The all-female litter out of CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer is now about 12 weeks old.
We’ve heard excellent reports from Mark & Janie Fouts (Timber), Chip Young (Birdie), Tony & Cheryl Follen (Lucy), Dave Sheley, Mike Stout (Jackie Daniels) and Ben Mergens.
Jerry and I kept an orange-and-white that we named Vixen. Jeff, our neighbor and friend who helps with training, and his wife, Carol, have a black-and-white. They named her Izzie after the doctor on Grey’s Anatomy.
These two couldn’t be cuter or more precocious or more fun. Vixen lives in the house with us and I love sitting on the floor with her and her chew toys. One day Jerry threw a dead pigeon for her. She ran out, picked it up (it was as big as she was) and carried it all the way back to him.
Jeff takes his group of pointers to a nearby lake to cool off on these hot summer afternoons and throws a dummy. Izzie took off after Jeff’s older pointer, Hershey, when he out for the retrieve. What to do? Jeff threw one just for Izzie…and she loved it.
Jerry and I are very sad to report that Paul Hauge had to make a heart-wrenching decision about Belle last week. She was diagnosed with painful and fast-spreading bone cancer in her rear legs. Paul laid her to rest on Thursday, April 28. She was 10 years old.
Belle was a 2x CH/4x RU-CH, all on grouse and woodcock and in championship venues in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition, she was Minnesota/Wisconsin Derby of the Year in 2003 and Minnesota/Wisconsin Shooting Dog of the Year in 2005.
2007 RU-CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
2006 RU-CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
RU-CH Lakes State Grouse Championship
RU-CH Grand National Grouse & Woodcock Invitational
2005 CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
CH Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship
Belle was bred and owned by Paul but Jerry and I first got her as a one-year-old to begin her training and development. Fortunately, Jerry and Paul had a mutual commitment to her success because, essentially, we shared her. Paul let us have her with us almost as much as she lived with him.
Belle leaves a huge hole in our kennel…..but also what a legacy. As we look up and down our runs, Belle’s blood is everywhere. And we’re grateful for that.
We share Paul’s sorrow and loss…..but we will never forget her…..CH Houston’s Belle.
Linus comments to Charlie Brown: “You know what you and Snoopy should do? You should go to an obedience school.”
Snoopy’s cartoon bubble: “Why should we go to obedience school? He already does everything I want him to.”
~ Charles M. Schulz
I never miss the Peanuts comic strip in the newspaper. Its creator, Charles M. Schulz, died in 2000 but newspapers continue to run old strips……and I continue to read them faithfully.
The characters are wonderful. Charlie Brown is the perennial loser who tangles with kite-eating trees and comments, “I only dread one day at a time.” And who can resist loud-mouthed, selfish, crabby Lucy and her brother Linus, the sweet natured kid who is never without his blanket and believes in the Great Pumpkin?
My favorite character is Snoopy. He’s great whether he’s dancing “The Beagle,” imitating a fierce vulture or playing the World War I flying ace. And how can you not love a dog that lost everything when his dog house burned….but then resolutely replaced his ruined Van Gogh with a Wyeth?
While Charlie Brown can’t win on the baseball diamond or with the little red-haired girl, he has always been Snoopy’s devoted owner.
Several strips featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang hang on the bulletin board of our kennel office.
A couple of my favorites:
— A simple one with no talking or cartoon bubbles features Charlie Brown holding an umbrella over Snoopy and his dog dish while Snoopy eats.
— Snoopy is barking during the night in the first frame. Lucy comments, “Listen! Do you think Snoopy sees a burglar?” Charlie Brown replies, “No, that isn’t his ‘Burglar Bark.’ That’s his ‘barking just for the sake of barking’ bark.”
— In a longer Sunday strip, Charlie Brown says, “It’s kind of cold tonight…it shouldn’t be so cold this time of year…I wonder if Snoopy is warm enough…I think I’ll take my sleeping bag out to him…”
Charlie Brown then takes his sleeping bag into the back yard for Snoopy and comments, “I can sleep well myself now, knowing he’s warm.”
The final frame shows Snoopy tucked into an enormous sleeping that hangs off the roof of his dog house and flows onto the ground.
Since Jerry and I have our training site in the heart of bird dog country, we thought it completely appropriate to take a drive to Grand Junction and tour the National Bird Dog Museum.
It’s hard to miss. It’s on the main highway through town and if the multicolor flags don’t grab your attention, a huge bronze depiction of hunter, dogs and a covey rise of quail definitely will. Two statues of retrievers grace the walkway and, farther along , we found a gorgeous sculpture by Bob Wehle of CH Elhew Snakefoot.
The museum is under the auspices of the nonprofit National Bird Dog Foundation and the same building also houses the National Retriever Museum, the Field Trial Hall of Fame and the Wildlife Heritage Center. Our timing was good. Within a couple of days, the National Championship would begin at the nearby Ames Plantation and the newest members of the Hall of Fame would be inducted. The place was abuzz!
Joe Cumming
It is both thrilling and a bit humbling to see photographs and paintings of famous dogs and handlers from as far back as the late 1800s. I wasn’t surprised that Jerry could rattle off many of the dog names.
Our venue—cover dog field trials—was represented with a small display. How gratifying for Jerry and me to find CH Blue Streak and CH Houston’s Belle among the placements of the Grand National Grouse & Woodcock Invitational and the Grand National Grouse Championship.
We had to stop one more place before we left Grand Junction. In an unused school building along the main street is the current home of Wilson Dunn’s Sporting Goods. Mr. Dunn, age 92, is still behind the counter and still ringing up sales on his old-fashioned adding machine. We had a blast looking through his training equipment, supplies, clothing and other gear…and even picking out a few to buy.
Er Shelly at Wilson Dunn’s shop
Mr. Dunn then invited us to his personal bird dog shrine in the next room. He was the owner of Dunn’s Fearless Bud, a dog Bob Wehle outcrossed to with excellent results. Wilson sat in his rocking chair and shared some amazing stories about the old days. He spoke proudly of Bud: “My dog was the last one to win the National Championship with finds on wild birds.”
Ever the salesman, Wilson eyed me up and, in his genteel southern drawl, said, “Honey, you need some chaps? I’ve got some over there that would fit you perfectly—Women’s Tall Slender.”
He was right…and we walked out of his shop with another purchase.
There are those who believe the ruffed grouse is something beyond the ordinary.
~ 50 Years in the Making—A Brief History of the Ruffed Grouse Society,
RGS 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue
In honor of their 50th anniversary, The Ruffed Grouse Society recently published a special issue of their magazine. The 142 pages are filled with entertaining and informative articles and are interspersed with beautiful photo essays.
Jerry and I were pleased to see photographs of two dogs out of our breeding. Chip Laughton’s photo essay, Pointer Passion, features the female setter Georgia (page 52), owned by Dana and Robert Bell III of Asheville, North Carolina. Georgia is out of our 2008 breeding of CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa x Old Glory Bluebelle (Gusty Blue x CH Houston’s Belle).
Chris Mathan’s feature, Photographing Bird Dogs, includes many of her stunning dog photos. Again, among all the pointers is our Northwoods Blue Ox (page 127), a gorgeous orange-and-white setter out of CH Peacedale Duke x Blue Silk. Ox was bred and is owned by us.
On page 73 is another photograph by Chris—this one an exceptional head shot of a quintessential grouse dog, CH Sky Blue Belle, handled by Steve Groy of Pennsylvania. Belle’s story is amazing…and what a talented and worthy champion. Jerry knew her only too well. In 2006, Belle was the top cover dog in the country and won the Michael A. Seminatore Award. All year long, she battled another Belle and just a few points was the difference in the final standings. Finishing second that year was CH Houston’s Belle, owned by Dr. Paul Hauge and handled by Jerry.
Most of the time, Jerry and I called him Dasher. Sometimes it was Dash or Our Dash or, if he did something particularly annoying or naughty, Jerry called him Your Dash.
Physically, Dasher was a specimen. He was liver-and-white with a gorgeous, square muzzle and an even mask. Dasher weighed a solid 58 pounds—the biggest of our bird dogs. He was beautiful in motion. He moved with the strength and power of a thoroughbred but was graceful and light on his feet. Dasher was enjoyable to watch run—not only for his style but because he always seemed to be having so much fun.
Dasher was intelligent, too, and intuitive and his large, expressive eyes seemed all-knowing. He had his quirks and oddities, like all dogs. We’ll always remember his jerky motion when he noisily lapped water from the water bucket.
Dasher was almost 14 years old and had lived a happy and productive life. For almost two months, he’d been ill with a failing kidney and a fist-sized tumor on his spleen. Like so many proud, strong and stoic dogs we’ve owned before, Dasher would rally from a couple of bad days to eat well, grab a chew toy and trot happily outside for his short walks.
An uncanny Christmas evening
Dasher had endured a tough Christmas day. Food didn’t appeal to him and I couldn’t tempt him with canned dog food, cooked meat or even holiday dog treats. It was difficult for him to get up and go outside, notwithstanding the cold weather. We stoked up the fire and left him to sleep on his thick bed in front of our wood-burning stove.
Not two hours later, Dasher had shuffled to our bedroom door—something he had never done—made enough noise to wake us up and then, because he was so weak, lay down in the hall.
Jerry and I leapt out of bed and carried him back to his bed in front of the fireplace. We brought blankets and pillows. I curled up with Dasher on his bed and Jerry slept beside us on the couch.
Dasher died peacefully the next day.
Dasher’s pedigree
Dasher was out of our first-ever grouse champion, Dance Smartly (Dancer), and a dog campaigned by Jim Tande, CH Brook’s Elhew Ranger. Among his littermates were CH Sidelock’s Rogue Trader, owned by Mitch Stapley from Michigan and RU-CH Dancing Queen, a female that produced Frank LaNasa’s CH Centerpiece, a six-time champion/two-time runner-up champion.
We kept Dasher because he was evenly marked like his dam and seemed most like her in temperament and ability. Just for fun, we continued the reindeer-naming theme.
My Memories
• When he was a puppy and being worked with the check cord, he’d pick up the end of it and run around with it in his mouth. It was “so cute” but was he really “so smart” because he knew that if he had the end I couldn’t grab it?
• Dasher had a superior nose. Jerry lost a glove one day while we were working dogs. The next day, just by chance, we worked eight-month-old Dasher on the same trail. He found that glove and proudly bounded by us with it in his mouth.
• He loved heat. On a hot summer day, he would lie in front of our south-facing glass door…utterly content.
• Dasher could leap. The fence around our pasture was 5’ high. Instead of waiting for me to open the gate, he raced around the corner of the garage and took that fence in full stride—gracefully launching himself off the ground and clearing the top by several inches.
• He was a morning dog and earned the name Mr. Perky. We never had to wake him up or prod him to go out. He was always sitting up straight with ears pricked and an eager expression in his eyes.
• Dasher chewed his way through hundreds of dollars of dog beds. I bought beds from L.L. Bean, Orvis, Cabela’s and Fleet Farm. Finally, last fall, I succumbed to the grandest of beds, a Mud River Homebase. This thing is gorgeous! It is made from 6”-high memory foam and is extremely comfortable. Plus, it’s a whopping 43” long x 30” wide. Dasher loved his bed, guarded it and rarely shared it. Forever it will be known as “Dasher’s bed.”
Jerry’s memories
• Dasher had an outstanding nose and was a natural at finding and pointing ruffed grouse, even at a young age. One day I was working him with two other year-old puppies. One by one, the other two came out to the logging trail and hunted on ahead of me. Dash was the last one to catch up. When he was about 75 yards ahead of me, on the same trail the other pups had just gone down, he stopped, turned his head slightly and pointed. I walked up and a grouse flushed noisily and Dash was off in hot pursuit!
• I remember well (so does Betsy) the day he beat his kennelmate, CH Blue Streak, in a spring grouse trial when he was three years old and Streak was in her prime.
• Dash had endless stamina and, amazingly, kept himself in excellent shape without any real conditioning.
• Dash was a member of the guiding team on the day I clocked the highest flush count of my life. I ran him in the middle of the day and he found as many grouse as those that were down during the prime morning and evening hours. When Dash pinned a grouse, we’d follow the beeper. The hunters likened him to a hound—follow the dog to the treed game!
Dasher’s legacy
Dasher was bred just handful of times but left outstanding progeny. Jason Gooding at Goodgoing Kennels bred his female, Moxie, to Dasher twice. Out of that came Goodgoing Hannah Montana, a field trial dog handled by Brett Edstrom, and fabulous hunting dogs owned by Todd Gatz of Ely and Wayne Grayson of Mississippi. Jerry and I have an attractive orange-and-white female, Prancer (remember the reindeer thing?), from a breeding to Fate, Mark Fouts’ extremely talented grouse dog. We plan to breed Prancer to CH Westfall’s Black Ice this year so we’ll have grand-Dashers. (How about a Vixen or a Blitzen?)
Finally…
Jane, my sister-in-law, sent a kind note with the perfect sentiment: kindred spirit. To some it might seem odd that a dog and a woman could be kindred spirits but that, in a nutshell, is how I feel about Dasher.
Serendipity…fate…good timing…..or whatever one chooses to call it. Jerry and I have felt it before and we think it definitely played a part when we were looking for a solution to our employee situation.
Earlier in the fall, Jerry and I had a dilemma. Zac, our excellent and loyal employee of three years, was leaving to begin his senior year of high school. He would soon be concentrating on homework, basketball and parties (not necessarily in that order) rather than on dog training and kennel chores.
Similarly, our summer neighbor and training helper, Jeff, would be spending his days hunting grouse and woodcock. And soon after but before the first snowflakes appear, Jeff and his wife, Carol, leave for their winter home in Arizona.
Through our rural township grapevine, Jerry and I heard that a close neighbor, Dan Stadin, was retiring from his many years of service at the federal prison. We’ve known and liked Dan and his wife, Paula, for all the years we’ve lived here but little did we know the depth and breadth of his expertise and knowledge.
What we did know:
• avid outdoorsman who fishes and hunts turkey and deer
• has owned retrievers—at least one Labrador and a Chesapeake
• along with other family members and friends, owns a cabin “up north”
• drives a very cool Harley.
What we didn’t know:
• beginning in 7th grade, bred and trained sled dogs and competed in local races
• for many years beginning at the age of 14, had a summer job as a dock boy at a resort on the Ash River
• earned a degree from the U of M Waseca with an emphasis on Swine Production
• worked for a fur farm that produced mink and silver fox for pelts; skunks, raccoons and ferrets for the pet market
• bought and ran a beef cow and horse farm; managed a hog farm or two
• worked 20 years for the Federal Bureau of Prisons where he held several positions—his final 15 years as a Correctional Counselor.
Dan is a tremendous asset and already we see improvements in our operation. He has initiative and has taken over responsibility for feeding, watering and otherwise caring for the pigeons, quail and chukars. Dan genuinely likes animals—a trait that is reflected in his ability to relate to them. Jerry feels he has a wonderful way with the dogs.
One of Dan’s primary responsibilities this fall has been the development and training of our puppies. He’s worked them in the pasture on quail and chukars and has also taken them in the woods for training on grouse and woodcock. While Jerry spent the better part of October doing guided grouse hunts out of a lodge in northern Minnesota, Dan helped me manage the kennel.
We’re not sure who’s happier…Jerry and me because we found Dan…or Dan because he’s found a new passion…or Paula because Dan is so happy.
"Scout is doing well since we brought him home. He’s all paws, legs, and ears at this age, but he has a nose for birds as well. I attached two pictures of him pointing liberated Chukars at 10 weeks old and this morning at 13 weeks. He also loves to retrieve.
"I forgot how much work puppies are at 8 -12 weeks old. Luckily he’s very patient and quiet in his crate, staked out in the yard, and in the outdoor kennel so we get some relief from the mischief. He and our eight year old setter have pretty well sorted things out between themselves already, so that concern is over.
"So overall he’s adjusted quickly and is progressing nicely with his training."
"We hope you are staying cool amidst the muggy, tropical assault August has unleashed on us. Although you are probably not losing any sleep worrying about Piper, we thought an update was in order..
"In short, she is doing extremely well. She loves her kennel and riding in the car. We have taken her to multiple places, including visiting emotionally disturbed children at a therapy center, Game Fair, the beach, dog parks and many visits with my niece and nephew (7 and 5 years old). She has gone swimming in the Mississippi, Kinnikinnic, Willow and St.Croix rivers, and loves wading along the shore.
"She makes eye contact and wants to be w us – her temperament is sweet and well-balanced and bomb-proof. As Roberta proclaims on a regular basis "she is basically and unequivocally and undisputedly the very best dog in the entire world and she couldn’t be more loved."
"When she is not sleeping in her crate or eating, her days are spent playing with the other dogs and going for multiple walks. Each 20-30 minute walk usually begins heading up the driveway, with much time spent chasing and pointing butterflies in the adjacent pasture."
When Jerry and I designed our kennel building, we thought long and hard about the size of the runs—both inside and outside. Since our goal was a small yet efficient space, we wanted to keep the number of total runs to 20 but how big to make each run was our conundrum.
After many drawings, lengthy discussions and permutations, we ultimately settled on 16 regular-size runs at 4’ in width and four larger runs at 6’. The larger spaces would be for whelping and raising litters.
An unforeseen benefit has been the opportunity to keep two dogs together in one run. The dogs seem to enjoy it and, in fact, become pals. (Jill and Shaq are currently together as are Prancer and Oscar.) They sniff and nuzzle each other, roll around in their runs and play together with their chew toys. Jerry is careful who gets kenneled together and there is always one male and one female. He also considers size, age and temperament.
Jerry and I walk down to the kennel about 9:00 pm each evening to make one final check and to give all dogs a nightly biscuit. After treats are given in the larger runs, the two pals drink together out of their water bucket, curl up next to each other on the bed and settle in for the night.
The all-female litter out of CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer is now about 12 weeks old.
These two couldn’t be cuter or more precocious or more fun. Vixen lives in the house with us and I love sitting on the floor with her and her chew toys. One day Jerry threw a dead pigeon for her. She ran out, picked it up (it was as big as she was) and carried it all the way back to him.
My favorite character is Snoopy. He’s great whether he’s dancing “The Beagle,” imitating a fierce vulture or playing the World War I flying ace. And how can you not love a dog that lost everything when his dog house burned….but then resolutely replaced his ruined Van Gogh with a Wyeth?
There are those who believe the ruffed grouse is something beyond the ordinary.
Serendipity…fate…good timing…..or whatever one chooses to call it. Jerry and I have felt it before and we think it definitely played a part when we were looking for a solution to our employee situation. 
"We hope you are staying cool amidst the muggy, tropical assault August has unleashed on us. Although you are probably not losing any sleep worrying about Piper, we thought an update was in order..