Puppies go through many stages in the process of reaching their adult forms. Some say that at eight weeks, puppies have the same physical proportions that they will as adults. By about 12 weeks (3 months) they start to “fall apart” as different body parts grow at different rates. At around 10 months they are close to their adult sizes and forms but still have only puppy muscles and will continue to fill out until two years of age.
Below are pictures of three dogs from our “cheese” litter born in 2010 by Northwoods Blue Ox and Houston’s Belle’s Choice. The pictures were taken at eight weeks, 13 weeks and 12 months.
Our 2011 litters by Northwoods Chablis and Northwoods Chardonnay represent the sixth generation of setters we have bred, raised, trained, hunted and trialed. It is so much fun to see various traits and characteristics that are passed along. Even if they skip a generation or two, we know our setters so well that we have a good idea where those traits originated. Here are some "family" photos. Enjoy!
Blue Silk and her sons, Northwoods Blue Ox and Blue Shaquille.
A guy is driving around the back woods of Minnesota and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house:
Talking Dog For Sale
He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking pointer sitting there. “You talk?” he asks. “Yep,” the Pointer replies. After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says, “So,what’s your story?”
The Pointer looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I called the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most
valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger, so I decided to settle down….”
“I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.” The Pointer sighs and adds, “Then I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired…”
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. “Ten dollars,” the guy says. “Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?” “Because he’s a liar! He never did any of that stuff!”
Northwoods Chardonnay edged out her litter sister, Northwoods Chablis, by two points to win the 2011 award. Another littermate, Northwoods Lager, was in the top four. That these dogs were so competitive is no accident. Grandmothers on top and bottom—Blue Silk and CH Houston’s Belle—won this award previously.
Chardonnay has had four field trial placements in as many starts. As a puppy in 2009 she placed second in the very competitive O-Kan puppy stake held in Oklahoma. (Lager placed first.) Later that spring she placed second in the MGDA derby. This spring she placed third in the MGDA Open Derby (beaten by littermates Lager and Chablis) and won first place in the Moose River Grouse Dog Club Open Derby. She pointed grouse in both of this spring’s wins.
Chardonnay is out of a litter bred by Paul Hauge in 2009. The sire is Blue Shaquille and the dam is our current producing female, Houston’s Belle’s Choice. We started four from this litter and each is a strong grouse dog.
Chardonnay did a fine job in our grouse guiding string last fall, especially for a 1½ year old. She has the classic Houston-line trademarks: easy, attractive gait; lofty style on point; outstanding ability to find and point grouse.
Northwoods Bird Dogs have won or been in close contention for this award several times before.
In addition, dogs sired by our studs have won the award.
2009: Goodgoing Hannah Montana, owner Brett Edstrom/Good Going Kennel, was sired by Dashaway
1999: Milk Run Jessie, owner Brian Miller, was sired by CH Blue Smoke
This accolade was started in 1994 and has subsequently been awarded 17 times. It has been won by pointers on 10 occasions. It is sponsored by Pro Plan who generously purchased the rotating trophy and supplies dog food to each year’s winner.
Belle’s runner-up win at the 2007 Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship
CH Houston’s Belle was whelped in April 2001 by Paul Hauge of Centuria, Wisconsin. Paul used frozen semen from Houston, his favorite gundog, on a line-bred Tekoa Mountain Sunrise female he owned, Forest Ridge Jewel. Of that litter, only Belle had an opportunity in field trials. Belle epitomized the qualities of the Houston dogs—smooth, easy gait, lofty style on point, strong bird-finding ability and natural backing.
I first saw Belle at Paul’s farm when she was a one-year-old. We were working some of his young dogs and as he took Belle out, he smiled and said, “You’ll like this one.” He was right.
That summer I took Belle to our prairie camp in North Dakota. She looked beautiful running in the pastures and alfalfa fields and found more than her share of birds. Out there, I learned of Belle’s uncanny ability to know which direction I was headed and to always show to the front. She took in a lot of ground on the prairie but always wanted to hunt for me.
She adapted easily to the grouse woods and even though she had more speed and range than was really necessary, she used it to her advantage.
Belle spent the winter of 2002-2003 with trainer Roger Buddin of Big Country Kennel in Texas. With Roger’s skill and patience, she learned to handle bobwhites and also matured considerably. That spring, she placed in every derby stake and won the 2003 MN/WI Cover Dog Derby of the Year Award.
On her final derby placement, I accepted the purse and officially became a professional handler.
Belle as a field trial champion
A young Belle in North Dakota (Chris Mathan photo)
Belle came of age in the fall of 2005 and for the ensuing three years, was among the top point-earning grouse trial dogs in the country. She placed first in back-to-back Wisconsin Cover Dog and Minnesota Grouse Dog Championships. The following spring, she won runner-up in the Grand National Grouse and Woodcock Invitational Championship and won the MN/WI Cover Shooting Dog of the Year Award. In 2006, she was runner-up in both the Minnesota Grouse Dog and the Lake States Grouse Dog Championships. Her final win was in the fall of 2007 when, again, she was runner-up at the Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship.
No other dog has placed in the Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship three times. She finished her career with two championships and four runner-up championships.
Belle: Highlights and lowlights
• Veteran Minnesota grouse trialers still mention Belle’s win of an open derby stake. She had a blistering, mature race and a scouted, stone-cold-broke grouse find on a part of the course that hasn’t seen a grouse since.
• I only lost Belle once at a field trial. During a raging thunderstorm and downpour at the Lake State Grouse Championship, she became lost. We found her 20 minutes later, running the road and looking for me.
• Belle won the Namekagon Sharptail Classic run from horseback in 2005 and placed in it for the following three years.
• I ran her two times in the National Open Prairie Chicken Shooting Dog Championship held near Buena Vista, Wisconsin. After her performances in 2005, one of the judges, Hall-of-Fame-handler Freddie Epp, rode up to me and drawled, “Your dog ran an ideal shooting dog race and, with a bird, she could have been a champion.”
• In 2007, Belle was invited to the Grand National Grouse and Woodcock Invitational Championship due to her runner-up placement in the trial the previous year. She began her first brace with a beautiful woodcock find and, true to her style, was tearing up the course in search of birds. A bit later, we found her on point, to the front and right of the course and in full view of judges, marshalls and gallery. She looked magnificent—strong, confident and lofty. As a judge and I walked in to flush, the grouse blew out low over Belle’s head and, to my disbelief and chagrin, she broke. Like a puppy, she chased that bird through the gallery and right past wide-eyed, speechless Paul. It was heart wrenching at the time, but today, it brings a smile and a tear.
Belle as a dam
Belle and her 2008 litter
Belle was bred five times and all to different sires as Paul and I planned the best matches. Most of her puppies were sold to bird hunters, where they have done extremely well, but several are campaigned and with much success.
2005: Gusty Blue
Paul kept a tri-color female, Houston’s Belle’s Choice, that I trained and competed with until about four years-of-age. Choice placed fourth in the Grand National Puppy Classic and was named first reserve dog in the Grand National Grouse Futurity, both held in Marienville, Pennsylvania. Choice won a good-sized shooting dog stake as a derby and had several grouse trial placements before being sold to another client for his hunting string.
2007: Blue Shaquille
Two of these puppies were trialed and both garnered placements in horseback AKC and grouse trials.
2008: CH Can’t Go Wrong
This breeding produced two outstanding field trial dogs. Ridge Creek Cody placed in the Quail Futurity and was the recipient of the 2010 Bill Conlin Setter Shooting Dog Derby. Houston’s Blackjack placed in horseback derby stakes and all-age competition. Two other litter brothers competed and won placements in grouse and walking field trials.
2009: CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa
Four puppies went on to be field trial winners—three in grouse trials and one in horseback stakes.
2010: Northwoods Blue Ox
Her final litter produced only three puppies. While these are still quite young, Houston’s Miss Liddy, placed in a puppy stake and another, Merimac’s Blu Monday, shows great promise.
While her passing leaves a void that will never be filled, we have many of her progeny in our kennel, as does Paul. Her daughter, Houston’s Belle’s Choice, is an outstanding producer herself. Three of Choice’s progeny dominated the grouse trial derby stakes this past spring and one of them, Northwoods Chardonnay, won the 2011 MN/WI Cover Dog Derby of the Year Award. Every breeding female we have in the kennel traces back to Belle and we are especially excited about our breeding of Chardonnay to Houston’s Blackjack. This litter will have three crosses to Houston and two are through Belle.
Finally…
Limit of grouse for client courtesy of Belle!
Hall-of-Fame handler and co-developer of the famous Smith setters Harold Ray judged the 2006 Grand National Grouse Championship in Marienville where Belle and 73 others competed. When interviewed after the trial he named Belle as one of the select dogs he would love to have in his horseback shooting dog string. He said, “These dogs could go anywhere I run…The good ones will do good anywhere they run.”
Harold Ray was right. Belle won on the prairies of the Midwest and in the grouse woods of the Lake States and over the hills of Pennsylvania. She pointed grouse after grouse after grouse for our guiding clients. And better than all of that, she continued a legacy that will be enjoyed for many, many years.
Thank you, Paul, for giving me the opportunity to work with Belle.
Thank you, Belle. May the wind always be in your face and the birds plentiful.
Do your research and get references. How long have they been breeding? Are they personally familiar with the dogs they’re breeding? For how many generations? Then make an appointment to visit the breeder. Are the kennels clean and the dogs healthy and well cared for? Do the dogs seem happy?
Not picking from the right litter.
Picking the right puppy is easy if you’re picking from the right litter from the right breeder. Like tends to produce like—if the sire and dam aren’t proven on the birds you hunt and in the manner you hunt, odds are that the offspring won’t either. All puppies are cute and it’s difficult to distinguish much among eight-week-old littermates.
Being in a hurry.
Hopefully your dog will live a long life of 10 or more years. It’s far more important to find the puppy that meets your needs rather than one that’s currently available. In fact, the best breeders usually have a waiting list.
Not knowing what you want.
Before you even begin your search, think about what you want. What qualities—such as looks, temperament, hunting ability—are important to you? What birds do you hunt? Do you like a close-working dog or a wide-ranger? Will your puppy live in the house or the kennel?
Choosing a puppy based on price.
Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. Good breeders who produce high quality dogs have invested time, effort and finances in doing so. In addition, the initial outlay is virtually inconsequential when compared to the cost of a dog over its lifetime.
A great aspect of our business is the people we meet. Jack and Linda are a wonderful couple who are fortunate enough to live on Maui (by way of Michigan). Last year they were in the market for a started English setter and came to us through a referral.
The rewarding part of our business is matching clients with the right dog. Zipper is a handsome, talented tri-color male out of Northwoods Blue Babe and frozen-semen Houston and bred by Paul Hauge. Jack and Linda bought him early last summer and then left him with us for further training.
Now Zipper, too, is lucky enough to live on Maui where he’s hunted on ringnecked pheasants, francolin and chukars.
We’re really enjoying Zippy. Jack thinks he is the perfect dog for us…
When I began hunting with grouse dogs in the mid 1970s, the only way to keep track of my dog was by hanging a bell on its collar. I could follow the dog’s movements and actions and, when the dog stopped, so did the bell. But it could be difficult and time consuming to find it on point if the cover was dense (as is most good grouse cover) or my dog was far away (which it was occasionally!).
The next evolution came in the early 1980s when the first electronic beepers were produced. Now I could keep track of my dog while it was hunting and locate it on point. These beepers generally emitted a high-pitched sound in a certain cadence when the dog was moving and another sound and/or cadence when the dog stopped. I couldn’t determine what my dog was doing as well as with a bell but the capability to find it on point was revolutionary.
Since those early beepers, manufacturers have produced numerous units of various sizes, sounds and functions. Beepers have also been combined with ecollars and these units are quite sophisticated. From the ecollar transmitter, the beeper can be turned on and off and the tone or volume can be adjusted.
Then in 2007, another innovation was introduced by Garmin, a leading navigation and communication company. They launched a GPS-enabled dog tracking system called the Astro 220. I now know exactly my dog’s whereabouts, if it is running or on point and the distance and directions to it.
While training in Tennessee this winter, I took a day to ride a brace of the National Championship held on the Ames Plantation near Grand Junction, Tennessee.
This field trial was been run since 1896 making it one of the oldest in the US. It is steeped in tradition and formalities. Only dogs that have met stringent qualifying criteria can compete and they must re-qualify each year. The entries are dominated by pointers but one or two English setters also make the running. The dogs are handled from horseback. The professionalism and capability of the handlers and scouts to show their dogs in the best manner was impressive.
More than 100 riders gathered at the starting point to watch the dogs. The field trial chairman used a loudspeaker to announce the dogs, handlers, scouts and owners of the brace. Representatives from the trial sponsors such as Pro Plan, Eukanuba and Garmin were in attendance and were thanked for their contributions. Rules and conduct for the gallery were reviewed and, finally, the brace was off.
Point!
These dogs are amazing–
• They are bigger dogs, generally in the 50-lb. range. They have long, powerful strides that carry them easily and efficiently cover the ground.
• The handlers have put hours and hours into conditioning the dogs specifically for this trial and they are in superb condition.
• In the course of the 3-hour heat, the dogs will average about 12 miles per hour and cover around 36 miles!
Most people think all-age venues are in big, wide-open terrain. At Ames, though, it’s quite different. There are some open spaces and long edges where a dog can reach but most of the cover is more dense and vast than I imagined. There are many places where a dog can get lost on point, or just plain lost.
I have followed the running of the Nationals for years and it was truly thrilling to finally see the trial for myself.
Last fall, Tri-Tronics invited me to field test their new Upland G3 Beeper. I used it for several days of late-November grouse hunting, including one day with a fresh, six-inch snowfall.
Overall, and compared to their previous beeper, the Upland G3 is a vast improvement. (See details below.) Like other Tri-Tronics products, it works with most of their existing ecollar systems. I haven’t used the beeper long enough to evaluate its durability and reliability but, if it’s similar to other products from Tri-Tronics, that won’t be a problem. And while I don’t usually use a run-mode beeper, the Upland G3 may change that.
Features:
powered by a user replaceable CR123A battery.
slides onto an existing dog collar.
has two point-mode settings, single beep or hawk scream, and four run-mode settings, no beep, 1 beep, 2 beeps or 3 beeps.
made in the U.S.A.
Aspects I liked:
The biggest improvement is that the beeper, when used with an ecollar, actually stays on the top of the dog’s neck.
The tone of the beeper is soft and pleasant and while the volume isn’t adjustable, it doesn’t need to be. The volume is loud enough to be heard at a distance but not too loud when close. I could hear the beeper plainly when more than 300 yards away and hunting in snow. Too, my feeling is that it must be kinder to the dog’s ears.
The beeper is easy to operate and can be turned on and off remotely.
The unit is bright orange and is easy to see…especially in dense cover.
The remote locate feature is one I particularly like.
The five-second interval between beeps on the run mode seems to be about right. I really like the two-beep run mode as it allows me to read the dog’s direction and speed—very important when I can’t see the dog.
Aspects to improve on:
Point-mode beep is too frequent at 1 beep/second…and it becomes annoying. I personally don’t like the hawk scream point mode which sounds every five seconds.
The delay before entering point mode is too short. Currently, if the dog quickly stops to listen for you, urinate or investigate scent, point mode starts. I don’t know yet what happens if a dog is slowly creeping on game. Point mode tends to get hunters excited and I’d rather hear it only for an actual point.
The remote locate is too complicated. To active it, the transmitter dial must be set to “A” and then any button can be pressed. I’d prefer one-button activation. For instance, if I’m locating a dog on point with the locate feature and the dog bumps the bird as I walk up, I have to set quickly the transmitter dial to the level I need before pressing the stimulation button.
When I began hunting with grouse dogs in the mid 1970s, the only way to keep track of my dog was by hanging a bell on its collar. I could follow the dog’s movements and actions and, when the dog stopped, so did the bell. But it could be difficult and time consuming to find it on point if the cover was dense (as is most good grouse cover) or my dog was far away (which it was occasionally!). 
