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.