"We hope you are staying cool amidst the muggy, tropical assault August has unleashed on us.  Although you are probably not losing any sleep worrying about Piper, we thought an update was in order..

"In short, she is doing extremely well. She loves her kennel and riding in the car.  We have taken her to multiple places, including visiting emotionally disturbed children at a therapy center, Game Fair, the beach, dog parks and many visits with my niece and nephew (7 and 5 years old).  She has gone swimming in the Mississippi, Kinnikinnic, Willow and St.Croix rivers, and loves wading along the shore.

"She makes eye contact and wants to be w us - her temperament is sweet and well-balanced and bomb-proof.  As Roberta proclaims on a regular basis "she is basically and unequivocally and undisputedly the very best dog in the entire world and she couldn't be more loved."

"When she is not sleeping in her crate or eating, her days are spent playing with the other dogs and going for multiple walks.  Each 20-30 minute walk usually begins heading up the driveway, with much time spent chasing and pointing butterflies in the adjacent pasture."

Chris

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.

When Jerry and I designed our kennel building, we thought long and hard about the size of the runs—both inside and outside. Since our goal was a small yet efficient space, we wanted to keep the number of total runs to 20 but how big to make each run was our conundrum.

After many drawings, lengthy discussions and permutations, we ultimately settled on 16 regular-size runs at 4’ in width and four larger runs at 6’. The larger spaces would be for whelping and raising litters.

An unforeseen benefit has been the opportunity to keep two dogs together in one run. The dogs seem to enjoy it and, in fact, become pals. (Jill and Shaq are currently together as are Prancer and Oscar.)  They sniff and nuzzle each other, roll around in their runs and play together with their chew toys. Jerry is careful who gets kenneled together and there is always one male and one female. He also considers size, age and temperament.

Jerry and I walk down to the kennel about 9:00 pm each evening to make one final check and to give all dogs a nightly biscuit. After treats are given in the larger runs, the two pals drink together out of their water bucket, curl up next to each other on the bed and settle in for the night.

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.

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.

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.

Most businesses are nothing without the dedication and reliability of hard-working employees. Northwoods Bird Dogs is no different.

Three years ago, Jerry and I took a big step when we decided that we couldn’t do it all ourselves anymore. The business had grown, thankfully, and to serve our clients in the way we wanted to, Jerry needed help with training and kennel chores.

Through the grapevine we heard about Zac Colton, who was 15 years old at the time. After meeting and talking to Zac and his parents (and his parents checking us out, too!), we hired him. Zac lives about 15 miles away on a hobby farm with four horses and a couple of dogs. Now a high school senior, he is involved with basketball and golf.

We feel extremely fortunate that Zac has returned each summer to work for us.

Our neighbor, Jeff Hintz, comes over three days a week to help.  He’ll do anything but his main job is as shooter. He works for free access to our wireless home network so after work each day he stops by the house and downloads whatever he needs to his iPad. 

Jeff is retired from a successful career in the Twin Cities and who, along with his friend, Ron Watson, has owned a chunk of Pine County land for 25 years. The two are avid grouse and woodcock hunters and spend a good share of their summers and falls as our neighbors at their hunting lodge.

Thank you, Zac and Jeff!

The puppies from our Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost litter were eight weeks old last weekend and Jerry and I had a steady stream of families here to pick out their puppy.

This was the second Northwoods Bird Dog puppy for two of the buyers. As we all know, it’s a small world. In 2006, Kevin Sipple first bought a wonderful tri-color female that is a littermate to this litter's dam, Blue Ghost. This year he picked a matching, even-marked, tri-color female. Dwayne Splan is also back. His first puppy was a male out of Magic’s Rocky Belleboa x Old Glory Bluebelle in 2008 and, again, he was on the list for another male.

 

Other buyers included Chris Bye and Roberta Scherf from Wisconsin and the Nielsen and Head families from Minnesota.

It’s a sad day for me when the puppies go…but we’re grateful to the new owners and happy for the puppies.

"Great to see you guys…Again, we really appreciate all your care and attention to these pups for their first 8 wks. They are so very much better socialized, confident and relaxed among people as a result.

"Our pup took about a half hour to get acquainted with her new surroundings, and then she acted like she'd been living here for her entire life. My wirehair treated her gently, and they have been getting along fine. I'm happy to report that she didn't make a noticeable sound last night--to our great surprise and delight. She regaled us most of the way home when she wasn't sleeping, but I put her kennel right next to our guy Chance last evening, and that may have made all the difference."

Matt 

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.

What a cute puppy pile! Most of the litter is taking a post-breakfast nap but I caught the orange-and-white male just waking up.

Our litter of five from CH Centerpiece x Ms. Pearl’s Delight are 28 days old today. Jerry and I are very happy that Pearl is keeping them all gleaming white and with full tummies. Today, though, we’ll start weaning them.

The puppies are darling! Most are about the same size but one male is a bit smaller. The coloration is finally coming out on the orange-and-white female….and it is a lighter orange than on the male. Most are very even marked and a couple have very sweet freckles.

Chris Mathan, a friend and owner of The Sportsman’s Cabinet, visited us while in Minnesota on business recently. We have known and worked with Chris for many years. She is a marketing specialist geared toward the outdoors and developed the brand and website for both Northwoods Bird Dogs and Dazzle Gardens, my horticulture business.

In addition, Chris is an excellent photographer and has provided us exquisite photographs of dogs, training sessions, flowers and landscapes. She has an extraordinary sense of style and a keen artistic eye. She perfectly captures her subjects and her photos are, literally, breathtaking.

Chris and I also collaborated on a 2010 calendar project, Why We Love Flowers.

We feel fortunate that Chris brought her camera and took time to photograph some of our dogs. Luckily also, the pasture was in full bloom when Chris photographed Blue and Cash, 9-week-old littermates out of Northwoods Blue Ox and Houston’s Belle’s Choice.

Check out more of Chris’ photography—including shots of Bird Dogs, Field Trials, Upland Hunting and garden photos—and her other work at www.sportsmanscabinet.com.

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

This is the cutest litter ever. But then, as you know, Jerry and I always say that.

Even though the six puppies from our Blue Riptide x Blue Ghost (Cotton) litter are walking and getting stronger legs, they still sleep a lot.….and usually piled on top of each other. Cotton makes the most of the opportunity and heads outside to check out any pigeons flying around.

The puppies will be four weeks old this weekend and we’ll begin the weaning process. They grow up so fast!

Happy new owners picked up their puppies from the Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Choice litter in the last 24 hours. We’re down now to the four we’re keeping and it looks pretty lonely in their run. We know we can’t keep them all; more importantly, we’re thrilled for the puppies and their owners.  

Two of them are three-time puppy buyers from us including a buyer from our very first litter in 1995. This time he drove—marathon style—from his home in northeastern Oklahoma to pick out his female. Another is an avid (maybe manic is a better word) hunter and he also chose a female to go with his previous two males. The final female went to a wonderful family with three sons. Who will have more fun in that home—the puppy or the kids?