A little update....

The field trial world is a buzz with this recent announcement...

A new web based service, " to everyone interested in the sport, and offers special benefits through a web-based membership platform for individuals, organizations and businesses."

The last month has been busy with great weather, friends and good times.

Sammy placed first in the Open All Age derby in Great Falls....we finally got a placement that involved bird work and after dropping some weight off of him, we found his ideal size for getting consistent run out of him. I'm really happy with where we're at and getting close to breaking him.

In mid November, we're off to Kansas and the Inola field trial grounds in Oklahoma for the Region 8 AA Amatuer Championship. I'll be running Sammy's sire Hank (Prairie Crude), owned by Shawn and Glenn Conover in the Champiionship and maybe Sammy as well, then running Sammy in the open AA derby.

On the way home, we hope to join Ted for a couple of days of Quail hunting in Kansas.

I hope to keep y'all posted with photo's and updates.

Brad

Fánach III

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Opening days on the Prairie

Although a bit warm at times, we have had some stellar days for running dogs and pointing birds. When conditions are cooler we see plenty of birds.

Just a few images from our opening days....

2011 LUKE x SUZIE LITTER

Our 2011 litter was a grand success ! We had a fun " Puppy Picking" get together at Ryan Fortier's Long Hollow Kennels in Ellensburg, Wa. on August 11th. Pictured are some happy owners with their new pups.

Nine beautiful pups went to owners from Washington, Idaho, California and Montana. The " wing on a string " produced some nice puppy points and even a classy back by " Cash ".

  I think this guy named " Huck Finn " is going to be a hard charger ! Come back and visit us in November,  we should have some pics of these pups pointing their first wild birds, before this season is over.

Thanks,

Tim

Let the fun begin.....

Spent the weekend in Circle closing out the National Amateur Pheasant Championship, checking out the Montana shooting Dog Championship and running Sammy in the Montana Derby. The opportunity to meet some of the backbone of the Amatuer and Pro ranks of American Field as well as watch and learn from them was priceless.

Was excited to learn that Austin Turley won the Amateur with his Female Pionter Vi, a true bird dog and thats what you need to win on those grounds...the cover was thick and high to say the least and the temps were warm.

The Montana Open Derby was run on Sunday and the hard work seems to have paid of as my pionter Sammy placed second out of the 26 dogs drawn.

Next up we hope to run up to Canada for the National Amateur Chicken Championship in Mortlach, SK to see those grounds and possibly run Sammy in the broke stake just for experience.

Oh... and bird season is just seven days away! I'm continueing to hear good reports on the birds locally but elsewhere, primarily the NE part of Montana is down as all predicted.            



Another productive morning....

Rain welcomed us this morning....with the temps in the low 60's, we decided to check out some Honey-holes. I put Sammy on the ground first to give him the first shot at undistubed birds. I was real happy with the results. He had four finds and two stop to flushes, which I felt like he handled real well for an 18 month old pup. Three of his contacts were on healthy Sharptail broods, which was very exciting.

In this video....he pointed at 274 yards and stood till I arrived....

I aslo chose to run Teigen this morning, his tail seems to have recovered. He ran well and had three finds but still needs some work...tick tock, tick tock

Buzzard Bait

Another early morning....to beat the heat. No wind and early high temps make it tough for a young pups so I'm gonna give Sammy the benefit of the doubt. Took him to one of our favorite public spots and only moved one Sharptail, however, he had a nice stop to flush and waited for me to arrive. I haven't run Teigen the last couple of days, turns out he had limp tail syndrome and after a visit to the vet, some Rimadyl and some rest, he's all ready looking much better. I'll hopefully begin running him again on Sunday.

The heat has the ugly birds out....

Saw our first Partridge broods today driving back into town....two different broods and maybe a week apart in age. Both broods flew very well when flushed( forgive the picture quality, apparently my lens is not automatically focusing and I'm no professional ).

Here are the last two males looking smug and hopeful for new hunting homes.

Dog Days....

It continues to be warm here, so early morning is where it's at. The first hour and a half loop with Teigen began at 7:00 am and 62', we managed to move a couple of Sharptails, one stop to flush and the other with a find but a little movement at the flush. Just two more weeks to remind him to stay steady. Teigen may have hurt one of his back hind legs, after putting him up, he seems to be favoring it and is not carrying his tail like normal.

The second hour loop with Sammy produced no birds but I rode up a pair of Hun's, normally just one adult will flush to protect the brood, so I'm a little disappointed not to see any chicks.

Hopefully as the harvest begins in a couple of weeks, we'll begin to see this year's young Huns.

An update from Tim yesterday has all but two male pups sold....Teigen and Luke were the last two of their litter.

For your viewing pleasure.....

A few training video's to share with you.....warning, I'm no cinematographer! We do plan to post more video her in the next several months.

Teigen on Sage Grouse....not gonna win any Championships with this style but he's getting closer all the time.

Here he pins a couple of Huns

Sammy in the fall at 7-8 months...has a nice find on a group of Sharptails. Although he had birds shot over his points by this time, this opportunity was not ideal, so I let them fly.



Summer Update

Just a brief update to get up to speed on our Summer status.

The rain finally stopped and the morning's have been ideal for running and working the dogs. Also recent brood sightings have us really excited about the upcoming season. Most of the hay has been baled, yielding bumper crops yet quite a bit of cover is still standing due to wetter than normal conditions. While running the dogs last week on the training grounds, we moved four healthy broods, two Sharptail broods and two Pheasant broods. This is an area that was wiped out by hail last summer. In another three weeks the wheat harvest should begin and we should start to see some Partridge.

The Luke and Suzie breeding has provided some nice looking pups and we still have four available. If you know of someone looking for a classy and easily trained hunting partner, turn them on to this litter.

I really like this picture of Casper on point...as you can see, all class. Casper is from the first breeding.

The puppy page has been updated with some recent pictures of the new litter and please contact Tim to inquire about availability.

There are only three weeks remaining till our first trial, the Amateur Pheasant Shooting Dog Championships in Circle, a derby stake and the Montana Shooting Dog Championship to follow. I am optimistic that Teigen will have a better showing this go around, he's looking nice and fit, showing good manners and definitely ready for the hour stakes. If Sammy continues to pick things up at his current pace, I may run him in some of the All Age stakes in Canada, ChickenChampionship and the Region 14 AA Championship. Primarily to gain experience for the future.

Oh, and only 39 days to the opener!





Litter Announcement

It's official.... Suzie successfully gave birth to ten healthy pups once again, with five females and five males being born. Most have a complete mask and about three coming out orange. Stay tuned for pictures....

Big Sky Field Trial Club: BSFTC to host National Amateur Pheasant Shooting D...

This is a big deal for our region and a proud opportunity...

Big Sky Field Trial Club: BSFTC to host National Amateur Pheasant Shooting D...: " The Big Sky Field Trial Club has been invited to host the 2011 running of the National Amateur Pheasant Shooting Dog Championship at the ..."

Big Sky Field Trial Club 2011 Shooting Dog Classic

This past weekend found us in Circle, MT competing in the BSFTC Shooting dog Classic. It was a one hour stake which started 17 dogs. The grounds at Circle are amazing and made for big running dogs pursued on Horse back. Luke and Teigen had the afternoon braces and although both layed down good races, neither minded thier manners on thier birds and were picked up before time expired. But they looked good going...

Sammy placed third amongst the eleven dogs drawn for the 30 minute All Age Derby stake.

Front row(l to r) Dave Noell with Lone Mountain Reliant placed 1st, owned and handled by John Mandell, Railita and Austin Turley place 2nd, Willow Creek Peggy and Isaiah Todd placed 3rd.
Back Row(l to r) Tom Nygard, John Mandell, Judge Sonny Clark, John Todd and Shannon Nygard.

Spring Training

Winter has finally let loose it's grasp on us here in Montana. We've been getting the dogs out regularily and milking the last few weeks available to us on wild birds before they begin nesting. Hopefully the boys will be ready for the BSFTC Shooting Dog Classic on April 16th.