Monthly Archives: March 2009

Pup, Pup, Puppies

Posted in Puppies by
 Thunder sired a  litter of 12 beautiful puppies last year.  His  puppies are almost 4 months old now.  I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures of Thunder’s first year and a few pictures of the puppies.  Thunder was very small until he was 5 months old and then he grew all at once it seemed.  He is now around 100 pounds.
 
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the Thunder’s puppies pictures.  
 
 
Thunder At Around 8 Weeks

Thunder At Around 9 Weeks

 
3 Months Old

3 Months Old

  
2 1/2 Months

15 Weeks

 
4 1/2 Months

5 Months

 
Thunder At Six Months

Thunder At Six Months

  
Thunder took a personal gun dog class and was upland hunting at around 10 months old.  These are some pictures form that first hunt. 
  
Thunder's First Hunt

Thunder's First Upland Hunt at 10 Months Old

 
Thunder's First Hunt 10 Months Old

First Upland Hunt

 
First Hunt 10 Months Old

First Upland Hunt

 And now some of Thunder’s puppies.  In these pictures they are about 13-14 weeks old.
 
Puppies that went to live in Colorado

Puppies that went to live in Colorado

Training to become a Leader Dog

Training to become a Leader Dog

A cute girl

A cute girl

A cute boy

A cute boy

Puppy Fun with Mama

Puppy Fun with Mama

Girls Rule!

Posted in Hunting by

 

Storm went on her first pheasant hunt this past weekend.  The original plan (when the hunt was booked ), was to take both Thunder and Storm.  However, at the last minute Thunder was not able to go.  It was all up to Storm! 

Farm of Wheat Stubble and Sorghum

Farm of Wheat Stubble and Sorghum

The hunt was at Farmland Pheasant Hunters  on an 80 acre farm with wheat stubble and sorghum combined. 

 Storm’s  job in the field was to find the pheasant, flush it, sit or wait in place, and once the bird was down, to fetch and bring it back to the hunter.  Although Storm has done a bit of grouse hunting and has been training for hunt tests, this is her first experience with pheasants and multiple hunters on such a large farm.
A Successful Hunt

A Successful Hunt

  After the first couple of birds, Storm knew exactly what to do.   Her quartering was nice and close and her drive and  desire increased as the morning went on.  She seemed determined not to sacrifice any cripples or runners.

 For the morning, she had 14 pheasant flushes and also flushed and retrieved a rabbit.  She worked really hard and she and the three hunters had a wonderful day.  Great job Storm!

Big, Big (dog) Show

Posted in dog show by
Conformation

Group Judging

 This past weekend was the Detroit Kennel Club Dog Show which was held at Cobo Hall.  Kennel Club Website    

Terrier Races

Terrier Races

The Detroit News wrote a  nice article about the show.  Prestigious extravaganza returns for dog owners 

  There was a lot to see at this show.  Of course there was the traditional Conformation judging where each dog is judged against the breed standard.  Many different breeds were entered and judged and the winner was awarded Best in Show.  The DKC Show holds a full day of competition on both Saturday and Sunday with winners being declared on each day. 
 
This year a Toy Poodle named Walker won Best in Show both days.  Detroit Free Press article about Walker   Chessies placed in the Sporting Group both days!  Yay for them!  The Group Competitions and Best in Show were filmed by ESPN and will be shown  4:30- 6 p.m. March 22 on ESPN2, and repeats on ESPN and ESPN2. 
 
Agility

Agility

 
The Show also had Agility, Obedience, and Rally trials.  There was quite a large crowd watching these events.  In addition, there were all kinds of demonstrations  from Terrier Races to Leader/Service Dog Demonstrations to Doggie CPR Classes to Herding Dogs herding a bunch of ducks.   
 

The DKC  is one of the few remaining “benched” dog shows.  A benched dog show means that the dogs must be present “on the bench” all through the show, except when they are in the ring competing.  The Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York City is a famous benched dog show.  Benched shows are great for the public because they can actually see the different kinds of dogs and speak to the breeders.  If someone is interested in purchasing a purebred dog as a pet, then I highly recommend attending a benched dog show.

Awesome Bench Decoration

Awesome Bench Decoration

 Storm got to sit the show out, but we entered Thunder both days.  Thunder was invited to bench with the dogs from Storm’s Kennel. Irish’s Clover Leaf Kennels
They do a wonderful job of decorating their bench every year.  Also, they did very well in this year’s competition and brought home  a lot of first place blue ribbons. 

Once Around

Once Around

Thunder at Cobo

Thunder at Cobo

 Thunder did a great job and left each day with a ribbon (unfortunately neither were blue).    Thunder was wonderful with the crowd and children especially seemed to be drawn to him.  Thunder loves children, so he was happy for the attention.  We are planning to pursue Thunder’s Therapy Dog Certification.  

He certainly had a ton of fun at the show and was sweet to everyone who approached him so he may make a great therapy dog.   Needless to say, he needed a long nap after his busy weekend.
A Little R&R for Thunder

A Little R&R for Thunder