April 17, 2011

Happy 1st Birthday!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been a year since Hailey whelped her litter of 10 puppies.  Growth and development since my last post has been overwhelming.  Many were hunting last fall whether it be pheasant, grouse or fowl.  Some are off to school training with trainers, while others are gearing up to run hunt tests.  Below are the responses from many of their owners.

Bella~
Bella and I, as well as Bella and Hailey, have become best of friends.  Every moment she's at either one of our sides.  Bella and Hailey are constantly playing.  Last fall the two hunted well together.  Bella gained valuable experience hunting behind her mother.  For her birthday Bella was treated to a chukar hunt at Rocky Bay Hunt Club near Pine City.  As far as Bella's formal training her obedience is sound, she's been force fetched and her marks and retrieves are quite solid.  Presently she's at the beginning stages of learning to handle.  Bella is 48# of all go.
-David and Pauline



Bear~
Bear is doing great! We celebrated his birthday with a can of dog food (he's the only one who ate it though!) He gave us his classic head tilt while we sang happy birthday to him. His favorite thing in the world is training and we try to do something everyday. At least 2-3 times a week one of my daughters or wife will help throw for us in the neighbors field. Bear is getting very proficient at blind retrieves and is "collar conditioned" now. We joined Southern MN Hunting Retriever Association which meets weekly for training sessions. Also they held a "Fun" hunt test last month of which Bear earned his first ribbon in the Junior division (this does not qualify for AKC, it was just a mock test our club held) This weekend we're having another one which should get us ready for the real deal next month. Our goal is to earn his Junior title this year and possibly his Senior title at age two. There is a huge difference between training at home and training with an organized club. Bear gets intensified by about ten times when birds/guns/duck calls/other dogs are introduced. He is such a joy to train because he loves it so much and is always trying to please.
     His second most favorite thing is going for rides. He loves being with us, so most of the time he joins us when running errands, too (by the way, he is an inside dog). Last week at the vet, he weighed in at 62 lbs so he still thinks he can sit in our laps in the living room! Also he has a nightly routine of helping papa "pack a lunch" for work the next day...he is truly a helper!
     For the hunting season last fall Bear ended with a half a dozen roosters and a very large goose. At the time, he was quite a bit smaller, so he wasn't sure what to think about that big honker, he kept exchanging glances between me and the goose. The look on his face said "Are you serious??? This thing is huge!!" Hopefully this fall things will be a bit different, as Manitoba is on our menu with North Dakota as a back up plan.
-Jeff and Teri


Sage~
Sage is doing great, she still has a lot of energy and is ready to go the min you walk in the door.  For the most part she loves to retrieve and does an awesome job at it.  When winter came she was a little unsure what to think of the snow, but she got use to it and now that the snow is gone we have a hard time getting her to go to the bathroom in the grass again.  She is quite the dog....people at the vet call her a little princess because she has to have everything just right and WILL not lay in grass or anywhere for that matter without a blanket....she also has to have the vet brake her treats in little pieces so she can eat them, I think we spoil her a little too much. The only thing that is hard is that she HATES her baths, does anyone elas have that trouble???  We love her and can't wait for the rest of the years with her.
-Lucas, Misty and Kendra

Sasha~
Wow already 1 year! Sasha has topped out at 57 pounds. It has been a wonderful first year. Her world revolves around our boys. She is still a bundle of energy but has settled down quite a bit. She continues to make strong points despite not having much work over the long winter. She had a blast chasing the chipmunks around on her birthday weekend. I took her for a walk on our trails last weekend and she made several points and worked the cover great. I was impressed since she hadn't been on our trails since late October. We're looking forward to many more great years with Sasha.
Thanks,
Sean,Jody,Trevor, & Joshua

Rudy~
Rudy's a "snowdog".  Since the middle of February, Rudy's been training with John Luttrell, http://www.luttrellkennels.com/, near Walnut Ridge, AR.  Within the next week Rudy and John will return to SD for the final month of Rudy's training.  John says Rudy's put on a lot of muscle and is retrieving ducks well.  Last fall Rudy hunted pheasants locally in Minnesota as well as North and South Dakota.
-Scott, Kathy, Clayton and Duncan




Bella (from Iowa)~
These are the pictures that I just took this morning of Bella (she is a little dirty, as we just got back from a hike--she doesn't like to be dirty!). She just recently came back home from school the last weekend in March. She was there for appx. 4 months. She's doing really good! She's very obedient, and we are excited to get her out hunting, going to school was a good thing for her. She weighs 48#.  We are anxious to hear how the other dogs are doing as well!
Thanks,
Cory and Michelle



Oakley~
Hi Dave,

     Oakley is a great dog, has a pleasant disposition and listens well. For our first dog we are so lucky with how great his first year has been. He is at his next stage of training at Wings and Whistles, http://www.wingsandwhistles.com/, right now and has done well hunting.
     As you can see in the photo, Oakley loves ice fishing and will patiently wait until a fish is caught and then gets so excited. If we throw it back, he will stick his nose in the hole and try to retrieve it. He loves playing frisbee and retrieving anything we throw. He enjoys long walks and visiting with every other dog we meet along the way.

Thanks again for the wonderful dog!
Brian and Karen




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