Northwoods Blackhawk Sage (on left) CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2015 1st Pacific Northwest Open Derby, Oregon Owner: Bill Owen, California
Fall is the ultimate season for bird dog owners whether they choose to hunt in the woods or on the prairies or to compete against the best other owners bring to the line.
Three young dogs bred by Northwoods Bird Dogs won impressively at recent field trials. A seven-month-old pointer male won a derby and a pointer female—as the youngest dog entered—was named champion of the stake. And a two-year-old setter female placed in both open and amateur stakes at a national venue.
Congratulations to these talented dogs and their proud owners!!
Ridge Creek Pied Piper CH Ridge Creek Cody x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2013 1st AKC English Setter Nationals, Nebraska, amateur stake 3rd AKC English Setter Nationals, Nebraska, open stake Owner: Chuck Brandes, Minnesota
Tian Elhew Verbena CH Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2013 1st American Pointer Club National Amateur Championship, Ohio Owner: Angela Schillereff, Sauvie Island Kennels, Oregon
Sky’s first sharptail that she pointed and retrieved. Thanks again for another great dog. ~ Randy, from Minnesota
The day our eight-week-old puppies go to their new owners is bittersweet for Jerry and me. All is forgotten though when we receive joyous messages and photographs showing exactly what we breed for.
Stella’s first sharp-tailed grouse. Who looks happier ??? Great job, Stella Blue. Hunting with all the Northwoods setters in Montana! ~ Laura, from Illinois
Our puppies this year seem exceptionally precocious. Pointers out of Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen and a setter female of Northwoods Carly Simon by Northwoods Grits have already hit the woods and fields. Most impressively, the young dogs have found, pointed and usually retrieved the birds.
Jade on a hot Michian grouse opener. She pointed 5 woodcock and 2 grouse on her first run. She was staunch on all birds and let me flush all of them. She stays with me, almost always naturally forward and seems to have an unbelievable nose. Her bird sense is like nothing I have ever had as a puppy. She is an absolute dream to own in all aspects. Thank you for the chance to own one of your pups. ~ Frank, from Michigan
Walked up, took the picture and flushed a covey of 6 sharptails. ~ Jeff, from Minnesota
In this case, Northwoods Aerosmith (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2011) receives only praise–not correction–from his owner Ken Taylor.
Even though Gary Larson retired from The Far Side daily cartoon 20 years ago, I still remember many. With clever drawings and simple prose, he succinctly satirized dogs, cats, cows, bears, doctors, scientists and Neanderthals.
Among my favorites was a two-panel cartoon depicting a man admonishing his dog. The panels had the exact same drawing but different headings and different cartoon bubbles.
What we say to dogs Okay, Ginger! I’ve had it! You say out of the garbage! Understand, Ginger? Stay out of the garbage, or else!
What they hear blah blah GINGER blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah GINGER blah blah blah blah blah…
Larson nailed it. Applying strictly human means and psychology when reprimanding a dog doesn’t work. We need to correct in ways that a dog understands.
A well-behaved dog is a partner that’s a pleasure to hunt over and a wonderful family companion. But for safety reasons too it’s essential that a dog responds to corrections. It behooves an owner to master this skill.
Basics
• Be consistent.
• Say the command once and then enforce. You are the leader and must make your dog respond.
Rules
• Timing is crucial. The dog needs to know why it’s being corrected. The best time to correct your dog is to anticipate when it’s going to do something wrong or when just starting to do something wrong. Don’t administer correction afterwards—rather wait until the next time.
• Administer the correction with the right attitude. Use a calm, confident, assertive manner. Don’t get angry.
• Use only enough correction to stop the behavior. Don’t over react or lose your temper.
Options
• Voice: We use QUIT. It’s an easy, one-syllable word and when combined with a low, guttural tone of voice, it gets a dog’s attention. NO isn’t recommended for a pointing dog because it’s similar to WHOA.
• Tools: When the dog is close, try a tug on a leash, check cord or pinch collar. When the dog is a distance away, we prefer an ecollar. Even a rolled-up newspaper whacked near the dog will get its attention.
• Physical: Sometimes, this becomes necessary. Grab the dog by the scruff of the neck, look it straight in the eyes and sternly say QUIT. Never strike or kick a dog.
Some final thoughts…
Consider your dog’s temperament and understand there are differences in learning capability. Dogs can be bold and fearless or soft and timid or some can have a difficult combination of headstrong yet submissive.
Ultimately, you must make your dog respond—whatever it takes.
It’s unlawful to reproduce Larson’s panel but click here to see Ginger and her owner again.
Judging by the news and photos we’ve received from puppy owners, summertime and puppies belong together. From Colorado to Massachusetts, Oklahoma to Minnesota and Michigan, puppies are out and about with their owners.
We are both having the best time, and he could not be a better puppy!
Northwoods Blue Skye is sight pointing pigeons and has been demonstrating a natural retrieving instinct. She has adapted well to her new family and has shown to be a very intelligent and affectionate pup.
Bandit is…great fun. He is a wonderful addition to our family.
And owners are eagerly anticipating this first fall in the woods and fields with their puppies.
I can’t wait for the fall with her. So far we are set for 6 states and 9 or 10 different upland birds.
Jerry and Northwoods Chardonnay (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2009). Photo by Chris Mathan, The Sportsman’s Cabinet.
Many of our clients have met our neighbor, friend and training helper Jeff Hintz. Besides his devotion to pointers and hunting wild birds, Jeff is very active online. He emails and texts to people all over the globe and has 1,145 Twitter followers. He recently sent me this post from an outdoor blog on the Garmin website. While its focus is dog training, clearly the principles apply to life in general.
Here are some highlights.
“Every day, in every way, our attitude greatly affects how each project, idea, communication, or dog training session will turn out. A calm, compassionate, yet gung-ho and positive attitude can achieve amazing results.
“Having a good attitude is very important when we want to communicate. The way we communicate with people or dogs could be the bottom-line reason things generally go well for us . . . or not.
“Using a calm voice and a steady, consistent demeanor will help our dogs…
“…use our happiest voice, even if it sounds like a gushing teen-aged girl, when we’re letting our dogs know how thrilled we are with something they just did or learned.
“…use our mean voice when it is clearly required…
“The person who allows his attitude to get bent out of shape when bad things occur, or when things don’t go his way is going to bring heaping helpings of unhappiness upon himself. And he certainly will not achieve excellent results with his dogs, goals, or the folks around him. It pays all of us to frequently think about our attitude and resolve to keep it at its best.”
Is there such a thing as too much exercise for a young dog?
Jerry and I think, yes, there is. So does Turid Rugass, Norwegian dog trainer and behaviorist.
“It’s a common misconception that energetic dogs need a lot of activities and exercise, but in general the rule is that too much physical training and activities doesn’t use up excess energy, but creates more of it, leading to stress.”
In addition, the more exercise a dog gets, the more it needs. When the excessive activity level begins at a young age, the pattern can carry into adulthood and the result can be a stressed-out, high-strung, wound-up dog.
That stress can manifest itself in a couple ways in dogs. Some can’t maintain a healthy weight despite the proper amount of food. Poor digestion can lead to intermittent bowel problems.
We allow groups of puppies to spend half of each day in the exercise pens. They sleep as much as they play. Both rest and exertion are necessary for good health, mental stability and physical development.
Fenced-in back yards and invisible electric fences are wonderful options for dog owners. It’s easy to simply open the door and let a dog out. But it’s not healthy to allow it to free run all day.
As with most things in life—whether for people or for dogs—balance is essential.
Northwoods Rum Rickey, age 3, Blue Shaquille x Snyder’s Liz Northwoods Chablis, age 6, Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice Dixie, Georgia February 2015 photo by Chris Mathan, The Sportsman’s Cabinet
Within the last two weeks, our English setter and pointer puppies headed off to their new homes. Puppy buyers drove to the kennel from Illinois, Michigan, North Dakota and Oklahoma and from various parts of Minnesota. Other puppies flew to new homes in Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
It is 4:26 and Blackhawk has landed. Thank you for this opportunity. ~ Bill
For many of these families, this puppy will be the second they’re bought from us so it was fun for Jerry and me to see the first dog again and to spend time with these friends. Other owners are new to us and we enjoyed getting to know them.
We love her already!! She is doing great and is a good girl. Sleeping in her crate without too much hysterics!! Now if we could just pick a name. Right now I am sitting on the couch with Rose sleeping on my lap and the puppy curled up to Rose. Progress!! ~ Laura
While it is a traumatic day for the puppies, they very quickly adapt. Within hours of getting to their new homes, they were inside cuddling on couches and playing on soft rugs or outside in the backyard.
She arrived in perfect shape and was happy to see me. She is amazingly bright, obviously well socialized, incredibly friendly, non-stop playing and sound sleeping. Neither Carol nor I recall a puppy that seems to have the smarts of a big dog in such a small package. She is a joy! We put her in a crate at night next to the other dogs and she goes right to sleep. ~ Bob
Even though it means little, it’s still fun to see a puppy’s pointing instincts. Northwoods Louis Vuitton, male out of Northwoods Carly Simon by Nothwoods Grits, points a rag on a string at 8.5 weeks of age.
It’s amazing how quickly eight weeks can fly by. It seems like yesterday that Jerry and I were up in the middle of the night, keeping vigil while Northwoods Carly Simon, Northwoods Vixen and Northwoods Chablis whelped their litters.
The Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon litter of eight puppies at 7.5 weeks of age.
At first, caring for puppies is a breeze because the dam does all the work. She feeds them, ensures elimination and keeps her puppies and her nest clean. All we do is make sure the dam is healthy and that all puppies nurse and gain weight. It becomes messier and more work when we start weaning the puppies off the dams beginning at about four weeks.
The CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen litter of nine puppies at 6.5 weeks of age.
This year, the trip from our winter home in Georgia back to Minnesota further complicated things but when the puppies were 5 – 6 weeks old and mostly weaned, it was safe for them to travel.
Now is the bittersweet time when puppies must go to their new homes. Many buyers come to the kennel to pick up their puppy. Some puppies arrive at their new homes by airplane when buyers live too far away.
The Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis litter of seven puppies at 6 weeks of age.
Even though we’re always sad when puppies leave our kennel, we know they are embarking on their new lives. Equally gratifying, though, is seeing broad smiles on the faces and hearing joy in the voices of their new owners.
