Puppies get first pedicure...

Over the past week we saw several changes with the puppies.  They're continuing to grow quite nicely and packing on the pounds.  Their weights range from just shy of 3# to nearly 4#.  In addition to their growth in size, their nails were quite long so we gave them all a pedicure and trimmed them up nicely.  Bella is already thanking us.  Over the last day or so, their teeth have begun to poke through.  This tell us it's time to start transitioning from an all milk diet to puppy food that's soaked in water to make a sloppy mush.  Puppies have just four weeks left until they'll be in their forever homes.  If you know of someone looking for an excellent companion that can hunt with this best of them.  Please forward our contact information along.

2 weeks and GROWING....

Puppies are two weeks of age and growing fast. They're all nearly 2.5#. In the coming week we should see some big changes. Rather than do the "army crawl" we should see them begin to walk. Additionally we should their eyes begin to open. Only 5 weeks remain until they get re-homed.  We have three males available. 

Boys playing puppy pile...

Puppies get first Vet visit

If dew claws are to be removed.  It is recommended to have them removed between days three and five.  Well, day four, puppies get their first visit to our vet.  Not only is our vet seen here removing the dew claws.  He's also giving them an initial check-up.  All six puppies appear to be healthy and off to a good start.  The first picture is during the dew claw removal visit.  The second picture is of all six puppies a couple days later at nearly a week old.

           

Puppies have arrived!

Bella whelped 6 healthy puppies.  Four boys and two girls.  Bella's first puppy, the darkest colored male, was born Saturday, May 6th at 3:35am.  About twenty minutes later she had the first female, shortly followed by another male.  Each subsequent puppy was born 45minutes, then an hour, then two hours later.  The last male was born about 8:00am.  Immediately following each birth, Bella's maternal instincts began to shine.  She cleaned the puppy and began nursing.  Notice the bright pink newborn noses and paws.  These will begin darken with time.  This picture is taken shortly after the last puppy was born.

Vaider meets Bella

Sire:  4xGMPR Cashman's Risky Raider's in Vaider MH

Vaider hails from Cashman Kennels, in Elko, MN.  He is a natural pointing male who holds an American Pointing Lab Association 4xGMPR title as well as an AKC Master Hunter title.  He excels not only as an upland hunter, he's also dynamite in the duck blind and/or boat hunting fowl.  He is calm and steady and handles blind retrieves like a pro.  He has the diversity and strengths that most avid hunters are looking for.  Vaider, like his father Raider, is an outstanding all-around upland and water fowl hunter.    Additional information regarding Vaider and his legendary father Raider, can be found by clicking here.

Health Clearances for Vaider are as follows:               
AKC: SR62574601                                                                                     
DOB:  6/6/2010                                                                                           
Weight:  70lbs                                                                                             
Hips:  LR-198663G24M-VPI                                                                    
Elbows:  LR-EL55283M24M-VPI                                                           
Penn HIP:  DI 0,33 top 90% for Labradors (excellent rating)
CERF:  LR-347840                                                                                    
EIC: Clear by Parentage                                                                            
CNM:  Clear by Parentage                                                                           
PRA:  Tested Clear                                                                                      
RD/OSD:  Tested Clear         

Dam:  Majestic Miss Lady Isabella JH

Bella is a daughter from our previous breeding between Baker and Hailey.   Like Vaider, she too is a natural pointing, bird finding machine.  She is hunted extensively as a guide dog at Wings North in Pine City and Wild Wings of Oneka in Hugo.  Bella shares many of the same qualities and characteristics of her mother.  She's quite smart, who's easy and loves to train.  Her never give up attitude has saved me many of times on a poorly shot bird.  Her marking ability is something I would never trade anyone.  While upland hunting she covers an entire field in a methodical manner that leaves no tuft of grass left behind.  Her drive and train ability is second to none.  Yet, when her day is done, she's a 52# lap dog in our home.  Her calm temperament is absolutely amazing around our two and five year old children.  Bella is the perfect companion as she loves to hunt, lives to please and is what our family calls a best friend.

                                                                      

Health Clearances for Bella are as follows:
AKC:  SR61714701
DOB:  4/8/2010
Weight:  52lbs
Hips:  LR-202823G35F-VPI
Elbows:  LR-EL58405F35-VPI
CERF  LR-EYE11291/81F-VPI
EIC: Clear by Parentage
CNM:  Clear by Parentage
PRA:  Tested Clear
RD/OSD:  Tested Clear


Litter Pedigree Information can be found here

Spring of 2013

~Hailey and Bella

It's been quite some time since I last posted an update. A couple years in fact. Since that last post both Hailey and Bella have grown inseperable, constantly playing and rough housing. It's aparant Bella's youthfullnes is keeping Hailey active and young. The summer of 2011 Hailey passed the APLA's Certified Pointing Retriever test.  The same summer she passed four AKC Junior Hunter tests and earned her Junior Hunter Title. Last summer I didn't run any hunt tests as Pauline and I were quite busy with the birth of our first child.  The fall of 2012 both Hailey and Bella began guiding at http://www.wingsnorth.org in Pine City.

 

Recently Bella passed four AKC Junior Hunter tests to earn her Junior Hunter Title.  Bella is hunting, pointing and retrieving quite nicely. I did have Bella's hips and elbows x-rayed.  Her hips scored Good and her elbows Normal.  She's weighing in at 51#.

~Bear
Bear is all of 72lbs and my loyal "wingman" as always!  Bear began running hunt tests the Summer of 2011. Since then he's progressed nicely.  He went 4 for 4 to earn his AKC Junior Title. The summer of 2012 he went 4 for 4 to earn his AKC Senior Title. He also ran in two UKC Senior tests passing both those test. Bear has two more UKC Senior passes before he titles.  We have a very busy summer planned with family stuff, but if the cards fall right and we are successful, we will finish the HR title and HRCH title with HRC. We also hope to achieve our AKC MH title this year :-\......wish us luck!
Jeff Brezee family and
Brezee Oak's Brother Bear SH





~Bella (from Iowa)

Here is a recent picture of our Bella:).  Our 47# bundle of joy.  She's been on several pheasant hunting trips in Iowa and South Dakota and has a lot of character. We really enjoy her! She's very much a diva and very social.
~Michelle~








~Sasha

Wow 3 years already! Sasha is currently about 62 pounds. She grouse hunted with me all fall this past year and did a wonderful job. She is a hard worker in the field and is driven to succeed. She has been great for our family. The photos are from march on our first trip up north. As you can see she was really excited to be at our woods. She checked every inch of the yard for critters and even played king of the hill with our boys. I am currently thinking about training her to find sheds. She has retrieved old sheds that I have hid around the yard very well and i would like to try her in the field eventually. We look forward to many more years of hunting, playing and companionship with Sasha.
Thanks,
Sean, Jody, Trevor, and Josh


~Oakley

Oakley has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He continues to be great on pheasant trips to South Dakota and grouse hunting near our cabin on Leech Lake. Being in the boat while we fish remains a favorite of his and he is always excited when a fish is caught and he has to be in the middle of the action. As you can see in his photo from this past winter, Oakley loves retrieving and will find it, even in the deepest of snow. He never gets tired chasing anything we throw for him. He remains very social and loves people.

It was fun seeing the updates on his siblings - thanks for doing this!

Karen and Brian VanDerBosch

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