Notes from our clients

Hi Sally!

GREAT to hear from you:)  Actually I have been telling Dave that we should email you with an update on Blazer:) She is a beautiful, smart, dog and we just LOVE her:)

We just had her spayed and everything seems to have gone well.  We found a great place in Hudson, Paws and Claws that has daycare and training.  When we both have a long day, we send her to daycare... seems crazy, but she loves it and it's good for all of us!  She usually goes about once a week, so it's great for continued socialization and all the workers there are consistent so they know her well:)

We had a hard time leaving her in the kennel, so we just blocked off a room for her in the house and (knock on wood) she is great when we are gone.  I just give her a chew bone before I leave and she sleeps most of the day.  When I get home, she is usually crawling off her chair in a long stretch. 

Dave's mom lives in Fargo, North Dakota, so when we drive up there, Blazer rides in the kennel.  She is SO great riding in the car!  She knows that that is her spot, and when I say, "let's go", she hops right in and lays down.  Now she hates the kennel if we are in the house, but the car- she is good to go:)

We have the half acre fenced in for our back yard, so she just loves to get out there and run around- chase tennis balls (she retrieves great)and HUNT!  Just like you said, even if we are not hunting, she still will!  She is bound and determined to catch one of those low flying birds!  Dave has talked about going hunting with one of his buddies, but he hasn't made it out yet.  Oh well- she still points butterflies, birds and even her dog friends when they visit.  She is our little princess.

She has been such a wonderful addition to our family- it's amazing! We both love her so much, she just fills our hearts! We have also learned that GSP owners around here are funny.  If you have a GSP, you're "in the group"  - it's hilarious because we have become those people too- if we see someone out with one, we point and nod in approval.  People do that to us too... I'm not sure what that is, but it's comical none-the-less. 

I literally have hundreds of pictures of her, but I'll attach a good one from right before Christmas that I used in some gifts for our family.  I'll also attach the picture from our wedding in August:)

Hopefully the two pics won't overload your system. Let me know if they come through.

Again- great to hear from you Sally- we are so grateful for such a WONDERFUL dog:)

Rita and Dave

Hi Sally. 

Louie is doing awesome-slept through the entire first night!!  He did for the most part last night but I made the mistake of letting him nap from 7:00-8:00-I took him to the park and wore him out retrieving a tennis ball.  He is a great dog and definitely smart.  Since you talked about the Von Greif blood line of my last dog being field trial and show we can really tell a difference in the temperment and ability to handle stress-loud noise, cars, etc-our old dog would shiver and want to run while Breaker does
startle but is able to compose himself.  We are so happy with him and we are glad that we decided to get him-our house feels normal again with a dog. 

Thanks for everything-all of our neighbors love him as well.  Attached is a picture and thanks again for letting us use the kennel-works great!!

from (happy new owner)

PS-We decided to change his name to "Louie"-he seems like a Louie to us!!

Sally,

            I don’t want to be a bother but I put Dee into birds yesterday, after several months of working her on moving through cover, retrieving on land and water, etc.  But I kept her off live birds because I didn’t want her to bust up nests or immature birds.  So I was holding my breath, not knowing how much of the work in the spring with live birds would have stuck.  I was especially anxious about how she would range.  In our summer outings, she worked patterns that rarely took her more than 40 yards out but I wondered what would happen when we got into birds.  I needn’t have worried.  She was amazing.  She worked close and  pointed (chukar) staunchly, didn’t break until the flush and retrieved flawlessly (not so much as a nick on the birds).  It was too hot to work her for more than 45 minutes but I used several of the birds I shot over her to work her on water retrieves, to cool her down as much as anything.  And even those birds, which she retrieved 3-4 times, were, but for being dead and soaked, “as good as new.”  She’s one helluva dog. 

All the best,
Jan, owner of Dee.

This pup is By Keeper aka Ch. Fly N Hy's Diamond Keepsake and out of ACE aka Ch. Hightail N Beastmeister's Ace JH, CD, NAVHDA NA Prize I.

Sally,

I can't resist.  I started Dee working toward blind retrieves. After working her on a couple of chukars, which she pointed and retrieved, I took one of the dead birds and, with her watching, threw it into a tangle of brush.  Then I walked her away 30 yards or so, oriented her to the bird, pointed in the direction of the bird, and released to the command "dead bird."  She went on a straight line to the bird and brought it back.  Then I distracted her and tossed the bird into another thicket, called her in and oriented her to where the bird was, hand signaled toward the bird and gave her the command, "dead bird."  She hesitated a second and then charged off in the direction of my hand, found the bird, and brought it back.

I agree, we are talking "blank slate."  Well bred dogs can be screwed up
six ways from Sunday.  But I had one shorthair (an absolutely gorgeous male) who was as biddable as could be.  But when I introduced him to live birds he was a complete dud.  He had no nose.  I was taken aback on our first outings and thought, well, he's young.  But I swear I could have put a chunk of steak on the kitchen floor and he would have gone right by it without pausing.  Dee has all the intincts in spades.  One or two repetitions, and she understands what's expected of her.  She needs reinforcement, of course, but she gets the basic idea in a flash.

I haven't forgotten my promise to send pictures. It's just been hard to take pictures and shoot birds with but two hands.  My "accomplice," has been busy grading papers. But my wife will retire at the end of this semester and then the documenting will begin in earnest.

I hope that Dee's litter mate who got into lead paint comes around. We can exchange horror tales of placing puppies.  The major reason I stopped breeding was dismay with what happened to the pups.  In the last litter (7 pups) I raised, 4 were killed in run-ins with cars before they reached one year.  And I wrote up a three page guide which went out with each pup, especially saying these dogs want to explore (hunt) so you have to set limits and keep them oriented to you.  Some people don't get it and it is hard to know in advance who does and who doesn't.

All the best,
Jan, owner of Dee.

I always got a kick out of this picture.  Whenever I go out back to shoot clays, I let Orvis tag along.  When I put a clay on the thrower he gets a little excited.  But when the thrower is cocked and I have a hold of the string he goes on point knowing that clay is about to be thrown.  Or in his mind "flush".  Notice how his eyes are so fixated on that thing.  Nobody believed me so I decided to take a picture of it.  Enjoy.......

John

Sally and Marsha,

After weeks of working Dee on frozen doves ("Lonesome Doves"), I introduced her to live chukars this afternoon. She bolted and flushed the first one as soon as she spotted it, and chased it for 10 yards, and then stopped. She checked back and I said nothing. I had a dead chukar and threw it out, with the command to fetch. She bounded after it and brought it back on a straight line.

She pointed the next chukar staunchly and let me go in for the flush. I fired my blank revolver (I wanted to pay attention to her, not to making the shot) and threw out the dead chukar. She was on it in a flash and brought it back.

Next weekend we'll try the real thing, no bait and switch. Once we get that down, we'll start on steady to wing and shot.

Dee is, as I reported earlier, a very fast learner. I'm squeezing training sessions in between a really busy schedule so I've let pictures slide. As soon as work eases up, I'll make amends. Dee is getting compliments right and left--hopefully they won't go to her head. You both have done a fine job and I could not be happier.

All the best,
Jan

From:  Happy New Owner
To:  Sally Battista

Hi Sally. Well my pup (out of Chief and Jewell) is 11 months old and I thought I would update you on her progress. It took a couple weeks for my other dog to get used to having a rambunctious pup running around, but they developed a good friendship and enjoy playing and 'fighting' together.

I started out with obedience training and Ruger (that's the pups name - I own serveral Ruger firearms) turned out to be a pretty fast learner. I started off with a wing very early to get her into some play time and to see her reaction and after a few months started using a retrieving dummy, which she took to with great joy. She loves the water and I have trouble keeping her out of the stream behind my house, even in cold weather (glad it is mostly frozen over now). Worked her over several pigeons and she definitely showed an eagerness to get them.

For most of the season I hunted with my other dog, but it was tough for Ruger to work birds on her own as my other dog is somewhat of a far ranger and covers ground quickly, therefore finding the bird ahead of Ruger,  but after 2-3 weeks I did get her on to a couple and she quickly learned to retrieve downed birds. Each week I could see improvement in her bird finding ability and finally for the last couple of weeks of the season I took her out alone and she did wonderfully for a 10 month old. Found and retrieved my limit on each occasion.

The final weekend five of my club members joined me along with Ruger as our only dog. All were very impressed with her ability. She even crossed over a 12 foot wide frozen drainage ditch to grab a wounded bird and bring it back. Her first time on ice - she went across without any hesitation, but once she had that bird she wasn't sure about crossing that ice again. A little coaxing is all it took.  I was a little concerned with her 'holding point' as during play time with the wing she developed a 'go after it' attitude, but in the field she held point very well. In fact, on most occasions I couldn't get her to move until the bird flew. Everyone who sees her has complimented on her coloring.

Although she has become darker, she still possesses that very dark head and then gets lighter towards the tail, which is mostly white. I guess you can tell I am very pleased with her and can't wait until next season. I wish the season was still open and may take her to a private preserve to get more work in.  Aside from hunting, she has a great temperment and gets along well with other dogs and people. She does think she's a lap dog and she does get into the recliner with me just about every night, but she is a bit big and it gets a little crowded with both dogs!

Obviously I made the right choice. Thanks!!

Sally,

I thought you might enjoy a picture of Skeet’s first pheasant hunt (1 & ½ years old).  She is a great dog – a wonderful family dog and great bird dog.  She is well behaved, hunts very aggressively, and dives right into thick cover.  I am extremely happy with her.

Bob, owner of "Skeet"

Hi Sally

I hope you can open this picture of Rose and her first "wild" pheasants. She did point one hen but did a lot of running the rest of the time, she started to understand what her job was on Sunday afternoon when she retrieved one the Roosters in the picture. She has a wonderful nose - I just have to work on the attention span lasting more than 1 minute.  Allie was the hero this weekend though she ended up getting into a battle with a wounded Rooster on Sunday.  Allie ended up with two gashes by her eyes and hole in her nose.  Allie came out of the rushes bleeding and tail wagging but she had that stubborn Rooster in her mouth.  She tracked that Rooster for 10 minutes in the thickest rushes she has ever been in.  I'll tell you something I was so proud of her she never gave up.  Having two Pointers makes hunting so much more enjoyable and rewarding.  Thanks again for the two wonderful hunting partners. 

John, owner of "Rose"

Sally:

Dakota has been a wonderful addition to our life. She is friendly and very loving! She's been easy to train in with obedience and hunting. She has done well with house training from the start and has never gotten into anything she shouldn't have. We spend a lot of time with her and I'm sure this benefits her temperament/disposition along with a good blood line. The towel incident happened while kenneled. Our vet was pleased with our keen observations of her and was pleased we brought her in ASAP. It's like having a child - you can't put anything past her! Again, she's been wonderful and we love having her!

Jason and Sara, owner of "Dakota"