Blue Chief (1996 – 2008)

I had always dreamed of owning a classic grouse dog—like the ones in the  old paintings.  It would be an even-masked, tri-color setter male with a blocky build.  He would be big and powerful with a square head and deep brown eyes. He would be a strong bird finder and would naturally back and retrieve.

My dream came true with Blue Chief.

Chief was whelped on a fitting day in September 1996—the grouse hunting opener.  Since his dam, Finder’s Keeper, seemed a little more distressed than usual before I went to bed, I got up and checked every two hours.  At 4 a.m., Annie, a pointer who was kenneled next to Keeper, was barking at a tiny, even-marked male puppy that had wriggled into her run.  I quickly placed him in the heated whelping nest and Keeper promptly took over.

From that auspicious beginning, Chief matured into one of the finest grouse dogs I’ve ever owned.  He had uncanny, raw, bird-finding talent.  He was one of those dogs that made finding and pointing grouse look so easy that you wonder why other dogs struggle with it.  Chief always hunted with a strong, smooth stride and a high head.

Chief was never a field trial champion—perhaps due in part that he was always  competing against other outstanding dogs from our kennel—his litter sister, CH A Rolling Stone and his two half-siblings, CH Blue Smoke and CH Blue Streak.  He was named closest to the winner in several championships, including the Grand National Grouse Championship.  As befitted his natural talent, Chief found birds in almost every trial, whether in Minnesota, Michigan or Pennsylvania.  Perhaps his finest shows included two nine-find performances at the Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship.

Chief also had the amazing and uncommon knack to pass his natural abilities to his progeny.  Litter after litter of “Chief Puppies” produced excellent hunting dogs, and given the opportunity, field trial competitors.  Some of his offspring include CH Regal Blue, RU-CH Neil’s First Rate, RU-CH Governor Sam Houston that, along with Slate Brook Ford, won the prestigious Pennsylvania One-Hour Derby Classic.  Most puppies matured into exceptional hunting dogs, though, and not a fall goes by that I don’t hear from several happy owners about hunts over their “Chief Puppies.”

I have many fabulous memories of Chief, such as the day a client apparently missed a nicely pointed woodcock.  Ten minutes later, as Chief was crossing the path, I noticed something different about his muzzle and called him in. He had tucked that woodcock into his mouth while continuing to hunt. When he gave the bird to me it was in perfect condition, although a little soggy.

Another occasion he was running in the National Amateur Grouse Championship in Marienville, Pennsylvania.  Birds were hard to find and near the end of his hour he pointed in a good looking location.  As the judge and I walked in to flush, the gallery started yelling, “Bear, bear!”  I never did see or hear the bear, but apparently Chief and the judge did as both took off in opposite directions as fast as they could.

Chief made everything easy for me. Almost without effort, he found and pointed grouse.  He naturally backed and retrieved with a soft mouth.  He hunted hard and wide, yet handled kindly.  He had a sweet disposition and almost never barked.  He easily bred many dams and sired almost 50 litters.

Near the end, he was happily running around the kennel yard until about a week before his death.  But his health declined rapidly due to a fast-growing tumor and, once again, Chief made the final decision easy.

Thank you, Chief, for a dream come true!

A memorable November grouse hunt

I recently spent the afternoon hunting ruffed grouse with three young dogs.  It was a beautiful day—damp with temperature in the mid 30s and a light breeze from the east.  The cover is down now and, since the birds seem to prefer older timber, they are much easier to see. It’s a great time of the year to be out in the woods. Even I can hit one now.

I first hunted our 19-month-old pointer, Maggie, whose application is a 10.  She is so focused that it seems her body is being pulled through
the woods by her nose.  We hunted in mature aspen woods bordering a young aspen cut mixed with hazel and swamp grass.  Maggie’s first bird
began with an unproductive but ended with a stylish point in grass.  I walked in, flushed the grouse and missed with both barrels.  Sorry,
Maggie!   Her next point was off to my right, again in sparse grass.  As I walked in, two grouse lifted some distance from her.  I passed those
up and walked on.  Another bird flushed from in front of Maggie, but stayed too low to get a clear shot.  When I released her, she hunted for
50 feet and froze again.  Thinking another grouse, I rushed to flush the bird, only to watch a late migrating woodcock fly away.  Finally,
Maggie pointed into an area thick with hazel and fallen logs.  This red-phase bird gave me a clear shot and Maggie retrieved it to hand. Good girl, Maggie.

Next out of the truck was Moxie, our 2½-year-old setter.  Moxie is exciting to watch, both in motion and on point.  Everything she does is at Mach One and she always gives 100 percent.  She had been performing well this fall and several grouse has been shot over her points.  Lately, however, Moxie started crowding the birds and the birds flushed before she could get them pointed. This behavior is not uncommon in a dog her age and, in time, will pass. However, in these situations, I insist on her stopping to flush and correct her by standing her back where she should have pointed.  Moxie worked two separate running birds, and intentionally flushed them –which gave me excellent training opportunities.  Towards the end, the
bell stopped abruptly about 80 yards out, below a large enclosed deer stand.  As I approached, Moxie showed her characteristic, lofty pointing
style with poker straight tail and head tilted up at a 45-degree angle. I thought, “This is it, I’ll shoot this bird for her and we’ll be on our way.”  As I got closer I could see she was backing a life-size deer decoy.  At least she is an honest backer.

Last out was Oscar, our handsome 23-month-old setter.  Big, strong and powerful, Oscar started out a little wide and rough, but came across enough so I could tell he was hunting for birds.  It paid off at about 20 minutes when his bell stopped a short distance into a thick young aspen cut, about 60 yards out.  As soon as I got near, but not in shooting range, two grouse blew out wild.  Oscar stood his ground and when I released him, he relocated further into the cut and pointed again.  I flushed and flushed but couldn’t produce a bird, though I’m sure one ran out that way.  On the return loop to the truck, we hunted mature aspens, thick with hazel and with a slight roll to the ground.  Shortly, Oscar’s bell slowed, stopped, started up quickly and then went silent again.  I hustled through the downed timber and hazel.  I found him pointed on the top of a slight rise, looking down into a mess of tangled aspen.  He held staunchly while I worked my way around the fallen timber.  When I was about 10 yards in front of him, I spotted motion on the ground.  The grouse flushed right to left and I shot.  Oscar broke but went right to the bird and retrieved it to hand.  It was a gorgeous bronze male. Good boy, Oscar.

Accuracy of location

Have you ever been frustrated with a young dog that puts bird after bird into the air after pointing for only a fleeting moment?  Me, too!

But don’t be too quick to admonish your dog.  After significant experience with many pointing dogs, I have learned that this type of young dog has the makings of a top-notch, wild bird dog that can provide exciting bird work and excellent shooting opportunities.  Why?  Because in the process of flushing all those birds, your young dog is learning one of the most important lessons of a pointing dog—accurate location.

Accurate location is essential to productive dog work and good shooting. Consider the alternative:  continually walking in front of your dog on point and no birds flush.  Anticipation fades and, more importantly, you no longer believe your dog.  When you start second-guessing, you are down the wrong path!

How does a dog acquire accuracy of location?

First of all, the dog must have inherited the genetic traits of a strong nose and boldness towards  birds.  Dogs that demonstrate accurate location are more likely to produce dogs with similar abilities.

Secondly, the dog must be given ample opportunity on wild birds.  He must be allowed freedom to match wits with a wild bird on its own turf and, ultimately, must be allowed the freedom to make mistakes.  There is no shortcut for his step.  Most dogs flush many birds before they learn.

Finally, the dog must be trained to hold point in a manner that doesn’t either diminish its boldness or increase its cautiousness.

Sound genetics, plentiful bird exposure and proven training techniques are crucial components to accurate location of the bird by a pointing dog.

Enjoy the process!

NBD featured in Star Tribune Outdoors section

Northwoods Bird Dogs was featured in the Outdoors Section of today’s Twin Cities-based Star Tribune in a story written by Dennis Anderson called, “Building a Better Grouse Dog.”  Dennis visited our kennel late last week and spent several hours working out in the field with me, photographing different situations and talking to Betsy and me.  He did an excellent job capturing the nuances of training pointing dogs that are specific to grouse, the “King of the forest.”  Here is the link to the story:  http://www.startribune.com:80/sports/outdoors/28332014.html?page=1&c=y

Houston (1982 – 1991)

Houston

Houston was an extraordinary gun dog owned by Dr. Paul Hauge of Centuria, Wisconsin.  He possessed all the trademarks of a Hauge dog:  strong bird finder, extreme loftiness on point and a smooth, effortless gait.

Houston was an English setter with a solid white body and a tri-color patch on the right side of his head.  He weighed about 48 pounds and was physically strong with a solid build, medium leg, medium coupling and a blocky head.  He naturally backed and retrieved.

Leroy Peterson had a nice female called Summer and Smoke.  She was a
daughter of CH Northern Zephyr Smoke and a dam that was a mix of
Crockett, Sam L and Wonsover bloodlines.  Spring Garden Streak was a
male owned by Jack LeClair of Spring Garden Kennel.  Streak’s mother was
a double-granddaughter of Wonsover Smokey Rebel, an Illinois shooting
dog and son of the famous Grouse Ridge Smokey.  Streak’s sire was bred
back to National Champion Mississippi Zev.  Leroy chose Spring Garden
Streak to sire a litter to Summer And Smoke.  Of that litter of five
puppies came Houston.

The first setter we owned, Spring
Garden Tollway, was by Spring Garden Carrie, a litter sister to Houston
and owned by Jack LeClair.  I had the pleasure of hunting Texas
bobwhites with Jack and Carrie in the late 1980s.  We were also
fortunate enough to hunt wild birds over other Houston littermates,
including Jay Johnson’s BB, Dave Lunn’s Spot and Bob Glaser’s Holly. 
They were all hard-hunting, tough, independent bird finders with that
characteristic easy gait and lofty pointing posture.  All were setters
with which you could be firm.  They could take training and just get
better and better. 

Houston was bred sparingly and mostly
to local hunting dogs.  Not until many years after his death did his
true producing capabilities become apparent.   

Before
Houston’s death, Dr. Hauge had the foresight to freeze Houston’s semen. 
Thus far, every litter by his frozen semen has produced field trial
winners. One of his first litters with Forest Ridge Jewel produced 2x
CH/4x RU-CH Houston’s Belle.  A 2006 recent repeat breeding with Forest
Ridge Jewel produced derby winners Fireside Blue Zephyr and Fireside
Fleetwood.  Another breeding to I’m Jet Setter produced I’m Houston’s
Image, both a winner and producer of field trial winners.

Another frozen semen litter out of Blue Silk, produced Blue Shaquille and Houston Blues, both field trial winners. 

There
is a theory that bird dogs are improving over time and that using
frozen semen from dogs long gone is counterproductive.  That today’s
dogs are different, possibly, but to say we can’t gain something from
the past, I disagree.  At the 2005 Grand National Grouse Championship in
Pennsylvania, Blue Shaquille, then two years old, delivered a sterling
effort.  Judge Harold Ray approached me after the brace to ask about
Shaq’s breeding and added this efficacious comment, “Shaquille runs and
points like dogs I saw in Pennsylvania 40 years ago.”

How perceptive and fitting!

Grouse hunting report: 2007

Based on greatly improved statewide drumming counts last spring, we were excited about the prospects for fall grouse hunting. Our expectations were quickly dashed, though, after our first few days afield in September. We didn’t flush the number of birds we expected and saw few legitimate broods.  The grouse we did find were wily, ran a lot and were difficult to get pointed well enough for good shooting, even with veteran grouse dogs. This became the theme for the rest of the season.

The good news was that we found more woodcock than normal. These little birds sure helped us keep our interest up when the grouse were hard to come by.

Lately, we’re still finding a fair number of grouse when working the dogs. The birds are mostly in more mature cover where they will likely spend the winter. This cover lends itself to better dog work—the birds have more places to hide and tend to sit while you walk by instead of running for the next county.

As recently as November 16, we’ve even found a few woodcock.

Grouse Champion Blue Smoke (1995 – 2007)

While October is usually our favorite month, it was bittersweet this year as Blue Smoke was laid to rest.  He was diagnosed with several lung tumors in late August and hung on like a true champion until the pain was too great to bear.

JR, to those who knew him, was whelped in our very first litter out
of two dogs we owned, Spring Garden Tollway and Finder’s Keeper.  At six
weeks of age, he didn’t look well and had a slightly bloody diarrhea. 
We took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with parvovirus…..we were
shocked!  He had an extended stay at the vet with intravenous fluids and
other treatments, while the rest of the litter was quarantined and
given medications.  (We are grateful that we didn’t lose a single
puppy.)  When JR arrived home, he recuperated in the house with us for
several days and Betsy grew very fond of him. 

JR had his
work cut out for him in field trials as his main competition was his
sister, CH. Blue Streak, who lived in the next kennel.  However, compete
he did.  In 2000 he won the Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship with
Sherry Ebert judging.  The following spring he won the Pennsylvania All
Age with 50 entries and later that week was named reserve dog at the
2001 Grand National Grouse and Woodcock Invitational. He was also
runner-up for the 2001 Minnesota-Wisconsin Shooting Dog of the year,
being slightly edged out by his half-sister, CH. A Rolling Stone.

In
summer 2001 he started to limp on his right front leg and his ankle
swelled.  The veterinary diagnosis indicated calcium buildup and
arthritis of his ankle caused by wear and tear.  Even with this injury
he was named day dog on the first day of the 2002 Grand National Grouse
and Woodcock Invitational and went on to compete the final day.

After
the 2002 season we ran him sparingly in field trials and hunted over
him only for short periods of time.  He became our camp dog on the North
Dakota prairie and enjoyed his time protecting our camp from strangers.

He
was bred selectively, but one of his first litters produced Milk Run
Jessi who won the 200x Minnesota Wisconsin Derby of the year.  We bred
our dog, Blue Chief, to Jessi and to her sister.  Several nice dogs from
those bloodlines are still in our kennel today.

JR was a
bull on his birds and was as lofty and intense as they come with a poker
straight tail and elevated head.  He never went around anything if he
thought there was a bird straight through it.  He always gave 110% in
whatever he did and was forever trying to anticipate what I wanted him
to do.  Sometimes he was right and others, well, he was close most of
the time!

We have a family photo of JR, his sister Streak
and dam Keeper, all three backing Tollway.  Now they are all hunting
together again in a place where the temperature is always in the 40s,
the sky is slightly overcast and all the birds sit tight to be
pointed—only this time the others might be backing JR! 

Birds make bird dogs

It might seem like a cliché but the message still isn’t out to everyone who owns a bird dog.

Birds make bird dogs.

To wit:  A couple brought their male German shorthaired pointer puppy to our kennel for an evaluation. They thought it needed to be taught obedience—especially heel and whoa—to be ready for the fall hunting season. When I asked if the dog had been exposed to birds and gunfire, both nodded enthusiastically.

But when I threw a freshly killed pigeon, he sidled up to it and sniffed from as far away as he could. And when I threw a couple live pigeons on the ground a short distance from the dog, he showed mild interest and little chase when they flew. I inquired further about the bird exposure and the couple replied, “He has seen three birds at the game farm and one was shot over with a shotgun!”

Maybe their expectations are different than mine, but I want a puppy that lives to find birds, enthusiastically busts cover, heartily gives chase to anything that flies and gets excited at the sound of gunfire. I want a young dog that is bold, confident and self-assured. No two dogs are alike and some are naturally more confident and birdy than others, but my experience is that developing a puppy to the level of desire I want does not happen in three or four field outings, much less three or four bird contacts!

We spend hours and hours working puppies in natural cover either on foot, from a four-wheeler or on horseback. The puppies experience woods, creeks, song birds, tall grass, short grass, cattle, fences and all other things they will be exposed to in hunting situations. Most importantly, we put out enough birds so they have several contacts each outing. We want to develop their desire for hunting and finding birds as much as possible. As they start finding and chasing the birds, we shoot a soft blank pistol and work up to a 20-gauge shotgun.

After a number of experiences like that, most will start to point and hold long enough for us to get to them. At this time, we stroke their backs and tail and push them towards the bird. This handling is very important as it increases their intensity and lets them know we approve. When they break and chase we give a hoot and shoot the gun again.

As they point long enough for us to flush the bird, we will try and kill a bird or two for them. And that is a huge reward as nothing fires up a young dog more. It is important not to overdo this stage, though. Two or three times a week at first and once or twice as they come to understand will be enough.

A young dog developed in this manner will have the foundation necessary to progress to more serious training and be well on its way to becoming a bird dog. Heck, you might even kill some birds during its first hunting season!

NBD started dogs for sale.

We have three extremely nice dogs for sale.  Two of them are out of Blue Silk and one is out of Blue Blossom.  Please visit our started dogs page for more information.