The puppies from our Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost litter were eight weeks old last weekend and Jerry and I had a steady stream of families here to pick out their puppy.
This was the second Northwoods Bird Dog puppy for two of the buyers. As we all know, it’s a small world. In 2006, Kevin Sipple first bought a wonderful tri-color female that is a littermate to this litter’s dam, Blue Ghost. This year he picked a matching, even-marked, tri-color female. Dwayne Splan is also back. His first puppy was a male out of Magic’s Rocky Belleboa x Old Glory Bluebelle in 2008 and, again, he was on the list for another male.
Splan clan
Other buyers included Chris Bye and Roberta Scherf from Wisconsin and the Nielsen and Head families from Minnesota.
It’s a sad day for me when the puppies go…but we’re grateful to the new owners and happy for the puppies.
"Great to see you guys…Again, we really appreciate all your care and attention to these pups for their first 8 wks. They are so very much better socialized, confident and relaxed among people as a result.
"Our pup took about a half hour to get acquainted with her new surroundings, and then she acted like she’d been living here for her entire life. My wirehair treated her gently, and they have been getting along fine. I’m happy to report that she didn’t make a noticeable sound last night–to our great surprise and delight. She regaled us most of the way home when she wasn’t sleeping, but I put her kennel right next to our guy Chance last evening, and that may have made all the difference."
Chris Mathan, a friend and owner of The Sportsman’s Cabinet, visited while she in Minnesota recently. We have known and worked with Chris for many years. She is a marketing specialist geared toward the outdoors and developed the brand and website for both Northwoods Bird Dogs and Dazzle Gardens, my horticulture business.
In addition, Chris is an excellent photographer and has provided us exquisite photographs of dogs, training sessions, flowers and landscapes. She has an extraordinary sense of style and a keen artistic eye. She perfectly captures her subjects and her photos are, literally, breathtaking.
Chris and I also collaborated on a 2010 calendar project, Why We Love Flowers.
We feel fortunate that Chris brought her camera and took time to photograph some of our dogs. Luckily also, the pasture was in full bloom when Chris photographed Roquefort and Parmigiano, 9-week-old littermates out of Northwoods Blue Ox and Houston’s Belle’s Choice.
Check out more of Chris’ photography—including shots of Bird Dogs, Field Trials, Upland Hunting and garden photos—and her other work at sportsmanscabinet.com.
On a January night in Minnesota after a nasty cold snap with several days that never got above zero, my husband, Jerry, and I shared a memorable meal—and one quite suitable for owners of a bird dog breeding and training business.
