Meet Stitch, our new Pointer. She was born 11/10/20 at Open Range Kennels in Inola, OK. She arrived Wednesday night and settling in and getting used to life in the suburbs.
Stitch is loving her new, cushy suburban lifestyle
We’re thrilled to have her. My wife and I have been heartsick since losing Lexi in November and Sky in January. I feel whole again.
Stitch’s dad is Open Range Terminator, the 2020 Oklahoma Open Shooting Champion. Her mom is Open Range Ice Breaker.
Our new Pointer stitch, already at work on one of my slippers
Her pedigree includes dogs like Elhew Sinbad (2XCH), Westfall’s Black Ice (5XCH), Elhew Swami (16XCH, HOF ),and Elhew Snakefoot (CH, HOF).
View from New England Bird Dog Club’s field trial area
The New England Bird Dog Club’s 2018 field trial is this weekend in Dummer, NH. If you want to see some great hunting dogs do their thing, you’re should make time to attend. This is a low-key, released-quail trial and a great way to spend a send a day and meet other people into gundogs. The trial is held in northern NH, about 25 minutes from Berlin.
The Gun Dog stake on Sunday is great for anyone who has a bird dog and would like to see them compete. Dogs have to hold points, but they don’t have to be steady to wing & shot.
Northern NH Bird Dog Club 2018 Annual Trial, Stark, NH
Only one thing sucks more than planted quail: cold, wet, planted quail.
In the best conditions, planted quail prefer running to flushing. When these birds are cold and wet, they’re as likely to fly as a frog or groundhog.
And cold, wet planted quail, plus a handful of well-trained bird dogs, is what Lexi and I faced off against at the Northern NH Bird Dog Club 2018 Annual Trial.
This trial ran from April 27-29. We were in Sunday’s Amateur Shooting Dog stake. It was a cold, cloudy day. Rain shifted back-and-forth from drizzling to pouring.
Lexi was in the third brace (there were only 4 in the entire stake). She had a great run, stayed in the pocket the whole time, handled perfectly, and, as you can see in the videos, the didn’t let those lousy quail throw her off her game (or make her break point). By the time we finished the course, I thought for sure we would be taking home a yellow ribbon.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. While I was disappointed, Lexi didn’t mind. She just had fun chasing birds.
Watch interview with Shawn Kinkelaar, Shooting Dog handler & trainer
Shawn Kinkelaar is one of the top bird-dog handlers & trainers in the U.S. He started field trialling in the 1980s, and today he’s one of just two people who have won 100+ Open Horseback Championships–the World Series + Superbowl + Stanley Cup of bird-dog competitions.
He has also won more National Dog of the Year Awards than any other trainer, as well as three English Setter National awards and three National Handler of the Year awards.
For the past 25 years, Shawn has spent his summers training in North Dakota. This year, a local news crew caught up with him and produced this video.
In the video below, you can get a taste for what it’s like training in ND in the summer: Horses, bird dogs, and the space to run both. I’m envious.
New England Bird Dog Club, August, 2017, field trial
Field Trials are great places to see other dogs and meet other dog folks. The New England Bird Dog Club held their August field trial a few weeks ago and plenty of both were there.
I ran Lexi and Sky, but we didn’t have any luck.
Lexi ran twice, but on her first try she broke on the flush. On her second run, she failed to honor. Those offenses got her disqualified.
Sky ran well and found a bunch of birds. Unfortunately, other dogs dig a better job overall than – so no ribbons for her.
Waiting their turnAs handsome as it getsLexi, staked out on a chain gangMy rig, waiting to goPointer powerBest part of the dayNow that’s nobleResting after his runCool-down station on the courseThe view from the field trial areaOut of the way!
Lexi and I headed down to Cape Cod on Sat to check out the Setter Club of New England’s spring field trial. I entered Lexi in two stakes: the Amateur Derby and Gundog. She took 3rd in both. Here are some pics from the day.
Setter Club of New England Spring 2016 Field TrialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialSetter Club of New England Spring 2016 trialLexi took 3rd place, Amateur Derby, Setter Club of New England Spring 2016 trial
Paul Fuller of Bird Dogs Afield just posted this great interview with legendary pointer breeder and field trialer Ferrell Miller. If you’re into bird dogs, you should make time to watch the whole thing.
And if you don’t know much about Pointers, this short video is a nice introduction to the breed. It also features Ferrell Miller, and is worth watching just to see Mr Miller in the field working his dogs.
Ferrell Miller and CH Miller’s Happy Jack, from http://www.phantomkennels.com/
I’m not a big fan of the summer. Heat and humidity are my Kryptonites, so by the middle of June I’ve had enough of it. Lexi was up at Wild Apple Kennel in Dummer, NH, from end of May to last week. Her absence made the summer feel even longer. I work from home, and it was a lonely home without her. But enough of my bitchin’.
Here’s the good part:
At the New England Bird Dog Club’s Labor Day Weekend Trial, Lexi won Sunday’s Open Restricted Derby Competition. I’m super proud of her – – and very thankful for the great job that trainer Craig Doherty did with her.
This was Lexi’s third time in a field trial. Her first time was on August 29, and her second was on the Saturday before her win. So she’s 1 for 3. Not bad.
So am I psyched for October? You bet. It’s going to be an awesome fall. More to come on that.
BTW: Derby stakes are for dogs 6-24months of age and no more than 2 years of age. A “restricted” derby is for dogs that have not already placed in a derby stake.
Gary Lester, Alabama Hosts U.S. Championship for Pointing Dogs
This video features the U.S. Championship for Pointing Dogs was held at Alabama’s M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area on December 1-6, 2012. Even though it ‘s from a few years ago, it’s worth watching if you want to learn more about how field trails are put together are run. There’s some nice dog work in it, too.
Miller’s Dialing In. 2015 National Champion. Owned and handled by Gary Lester. Photo by Jamie Evans.
The 116th running of the granddaddy of all field trial — the National Championship – started last month on Monday, February 9, 2015, at the Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, TN. Forty eight dogs were nominated to run this year — seven setters and forty one pointers, and when the trial was over, one rose to the top: Miller’s Dialing In.
In this video you can see a beautiful double point with Touch’s Adams County and handler, Randy Anderson (R) and Raelyn’s Skyy backing as handler Andy Daugherty looks on. Watch those quail fly.
Touch’s Adams County and handler, Randy Anderson (R) and Raelyn’s Skyy backing as handler Andy Daugherty looks on
In this video, you can see Audubon Americus on his first find with handler, Rich Robertson. I think you can hear another handler “singing” to his dog in the background.
Audubon Americus on his first find with handler, Rich Robertson
This one shows Caladen’s Rail Hawk on his second find with handler, Dr. Fred Corder. Again, watch those birds bust out of there.
Caladen’s Rail Hawk on his second find with handler, Dr. Fred Corder
In this last one, you can see 2015 National Champion Dialing In on his second find in the Horseshoe. A big, healthy covey flushes above Dialing In and Gary.
Dialing In on his second find in the Horseshoe. A big, healthy covey flushes above Dialing In and Gary.
Here’s another great photo essay by writer, photographer Craig Koshyk. He’s the author of : Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continental, one of the best books around about pointing dogs. If you want to learn more about dogs like the ones you’ll see in his pics, be sure to check it out
Sky Dance Kennels in Dousman, WI, turns out some great looking bird dogs. They also make some nice videos. Here’s one the pulled together of the 2013 Region 19 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship.
Quit the job. Put the guns and the dogs in the truck. Head west. Don’t look back…Videos like this one from the folks at Sky Dance Kennels in Dousman, WI, make me crazy…
I’ve been to a bunch of field trials. Non of them have been like this one. This video was shot at the 2013 Border International Championship at Pennant, Sask. All I can say is that I would love to go.
The Border International 2013 Horseback Field Trial
In this video, HiFive Kennels’s Bruce Minard takes you through the process of steadying up a young pointer named Buck. Check it out. It cool to see how the dog progresses, and how Bruce gets the job done while building up the dog’s confidence and enthusiasm.
Shooting a grouse over a pointing dog is tough. Think about what it involves: Reading you dog’s body language, watching your footing, minding your shotgun barrels, searching out shooting lanes, checking the position hunters — and you’re doing all this while you’re expecting a football-sized bird to rocket out from anywhere at any time. THAT’s a lot to have on the brain.
When my mind is this occupied, the last thing I want to worry about is my dog. That’s why it’s important for a pointer to be steady to wing and shot. A dog that 100% steady stays put – through the shot and until I release her. Dogs that bust on the flush are furious to get to the game. During the chase it, their eyes and focus on the bird. They risk all sorts of harm: slamming into barbed wired fences, impaling themselves on busted sticks, and even getting shot. It’s darn disruptive to the shooter, too.
HiFive Kennels in Beulah, MI, turns out some great looking English Pointers. Check out this short video to see one of them. It’s a young male named Chet. Notice how dynamic he is and how easily he handles. Also notice that he’s not wearing an e-collar.
I was up in Knox, ME, on Saturday at the Central Maine Spaniel Club’s Field Cocker Field Trial. Puck and I had a great time – lots of great dogs and lots of nice people. Enjoy the pics.
