To have a good wild bird dog takes hours and hours of training, days in the field and several seasons of hunting. To have a dog capable of winning a wild bird field trial championship takes that and so much more.
…field trials were not instituted for the purpose of bringing to the front a dog or class of dogs eminently suited for the wants of the average gunner, whose primary objective in using a dog afield is to swell the game bag, regardless of the manner that his dog performs. Rather it is for the purpose of bringing to the notice of the public a class of performers best suited to perpetuate the most desirable qualities possessed by the high-class field dog.
~William F, Brown, Field Trials 1947
The field trial competitor must stop on a flush, be steady to wing and shot, hunt in the right places and cover as much ground as possible, yet still stay in touch with the handler. The dog should always work in a forward fashion and with style, strength and flair. And to win big, the dog must not just perform well; it must perform to near perfection.
Preparation for fall trials begins in late June. The dogs start a physical conditioning routine three to four times per week to develop strength and stamina and to toughen their feet. In July, dogs are tuned up on their manners around birds with planted birds. For the next two months, the trainers/handlers spend many days traveling to areas where the dogs can be worked on wild birds. Physical conditioning continues and diets are strictly monitored to keep the dogs in peak condition. When the venues are horseback trials, another time-consuming level of commitment is necessary to condition and train several good horses.
After months of this intense preparation, the trainers/handlers again hit the road to attend the trials—some of which can be hundreds of miles away—and then spend more time at the trial. Each dog gets one chance, usually for an hour, to prove to the judges that they deserve to be named a champion.
Many things can go wrong and some are out of control of the handler. The luck of the draw is a major consideration. So too is incompatible weather, time of day, lack of birds or incompatible brace mates. It sometimes seems that the odds of everything coming together for a specific dog to win are nearly impossible.
This fall, three dogs produced by our kennel won wild bird championships. Good genetics are essential, but these owners/handlers deserve all the credit.
Betsy and I are proud of these dogs and thank their owners for their hard work and commitment.
2xCH/RU-CH Ridge Creek Cody (CH Can’t Go Wrong x CH Houston’s Belle)
Cody is owned by Larry Brutger of Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Larry handles Cody in amateur horseback shooting dog trials and professional Shawn Kinklaar is the handler in open competition. Cody, handled by Larry, won the National Amateur Pheasant Shooting Dog Championship held in August near Circle, Montana. Larry also is successful in AKC field trial competition with Cody and his other setters.
CH Houston’s Blackjack (CH Can’t Go Wrong x CH Houston’s Belle)
Blackjack is co-owned by Frank LaNasa of Isanti, Minnesota, and Leroy Peterson of Slayton, Minnesota. Frank trains and handles Jack in open and amateur horseback shooting dog competition. In September, Blackjack was named champion at the National Amateur Prairie Chicken Shooting Dog Championship held at the Buena Vista field trials grounds near Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Frank is renowned for running championship pointers; this is his first championship win with a setter.
2xCH/RU-CH I’m Blue Gert (I’m Houston’s Image x Blue Silk)
Gert is owned by Dave and Rochelle Moore of Big Lake, Minnesota. Dave trains and handles Gert in wild bird grouse trials and hunts over her extensively. In October, Dave handled Gert to runner-up champion in the Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship held in the Rum River State Forest near Mora, Minnesota. He has also been successful in wild bird field trials with other setters and pointers.
JTH Izzie (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer)
Even though Izzie is just a derby, I feel compelled to include her because she has all the makings to be a champion. Izzie is owned by Jeff Hintz of Ham Lake, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona. Jeff hunts, trains and competes in field trials in both locations. Izzie won first place in the Danforth Social Society and Fine Bird Dogs Open Derby held in late summer. She placed second in the Region 19 Amateur Derby, which was a horseback stake. In October, Izzie finished second in the Minnesota Grouse Dog Reuel Henry Pietz Derby Classic and won first place in the Moose River Grouse Dog Open Derby.
Ruffed grouse hunters do have valid reasons for missing a shot. Few hunting environments are more difficult and challenging. Even with leaves down, the grouse woods can be dense. It can be hard to see the dog on point, much less a bird thundering away through an aspen cut. And when grouse fly at 20 miles per hour, a hunter needs to make split-second decisions.
However, there are times when an easy shot—known as a butterball—is presented and missed. It happens to our guiding clients. It happens to me and I’m fairly certain it happens to anyone who hunts grouse.
No matter the circumstances of the missed shot, the excuses usually start flying. Or as one client corrected me this fall: “Reasons for missing grouse were not excuses at all, but merely explanations of the facts.”
With tongue held firmly in cheek, here’s my list for 2012.
• It’s too early in the day and I’m not fully awake.
• It’s too late in the day and I’m tired.
• It’s too dark.
• It’s too bright.
• The sun was in my eyes.
• The bird flushed too far out.
• The bird flushed too close.
• I was too tired after rushing to the point.
• I wasn’t ready for the flush.
• I was off balance when the bird flushed.
• My gun jammed.
• My shell didn’t contain any shot.
• I couldn’t get the safety off.
• I forgot to eject the empty shells.
• I was loading shells into my gun.
• My choke is too tight.
• My choke is too open.
• The brush was so thick I never had a shot. • A tree was blocking my view of the bird.
• My shotgun pattern went into a tree.
• I was falling down.
• I was getting up.
• I saw the bird too late.
• The bird flew too low.
• I thought my partner was going to shoot.
• I was letting my partner shoot.
• The dog was in the way.
• I had my head off the gun stock.
• I got poked in the eye with a branch.
• It was a left-to-right crossing shot; I prefer right to left.
• A tree stopped my swing.
• I shot too quickly.
• I waited too long to shoot.
• I shot behind the bird.
• I shot above the bird.
• I shot below the bird.
• I shot in front of the bird.
• I shot for the dog…twice.
• My boot was untied.
• My foot got caught. • My cell phone was ringing.
• My glasses were fogged.
• My glasses fell off.
• I had the wrong color lenses in my shooting glasses.
• My hat fell over my eyes.
• My legs were weak.
• I was having a sugar low.
• My shells are too slow.
• My gun is too butt heavy.
• My gun is too barrel heavy.
• My gun doesn’t fit me right.
• My gun has an improper balance point.
• The bird was too slow.
• The bird was too fast.
• There was too much air around the bird.
Don’t laugh. After a day spent training bird dogs, guiding grouse hunters or competing in field trials, you might think I’d want to read some easy fiction—a Randy Wayne White book or the newest Daniel Silva. Betsy teases me: “How can you possibly want to read about dogs?”
While I do, occasionally, read fiction or other types of nonfiction, I really do love to read about dogs, birds and training.
One of the more successful ways to train a dog uses the principle of training with reinforcement. Don’t Shoot The Dog! by Karen Pryor is a 2009-revised edition of a book originally published in 2002.
Reinforcers may be positive, something the learner might like and want more of, such as a smile or a pat, or they may be negative, something to avoid, such as a yank on a leash or a frown. ~ Karen Pryor
While a good share of this book advocates training with “positive” reinforcement, Pryor explains the proper use of “negative” reinforcement to modify behavior. She makes excellent distinctions between shaping, extinction, stimulus control and clicker training. She does so in a practical as opposed to a theoretical manner and uses anecdotal examples to make her points.
The trick to making “No!” effective is to establish it as a conditioned negative reinforcer. For example, anyone who feels it necessary to use a choke chain on a dog should always say “no” as the dog does the wrong thing, and then pause before yanking on the chain, giving the dog a chance to avoid the aversive by changing its behavior. ~ Karen Pryor
This book is informative and an easy read. It’s beneficial to anyone trying to train dogs—or, for that matter, any creature.
Frankie and Northwoods Blue Ox with sharp-tailed grouse.
North Dakota in early September is for one thing only—sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge hunting. Ian MacTavish and I were fortunate to be included when Frankie Kartch planned a hunting trip at his farm in western North Dakota. Frankie grew up in the area and knows it well.
Frankie brought Ranger, his setter, and Ian had four setters, Pearl, Maggie, Eli and Chet. I never like to be under-dogged so I hauled our dog trailer and brought 12 dogs. In addition to my guiding string (Oscar, Prancer and Lucy ), I brought client dogs Morris, Franny, Harmon, Gale, Tyler, Liz, Jill, Sean, and Grits to train. That country is vast and can eat up dogs in a hurry. We had just the right amount!
As it seems with most sharptail openers, the weather was warm and dry. Making it tolerable for the dogs was the abundance of ponds—that is if they could squeeze between all the ducks. The small grain harvest was almost complete so there was plenty of stubble. We hunted native pastures and alfalfa fields also.
Ian’s salad of greens, asparagus, cashews and grilled sharp-tailed grouse.
We didn’t see as many Huns as we would have liked but the sharptail coveys were large and plentiful. Most of the birds we shot were young; in fact a few of the Huns were very immature.
For three guys, if I must say so myself, we did a fine job in the cooking department. Every night included what became my famous sharptail kebabs, Ian’s delicious sharptail salads and main courses masterminded by Frankie.
A cold beer while preparing dinner and a nightcap of the single malt Laphroaig was all it took to put us to sleep after a long, fun day in the field.
Northwoods Aerosmith with two limits of sharp-tailed grouse.
Frank prepares two horses for an early morning training run.
Frank LaNasa and I shut down our North Dakota training camp recently and, as usual, the closing was bittersweet. The birds were plentiful and all dogs gained invaluable experience. Plus, we had a blast.
Good friends and clients Steve Snyder and Barry Frieler made the trip west to see their dogs in action on the prairie. Leroy Peterson spent a weekend with us, also. (Leroy founded the “Peterson” setters, which produced the famous Houston, owned by Paul Hauge.)
Lager and Frank’s CH Homemade show intensity and style during a morning workout.
I had derbies Grits and Vixen and four shooting dogs–Lager, Liz, Parmigiano and Kate. Frank had his three pointers plus two setters, Houston’s Blackjack and young Northwoods Nirvana.
But now it’s time to move on. Frank will travel with his string to several horseback championships. Our dogs will transition to their respective roles: compete in the Wisconsin and Minnesota walking championships; be members of our Bowen Lodge guiding string; and/or be returned to their owners for a season of grouse hunting in the woods.
Hank ground ties in a pasture shared with windmills and round bales.
Liz cools down after her training session.
Kate and Frank’s CH Homemade share point on a nice covey of sharptails.
Betsy and I are very proud of CH Ridge Creek Cody and his latest accomplishments. He won the 2012 Elwin G. Smith Setter Shooting Dog Award that honors the top setter shooting dog in the nation in open horseback competition.
Four-year-old Cody accumulated his points by winning the Idaho Open Shooting Dog Championship and placing runner-up in the All America Open Shooting Dog championship. Placing in these stakes is quite an accomplishment for a setter because his competition is mostly pointers and some outstanding ones at that.
In addition, Cody was just named champion in the National Amateur Pheasant Shooting Dog Championship held in Circle, Montana. Cody bested a field of 38 dogs with three finds and, according to one source, “a scintillating ground race.”
Cody is owned by Larry Brutger of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and handled by pro Shawn Kinkelaar. He was co-bred by us and Paul Hauge. He is out of Paul’s 2X CH/4X RU-CH Houston’s Belle and CH Can’t Go Wrong. He was whelped and raised at our kennel and I worked him at our North Dakota prairie camp his first summer.
Great things can be accomplished by prairie training in summer. ~ Jack Harper, Bird Dogs and Field Trials, 1983
There is no better place to evaluate a bird dog than on the prairies. In this vast open countryside, every move the dog makes can be followed and analyzed. You see how the dog uses the wind and what objectives it chooses to hunt. Often the temperatures are warm and the ground is hard so you learn how the dog copes with stress and how much desire and heart it possesses. Plus, an inefficient gait, unattractive carriage or poor ground application can’t be hidden.
This summer as usual, my good friend and training partner, Frank LaNasa, and I head out to a camp we’ve had in North Dakota for 13 years. We spend long weekends working our small strings of dogs from horseback. Our days are lengthy ones that start at 4:30 in the morning and end after dark but we love it.
Northwoods Lager points in the foreground while Frank handles his dog Northwoods Nirvana.
Running side by side with some of the very best dogs is an excellent way to observe and learn. Frank’s string is as good a yardstick as can be found. His five includes two female pointer champions, CH Homemade and CH Lil’ Miss Sunshine, a pointer male True Confidence and setters Houston’s Blackjack and Northwoods Nirvana.
Northwoods Parmigiano.
Our string consists of five setters—Northwoods Highclass Kate (owned by Barry Frieler), Northwoods Lager (Jim Bires), Northwoods Parmigiano (Paul Hauge), Northwoods Grits (Bob Senkler) and Snyder’s Liz (Steve Snyder)—and Betsy and I own the lone pointer, Northwoods Vixen.
A more spectacular place to train dogs can’t be found. And if the dog work doesn’t attract your attention, the vistas surely will.
pa-tience (pa’shens) n. 1. The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.
For several weeks, I’ve been exercising three male littermates out of our Ox x Chablis litter and Molly, a female from Sean Derrig’s breeding. All are five months old. I run them off a four-wheeler and plan routes to pass ponds along the way.
At a very young age, the three males took to the water like fish. They loved to swim—but not Molly. She would ease up to the edge of the pond, get a drink and then watch. She was just as hot as the others, but unsure of the water.
This happened time after time….until today. When the other puppies jumped into the pond, so did Molly. She swam around and played like she’d done it all her life. It was so satisfying to see.
I didn’t teach Molly to swim. I just gave her ample opportunity and then she figured it out.
The key was patience.
There comes times when it is absolutely necessary for the breaker to go afield with his dog and do nothing but let the dog develop.
~ Training The Bird Dog, C. B. Whitford, 1908
Dogs develop on different schedules and at different paces. To get the best out of your dog, don’t rush it.
Remember this the next time you head out to work your dog. Be patient.
…the distinction between a good and bad specimen in the canine world is conformation. ~McDowell Lyon, The Dog In Action
Good conformation in a dog is highly valuable but essential for a working dog. It allows a bird dog to perform its job effortlessly and gracefully. It provides stamina for long periods of work. It endows the dog with durability for many years of service. Also conformation that is pleasing to the eye can be appreciated even when a dog isn’t working.
Northwoods Nirvana displays ideal conformation for strength and endurance.
Two characteristics form the foundation of good conformation: balance and symmetry; angulation of the front and rear limb assemblies.
Balance and symmetry refer to a dog having proportional size and structure from front to rear, top to bottom and between the individual parts. Some examples of improper balance and symmetry are:
heavy fronts combined with light rears (a common fault in setters)
heavy bone without corresponding musculature
overly large heads
short necks
long bodies with short legs
Northwoods Lager shows how the parts should fit together.
Correct angulation provides the propulsion for the dog which gives it strength, speed and stamina. These angles work like levers, multiplying the result for a given amount of effort. It is critical that both assemblies are angulated in unison and don’t work against each other. Examples of improper angulation include:
straight shoulder blades which cause the front legs to hit the ground too hard
straight rear legs which cause a reduction in drive and speed
over-angulated rear legs that interfere with the front legs when in motion, also called crabbing
Northwoods Parmigiano displays good shoulder angulation and balance between front and rear assemblies.
A well-performing dog is the result of good conformation.
~ Robert G. Wehle
At Northwoods Bird Dogs, Betsy and I apply a singular conformation standard to both our pointers and setters. We adopted it from legendary pointer breeder Robert Wehle.
These are the details we look for:
square, balanced head
long neck and smooth shoulders with angular blades that are well laid back
feet should be tight with the dog standing well up on the pad
front legs should be straight with a medium-deep chest (as opposed to wide)
back should be slightly arched and have strong, developed loins
well-tucked stomach
well-angulated hind legs
hind quarters should be square and straight
tail should be set and carried high
For more information about conformation and locomotion in dogs, read McDowell Lyon’s excellent book, The Dog In Action.
For the months of May through August, our focus is training dogs to be steady to wing and shot. With invaluable help from Jeff Hintz, Dan and I worked a talented group of young dogs. All possessed natural instincts and trainability that made them a joy to work with.
Dan, his own Northwoods Guns and Roses (Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay) and Jeff.
Houston’s Bold and Fresh (Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay).
Northwoods Aerosmith (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Northwoods Anhiwake Grace (Northwoods Blue Ox X Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Northwoods Carly Simon (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Northwoods Carly Simon (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Northwoods Heart (Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay).
Northwoods Jeter (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Northwoods Mars (CH Can’t Go Wrong x Cold Creel Pearl).
Northwoods Vixen (CH Westfalls Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer).
• It’s too early in the day and I’m not fully awake.
• A tree was blocking my view of the bird.
• My cell phone was ringing.
Don’t laugh. After a day spent training bird dogs, guiding grouse hunters or competing in field trials, you might think I’d want to read some easy fiction—a Randy Wayne White book or the newest Daniel Silva. Betsy teases me: “How can you possibly want to read about dogs?”
