The geography in Hun country can be as picturesque as it is steep. Northwoods Comet (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2018) beat Northwoods Gucci (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2015), on left, and Northwoods Jane Eyre (Northwoods Louis Vuitton x Houston’s Dancing Queen, 2022) to the find at the top.
Even though Northwoods Bird Dogs was conceived decades ago in the grouse woods of the Great Lakes states, Jerry and I have also trained and hunted our dogs in the open prairies of places far to our west. That we now have clients spread across the country is a testament that our dogs do equally well in either terrain.
Just to be sure, though, Jerry loaded up the dog box and dog trailer with as many dogs as would fit—from seasoned adults and young dogs to puppies—and spent virtually the entire month of September in western North Dakota and Montana. The objective was coveys of Hungarian partridge and sharp-tailed grouse.
Here are highlights of his trip.
In a lovely, undulating valley, Northwoods Rolls Royce (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2013) points a big covey of Huns.
What a fine training moment for three young setters on a Hungarian partridge covey. Northwoods Charlotte Bronte (Northwoods Louis Vuitton x Houston’s Dancing Queen, 2022) is credited with the find while Northwoods Snow Swept (CH Northwoods Sir Gordon x Northwoods Valencia, 2023), on right, is next to the find, followed by Northwoods Snow Boots (RU-CH Northwoods Atlas x Northwoods Stardust, 2023).
Setters and pointers alike take a well-deserved, midday rest.
Northwoods Stardust (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2019) inherited that high-headed pointing style from her dam.
Hun country is incredibly scenic. On a gentle hillside, Northwoods Jane Eyre (Northwoods Louis Vuitton x Houston’s Dancing Queen, 2022) honors a find by Northwoods Redbreast (Northwoods Rolls Royce x Northwoods Minerva, 2021).
Don Julio is a nice sippin’ tequila to toast a special day in the field.
“I wanted to better understand mechanics, timing and how to effectively use tools like releasers and launchers…That’s stuff you can read about or watch as many videos as you want, but won’t truly understand until you see, feel, and do.” ~ Jeremy Moore
Northwoods Bird Dogs—both our dogs and Jerry’s training style and technique—were featured in the November 2023 issue of Gun Dog magazine. Jeremy Moore of Pulaski, Wisc., is a columnist for the magazine and even though he has been to our kennel several times, those are the reasons he visited last summer.
We’ve known Jeremy since the summer of 2020 when he first visited us. He subsequently reserved a female setter puppy and in early 2022, he picked up Maquina (CH Northwoods Sir Gordon and Houston’s Nelly Bly).
Jeremy nails what, I think, makes Jerry the trainer he is. Jeremy comments on Jerry’s confidence and calmness and how well he reads a dog.
In the end, though, Jeremy writes: “Jerry has given me the confidence to ‘do it’ rather just ‘think about it.’”
Elsewhere in the issue, editor Kali Parmley described a “milestone” hunt with Jones, the young setter male she bought from us 2020. Jones (Northwoods Grits x Houston’s Nelly Bly) is her first bird dog and in previous Editor’s Letters, Kali has shared some of the issues of raising and training a pointing dog. This piece was different.
“The image of my soaking wet setter locked on point with a wave of fog blanketing the mountains behind him is an image that will forever be ingrained in my memory. He was beautiful. These are the reasons we hunt and the milestones we dream of for our bird dogs.”
Alzada (CH Ridge Creek Cody x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2013), age 10 years “Thanks for sharing a dog of a lifetime.” ~ Tom Condon, Montana
Northwoods Carly Simon (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2011), age 12 years “More than a minor celebrity, many have traveled to the hunt camp just to hunt with Carly Simon and spend time with her on ‘her’ couch.” ~ Chris Bye and Jessica Kramer, Wisconsin
Northwoods Rudolph (CH Southern Confidence x Northwoods Comet, 2023), age 6 months, on left, and his grand-dam Northwoods Vixen (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer, 2011), age 12 years “Young and a little goofy vs. old and wise. A fun brace!” ~ Both owned by Northwoods Bird Dogs
Maisy (RU-CH Northwoods Atlas x Houston’s Nelly Bly, 2023), age 6 months “The star of last week was Maisy. She handled well, made beautiful casts, and pointed a grouse!” ~ Zenas Hutcheson, Minnesota
Caddie (CH Southern Confidence x Northwoods Comet, 2023), age 6 months “This last week, Caddie has really turned it on. Her first woodcock!” ~ Brian Smith, Pennsylvania
CH Tian Elhew Verbena (CH Elhew G Force x Northwoods Vixen, 2013)
Not much is more gratifying for Jerry and me than hearing from happy dog owners. It is thrilling to see how our puppies have grown up and how they’ve fit into their lives—whether hunting, competing in field trials or sleeping on a pad near the fire.
And not much saddens us more than when we hear of the death of a beloved dog.
Multiple champion Tian Elhew Verbena (call name Bena) was owned by Angela and Tim Schillereff of Sauvie Island Kennels in Portland, Ore. Bena was whelped in 2013 out of Northwoods Vixen by CH Elhew G Force.
Of the nine puppies in the litter, seven were females. Angela and Tim had the fourth pick and they chose a pretty black and white puppy.
The G Force x Vixen litter was whelped on April 21, 2013. Bena is the puppy on the upper right.
Angela has kept in touch with photos and news periodically throughout the years. She recently informed us of the passing of Bena. Heartbroken, she wrote, “It’s been hard to think about her no longer with us.”
“She was an amazing dog and all who hunted her or saw her run in trials recognized how special she was.”
Angela and Tim campaigned Bena in American Field/Amateur Field Trial Clubs of America horseback shooting dog stakes where she won six championships and 2 runner-up championships.
She also earned several AKC titles: National Open Champion, National Amateur Champion, Grand Field Champion, Field Champion and Amateur Field Champion.
Northwoods Sir Gordon (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016), on right, was named RU-CH at the NBHA Sharptail Championship.
On a soggy, humid weekend in late September, the NBHA Sharptail Championship held its Eastern Regional at the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area near Danbury, Wisc. The trial was hosted by the Chippewa Valley Grouse Dog Association.
In a field of 46 dogs, Northwoods Sir Gordon (call name Gordie), was named RU-CH with three sharptail finds. Gordie is owned and was handled by Ben McKean.
Northwoods Eddie Setter (CH Northwoods Sir Gordon x Northwoods Valencia, 2023), on left, placed first in the Puppy stake.
Derby and puppy stakes were also held. Ben was called back to the winner’s circle when the placements were announced for the Puppy Stake. Northwoods Eddie Setter placed first with an impressive run and a sharptail flush.
What’s extraordinary is that Eddie is Gordie’s son out of Northwoods Valencia.
RU-CH Northwoods Atlas (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017)
As the sun rises on a recent morning, Atlas points with style and confidence on a covey of sharp-tailed grouse. He is on a training run before the fall field trial season begins. Atlas is owned and handled by Greg Johnson of Wisconsin.
Northwoods Dexter (CH Snyder’s Pioneer Scout x Northwoods Cedar, 2022), on right, is posed by owner and handler Mike Rosario.
In an auspicious start to his field trial career, Northwoods Dexter (CH Snyder’s Pioneer Scout x Northwoods Cedar, 2022) won third place in a competitive stake of 17 puppies at the Grand Valley Bird Dog club trial near Ionia, Mich., last spring. Dexter is owned and handled Mike Rosario.
Dexter then went on a tear, continuing his impressive placements at subsequent stakes held on the Gladwin Field Trial Grounds near Gladwin, Mich. • Third place in the Ruffed Grouse Field Trial Club John R. Stuart Derby Open Classic with 23 entries. • Second place in the Ruffed Grouse Field Trial Club Ruth Stuart Open Puppy Classic with 19 entries. • Third place in the Beaverton Grouse Dog Club Eaton Spring Derby Classic with 34 entries.
What made these placements even more thrilling is that Dexter was only eight-months-old. Most of his competition in these stakes were older than him; in case of the derby stakes, up to 18 months older!
Northwoods Cedar Edge (CH Snyder’s Pioneer Scout x Northwoods Cedar, 2022), is posed by handler Lindsey Saetre, earned a blue ribbon for owners Eric and Lindsey Saetre.
Northwoods Cedar Edge (CH Snyder’s Pioneer Scout x Northwoods Cedar, 2022), a littermate sister to Dexter, owned and handled by Eric and Lindsey Saetre, also had a winning start. She placed first in the Region 19 Open Puppy stake and third in the Minnesota Grouse Dog Association’s summer quail trial.
Northwoods Atlas (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), on left, is posed by owner and handler Greg Johnson.
RU-CH Northwoods Atlas (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), owned and handled by Greg Johnson, continued his winning ways by placing first in the Northwest Field Association Open Walking Shooting Dog stake. This trial was held using liberated quail at their trial grounds near Hankinson, N.D.
CH Erin’s Three Leaf Shamrock. Photo by Chris Mathan.
In perhaps the biggest award of the year, and for the second year in a row, CH Erin’s Three Leaf Shamrock (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2015) is the recipient of the prestigious Elwin G. Smith Award for 2022. This is bestowed on the nation’s winningest English setter in open shooting dog horseback field trials. Shamrock is owned by S. Tucker Johnson and handled by Tracy Swearington.
Besides the obvious charm of this strip— Snoopy in his bathing suit, Lucy content in the pool—there is more.
Some clients already know the trick. (I’m thinking especially of Chris Bye.) For many years, Jerry and I filled up two pools with cold water. After a summer morning conditioning run, the dogs loved those pools. They drank, plopped down, and swirled and splashed around.
Pointers Northwoods Comet (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2018) and Northwoods Vixen (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer, 2011).
Poetry is an entirely different form of creative writing from fiction and nonfiction. There are fierce devotees and equally strong detractors.
Mary Oliver might make at least some of the latter group enjoy a poem or two.
Over Oliver’s lifetime (1935 – 2019), she wrote 20 books of poetry and six of prose. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for American Primitive, a collection of poetry. She won many other distinguished awards including the National Book Award in 1992 and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
She was an introverted, private person and also a lover of dogs. She devoted one collection, Dog Songs, to them. Here is a poem about Percy.
Little Dog’s Rhapsody in the Night
He puts his cheek against mine and makes small, expressive sounds. And when I’m awake, or awake enough
he turns upside down, his four paws in the air and his eyes dark and fervent.
“Tell me you love me,” he says.
“Tell me again.”
Could there be a sweeter arrangement? Over and over he gets to ask. I get to tell.
~ Mary Oliver Dog Songs
English-bred May, sired by CH Conneywarren Jason of British Labradors.
Oliver lived for about four decades in Provincetown, Mass., where she developed her passion for the ocean, tides, birds and the Cape Cod seashore. She always carried a pad and pen on her solitary daily walks and, as inspiration came to her, she jotted down lines. Here is a poem about the Cape shore.
I Go Down To The Shore In The Morning
I go down to the shore in the morning and depending on the hour the waves are rolling in or moving out, and I say, oh, I am miserable, what shall— what should I do? And the sea says in its lovely voice: Excuse me, I have work to do.
CH Northwoods Sir Gordon (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016) and owner/handler Ben McKean.
A key element of any field trial is the quality of the judges. They can name worthy winners or they can, by ignorance mainly, screw up it completely. They perhaps are more important than anything else—including weather, venue, dogs or handlers.
In other words, if the judges are good, then the trial will be good.
In early April in the Eau Claire County Forest neat Augusta, Wisc., Ben McKean ran his male setter Northwoods Sir Gordon (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016) at the Region 19 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship. Ben was fortunate for not only were Scott Anderson and Bill Frahm judging but they decided on a bold finish.
Gordie is a leggy male setter, ruggedly built with a reaching gait. He is a powerful dog and ran a strong, mature race, always searching in likely cover. He was marked with an unproductive in heavy tangled alders and ended his hour birdless.
Scott and Bill did have a dog with a find on one woodcock in the first series but they obviously didn’t feel it was a performance deserving of a champion. What do good judges do in a case like this?
Scott and Bill decided on a call back.
Wasting no time, the judges called handlers, dogs and the gallery together. Emotion and excitement were sky high. Scott and Bill chose two call back dogs and two reserve dogs. Northwoods Atlas (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), owned and handled by Greg Johnson, was a reserve dog while Gordie was their choice to see first on a course known to hold birds.
It took only 12 minutes for Gordie’s bell to stop. Scout Ryan Hough found him on point and when Ben walked in, two woodcock flew. Ben shot his gun and walked back to his dog.
Nothing more was needed. The good judges, by deciding on the call back, had their worthy champion.
