Great looking Pointer pups from Blackney Kennels …

I love English Pointers, especially ones from strong Elhew lines. So I was excited to see this litter of pups from Northern California’s Blackney Kennels. These great looking dogs are full of potential. And they’re darn cute, too.

According to the breeder’s About Us page: “Blackney Kennels breeds Elhew English Pointers for hunters and competitors, and their families, who desire an outstanding representative of the finest line of pointing dogs ever developed. Our objective is to produce dogs of the highest quality, conforming to the Elhew standards: high-powered, highly intelligent, highly biddable, conformationally correct and strikingly beautiful, with ideal companion-dog temperaments.”

Could he be a champion? Good looking pup from Blackney Kennels Spring 2019 litter
Could he be a champion? Good looking pup from Blackney Kennels Spring 2019 litter

3 Questions for kennel owner Daniel Riviera

1.) Dogs & Doubles: Why did you pick Brigadoon & Aviatrix? What strengths were you trying to bring together?

Daniel Riviera: First, this is a “pure” Elhew breeding. I have had Elhew pointers for the past 20 years and have been thrilled with them. I agree entirely with, and want for myself, the kind of dog Bob Wehle developed. For the low-volume breeder, who wants the highest quality, consistent litter, I believe breeding within the Elhew family, which is broad and has many lines, is the best route.

Specifically, I like, and want to breed, a high-powered, exceptionally athletic dog, who is exciting, even thrilling at times, to watch work and with whom to partner in the hunt. I want the dog to be highly biddable, meaning responsive and communicative in the field, highly intelligent, beautifully structured and marked, with a handsome, correct head and a straight, cracking tail, and a warm, outgoing, engaged, and expressive personality and temperament. Both Brigadoon and Aviatrix meet this description.

Brigadoon is a powerfully built, beautiful dog, with good bone and substance, and tremendous vitality – excellent qualities in a sire. Aviatrix is finer boned, sharply outlined, with great intensity. I felt they would be a good combination because I did not want to go further in either direction, toward more bone or toward more refinement. It seems to have been a good choice as the pups show both good bone and substance, and beautiful emerging outlines.

Brigadoon and Aviatrix share many desirable traits, so their strengths are compounded in the pups. Just picking one of their strengths, both Brigadoon and Aviatrix are notably tenacious. When we were just beginning to work Brigadoon on birds, when he was still a little tyke, we shot a chukar for him and it unfortunately dropped into the middle of a huge blackberry bush, common in the open fields around here. Before we could stop Brigadoon, he was crawling into the middle of the blackberry bush and was soon crawling back out, pushing through the vines, ignoring the stickers, with the bird. It was quite amazing.

I should add that both Brigadoon and Aviatrix are very healthy dogs, and so far, knock on wood, have not been prone to injury. The pups they produced are very robust.

2.) Dogs & Doubles: What traits are you hoping to see in these pups? What will set them apart?

Daniel Riviera: I want to see a robust, beautiful dog, with a handsome head and cracking tail, forward, engaged, with a warm, loving personality. The ideal hunting-companion dog, who may also be competed successfully in shooting dog and comparable stakes. This is what I am seeing in the pups. I began with pointing dogs nearly 30 years ago, showing Vizslas (a wonderful breed) in conformation. This litter is so uniformly excellent you could finish the championship of every one of these pups. I wish I could keep them all.

3.) Dogs & Doubles: Say I’m a potential customer, what’s your elevator pitch on your pups? Why should consider them, what will I get from them?

Daniel Riviera: The ideal hunting-companion dog, beautiful, thrilling to watch and to hunt, rewarding to own every day of the dog’s life.

New pics of the pups…

Here are the latest pics of the pups. These were taking on June 8th. These pups are from Superior Pointers in Bayfield, WI, and they’re just about over 5 weeks old. We’re going with the orange one. Her name will be Lexey.

Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014
Superior Pointer Pups from Rex X Haley, Spring 2014

More puppy pics! Our new pointer is getting big….

Here are the latest pics of the puppies. These pics were taking a few days ago when the pups were 25 days old. They should be starting on solid food soon.

These pups are from Superior Pointers’s Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley. They’re all females. My wife and I are loving that little yellow girl. The wife has picked a name, too: Lexey – a nice tribute to the parents.

Striking Elhew Rex X Striking Elhew Haley pups, Spring 2014
Striking Elhew Rex X Striking Elhew Haley pups, Spring 2014
Striking Elhew Rex X Striking Elhew Haley pups, Spring 2014
Striking Elhew Rex X Striking Elhew Haley pups, Spring 2014

Letting go, and starting over…..

Puck, portrait by Michael Thompsopn
Puck, portrait by Michael Thompson

Puck passed away almost 8 weeks ago. Her bed is still on the floor in my office, and I still glance over at it and expect to see her looking back. This spring has been strange. I didn’t realize how much my life built around on having Puck by my side. From chasing spring woodcock to daily walks in the woods, I did so much with her this time of year. I’ve missed all that since she has been gone, and that part of my life feels stagnant and empty.

Fortunately, I have a pup on the way. She should be here around July 3. I started looking for another pointer a couples years ago. The plan was for my wife and I to raise a pup and while we eased Puck into retirement. Life arranged things differently, though.

Our pup is coming from Superior Pointers in Bayfield, WI. She’s out of  Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley,  and we’re hoping she’s a lot like Puck. Her breeding is similar – almost all Elhew – with lots of Elhew Strike, Elhew Kiwi, Snakefoot, and Guardrail in her.

Mark and Kathy Wendling own Superior Pointers. They impressed me with their passion, dedication, and kindness . They “…hunt, and breed, only pure Elhew Pointers with lineage tracing exclusively to matings personally designed by Elhew Kennels’ founder, Robert G. Wehle.” If you have some time, I suggest checking out the “Rambling Thoughts” section on there website. There’s a lot of valuable advice there.

Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 9 days old
Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 9 days old
Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 18 days old
Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 18 days old
Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 18 days old
Striking Elhew Rex x Striking Elhew Haley Pups, 18 days old