A fundamental part of comfortable footwear is socks. I have tried many brands over the years and I can personally vouch for socks made by Smartwool.

The Smartwool Company, based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, takes the design, comfort and performance of socks seriously. My style is their Hunting Socks (mid-calf height with light cushion) made with 68% merino wool which doesn’t have any of the scratchiness normally associated with wool. This fabric wicks moisture and has “an uncanny, inherent ability to control odor.” Plus, my socks are extremely comfortable with plenty of cushion and specially sewn elasticity at the stress points.

I’m pretty tough on my clothes but Smartwool socks last very well. I wear these socks all day, everyday, all year long (even during the summer) and I usually go through about 12 pairs a year. The socks are expensive but I’ve found several online sources that sell “seconds” or “slightly blemished” socks at substantial savings. Google Smartwool Socks and you’ll find these retailers.

One last thing about the Smartwool Company? Their business philosophy focuses on sustainability and “doing the right thing” in both business and life. I like those values.

The weather certainly doesn’t feel like fall, but hunting season will be here before you know it. And, like it or not, now is the time to prepare for those fall trips and to make sure your dog is ready. You can have the best hunting spots and the nicest shotgun, but if your dog isn’t ready, what does it matter?  

Here are five things to do now to get your dog ready for fall. Happy hunting!

1.  Check your dog’s weight.

This is crucial in many ways. An overweight dog can’t perform its best in the field and could get itself in trouble with overexertion, especially in extreme heat. A crash diet isn’t the best answer. Rather reduce your dog’s weight slowly. (See our entry titled “Feeding For Ideal Body Condition” for more information.)

 2.  Check your dog’s health.

Lingering parasites and bacteria that don’t cause problems normally could become issues when your dog is stressed. At a minimum, get a stool sample checked by your vet for giardia, coccidia and worms.

3.  Start a conditioning program.

It takes a good 6 – 8 weeks of regular exercise to get a dog in top-notch shape. Start slowly with moderate exercise and progress to more strenuous routines as the dog improves.  Conditioning your dog in the cooler part of the day will provide the most benefit.

4.  Make time for training sessions.

Schedule training sessions to tune-up your dog on obedience and bird work. Expect your dog to be a little rusty. Don’t try to get all the training done in one or two sessions. Short sessions spread over a period of time will give the best results—and keep your dog happy and motivated, too!

5.  Check your dog gear.

Make sure your dog gear is in good working order and check that your ecollar batteries still hold a charge. Better yet, technology improves all the time and perhaps it’s time to upgrade to newer equipment. Buy now and you’ll still have time to learn how it operates.

Bill Nettles is a field trialer I met several years ago at the Grand National Grouse and Woodcock Invitational. This summer Bill and his wife have been traveling and working dogs and I invited him to spend a few days training with us while he was in Minnesota.

Bill posted the following message on the Cover Dog Message Board about his visit.

“I benefited a lot from a recent visit to Jerry Kolter’s. Jerry did me a kindness as bracemate in the 2001 Invitational, by letting me know that there was ground water around the bend, thus saving me and my dog some time. This was the first chance I have had to look him up.

"Jerry seems to enjoy tutoring even the most minute details about best practices in bird dog training. He showed me how many seemingly trivial and unrelated aspects all fit together to bring out the best in a bird dog. Each day my thoughts ranged from ‘why didn’t I think of that’ to ‘I never knew that’ to ‘I had forgotten that.’ I just hope to remember most of his teaching. There was quite a lot of detail and he is very soft-spoken, the exact opposite of what I need as a slow learner, but I still learned a lot.

"Earl Crangle wrote something about how the better a trainer is the more organized you will find his gear. I could never maintain the obsessive neatness of Jerry’s operation, it is beyond my skills, but I do admire it. I think Jerry handled the last of Earl’s dogs which ran in competition, maybe it was Earl’s influence.

"We did not get to meet Betsy, but for a place to be that organized and clean, I suspected there must be a strong female supervisor involved there.

"This is all said by way of thanking Northwoods Bird Dogs and to state my observations. If anyone gets up there, note his kennel, which has expanded since the website. There is a grouse feather over his logo that is hard to believe. Minnesota must have some huge grouse, and that feather must have come from the granddaddy of them all.”

One of the tools we use in the education of our puppies is a stakeout chain. Sometimes called a chain gang, the stakeout chain is a long chain with huge eye bolts at each end through which stakes are pounded into the ground. Shorter chains are attached along its length to fasten individual dogs.

Puppies on chain the first time...

The stakeout chain is also a great tool when traveling. It’s an easy way to care for multiple dogs…plus it keeps the dogs secure and out of trouble. We put them on the chain to relieve themselves, feed and water them and to allow them to simply relax and be outside.

Stakeout chains can be made various ways. For many years I have made my own and now know exactly what works best. My stakeout chains hold six dogs and are 32’ long. Six drop chains are evenly spaced about 65” apart along the chain and are 18” long. (You don’t want them too long or the dogs can get into trouble with their neighbors along the chain.)

We begin putting puppies on the stakeout chain when they’re about eight weeks old. They get accustomed to physical restraint in general and learn, specifically, to give to pressure on their neck. We attach each puppy to their own drop chain and then leave them alone.

The chain gives enough so that when one puppy tugs, those next to it get a tug, also. Most puppies are uncomfortable at first and bark, pull or sometimes, just freeze. In time, though, they give in to the tugs without thinking and that’s the response we want. The transition to the leash or checkcord is now fairly easy.

... Now more relaxed!

By leaving the puppies to figure it out on their own, we’re not perceived as causing the restraint. In fact, after they settle down and we bring fresh water, they think we’re the good guys! I agree with Bill Tarrant, who in his book, Best Way To Train Your Gundog - The Delmar Smith Method, wrote, “The best way to train a pup or dog is to let another pup or dog do it.

The Fourth of July is fast approaching. This important national holiday is a great time to kick back with friends and family over a barbeque grill and enjoy a favorite cold beverage or two.

The weekend has also become synonymous with big displays of fireworks…and an occasion when more than a few puppies have been made gun shy by bottle rockets, firecrackers and other pyrotechnic explosions.

Over the years Betsy and I have heard too many sad stories of young dogs that were badly frightened—or worse—by loud fireworks. Puppies have become so scared that they panic, run away and are lost or hit by a vehicle. Others have chewed out of crates, sometimes breaking teeth and scratching until their paws are bloody.

Fortunately, the solution is easy. Simply isolate your puppy during the duration of the fireworks. Put it in a crate in a place safe from the noisy explosions. Consider your basement or garage. Keep in mind that the dog’s sense of hearing is much more sensitive than ours.

Coming next:  The proper way to introduce gunfire to your puppy.

Puppies aren’t born gun shy..it’s a man-made problem usually caused by loud noises. Hunting dogs require a planned introduction to gunfire. The best way is gradually.

Ridge Creek Cody won the 2010 Bill Conlin Setter Shooting Dog Derby Award. This award honors the top English setter shooting dog derby in horseback trials and, with this year’s wine, Cody set a record by amassing the most points ever for a male. Cody is owned by Larry Brutger and was handled by professional Shawn Kinklaar.

Second in point standings was his litter brother, Houston’s Blackjack, owned by Frank LaNasa and Leroy Peterson, and handled by Frank.

Congratulations to these fine young setters and their owners and handlers.

Northwoods Bird Dogs is especially proud of these dogs. The dam, CH Houston’s Belle, was bred and is owned by Dr. Paul Hauge. I trained and handled Belle to two championships and four runner-up championships in grouse trials from Minnesota to Pennsylvania. Due to her outstanding and versatile talent, and with Paul’s blessing, I also handled her to horseback wins on sharptail grouse.

When it came time to breed Belle, Paul and I worked together to choose the best sire. When we saw CH Can’t Go Wrong at several grouse trials, we were impressed with his desire, fluid gait and uncommon bird-finding ability. The litter was born in January 2008 here at Northwoods Bird Dogs and was raised by Betsy and me.

Both Cody and Blackjack returned to us for training. Cody went to North Dakota during his first summer and I worked Blackjack on Oklahoma quail and ruffed grouse and woodcock in 2009.

The breeding goal of Paul and NBD is to produce setters that have the physical build, instincts, brains and bidability to adapt to their owners’ hunting. According to the observations of Mike Husentis, reporter of the US Quail Shooting Dog Futurity, we are meeting our goals.

Cody’s lineage traces to dogs that were primarily campaigned in the woods and foot trials. Cody’s performance here was proof positive that good dogs adjust to their handler’s wishes and to the type of terrain on which they hunt regardless of where they began.

~ Mike Husentis

On Thursday, March 18, I was working dogs with friends Steve Snyder and Greg Gress and we saw the first woodcock of 2010. Steve was handling his dog, Kay, when she pointed in a mature aspen bottom next to an alder swamp. Earlier in the week, I found grouse in the same spot and so expected another. When Steve walked in front of Kay, a male timberdoodle lazily flushed at his feet. We then searched several other aspen cuts for migrating woodcock but without success.

Happy field trial attendees!

Spring is a great time to get out and work dogs on grouse and woodcock. The woods are open and it is easier to see what dogs are doing when they encounter birds.

Spring is also a great time to attend local grouse and woodcock trials. Even if you don’t compete, it’s a fun day in the woods with fellow bird dog lovers.

Below are the dates, locations and contact information for local grouse and woodcock field trials. Directions to the field trial grounds are on our blog, Northwoods News Blog, on our website.

Chippewa Valley Grouse Dog Association

Saturday, March 27 – Sunday, March 28

Eau Claire County Forest

Near Stanley, Wisconsin

Roger King 715-845-6833

Minnesota Grouse Dog Association

Friday, April 9 – Sunday, April 11

Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, April 18

Rum River State Forest

Near Mora, Minnesota

Scott Anderson 651-338-4921

Moose River Grouse Dog Club

Friday, April 25 – Sunday, April 27

Douglas County Forest

Near Moose Junction, Wisconsin

Mary-Beth Esser 262-567-8176

2007 puppies - Mikki, Oscar and Sandy

We have lots of good news and one piece of very sad news to report.

Houston’s Belle and her daughter, Houston’s Belle’s Choice, both of which we bred to Northwoods Blue Ox, are pregnant. Belle is due to whelp next week and Choice is due in early April.

Blue Ghost and Blue Riptide are both in our kennel this week and we had our first tie this morning. Ghost is as sweet as they come and Riptide is a well-built, sturdy dog with a gorgeous head. If all goes well, Ghost should whelp about May 17.

Northwoods Prancer was bred to Westfall’s Black Ice in late January. She was 5½ weeks pregnant last week when she lost her entire litter of 10 puppies. She is recovering well this week without any known damage to her reproductive capability. This has never happed to us before and we’re working with our vet to determine the cause. It’s so sad and disappointing.  

We’re planning another pointer litter, though, that is a similar nick to Black Ice and Prancer. The dam, Pearl, is very talented, proven female that we trained several years ago. She is a great wild bird dog and has the same sire as Black Ice. She would be bred to a champion male, Centerpiece, that we know very well. Centerpiece's mother is a littermate to our Dasher, who is the sire of both Prancer and Northwoods Magic. 

We still plan to breed Northwoods Magic this year unless the timing becomes unworkable.

The Sooner Pointing Dog Club held its annual spring trial at Trail’s End Ranch, a beautiful venue 60 miles northeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the cool, soggy weekend of February 20 and 21. The ranch is owned by Jerry Myers who also works very hard to put on the trial. Attendance was excellent and handlers came from Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Michigan.

It was an extremely gratifying trial for us as we entered four dogs and came away with three placements.

The Open Derby had 12 entries. I was thrilled with the strong, mature work of Wirthall Dali, setter female owned by Justin Hall. She won the stake, burying all contenders with 5 steady to wing and shot finds, a back and a big race.  Dali accomplished all that despite the misbehavior of her bracemate who chased one of Dali’s birds as I flushed and then chased its own quail right past Dali when Dali was backing. Dali, bred by Mary Beth Esser, is a granddaughter of Houston.

We are now 3-for-3 in this stake. We’ve won three years in a row with dogs that had steady to wing and shot bird work—Blue Spirit in 2008 and Northwoods Blue Ox in 2009.

The highlight of the trial and the most competitive stake of the weekend was the Open Puppy. Unusual for a puppy stake, quail were planted. Sixteen dogs were entered and many prominent sires were represented:  Hytest Skyhawk, Terhaar’s Rocko, Long Gone Nixon, The Valedictorian and Trail’s End Badboy. The caliber and number of entries in the stake rivaled some major puppy classics.

We are extremely proud to report that we won first and second place with English setter littermates, Northwoods Lager and Northwoods Chardonnay. Lager, owned by Jim and Nina Bires of Minnesota, ran with drive and desire, his big stride taking in lots of country. He found quail three times and pointed them long enough to demonstrate his lofty style and composure.

We own the female, Chardonnay. Her drive and eye-catching style, along with two well-pointed quail earned her placement.

We developed, trained and handled these two exceptional puppies. They are sired by Blue Shaquille, out of Houston’s Belle’s Choice.  Paul Hauge bred the litter which is line-bred to his dog Houston.

We were also happy with the performance of Lizzie, a setter female owned by Steve Snyder.  Lizzie is sired by CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa and out of CH Houston’s Belle. 

Winning third was Jill, setter female, owned and handled by Dick Fortner of Missouri. She ran well and pointed quail. Dick bred her out of his Hamilton’s Blue Diamond female to Trail’s End Badboy.

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, we were excited about the caliber of our young dogs this year. “We have some very nice puppies here with us—maybe the best all-around group we’ve ever had.”

Betsy and May

Physical touch is a powerful way to communicate with a dog.  By far the most common means is petting. While petting might seem like a no-brainer it is incredible that so many people do it incorrectly.
 
First of all, petting a dog is not “patting” a dog. “Patting” is a slap and similar in motion to dribbling a basketball. Dogs don’t like to be “patted” anywhere but especially on their heads. (I’ve seen dogs flinch when being “patted” on the head.) Watch while a dog is getting “patted.” It’s obvious by the expression and reaction of the dog that it’s not a pleasing or enjoyable experience.

What dogs really like is being touched with gentle, stroking motions. This petting can be applied differently to various parts of the dog’s anatomy and to convey specific messages.  Long, slow, light strokes calm and quiet a dog while harder, short, quick pets will excite. Petting a dog under its chin is similar to how a submissive dog reacts to a more dominate dog and isn’t the message to convey. When petting the side of the head or cheek area in a front-to-back motion, the dog assumes a “submissive grin” which reinforces your status as the pack leader. 

All dogs have a “sweet spot” where they love being petted. This spot is the area between and slightly behind the shoulder blades. When dogs roll on their backs on grass or carpet, they are really focusing on these parts of their bodies.  It’s obvious how good it feels.

Petting your dog using the proper touch, technique and location is very important. You’ll be communicating the message you desire and the dog will be much happier, too!

Jerry and Jerry Myers

Once again, Betsy and I are down in northeastern Oklahoma training dogs at Trail’s End Ranch. We are grateful to Jerry Myers for the use of this fine ranch, facilities and training grounds. This is our third winter here and we feel completely at home.

There was snow on the ground when we arrived but within a couple of days all had melted. The temperatures have remained somewhat below average with overcast days that are cool and damp. Looking ahead, though, we see sunny days in the 40s…..perfect training weather!

We have some very nice puppies here with us—maybe the best all-around group we’ve ever had. It is gratifying to work puppies and to see their development in each session.

We have email and internet access so please continue to contact us as usual!

Last January, Betsy and I spent time in the country south of Tucson and I fell in love with it. The vast rolling oak savannas, beautiful desert and one million acres of public land with its three species of native quail are a bird hunter’s dream.
 
A friend, Rolly Reidhead, and I recently returned from a trip to the area both to hunt and to get out of the Minnesota winter. In years past, Rolly hunted there with his father and was excited to go again.

Jeff Hintz is a good friend and Minnesota neighbor and he and his wife, Carol, migrate to Tucson every year. He is a serious dog guy and avid bird hunter and works his experienced pointers on quail several days a week during, before and after the quail season. He provided invaluable help to Rolly and me.

My favorite Arizona quail is the mearns—over gambels and scaled. Compared to last year’s mearns population, the numbers are dramatically lower and we truly hunted for them more than we found them. We had better success with gambels quail when, for several days, we hunted their cover. 
 
Rolly and I brought seven dogs and all performed quite well, considering the conditions. Traveling 1,600 miles from their snowy kennels and freezing temperatures to sunny, warm, dry Arizona was a big change. But it was fun to see young dogs in new country and witness their first contacts with the various quail.

We didn’t find as many birds as we hoped but had a great trip nonetheless.  As Arnold Swartzenneger said in The Terminator:  “I’ll be back!”

We are excited to continue this line of pointers that we think is exceptional. Prancer is out of our Dashaway and Fallset Fate which proved to be a great combination. Prancer has the intelligence of her grand-dam CH Dance Smartly (whose pedigree is strong Elhew and includes some of the best, CH Northern Dancer, CH Smart and CH Pork Roll) and the build and sturdiness of Fate’s line.

Prancer is extremely smart, has an awesome disposition, hunts hard and has a great desire to please. She is also a natural retriever.

Ice is a multiple shooting dog champion with a pedigree to back it up. He is out of a very successful nick, Rock Acre Blackhawk x Elhew Katie Lee. We chose Ice based on the characteristics he is passing to his progeny—considerable natural ability in finding and pointing wild birds and lots of endurance. These are qualities we think are invaluable in wild bird hunting dogs.

Please see our Litters page for information and pedigree.

Belle

The goal of Paul Hauge’s and Northwoods Bird Dogs’ breeding program is to produce exceptional wild bird dogs that have the ability to compete at the highest levels of field trial competition and also satisfy the most discriminating sportsman. Belle’s progeny are the epitome of that goal.

In 2005, Belle was bred to Gusty Blue which produced the outstanding female, Houston’s Belle’s Choice. She placed 4th in the Grand National Puppy Classic and was 1st reserve dog in the Grand National Grouse Futurity. Choice won a nice shooting dog stake while still a derby and has several one-hour placements in grouse trials.

 Belle’s litter by Blue Shaquille produced two superior females that won many trials in both AKC horseback and grouse trials. In fact, Cold Creek Pearl placed second in the one-hour Moose River Grouse Trial last fall as a first-year shooting dog.

Her third litter by CH Can’t Go Wrong in 2008 produced two extraordinary males, Ridge Creek Cody and Houston’s Blackjack. See our blog entry “Belle’s sons winning big in horseback stakes” for more information.  

Last year Belle was bred to CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa. Those puppies are young but I worked several and they showed excellent potential.

Ox

We are excited about this breeding with Ox, a terrific and versatile young dog. He is as solid as they come in every aspect required of a wild bird dog. While he is used mainly in our grouse guiding string, he has placed in several walking and grouse trials. In Pennsylvania, Ox placed 3rd in the West Branch Open Puppy stake with a field of 40 entries and he won the Sooner Bird Dog Club Open Derby in Oklahoma with a fabulous, five-broke-find performance.

Over the past few years, I have spent hundreds of hours working with Ox, Belle and a good share of her progeny. I am confident in the potential of this litter.

See our Litters page or contact us for more information.