In honor of Super Bowl LVIII, here’s a matchup of Dog vs. Birds

© Peanuts Worldwide LLC

© Peanuts Worldwide LLC

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Santa Claus and his team of nine reindeer didn’t miss a stop at our winter kennel here in the Red Hills region of southwestern Georgia/northern Florida.

All dogs received special treats in their dog dishes this morning.

From all of us at Northwoods Bird Dogs, a very Merry Christmas to you, your friends and family!

Flying McCoys: dogs and bacon treats

“I don’t get it. They’re the smartest creatures on earth, and yet every day he has to ask me if I want a bacon treat.”

© 2021 Glenn and Gary McCoy/Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication

One reason we love Snoopy

Copywright Peanuts Worldwide LLC

It’s always good to laugh

“Good Dog” by Alex Gregory. Originally published in The New Yorker.

The month of January can be brutal in Minnesota, especially for residents who like to be outside with their dogs.

Although not the coldest state in the country (Alaska and North Dakota are #1 and #2), the winter weather here is formidable. Single-digit days, sub-zero nights and a biting wind from the north are bad enough but most troublesome are seemingly endless systems called “clippers” that drop enough snow to force Jerry and me outside with snow blowers and shovels and brooms to keep the driveway open and the kennel runs clean.

The dogs are snug inside the kennel due to in-floor electric heat and comfy Kuranda beds. In the evenings, Jerry and I hunker down. The NFL playoff games have been spectacular; and we can totally escape by bingeing on Yellowstone episodes.

As always, though, it’s good to keep things in perspective…and to laugh. We spotted this New Yorker cartoon by Alex Gregory while at Dr. Wayne Scanlan’s Otter Lake Animal Care Center last week.

Ho ho ho! And best wishes for love, comfort and joy in 2022!

This is a framed greeting card by very clever cartoonist Sandra Boynton. I bought the card at least 30 years ago in The Bibelot Shops, a favorite St. Paul store, sadly now closed.

Just released: three fine dogs for sale

Northwoods Nickel (CH Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2014)

Jerry and I have just released three setters for sale. Northwoods Nickel, a six-year-old female, is a “10” in every aspect. She is beautiful and intelligent, stellar in the field and a calm companion.

Northwoods Istanbul and Northwoods Geneva are two-year-olds out of Nickel by CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock. These young dogs have it all—wonderful disposition, physical conformation and fully trained on ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, woodcock and bobwhite quail.

For more information, please visit Dogs for Sale.

Spring in Minnesota

Our kennel on a cold spring morning.

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.
~ Robert Frost

Northwoods Geneva (CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock x Northwoods Nickel, 2018) on a sunny afternoon in the woods.

Evening meal of sharp-tailed grouse from last fall.

Our pond on a pretty spring day.

Cool video of covey rise on a quail plantation

Northwoods Rob Roy (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, 2012)

Our good friend and client Chris Bye recently completed a whirlwind, monumental effort for the future of bird dogs. He made a very quick, round trip, solo drive from his home in Wisconsin to Georgia for the express purpose to breed his Northwoods Rob Roy to our Northwoods Minerva.

But while in this Red Hills region of venerable quail plantations, Chris and I took some time to train dogs from horseback on Pinehaven Plantation in north Florida. Chris captured this classic covey rise in slow motion during a workout with pointer Northwoods Audi and setter Northwoods Hercules.

Thanks, Chris! Enjoy the video!

A bird dog demonstration at the RGS National Hunt

The National Grouse & Woodcock Hunt (NGWH), put on by the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), is a big deal. This year, the 35th, began on Tuesday, October 11, and ran for four days. Part get-together/part fund-raiser, it is headquartered at the Sawmill Inn in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

In addition to plenty of good food, camaraderie and the opportunity to support a worthy organization, NGWH is bird hunter heaven. There is a sporting clays competition, shooting lessons, trap demonstrations and two days of guided hunting competition in the woods of Itasca County.

Jerry and I felt honored to be asked by RGS Director of Member Relations and Outreach Mark Fouts to put on a dog demonstration. So last Wednesday, October 12, we found ourselves at the Grand Rapids Gun Club where the RGS hosted its Outdoor Festival.

Jerry and I brought three dogs that hopefully would behave well and not embarrass us too much:  Northwoods Carly Simon, above on left, pointer Northwoods Platinum and Northwoods Nirvana. Nirvana demanded some attention but the most difficult aspect was the tough conditions—really cold and windy.

The most important command for a bird dog is WHOA and very often misunderstood and misused. Jerry spent quite a bit of time explaining how we train and then demonstrated on Platinum. Luckily, she was perfect!

A highlight for us was seeing so many friends and clients. Amazing how small the bird dog world is…but also heartening that it is filled with talented, fascinating, committed hunters and dog lovers from all over the country.

We know many people involved with RGS and the NGWH. It was fun for us to see Andy Duffy and Boo, his eight-month-old setter male puppy out of our Carly Simon and Sunny Hill Sam. We last saw them in April when Andy pulled out of our driveway in Georgia with tiny Boo on his lap.

Many thanks to Mark and the crew of the NGWH for hosting such an outstanding event.