ecollar! She did amazingly well! The area was covered with cactus and it didn’t slow her down at all! She was a tough cookie! She handled very easily and often responded to a whistle or call without the need to correct or beep her on the collar. She learned to swim in the reservoir after the hike and then rode around in a kayak with me for about 45 minutes! ~ Isabel, Texas, owner of Dixie (Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016)
Elmer turned two this summer and he is still as sweet as can be. Besides hunting, he loves to fetch the frisbee (not balls though). Besides the fact that he is the world’s messiest water drinker, he is truly an amazing dog and we love having him as part of our family. Just last weekend my son (6 yrs. old) was feeling sad and he was sitting on the front step. Two minutes later he was giggling and smiling because Elmer showed up and was giving him kisses. ~ Kjellrun (below), Illinois, owner of Elmer (Northwoods Grits x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2014)
Timber and Huxley make a handsome pair of Northwoods Pointers! ~ Brandon, Minnesota, owner of Huxley (Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2016), on left, with co-worker Keith’s Timber (Elhew G Force x Northwoods Prancer, 2014) and Keith’s daughters.
Riley did great on the drive home and is doing very well acclimating to her new environment. She feels very much at home and loved. She is soooo sweet. Thank you for this wonderful addition to our family. ~ Maureen, New Jersey, owner of Riley (Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon, 2016)
Jade continues to make me laugh on a daily basis. She knows that she is not allowed on the furniture, but refuses to chew a bone anywhere other than this couch cushion. She will not step on another piece of furniture, only this piece when she gets a bone. She is downright hysterical. Thank you for such an amazing dog, and we have another huge season planned. ~ Frank, Michigan, owner of Jade (Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2015)
Pointers are not allowed on the furniture at our house—little dogs yes, but not bird dogs. So Murphy pulled the cushion off… ~ Tony, Minnesota, owner of Murphy (Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2016)
I knew when she was a pup that she was special. One of the best and nicest bird dogs I ever owned. ~ Paul Hauge
Even though Paul Hauge and Jerry conceived the idea together, Paul deserves all the credit. He bred Houston’s Belle’s Choice, daughter of his multiple grouse champion Houston’s Belle, to Blue Shaquille. Paul then hand-picked four—two males and two females—for us to buy, raise and train.
One of those puppies was a female we named Northwoods Chardonnay, call name Lucy.
Lucy was a tremendous bird finder whether in the grouse woods, the Georgia piney woods or on the prairies—but that wasn’t her greatest gift. Lucy’s gift was her style. She had unusual loftiness both in motion and on point. And her composure on point with nose pointed toward the sky made her look like she weighed 100 pounds. When I approached her points, she would always roll a sparkling eye at me that seemed to say, “Look at me and see what I found. Again. Pretty good, huh?”
Yeah, pretty damn good. ~ Jerry
Photo by Chris Mathan
Jerry and I often commented that Lucy was the prettiest setter female we’ve ever owned.
She was tricolor with distinctive markings. The mask on her left side was a perfect oval encompassing head, cheek and ear and, of course, a brown molly spot was just above the eye. On the right side, her ear was black but the mask was reduced to a small circle of color around the eye.
But Lucy was more than a pretty face. Her 40-lb.-body was perfectly proportioned and she had a long neck and high tail set. Her gait was spectacular—strong, fluid and graceful—and her front legs reached far forward on each stride. Lucy always seemed to be having fun for she bounded about with energy and enthusiasm.
Lucy was bred to some of the best setter males in the country including CH Shadow Oak Bo, CH Houston’s Blackjack, CH Ridge Creek Cody, RU-CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock and our own Northwoods Blue Ox. No matter the sire, outstanding dogs were produced.
Here’s a short list:
Northwoods Nirvana, owned by Frank and Jean LaNasa, Minnesota
Northwoods Fuzzy Navel, owned by Don Freeman, North Carolina
Houston’s Bold N Fresh, owned by Jim Depolo, Pennsylvania
Northwoods Charles, owned by Bill Owen, California
Ridge Creek Piper, owned by Chuck Brandes, Minnesota
Northwoods Nickel, owned by Jerry and me
Lucy was one of those rare dogs that could consistently, with little experience, pin ruffed grouse. When she was only one-and-a-half years old, I took her hunting in northern Wisconsin with another guide. It was late season and the grouse were hard to find and even harder to shoot. Right in front of us, Lucy worked a running grouse and made that bird stop and hide behind a big log in wide open pole timber. We walked right in, the grouse flushed at our feet and we both missed!
That was one of the best pieces of work on grouse I’ve ever seen. ~ Jerry
Jerry and I kept Lucy until she was five years old when Paul bought her back.
Early in 2016, Paul repeated an earlier breeding to Erin’s Hidden Shamrock. When he got Lucy back from Illinois, home of Shamrock, something was clearly wrong. She was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma. She was also pregnant.
Torn between concern for the dam and concern for the fetuses, Paul consulted with his vet and long-time friend Dr. Mark Nelson of Interstate Veterinary Hospital in Centauria, Wisconsin. They chose a course of action that focused on Lucy but with minimal harm to fetuses.
By late in her pregnancy, Lucy was gravely ill and Jerry and I desperately wanted to see her. We had planned to visit on a Sunday in early July. But on that Saturday, Lucy was failing and Paul brought her back to Mark.
Lucy must have given the entire strength of her weakened body to her puppies for as she died, three live puppies were delivered.
And today, Lucy’s litter of two females and one male is seven weeks old and thriving. Amanda and Joyce, two amazing women who work for Dr. Nelson, dedicated their days and nights to feeding and caring for the puppies. Due to their loving ministration, Lucy’s gifts will live on.
Lucy was a great bird dog on all species of game birds and produced outstanding pups in every litter. She was very sweet and lovable. She is missed. ~ Paul Hauge
