Against a background of golden maples and basswoods, hunters, guides and dogs are a colorful group.
How to describe the camaraderie and hunting experiences that bring guests, guides and dogs back to a northern Minnesota lodge for 10, 20, 30 years?
Bill Heig, who with his wife Gail own Bowen Lodge on the shores of Lake Winnibigoshish, explains it this way:
“Sportsmen and women from all over the country gather at Bowen Lodge to spend their days in some of the nation’s finest ruffed grouse and woodcock covers. The evenings around the stone fireplace are filled with testimonials of the day’s adventures, topped off with Gail’s world-famous table.”
As for the dogs and guns, Bill says:
“A dog must be at the top of its game to be considered a true ‘grouse dog.’ To bag a pointed bird over a stylish bird dog with a lovely, lightweight, well-balanced gun really adds icing to the cake.”
Even better than reading about a guided grouse hunt, though, is to see one. Kurt Walbeck of Outdoor Bound TV, a Midwest-based hunting and fishing show, visited Bowen Lodge for several days last fall. He just released “Bowen Lodge Minnesota Grouse and Woodcock Hunting.”
Filming in woods so thick with aspens and other woody plants that it’s almost impossible to see dogs or birds can be problematic. So, too, it can be difficult to capture the special ambiance and close connection between guides, hunters and dogs.
But Kurt nailed it all. He catches Bill giving his safety lecture before a hunt. He films spectacular dog work and exciting, screech-to-a-halt points. He captures the beauty of the woods in autumn. Perhaps most importantly, Kurt gets the relaxed friendships, the ribbing, the laughter and the wonderful evenings in the lodge for dinner and story-telling.
Brian Simmons, Dick Taylor and Jon Hirtle are featured hunters. Guides include Bill and Jens Heig, Cubby Skelly, Mike Powers, Tony Follen and Jerry. Stars of the film, or “pro athletes” as Brian describes them, are the dogs—Bobbi and Gee (owned by Bill, bred by Jerry and me), and Oscar, Carly and Vixen (bred and owned by Jerry and me).
Northwoods Grits (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, 2011)
It’s one thing to breed dogs that are outstanding both in the field and in the hunting cabin at night. It’s quite another when that dog passes on those traits to a preponderance of its offspring, no matter the pairing.
So no wonder Jerry and I are extremely proud of Northwoods Grits, a seven-year-old tricolor setter male out of Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, owned by our long-time client Bob Senkler.
Cade (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), owned by Jim Malecha, Minnesota
Over the past five years, Grits has sired several litters and given us time to evaluate the results. We’ve used different dams—from stellar Houston’s Belle’s Choice (2014) and grouse champion I’m Blue Gert (2014) to our own Carly Simon (2015), Nickel (2017), Bismuth (2017), Carbon (2017) and Minerva (2018).
Oslo (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carbon, 2017), owned by Ryan Gould, Minnesota
A majority of his puppies inherit his calm, confident personality and yet also have the fire and extreme drive to find birds in the field. They do this naturally, easily and with a minimum of training. An intense desire to please is evident as is a natural inclination to point, back and retrieve.
The accompanying photos are young dogs from litters sired by Grits in 2017 litters. Similarities in posture, carriage and composure are evident as well as, in some dogs, lots of spots.
Quinny (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Bismuth, 2017), owned by Karyn Dietz, Wisconsin
Jet (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), owned by Greg Johnson, Wisconsin
Edinburgh (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carbon, 2017), owned by Charlie Schulz, Wisconsin
Titan (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Nickel, 2017), owned by Paul Matson, Michigan
Dixie Mae (Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Bismuth, 2017), owned by Mitch Kowalski, Montana
JTH Scion (CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen, 2015)
I’m thinking of taking up duck hunting with pointers. ~ Jeff
Our friend/neighbor/training helper, Jeff Hintz, is a passionate bird hunter. He divides his time between the grouse woods of east central Minnesota and southern Arizona desert quail country.
CH JTH Izzie (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer, 2011)
Jeff has always been partial to pointers and has owned many in the past, sometimes four at a time. Now he has two—female Izzie and male Scion, call name Cooper. I’m not sure there’s a more in-tune, man-and-his-dogs group than these three.
On hot summer afternoons, Jeff loads Izzie and Cooper into his pickup and drives to a local lake. With Jeff’s training, both pointers rival some of the best Labradors I’ve known.
I threw the dummy and the three young mallards just stayed put! Cooper forgot about the dummy and, when released, went for the real retrieve. ~ Jeff
Erin’s Three Leaf Shamrock (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2016), on right, was named Runner-Up in the National Derby Championship.
The spring field trial season is now history. Reports have come in from all over the country—from the northwest to the southeast, from wooded venues to open—about performances and winners. Whether handled from horseback or foot, whether setter or pointer, dogs from our kennel have the talent to win at the highest levels. Even though Jerry and I don’t compete anymore, it is both thrilling and humbling to see such success.
Congratulations to owners, handlers and dogs!
Erin’s Three Leaf Shamrock (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2016), owned and handled by Sean Derrig, won Runner-Up in the prestigious National Derby Championship. This is an all age, horseback stake of 90-minute braces (for derbies!). Another cool aspect about Shamrock’s placement? He was the only setter in the stake. Conducted on the Panther Creek Field Trial Grounds near Fitzpatrick, Ala., the venue offers big fields with long edges which showcase a dog with independence and desire.
RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus (CH Ridge Creek Cody x Erin’s Skydancer), owned by John Mathys and handled by pro Doug Ray, won Runner-Up in The Masters Open Shooting Dog Championship. This is another esteemed horseback trial run on three private wild quail plantations near Albany, Ga. The grounds are classically groomed piney woods where a dog has to handle to win. Eighty-one dogs competed in one-hour braces.
The sire of both Hidden Shamrock and Prometheus is CH Ridge Creek Cody, who was co-bred by Paul Hauge and Jerry and me. Cody died in a tragic accident at a young age but has become a prominent sire of high caliber setters that can win in pointer-dominated competition.
Northwoods Sir Gordon (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016), in middle, placed second in the National Bird Hunters Association Northeast Regional Derby.
Northwoods Sir Gordon (RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus x Northwoods Carly Simon, 2016), owned and handled by Ben McKean, won second place at the National Bird Hunters Association Northeast Regional Derby, held at the Pine Island grounds near Portage, Wis. Gordon also placed first in the Moose River Grouse Dog Club Open Derby held near Moose Junction, Wis. In both trials, the dogs were handled from foot. Pine Island consists of open fields with some mixed woodlands while the Moose Junction grounds are heavily wooded, typical grouse habitat. Gordon did extremely well especially considering he is such a young derby.
Northwoods Rolls Royce (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2013), in middle, placed second in the Red Hills Field Trial.
Northwoods Rolls Royce (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2013), owned by Bob Senkler and handled by Jerry, placed second in the Red Hills Field Trial held on the Osceola Plantation near Thomasville, Ga. The grounds are the quintessential bobwhite habitat of piney woods. The goal of this trial is to choose winners that are the ideal plantation horseback hunting dog. The stake is limited to one dog per handler so the 24 handlers brought their best to compete for bragging rights.
The trial is held in the spring after the winter quail hunting season so the birds present quite a challenge. Royce was perfect, though, and beautifully pointed three coveys during his 30-minute brace.
Tian Elhew Verbena (CH Elhew G Force X Northwoods Vixen, 2013) had a winning spring. This beautiful pointer won the Pacific Coast Open Shooting Dog Championship and Runner-Up in the National Chukar Open Shooting Dog Championship. Bena was produced out of our first breeding of Vixen to G Force. She is owned by Angela Schillereff and handled by husband Tim to both wins. These trials were held on the Anderson Ranch near Sunnyside, Wash. The terrain is vast and expansive with very little ground cover and the dogs can be seen for great distances.
CH Northwoods Charles (CH Ridge Creek Cody x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2013) won Runner Up in the 2018 Region 11 Amateur All Age Championship held in Reno Nev. Bridget Ledington handled Charles to this win with 31 starters. Charles is a 2X CH and 4X RU-CH for his owner Bill Owen.
Northwoods Manhattan ((Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2012), on right, placed third in the AG Preserve Field Trial.
Northwoods Manhattan (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2012) won third in the AG Preserve Field Trial held near Glenwood, Ga. He was handled by Daryl Thomas, Jr., for owner James Edenfield. This was a one-course trial held under the auspices of the National Bird Hunters Association.
Finally, the Minnesota Grouse Dog Association held a trial at the Four Brooks Wildlife Management Area north of Milaca, Minn., in mid June. Four Brooks consists of open fields mixed with small woodlots. In one of two open derby stakes, High Prairie Gypsy (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2016), owned and handled by Chad Hanson, won first place. In the same stake, Northwoods Blitzen (CH Elhew G Force X Northwoods Vixen, 2016), handled by Ben McKean for Jerry and me, placed third.
Nick Larson could hardly wait to get his puppy Hartley (Northwoods Grits x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2014) into the woods to check out early season grouse.
Project Upland (https://www.projectupland.com/) is a website and initiative dedicated to “the cultures and traditions of upland bird hunting” across the country. There are things to watch, listen to and read—and even stuff to buy.
We’ve known Nick for several years. He and his wife Lacey bought a male setter puppy out of Northwoods Grits x Houston’s Belle’s Choice from us in 2014. We’ve bumped into him occasionally since then and stayed in touch. Even though Nick has a real job, he is a passionate hunter, dog owner and outdoorsman and gives back generously to the sport.
“To Break or Not To Break, That is the Question” is the intriguing title of a piece Tom Keer wrote for Ruffed Grouse Society magazine’s Spring 2018 issue.
Keer interviewed seven men with various backgrounds in training, trialing, guiding and handling bird dogs. Among them is Matt Soberg, RGS Director of Communications and editor of Ruffed Grouse Society magazine and Jerry. Included also are photographs of two English setters we bred, Northwoods Carly Simon and Northwoods Guns N’ Roses, and long-time client Jim DePolo.
Our bird dog background is wild bird field trial competition where dogs must be steady to wing and shot. Major differences exist between dogs trained for those championship-level performances and hunting dogs. For our guiding work now, we allow our dogs to release after the shot.
Keer lets Jerry explain our philosophy and some of the differences.
“As a hunting guide, I want my dogs to consistently do three things: find birds, point them right and at a distance close enough to present as good an opportunity as possible for a kill shot.
“I like dogs to be bold and savvy to follow the bird until it is pinned…I allow my dogs to reposition until they have the grouse pinned. My clientele is comprised of serious grouse hunters who spent a tremendous amount of time in the woods. I can’t think of one owner of our dogs that fully breaks his setter or pointer. My dogs all release after the shot.
“I think field trailers prefer fully broke dogs for one reason. Their dogs can’t make errors around game. What counts is the find, so birds must be pointed correctly. If the bird is pointed but flushes wild, it’s still counted as a find. But to a hunter, pointed birds that flush may be out of range and not provide a good shot. Grouse trial dogs aren’t required to retrieve dead birds, but in hunting, getting to a crippled bird fast can make the difference between finding it or not. That is where breaking at shot can give the dog an advantage.”
Northwoods Rolls Royce (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2013), owned by Bob Senkler. Photo by Chris Mathan.
A common belief about judging the strength of a bird dog’s nose is how far the birds flush in front of a point. The farther away the dog points the bird supposedly indicates better scenting ability and, conversely, pointing closer indicates a weaker nose.
I think the dog with the best nose does just the opposite.
First of all, the time-tested indicator of a dog’s nose is how many birds it finds. Period. It doesn’t matter, in this evaluation, whether the dog points far or close or simply flushes the birds.
Secondly, a dog can smell birds from far distances but not point them until well located. Many times I have watched a dog throw up its head, stiffen its tail and march 75 yards—or more—before stopping.
A good nose finds a lot of birds but the best nose finds a lot of birds and points them accurately. Further, the most accurate point is as close to the bird as possible without causing it to flush. Distance from dog to bird varies from inches to many yards depending on the species, age of the bird, habitat and time of the year. Often it’s a combination of several.
A dog must have the right genetics and development to accurately point its birds. From genetics, the dog should have boldness towards game with a keen interest to engage the bird. It should not be afraid to jump in on the birds and try to catch them. Also, the dog needs the right amount of the pointing instinct—too much point and the dog stops on the first scent it smells while not enough point and the dog won’t stop at all.
Next, development is crucial. The young dog should be allowed to find, bump and chase birds to learn how close is too close.
A dog with the best nose pays big dividends during the hunting season. Why? The shooting opportunities are better with an accurate point. Walking past the dog’s nose and having birds flush where you expect them is a tremendous advantage in killing birds.
For other posts on nose and bird finding, please visit:
Parting with puppies is always a bittersweet time for Jerry and me. Even if we’re keeping a puppy or two for development and future breeding possibilities, we usually have our favorites and want to keep them all.
But we do know that a large part of our business is breeding and selling puppies…and so we brace ourselves. And we do know that our puppy buyers will provide loving homes and ample opportunities to do what the puppies were bred to do. Too, there is just no greater satisfaction than seeing the pleasure, happiness and joy that is felt when families welcome the new puppies home.
Our heartfelt thanks to puppy buyers of our Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carbon litter.
Charlie is a joy!
~ Jim, Pennylvania
Willow has adjusted to her new life wonderfully. She is a very happy, confident and inquisitive puppy. Again thanks so much.
~ Mike, Minnesota
Alder is a confident, active puppy. He’s adjusted nicely to his new home and fits in well with his new family. He has no problems with snow, as if he’s known it his whole life! It’s evident you and Jerry put a lot of time and heart into the early development of your puppies.
~ Cliff, Minnesota
He’s doing really well. Lot of personality!
~ Bryan, Montana
Bree is picking up everything on our walks, leaves, sticks, oyster shells, etc. The other item of note is that she is very calm and confident around new people, dogs, noises, etc. All in all we want to thank you both for this beautiful, friendly, puppy that wants to please.
~ Ed, South Carolina
Tark is doing well – fitting right in to the family. Thanks for everything.
~ Matt, Minnesota
Spring in Georgia just wouldn’t seem right without a bunch of puppies romping in the sunshine on warm grass.
The current litter was whelped out Northwoods Carbon by Northwoods Grits in late December. At 35 lbs., Carbon isn’t a big dog but she carried and whelped nine—three females and six males—and has since cared for them all in spectacular fashion.
Jerry and I are keeping a couple of the puppies but the rest will soon be off to their excited buyers. Three will be shipped to Minnesota and another is flying to his new home in Great Falls, Montana. Puppy buyers are also driving from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Falls, Pennsylvania.
During a frigid cold snap, one-week-old puppies out of Northwoods Carbon by Northwoods Grits stay warm on the 100-degree nest and under the red glow of a heat lamp.
As a late Christmas present, Northwoods Carbon whelped a litter of three females and six males on December 26. All nine puppies are tricolor.
This litter’s sire, Northwoods Grits, is out of one of our favorite nicks—Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis. Grits inherited the best of both parents. From Ox, Grits got gusto, drive, speed and his sweet, calm nature while Chablis passed on her bird-finding, class and poise around game.
As previous litters have proven, puppies out of Grits inherit his talents and temperament.
Due to the lopsided gender distribution of this litter, some males are available.
