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.
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).
Spring is a great time to train on grouse. Scenting can be tough, though, and savvy winter survivors often use their legs more than their wings to escape. Finding the birds is one thing; getting them pointed, much less pinned, is another. Spring grouse make fall birds seem easy.
Dan and I had some excellent sessions in the woods with dogs here for training. Enjoy our photos.
Buck (a Ryman setter) can find birds!
Houston’s Belle’s Choice (Gusty Blue x CH Houston’s Belle) points a grouse in a black ash swamp.
15-month-old Northwoods Grits (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis) finds a grouse.
Northwoods Lager (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice) points a woodcock. Paul Diggan stands by.
Northwoods Blue Ox (CH Peace Dale Duke x Blue Silk) pins a grouse.
Northwoods Porter (sired by Blue Shaquille) backs his mother, Houston’s Belle’s Choice.
Northwoods Magic Man (Houston x Northwoods Blue Babe) backs Houston’s Miss Liddy (Northwoods Blue Ox x CH Houston’s Belle).
The handsome Northwoods Magic Man points.
9-month-old Northwoods Aerosmith (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice) points a woodcock and Gigi (Ryman littermate to Buck) backs.
Betsy and I are winding down our second session of training in Tennessee. We’re organizing everything, packing up, cleaning up and are headed home tomorrow. Even with the weather that is more summer-like, it has been great because we didn’t miss a day of training. The birds were plentiful and, most importantly, the dogs we’ve had here have learned so much and made such good progress, always so gratifying.
Here are some photographs.
Birdee (CH Westfalls Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer).
Two-year-old littermates Bleu and Kate (Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Chocie).
Gus (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice).
Jaz and Trudy (CH Ridge Creek Cody x CH Satin From Silk).
Lucy (CH Westfalls Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer) and Jaz.
Liddy (Northwoods Blue Ox x CH Houston’s Belle).
Slash and Pete (Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay).
Piper (Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost).
Rosie (Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost).
Timber (CH Westfalls Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer).
Trixie (CH Ridge Creek Cody x CH Satin From Silk).
Training has been going very well here in the mid South. Our put-out coveys are surviving nicely and there are more wild coveys than last year. Plus, the weather has been perfect for working dogs.
Of the 15 setters in this group, 14 are of the Houston line and one is by Hytest Skyhawk. Even though there are only a few pointers, the quality is high.
I have taken a few photos when possible, but sometimes things happen too fast to get the camera out. Enjoy!
Bicolor lespedeza strip along pine row.
Creek edge and corn stubble.
Northwoods Carly Simon points quail in bicolor.
Chuck (Bill and Ryan Westfall, owners) points on field edge.
Houston’s Blackjack and CH Erin’s Kentucky Gambler.
Frank LaNasa and I spent a few days in late December with Sean Derrig of Erin Kennels. Sean is a serious, very successful amateur all-age field trialer who also holds his own in open competition. Last year, he qualified and ran four dogs in the National Championship.
Sean flushes BIG covey for CH Erin’s Whiskey River. (Click to enlarge.)
Sean breeds, trains and develops his pointers at his farm near Tiskilwa, Illinois. He has 500 acres of land with about 220 acres groomed for running dogs. These are the most beautifully and intensely managed grounds I’ve ever seen. We worked dogs all day long and every brace had multiple finds on large coveys of good flying bobwhite quail.
It was exciting to see Sean’s string in action including CH Erin’s Stony River, CH Erin’s Whisky River, CH Erin’s Bad River, CH Erin’s Kentucky Gambler and Erin’s Braveheart. Frank worked his champion females, CH Homemade and CH Lil Miss Sunshine, as well as Houston’s Blackjack and True Confidence.
November is usually reserved for developing puppies. And this year, do we have puppies!
We have nine from our two line-bred-Houston litters that were born in June. Five puppies are out of our repeat breeding of Blue Shaquille to Houston’s Belle’s Choice and four are from Northwoods Chardonnay and Houston’s Blackjack.
It is so much fun to turn them loose and work them on quail and grouse. It is even better now to see them hunt hard, point and back.
Heading for grouse cover!
Point, back, back, back, back.
Jeter (Shaq x Choice)
Morris (Blackjack x Chardonnay), Maggie and Sue (Shaq x Choice)
There is something about handling a bird dog from the back of a horse across seemingly endless grasslands that is very appealing. Here are photos Ben McKean shot this summer. Enjoy!
Nice way to end the day.
Point!
Our prairie camp.
Jerry, Prancer and trusty horse, Captain.
Young Northwoods Parmigiano learns from veteran Merimac’s Adda Girl.
