Success again - great weekend trialing

We spent Friday and Saturday trialing at Dallas Pointer and Setter FTC trial at Wortham, TX - Parrs Tucker was 2nd in the Open Shooting dog stake behind RU CH Barshoes Top Gun (Ace) owned by Terry Tuley and handled by Jerry Lewis - Whiterock Cordite finished 3rd.

In the Open Derby - Arbuckle's Aces Annie was 1st place. It was a great win but I think Cody paid a high price for it - I had to ride hard to keep from getting buried by the other handler and when we finished Cody was bleeding bright red blood from his nose - and now I will be looking for a replacement and back up to Cody and Lacy.

Here are the runs as I saw them.

Tucker ran a big edge covering shooting dog race, well forward and using the wind great - his first find came near a mott of trees and he handled it well. He had a back after that and finished with a beautiful find well forward on a great cast.

Rocky - Had three beautiful perfect finds - however, his race was not as forward as Tucker and he looped a bit more than I would have liked - we will start running edges more with him and keep on him about staying in the pocket - still a nice performance.

Annie - God, I loved this run and I loved doing it on my beautiful old field trial horse he carried me to yet another win and gave his all to do it for me. Annie took off running big on edges and responding to ques from both my voice and Cody as we turned and put her on edges and blew her go whistle - she went - cracking her tail and putting the spurs to her brace mate (2nd place dog). The other handler was riding hard pushing his dog and Annie stayed up in front of the dog - checking likely cover as she went - she had no finds and after watering her I had to gallop Cody to catch the other handler, and he responded, even though it hurt him.

Near the end of time in the stake, After Annie cooled a bit in a pond I road up on the tank dam and blew her go whistle finishing well forward at the end. A winning performance.

Now the others - Tio had 3 broke finds, including a covey find on wild/feral birds but did not back in time and he was a little short (will put him up for sale as a gun dog) but a nice dog - just not a field trial dog.

Primo - Ran a nice forward shooting dog race taking the edges and responding well, had a broke find, and after leading him off (handler error - should have lead him further off) and releasing him he went back and pointed the previous birds that were left (delayed chase) and I picked him up - but still getting better on everything a very nice dog.

Dot - Had the performance of the stake - until her 3rd find. We broke away with Dot finding the front and staying on the left tree line (wind was coming left to right) through the gap and ran on the right tree line to her first and beautiful high and tight broke find on quail in a cedar, plum tangle. Watered her and turned her loose and off she went finding the front in a big and forward, cover and ground eating shooting dog race. She hit an edge and dropped into a creek as I continued forward singing to her and lost sight of her - knowing Dot doesn't get lost and always finds the front going with me whether she can see or only hear me - I kept going forward with my scout dragging the edge in case she was buried up on point in there and I missed it.

We broke into the open and Dot showed in front coming with me (evidently she followed the steep banked creek all the way up until she found a place to get out) and came to me - as she crossed to the front she had a beautiful find. As I was walking towards the cover, the bird flushed and flew over her head, She moved only her head to watch it go - I fired a blank and she was as steady as a rock - I turned her loose and tried to put her on another edge but she continued on down and found another bunch of birds - they were walking in plain sight and when I kicked and fired it was too much for her and she broke.

Both the judges rode up to me after I corralled her and had her in the harness and thanked me for running Dot - they loved her - had she continued on and handled those birds correctly there is no doubt she would have won the stake.

Even though she is a edgy dog I love Dot - she is what awesome field trial dogs are made of - awesome and breathtaking when they do it right - heartbreaking when they mess up because they are always in the hunt for the ribbon/trophy.

Keith - Posting from Under the Live Oaks

Had a good weekend

I had a good weekend - Rocky's little boy Gus was 4th in an Open Puppy stake and his Daddy got 1st in an Open Gun Dog stake.

Been a long dry spell for me since I had a blue ribbon.

Tucker had a great race and a nice find - bobbled a bit - but he is so much like his dad sometimes I forget that he isn't Tanner when he is running.

Keith - Posting from Under the Live Oaks

Still Plugging away

Well, we are still working dogs and getting some stuff done. This last weekend was a disappointing outing.

Dot - Had three beautiful finds and then looped back and knocked and chased a bird.

Primo - Failed to back

Annie - chased like a puppy

Duc and Gus - Just nothing to report - they were over there ability in a derby stake.

Keith

Only one placement

Well, we ran hard and tried hard but in the end only Annie got it done.

Back in Texas

All the dogs and horses are in great shape. No problems except for a blowout on the horse trailer

Travel Plans

Well, it looks like we will be leaving on Tuesday to head south to Texas. For those that live in the Ft Worth area - we will probably stop at Cabelas in Ft Worth to unload the horses and get the dogs out into the kennels to stretch their legs a bit - anticipating about 2-4 hours there. If it would be convenient for owners in the Ft Worth area you can pick up your dogs there. I am gonna try to keep everyone appraised of our progress via Facebook so the meet can be made if you wish.

Still working dogs - we introduced 12 ga shotgun to all the younger dogs - in prep for hunting seasons - progress continues with all the dogs.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Starting to pack up now

Well, we start breaking down camp and getting ready to go home - we have a week or so yet - but getting things packed up and ready to go is going on at a leisurely pace - Hopefully, I will get to a trial in Great Falls next weekend and Daniel with continue to work on stuff - either way - hoping to be on the road 3rd or 4th of October.

Dogs are doing well, and I am pleased with the work that has been accomplished.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

10 days left

Working young dogs and pups on pen raised birds that last couple days. Progress coming along slowly. But, it is at least progress in the right direction

everyone doing great

We have been running the younger dogs lately. They are making good progress.

Red and Duc - Had multiple contacts with birds - Red had some blanks fired and his confidence is growing - Duc ran all over and handled well.

Stub and Taz - Again multiple contacts with birds. Stub had 5 finds that he stood steady to wing and shot. Taz pointed and knocked 4 birds himself.

Trevor and Kane - Ran all over - but were not able to find any birds. Nice dogs.

Chip and Kona - Ran well, Kona had a couple contacts pointed until flush. Chip had no contacts - he is very athletic and I am not sure why he has any problem finding birds.

Lucy and Charlie - Ran well and had no finds.

Mali and Dot - Multiple broke finds and good races - they can be counted on to find birds every time.

Jessie and Juju - Had good finds and nice races - it was awesome to watch them go.

Callie and Annie - Running well - finding and pointing birds - Annie still wants to break at the shot - working on that - Callie breaks at the flush but finds lots of birds.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Howdy All

I have been remiss in my postings and I apologize - I have had some serious chest pains and fatigue and that is my only excuse.

Preston, Callie, JuJu and Taz - 3 littermates and one of similar age. These dogs are doing super - they have each had probably close to 500 birds flushing near them, probably pointed over 200 birds each and knocked a bunch more.

Charlie and Sam - Roading well, Sam had a nice derby broke find on pheasants in tough conditions today - Charlie still running short but pointing birds when she finds them

Dot, Primo and Jessie - All broke on their birds, they are hunting intelligently and finding birds on a daily basis

Annie - Super nice dog - still need to work on her steadiness to shot - but finding birds good

Chance - Had several finds today and I am pretty happy with how he is running and handling.

Trevor - Running very well, and finding and holding birds very well

Chip - Yard work good, running hard but wild bird work is not so advanced

Kona - Multiple finds on wild birds - holding to the flush - but running much shorter since we started working on manners

Mike and Millie - Running and exercising - Millie bird work is good

Kane and Dolly - Both running great, both having multiple broke finds on outings and I am pleased with them.

Jake - Nice run, multiple broke finds and handling great

We had to quit running most of the girls for a time - as all 9 of them were in heat at virtually the same time - now starting to run them more.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Birds are getting hard to come by for the young dogs

Well, the last couple days we have been running working the young dogs - birds are getting scarce now - most have moved into corn fields where we can't work them - but we are getting some work done.

We are also working more pen raised birds now than in the past - controlling the contacts and really working on getting the young dogs steady to flush.

Another day on the prairie

Mali and Lucy - Ran well, searching well - no birds

Dot and Dolly - Ran very well, multiple finds and stop to flush on numerous pheasants each - very nice work.

Jessie and JuJu - Juju ran a nice sweeping pattern knocked a bunch of sharp tails and chased - and had a divided find with Jessie on a pheasant - Jessie ran a very nice race and had a divided find with JuJu on pheasant. Nice brace

Callie and Annie - Ran beautiful races - Callie pointed and knocked a few birds - Annie had a find she mishandled but ran well and had a great time

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Well another day training is almost done

We worked a bunch of male dogs today - some had birds, some didn't

Chance and Chip - Chance had a broke find on sharp tail, Chip pointed and knocked another bunch

Primo and Stub - Stub had a nice piece of broke bird work. Primo had two broke finds and both did a really nice job

Jake, Kona and Gus - We ran these dogs together - they ran great but had no bird work at all - just was getting hot and we had no wind.

Red and Kane - Ran well, Red had a find on sharp tail - Kane had a non productive - but a very nice hunting pattern.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Well, we worked the females today

We took several females out to work on pheasants, it was a cool windy day. We had good/great work from several of the girls.

Dot - She had 4 finds, 2 stop to flush and a far reaching shooting dog or all age race. She looked very good on her birds.

Charlie - Ran much shorter than her bracemate but still managed to have 2 finds

Mali - Ran a very nice gun dog race - she had 3 or 4 broke finds and a non productive but all in all it was pretty nice.

Callie - Had finds and knocked a bunch of birds - she ran very well and bigger than Mali on most occasions

Juju - Getting very independent and found a bunch of birds - this little girls attitude had a major change over the summer - from very clingy to very independent

Annie - Had two derby broke finds and a easy handling shooting dog race (a bit shorter than I like but a great job anyhow)

Rocky - Only male we ran. Braced with Juju - He had 3 very nice broke finds and a nice gun dog race.

Dolly - Nice big running race with no finds - Dolly has been bred to Jake and we should have pups around the end of October

Jessie - Ran well, 2 nice finds - Good race - not as far reaching as normally.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Slow days

Well, just about every female in the kennel is in season - so we are roading and running dogs on alternate days - girls with girls - males with males.

Lately we have been concentrating on yard work with the young dogs. All the dogs are doing well and we are looking forward to cooler days this week to run dogs again.

Took the big dogs to the rolling hills

Loaded up early and went south of camp - Took our biggest running dogs to let them roll in the wide open and get some bird work.

Duc and Gus - Ran big and wide - over an hour they were on the ground. Duc has the most endurance I have ever seen in a viszla - multiple contacts on birds but no points for either dog - running way out there and handling well.

Buddy - Ran him by himself and watched that dog go in the country over a mile on several occasions - Daniel and I both had to ride hard to keep in touch with him - gonna start keeping him close and bird hunting him - ran big enough that it was exciting to watch

Knikki and Hondo - Knikki ran well - shooting dog race mostly forward. Two finds that he mishandled - one he had to be cautioned to stop, or he crowded a bird and it flushed, was able to flush several more and fire the blank. Another he took a big step forward on a flush and was corrected - Hondo did a nice puppy race and ran in there nice - pointed briefly before knocking and chasing a bird.

Primo - Ran big - got out of touch a couple times - had a find that he held through the flush and then moved on after a short time.

Dolly - Had two finds and a nice race - she took a hop on the first find but was corrected, held well for the second find and finished well.

We have several dogs at camp that are hormonally challenged - Annie, Dot, Jessie, Sadie, Dolly are all in season or appear to be coming in.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Got hot today

We ran 10 dogs in 5 braces over the morning.

Lucy and Kona - Up first and each had a find that they held until the flush. This was awesome and I enjoyed watching them.

Mali and Jake - Nice races in the hottest part of the morning. Mali had 4 broke finds and Jake had 3 broke finds.

Rocky and Tio - Rocky had 3 broke finds and a nice race. Tio had 2 broke finds and a nice race.

Trevor and Chance - Trevor had a short race but had 4 nice finds. Chance ran well had 3 backs and 2 Finds - some movement at the shot but not bad.

Millie - Ran well, short but had a nice find.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Puppies having a good time

Well, we ran puppies today - all off horseback and they had a blast.

Stubby - Nice gun dog race, he had a find - and was in near vicinity to close to 50 flushing birds the other pups kicked up.

Callie - Running all over the place - Had two puppy finds - What a great running dog - wish I could field trial her.

Hondo - Big run, mostly forward with 1 derby broke find. Plenty of birds moved this brace.

Taz - Had a nice puppy race - had contacts with 10 birds (pointed briefly on some and knocked and chased)

Gus - I love this dog - big run - easy handling just a breathtaking performance

Preston - Had finds on pheasants and sharp tails this afternoon during our daily run. He pointed a group of 5 pheasants, another group of 10 sharp tails and numerous single contacts

JuJu - Ran a nice puppy race - got to chase about 5 pheasants and she looked like she was having a blast.

All in all a nice group of pups having fun today.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Early and cool

We got an early start today - very cool and moist - even wet mid day.

Rocky and Callie - Rocky had a stop to flush - nice race. Callie had a few contacts with birds and ran well

Buddy and Duc - Duc had a great race and multiple contacts with sharp tail grouse. Buddy had a huge ground eating race and one brief point before knocking and chasing - it was a really fun brace to watch.

Dolly and Dot - Dot may have been a bit hormonally challenged but she had a great race with a find on a big bunch of sharp tails near the end - she broke at the shot. Dolly had a nice gun dog to shooting dog race - with a find on sharp tail that we had to ride a few hundred yards to get too - she was broke through the flush but at the shot was hopping around a bit.

Knikki and Kona - Kona ran very short and was unable to produce birds. Knikki ran bigger but was plagued by non productives.

Chip and Primo - Ran nice races - Chip had a contact with pheasant - Primo uncharacteristically came up with no birds pointed. Still a fun brace to watch and work.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Early in today

We got out and ran 5 braces very early today - good thing heat came on quick and we ran into two rattlesnakes.

Lucy and Taz - Ran around hunted - had opportunities to point birds but knocked and chased instead.

Kane and Mali - Ran great intelligent races - each dog had at least 4 broke finds on pheasant and handled well

Mac and Chip - Ran well - multiple contacts on birds - Mac had two pretty finds broke on the flush or shot - Chip pointed briefly a couple times before knocking and chasing.

Tio and Red - Tio ran a pretty race and had 4 broke finds. Red had a couple contacts and flushed some birds - and we were able to fire some blanks around him will no ill effects.

Sam and Trevor - Ran well, a few contacts - did not see either dog establish point - but there were a couple times we saw birds in the air and rode over a hill to see one or both chasing.

Keith - Posting From Under the Rusty Windmill

Another Day working field trial and hunting dogs

Well, it was good day working dogs today. We got a few good pieces of dog work and alot of good running dogs today.

Knikki and Primo - Nice race, worked the wind well and handled well - no birds produced.

Dolly and Hondo - Nice race, handled well - Dolly had a find on sharp tail took steps on the shot - corrections made - Hondo ran a nice forward puppy race and chased sharp tail all over the place.

Dot and Duc - Big nice running shooting dog races for both dogs - Dot had a find, took a step and corrections were made - more flushing produced more birds that she maintained composure on the rest. Duc chased and had a blast

Rocky and Gus - Nice race - easy handling worked cover well - no birds produced.

Jessie and Buddy - Nice shooting dog race for Jessie - worked cover well - intelligent ground pattern - no birds - Buddy huge shooting dog race - handled well at times a half of a mile in there - had bird contacts but did not handle them with manners.

Kona and Red - Ran a nice puppy race - they had some finds and chased birds. Kona runs a pretty nice puppy race.
Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Cool Day yesterday

Teamed up with a couple friends and ran 5 braces of dogs.

Chance - Ran in heavy cover - had 3 broke finds, a mishandled stop to flush - and after corrections went on to have 2 more broke stop to flush.

Taz - Ran all over the place - had a couple contacts with birds - overall a nice job

Stub - Ran and hunted intelligently but was not able to come up with any bird work.

Callie - Ran a nice race - had 4 or 5 contacts with birds including a puppy point or two on pheasants.

Jake - Ran a nice race - had a couple broke finds and did a nice job on pheasants.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Got warm quick yesterday

We only got 4 braces in -

Dot - Ran a smokin race - and had a great find - she was running an all age race for sure yesterday.

Duc - Ran a very nice puppy derby race with no bird work but was in the vicinity perhaps working birds when they flushed.

Gus - Ran a decent puppy race - with no birds

Amos - 3 backs and a shorter race than usual.

Keith

More prairie work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_wEFCqk5ZA

Well, we had a great day training with all but one dog having birds.

Knikki - Ran a more forward and nicer shooting dog race. He had 3 finds and a couple non-productives

Jessie - Ran all over with a nice shooting dog race - unfortunately we had no bird work during her brace - she was down with a couple other dogs who also did not have bird work.

Dot - Ran a nice shooting dog or all age race with a nice broke find

Primo - Ran a short, moderate shooting dog race with 2 finds.

Dolly - Ran short in heavy cover 3 stop to flush, 2 broke finds on pheasants

Hondo - Ran a short race in heavy cover 4 or 5 contacts with birds including a nice puppy find.

Gus - Ran well - a really good puppy race with 2 contacts and a puppy find.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Slow day today

Well it was a slow day training today. We went to an area that sometimes holds birds but after two braces and limited contact we moved to an area that has more birds.

Chance - Ran well but had no finds that we saw - he did get out of pocket and we had to track him down - Lucy had 1 find.

Tio - Two finds on sharptail nice race. Charlie had a nice find on sharp tail and a bit of a better race - she stayed in front and that was an improvement.

Stub and Taz - Ran all over - had great runs - no finds

Trevor and Jewel - Trevor found a skunk - ran a nice intelligent race - no birds. Jewel - had a nice back on trevor's non productive - ran a short puppy race but it was an improvement.

Kona and Red - Ran a pretty nice puppy race with nice points on pheasant broke and chased - having wonderful time

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Working on the prairies with plenty of sharp tail

We loaded up and headed south yesterday and worked an area of prairie, rolling hills and deep draws.

Annie - Annie ran a nice forward shooting dog race with a derby broke find on a large bunch of sharp tails. She was put down with some young derbies and puppies of Jim Michaletz and Scott Chaffee. As were all the other dogs, it was nice to look at dogs that these men develop and train and gives me an idea of where my dogs are falling in whether they might be competitive.

Gus - Ran a big puppy race, had no finds but ran all over and chased some - very impressed with this young puppy yesterday.

Buddy - Ran so hard we corralled him and put him up before we lost him.

Put Dot down for the rest of the time we had allotted for Buddy - She ran a big shooting dog/almost all age race and had a nice find.

Rocky - Ran a nice moderate shooting dog race, moving easily in front of the other dogs and had 3 broke finds on sharp tail and had one back that he had to be cautioned into.

Primo ran a short to moderate shooting dog race, searching objectives intelligently and he had finds that he was broke through the shot but moved before released by me or collared - still working on that but making lots of progress with this first year dog. He is the finest looking dog on point I have ever trained.

Mac and Knikki - Put these two dogs down together for the last brace - both ran through the country well, worked the draws nicely but were not able to produce any birds.

Additionally, we saw antelope, white tail deer and fawns and 3 bunches of turkey with poults.

Keith = Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

A ton of bird work today

Well, I got out early this morning and got to work. Dogs had a blast.

Primo and Millie - Were the first dogs down and kinda set the pace. Primo ran a nice race with great application - He had 3 broke finds. Millie ran a nice intelligent hunting dog race and had 2 finds - breaking on the flush.

Amos and Kane - The brace to measure all the other braces this summer. Kane had a far reaching and searching race - He had 10 broke finds and one non productive. Amos ran a shorter hunting dog race and had 6 broke finds and 10 backs for 16 broke pieces of dog work - WOW! I got tired of getting on and off the horse!!!!!!!!! LOL

Mali and Hondo - Mother and Son combo - Mali had 6 broke finds and 2 stop to flush. She ran a short to moderate field trial gun dog race. Hunting intelligently. Hondo ran a big puppy race - he had 5 finds that he held from 10 to 30 seconds before breaking and flushing - plus another 3 or 4 that he was working and flushed on him. He had 3 brief Backs of his Mom.

Stub and Charlie - Stub ran a nice reaching hunting dog race - he had 3 finds that he held until the flush. Charlie had one find and a short foot hunting race.

Taz and Sam - Taz had 3 puppy finds - holding point from 10 seconds to almost a minute. He ran an intelligent puppy race and worked cover well. Sam - Had one bump of a hen pheasant - ran a searching gun dog race.

All told I had close to 40 points of birds and many more that were worked and flushed or bumped by inexperienced dogs.

I ran out of blanks - and felt like I did 2 hours on an eliptical machine at the gym - I climbed on and off the horse at least 30 times.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

FIELD TRIALS AND FIELD TRIAL DOGS

We are now less than 2 weeks from the first field trials of the season and my evaluation is almost complete and I have identified the following dogs as field trial prospects/field trial competitors.

Whiterock Gus (Puppy) - Dutch Shoultz

Whiterock Smokin Hondo (Puppy) Chuck Wilson

Whiterock Blazin Buddy (All Age/Shooting Dog) Ernie Hardman

Copelands Dolly Parton (AKC Gun Dog/All age) Stan Copeland

Duc (Puppy/Derby) Ryan Rykoff

Blackhawks Dot (All Age) Bourke Harvey

Whiterock Cordite (Shooting Dog) Dutch Shoultz

Whiterock Mali (Gun Dog) Chuck Wilson

We are still evaluating and will continue to train those dogs towards this end.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Well another day training is almost done

We got a late start because of the thunder and lightning this morning. We got 5 braces done and had some good work.

Chance and Callie - Chance had two contacts with birds and he mishandled them. Corrections made - ran a nice gun dog race and had a back and a non productive later. Callie ran a nice gun dog puppy race - with one non productive and a find on pheasants.

Rocky and Kona - Rocky ran a very nice race - with four broke finds and a intelligent application. Kona ran well - trailed some - corrections made and he had a nice find, broke at the flush and had several nice chases on flushing birds.

Knikki and Gus - Knikki - Ran well, had a nice gun dog race - had 2 finds and a non productive - Gus ran well had a flash point and got to chase a bunch

Chip and Buddy - Big races - no finds - but listened and handled well.

Preston and Dot - Dot put down a nice all age race with no finds. Preston ran a nice puppy race with no finds.

Good Day training today

Well, we switched things around a bit - we are running our bird dogs from horseback first thing in the morning now and roading in the afternoon - this worked out wonderfully today - as it got warm quick and we were able to catch birds before they went into deeper cover in the morning.

Chance and Duke - Chance had a mishandled opportunity first thing and knocked the birds - he then went on and had a find a couple minutes later - corrections made. Duke had 2 bird contacts and knocked and chased.

Dolly and Chip - Dolly had two contacts with birds - first was a stop to flush - a single sharptail flushed as she was making a cast - she stopped I rode up and flushed more birds and she stood steady for the shot. The 2nd contact she was making game and got too close and a bird popped - she once again stopped and I was able to make a correction and flush more birds - she stood broke for the shot. Chip had a great run and pointed briefly and knocked a couple groups of birds.

Knikki and Dot - Knikki had a find and relocated and birds popped way in front of him (I did not call this a bump) he stopped and I fired a shot - which he stood for - he had a couple non productives after - his race was short and lateral but making improvements in range. Dot mishandled a bunch of birds and corrections were made - she ran a nice all age race that caused Daniel some handling challenges. She had a broke find on sharptails near the end.

Rocky and Annie - Rocky ran a short shooting dog race and had a broke find. Annie honored briefly and corrections were made - Annie ran a forward moderate race and had a find - she broke on flush and corrections were made - Improvement in her forward race and handling is steady.

Mac and Gus - Mac had a good gun dog race, moderate at times and lateral. Mac had a find on a hen pheasant - broke on the flush - corrections made. Gus had a nice forward puppy race with a couple of contacts with birds.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Started slow finished strong

We got out today on the prairie in search of the elusive sharp tail - We had 3 braces with limited bird work.

Sam and Jessie - Both ran a forward searching pattern - Jessie got birdy and self corrected and moved on once. Sam had no contacts

Primo and Charlie - Primo ran an intelligent and searching shooting dog race with no contacts. Charlie was short and needed encouragement to stay forward - no bird work.

Buddy and Trevor - Buddy ran a far flung all age race - I had to ride hard to keep him on course and go get him twice - he started responding very well late in the brace - good thing - because Lacy was well lathered by then. Trevor - Ran a very nice and big gun dog race - Daniel had to go get him a few times - neither dog had birds.

Stub and Lacy - Ran well - hunting and searching and Stub was rewarded with a find - he stood broke and it was fun - Lucy did not have a contact.

Hondo and Mali - Had the last brace and ran very nice races - Mali had 5 pieces of broke dog work - finds on sharp tail and pheasants. Hondo ran a great puppy race and had 3 finds - he knocked and chased and had a great time running up bunches of birds.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Cooling off a little

Rocky and Callie - Rocky had 2 finds on pheasants, moderate race - need to stretch him out more on short grass prairie. Callie had a couple nice contacts and ran well.

Mac and Chip - Nice run - working the cover well, Chip had a contact with hen pheasant. Mac got birdy a couple times but was not able to pin the birds.

Knikki and Annie - We working on patterning with both of these dogs, working them fast keeping them on edges, correcting lateral casts. Both did super - with a divided find
on pheasant.

Jake and Dolly - Nice to big running races. Jake running the bigger of the two and more forward, Dolly ran a more moderate forward race. Each had a find and a divided find on pheasants.

Chance and Kona - Big to moderate gun dog race - working well in there patterning and searching of objectives - no bird contacts.

Making money today

Well, today was a great day training. We got an early start and it stayed relatively cool until we finished.

Our first brace was a decent one. We ran Sammie with Chance - Chance ran a nice moderate paced ground race - he had two finds - the first one he mishandled badly and corrections were made as he failed to stop to flush. The 2nd find was much better held until the flush and broke - but corrections were made and he finished strong. Sammie ran a short well paced gun dog race with no birds.

Kane and Trevor - This was a great brace - Trevor ran a well applied and moderate gun dog race making casts to objectives and using the wind well. He had two finds - his first was on a brood of pheasants and hen - he maintained composure even though they were in plain sight and running around - he broke at the flush both times. He did have a non productive. Kane had a beautiful ground race, well applied and big. He had 3 finds and one of the best relocation's on a rooster pheasant I have seen recently. He was steady to wing and shot on all finds.

Lucy and Stubby - Lucy ran a short gun dog race - she had opportunities to back and she did well after cautioning. Stubby ran well he had 4 finds - his first find he pointed well, but on relocation bumped the bird and corrections were made. His 2nd and 3rd opportunities were much better and his 4th find he stood broke for it.

Primo and Charlie - Primo ran a very well applied shooting dog race and had 5 finds - and although he made mistakes and was corrected and then on the last find he stood broke - whooo hoooo!!!!!!!! Charlie had two finds and a short race.

Mali and Taz - This was our final brace - Taz ran well got into a brood of pheasants to chase - Mali had a nice find of sharp tails - she stood broke and Taz got to chase some more birds. The race was well applied and big at times with both making casts over 200 yds.

Keith - Posting From Under the Rusty Windmill

Short Day today

Today was a short day. It was very hot and humid. With heat indexes approaching 100F by 9:30 am we called it a day. In my opinion it was dangerously hot to continue.

Knikki and Gus - Knikki ran a short to moderate shooting dog race, very lateral. He had one find he mishandled and one non productive. Gus ran a big puppy race.

Dot and Callie - Big well forward shooting dog race with no birds. Callie ran all over the place and had a great time.

Keith - Posting Under the Rusty Windmill

Another Video of the dogs

Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4xKANuQ_L8&feature=share

Taz and Primo

Taz with Primo honoring

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Training Today

Well, we loaded up and ran dogs today on a pretty nice piece of ground that holds birds.

Chance and Charlie - Charlie ran short race, had one find and one back. Chance ran a moderate gun dog race - with one find on pheasants, took steps at shot and was corrected.

Mali and Sam - Mali had a broke find and stop to flush, corrections were made on another stop to flush - Sam had one find. Both dogs ran well - Sam being short and lateral - Mali running moderate range and forward.

Primo and Taz - Primo had a find, and stop to flush, and a back took steps at shot - corrections made. Taz had a find - broke on flush and chased.

Hondo and Millie - Last brace of the day, getting hot - both dogs ran well, searched diligently and had no bird contacts.

Lucy and Amos- Had 3 or 4 finds - broke at the shot - made corrections making progress. Ran well, Amos had a broke find.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Another Day working field trial and hunting dogs

Well, we got out and worked a bunch of dogs today. We have worked up to 10 miles in our roading course. Duc, Hondo, JuJu, and Taz all had bird work this morning.

We trailered over to one of our good spots to work some young dogs and field trial dogs.

Dolly and Kona - Dolly had 1 find, she mishandled it a bit. She had two stop to flush. Kona had a find and a couple times he put up birds and chased

Mac and Gus - Mac had a four finds - one he handled well, the other three not so good. Gus pointed and knocked 4 different groups of birds

Knikki and Annie -- Knikki had 4 finds - one he handled well, 3 not so good and had some corrections made. Annie had 3 finds - she broke at flush but we are making good progress

Stub and Chip - Stub had one nice broke find, and several others that were not so good. Chip had a nice point and knocked a bunch of birds too

Jakey and Red - Jakey had 4 finds - two with good manners. Red knocked and chased a bunch of birds and we were able to fire some blanks around him with no noticeable effect (he was 30 to 40 yds away in full chase)

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Working on the prairies

Well, we worked 5 braces of dogs on the prairie - We had two bird contacts - Unusual because this field is usually productive for 4 or 5 bunches of birds. I was disappointed

Chance and Trevor - Chance ran a big race and had no contacts. Trevor starting to open up more - no contacts.

Sam and Kane - Kane ran a huge shooting dog race, well to the front, no contacts. Sam ran a nice shooting dog/gun dog race - no contacts.

Primo and Buddy - Buddy ran a huge, hard handling all age race. Primo ran a big shooting dog race but handled well - Buddy and Primo both mishandled separate birds

Charlie and Tio - Tio ran a nice forward race - no contacts. Charlie was short and distracted - no contacts

Mali and Lucy - Mali ran a nice shooting dog race, handled well - no contacts. Lucy ran a nice hunting race - No contacts.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Great day working dogs

Well, even with a late start (been feeling poorly lately) we got out and worked braces of dogs on wild birds. Each brace had plenty of bird work and it was pretty awesome.

Rocky and Stubby - Rocky had one nice broke find, Stubby backed and had one broke find himself. They had nice forward races and handled well.

Dot and Gus - Dot ran a big shooting dog/All Age Race with 3 or 4 broke pieces of bird work. Gus had a back, and 4 puppy/derby finds

Knikki and Annie - Short to moderate shooting dog races. Knikki had 4 finds - 1 broke find and mishandled 3 finds - with corrections made. Annie had 2 derby finds, broke on the flush.

Mac and Jessie - Short to moderate shooting dog/gun dog races. Mac had 4 finds - 2 were broke - 2 were mishandled. Jessie had 4 finds - 2 were handled with broke manners - 2 finds she took steps.

Dolly and Jakey - Ran short to moderate gun dog races. Jakey had two broke finds, and a couple mishandled stop to flush. Dolly ran a nice shooting dog race - She had a stop to flush.

All in all it was a great day training.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Another day

Horseback dogs are coming along.

Tio and Amos - Points and backs on young pheasants - need some more range from Amos will come I think

Mali and Lucy - Find on pheasants and sharp tails - Mali handled hers like a pro - Lucy not so much so

Jessie and Dot - Dot had a broke find on pheasants, Jessie mishandled her birds

Chance and Trevor - Chance broke at shot - Trevor also but not bad for a couple of hunting dogs

Stub and Taz - Taz is pointing birds regularly and running well - Stub running well but still mishandles birds from time to time

JuJu - A few bird contacts, needs to develop more independence

Preston - Pointing birds and running well - good little dog - nice forward pattern

Duc - Running big and pointing, nice forward pattern

Callie - Finding birds needs more work, needs to run more

Buddy - Doing okay - needs lots of work

Gus - Runs great - no contacts with birds yet


Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Field Trial Dogs

This is Mac - Not sure what Chuck is gonna register him as - I like Whiterock Mac Windem (CH Arties Royal Mac X CH Teasel Windem) This is gonna be a great dog nice naturally forward race and good running style and pointing style - He beats his tail to death in the kennel and out on the prairie. He is potentially a better trial dog than Tanner or Knikki - only time will tell but we got to get him ready to run at Grand Junction for the AKC National Championship next spring. Hoping we can get him qualified to do so in the coming months.

Other dogs I am hoping to re-qualify or qualify

Whiterock Forever Knight

Whiterock Mali

Whiterock Cordite

Whiterock Hondo

Blackhawks Dot

Jessie

Duc



Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Great day working dogs

Well, we trailered over to another spot to work dogs this morning, we had 10 dogs on board and it was a great training day.

Charlie and Trevor - Trevor had a nice find on sharptails and a nice ground application and race making casts of between 50 and 200 yds. Charlie was slow to start and did not make any big moves she had a find near a wheat field on pheasant.

Mali and Sam - Mali had a broke piece of bird work on a hen pheasant, and a shorter than normal race. Sam made a few nice moves but generally stayed at a nice gun dog range.

Dot and Primo - Dot had a nice broke find on pheasants, I had to ride hard after her a couple times but did a nice forward reaching race. Primo had a find on pheasant and broke at the flush - a decent race and all in all did well for his first day of horseback work

Amos and Tio - Short to moderate race for Amos, he had a couple backs. Tio ran a decent race - needs to open up a bit - nice broke find on pheasant

Stub and Lucy - Lucy ran a nice race, flushed a pheasant, and pointed a group of sharptail and broke at flush - she ran a mostly forward race and did a nice job. Stub ran a nice big race with a find on sharp tails that he held to flush.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

First day of horseback work

Today was our first day of horseback work on wild birds - Daniel and I loaded (5 braces - 10 dogs) to work on a section of ground we have just received permission to run dogs on. It was a warm, humid day and we only ran the dogs for 30 min. Running an older dog with a derby or puppy. This worked out well.

Rocky and Gus - This father/son team was fun to watch. Rocky ran shorter than normal, but I am sure he will run bigger as summer progresses. Rocky had a find on sharptail and a non-productive - Gus knocked and chased the birds while Rocky stood steady to wing and shot.

Jessie and Chip - These dogs ran well mostly forward races - Jessie had a non productive early and Chip knocked a sharp tail and chased - it was fun to watch, Jessie was steady while I made flushing attempts and I think she will be fine as the summer progresses and starts to run bigger and find more birds.

Knikki and Annie - Ran nice mostly forward races - Knikki had a non productive and a back - Annie had a non productive - they ran well forward and handled well

Mac and Jakey - This was the best brace of the day - as far as application and forward races with some nice moves in them - Jakey had a no productive and Mac had a back - Both stood steady through the flushing attempt until released.

Chance and Dolly - Big hard handling race - no finds and we cut this brace short because the heat index was approaching 100F and we decided that it was best to stop.

Slide show of dogs

Here is a video that Daniel put together for all you owners to view and we sincerely hope you enjoy the video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFzpDeHOVE4

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Heat Indexes and T-Storms limiting work

Well, we are about into our 3rd full week of training. We have finished evaluating the dogs and have worked out a schedule so that each dog gets the type and frequency of work they need. Saturday and Yesterday we had heat indexes in the triple digits. This morning we had wanted to start horseback work but we had thunder and lightning all over the place and the last thing we want to be out on the prairie with lightning in the area - cows and haystacks get hit every storm.`

Preston - Having a great time - pointing birds and running around

Jewel - Running hard and pointing great

Red - Contacts with birds every day while free running of the ATV

Duc - Our best bird finder and mover of the puppies this year. Really fun to watch this dog.

Kona - Has had wild bird contacts and has pointed on a few occasions

Callie - Finding a few birds - have not seen her point yet

Taz - Finding birds and has pointed a few times

Buddy - Needs to be treated like a puppy - will not be broke this summer

Chance - He is doing well still has happy feet - we will work on this with wild birds

Stubby - Doing great - broke on pen raised birds - will work him more and more on wild birds

Charlie - Nice young female - She needs lots of work on steadiness

Sam - Will be trying to get him more steady on both wild and pen raised - flags alot which is sometimes a sign of pressure - will try making it fun for him again and see what happens

Kane - Getting in great shape

Dolly - pretty broke - need to reinforce it on wild birds

Jessie - Great little dog - still broke on pen raised birds - will continue to develop on wild birds

Dot - Beautiful female with great point and steadiness - we will have to work on wild birds

Primo - Nice dog - will work on steadiness as we go on both wild and pen raised birds

Annie - More pen and wild bird work - she still breaks hard - will work on that and think that being derby broke by the time the fall comes is very doable.

Trevor - Running better and we have seen some positive things from him - he is running better and he has pointed a few birds

Hondo - Runs big when he wants too - still not alot of bird work

Gus - Big running puppy - points level tail - but will be a fine hunting dog

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Still evaluating and doing yard work

Well, we are almost done evaluating the dogs we have and have pretty much came up with a training plan for all of the.

Mac - Nice dog that needs a bit more yard work - but I am very confident he will be broke this summer.

Preston - Nice point, chase - no reaction to gunfire - and delivered the bird to hand

Charlie - Progressing on the "whoa" post

Kona - Making transition from "whoa" post to field training on "whoa"

Red - Still running and chasing birds

Gus - To immature to work steadiness - will continue running him in our puppy program

Sam - Progressing on the "whoa" post

Buddy - Needs more bird work

Jake - Running hard - gonna start working pen raised birds to reinforce some training problems that have cropped up

Annie - Progressing on the "whoa" post will transition to field training soon

Monday - We will start working horseback and wild birds with the dogs

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Working pen raised birds now

Well, Daniel and I made the trip to ND and got birds and dog food yesterday. Today was our first day working birds. We worked pups and evaluated older dogs.

Charlie - Needs more experience with birds but seemed to have a good nose and style

Sam - Nice dog - shows a sensitivity to pressure that will need to worked on via putting him into more wild birds and letting the birds train him.

Red - Needs to run on lots and lots of wild birds

Duc - Shows good talent, runs big

Preston - Likes birds pointed briefly and had a nice delayed chase

Lucy - Seems to have nice talent and works fine - think we can get this one broke fine

Primo - Nice point and chase - no problems - think this one will make it fine

Kona - Nice point and retrieve

Buddy - This is a 3 yr old dog that acts like a 6 month old puppy when it comes to birds

Jewel - Nice point and chase

Trevor - Pointed, was steady to flush but too close to the chain for shot - has remembered his training and we will just run him on wild birds to increase his desire.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Puppies having a good time

I have started roading the dogs over eight miles now. All the dogs are running well, getting in shape and some are starting to muscle up.

Puppies are running well too.

Duke - Is by far the best pup in camp

Taz - Only pup that is regularly pointing birds

Callie - Needs to get more adventurous

Buddy - Although not a pup is doing well

Kona - Running well - a few contacts with birds

Red - Having contacts practically every day


We are working other dogs on the "whoa" post

Charlie - Doing great

Sam - Doing great but I have some concerns about sensitivity to loud noises

Stub - Ready to go

Buddy - Needs more time

Ti0 - Ready to go

Annie - Doing fine

Lucy - Doing well - but still trying to sit down

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Working on Whoa

Well, we are roading the field trial dogs 8 miles now - the other conditioning and hunting dogs are still roading 6 miles - we will gradually increase the distance and vary the speed at which we road as the summer progresses. All the birds we are seeing are very young yet - but there is a wondrous variety - ducks, sharp tail and pheasants as well as some geese (which is pretty unusual).

Daniel and I are working on the "whoa" post daily now.

Sam - Doing well, and I am confident in his learning ability

Kona - Bit of a problem in that he wants to sit a lot, but we are working on it.

Duke - Taking to it well

Red - Working through some issues - likes to sit occasionally but working through that

Annie - a real trooper no problems so far

Buddy - Did well, I expected more of a rodeo with him

Lucy - Sitting is a problem with her - working on it and making slow progress

Stub - Just a refresher for him - we will probably be on the chain for about a week then worked through the rotation on wild and pen raised birds

Chip - Just some more repetitions are necessary for him - He is progressing well

We usually work dogs on the "Whoa" post for 2 week to a month - depending on their ability to absorb and apply the training and using a variety of stimuli until we are reasonably sure they are ready for pen raised birds and corrections - after that is accomplished then it is on to wild birds for final polish.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Well, we have most everything set up - I am roading 2 sets of dogs every day and running five to eight puppies every morning and one or two in the evenings.

Preston - Been adopted by Daniel spends his days when he is not out exploring or running on the prairies curled up on a chair or sleeping in Daniel's room.

Red - Free running him so he can get a few more contacts given his sensitivity issues

Gus - Big running and nice looking dog

Taz - Not running big yet and still not had an contacts

Jewel - Running big - and forward a few contacts

Chase - Big running and hard to catch - doesn't want to quit

Kona - Nice moving - mostly forward and attentive

Chip - Finding birds and running forward through the prairie

Duke - Having a great time - loves running and splashing through the water

For the big dogs we are roading 6 miles or about 1 hour. The dogs are powerful and getting into shape - and will get into much better shape as we go on through the summer.

Sam - Had an issue at first - took a few times roading for him to get with the whole program.

All of the other dogs are old pro's at it and working hard.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Starting to get dogs in shape

Well, I have been able to road a few dogs the last two days - I have obtained my training permit from the Standing Rock Sioux Game and Fish - so we have run a few pups around the place here.

Yesterday, while roading and in the harness Rocky decided to point - I got off the bike and went about 3 feet and out came a rooster pheasant. It was awesome.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Pics of the Prairie

Bluff overlooking Lake Oahe near Sitting Bull Monument on Hwy 1806

First day report

Well, as usual most of the day was spent setting up camp and doing the necessary repairs and equipment stuff. We did however, saddle up a couple horses and head out across the prairies to assess the conditions - we found lots of birds, just riding through with our horses (no dogs) as well as deer and other denizens of the prairie.

I went running and Preston followed me - he had incidental contact with 3 pheasants (they got up as I ran by) short chases followed - and he did point really nice - looking at a lark on the fence.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Loving it here - I am so psyched

Well, a cool morning here in SD - I am soo psyched - We had a couple blowouts coming up in the extreme heat of the Panhandle - but all the dogs and horses made the journey great - we have lots to do - permits and birds to get in the next few days - repairs to things and such.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

We have arrived

Well, we arrived at camp in Timber Lake at about 11 am today. We have all the dogs fed/watered and bedded down - we have seen bunches of birds already and we are excited by the cover and conditions around camp

I am getting anxious

The trailer is ready now. Most all the packing is done, the dogs continue to arrive and me and Daniel are less than a week away from being back at camp for another summer on the beautiful prairies of South Dakota.

Life is good.

Keith - Posting from Under the Live Oaks

Summer camp is approaching fast and I am excited

Only 6 more weeks and we will be back up in beautiful Timber Lake, and I can't wait.

Camp and birds look great

Well, I just got back from camp in Timber Lake, and the surrounding area. There are lots and lots of birds, the camp is in good shape, plenty of water but not too much and the conditions should be extremely favorable for pulling off a great hatch. I am so looking forward to training and working dogs on the prairies and wild birds.

Trip to South Dakota

Well, I am just about to leave SD to head home to Waco once again, I have spent the last week looking over camp and checking the conditions.

I am happy to report there are plenty of birds around Timber Lake we have literally counted hundred or more birds along the roads and in the fields on each of our trips out to camp. Although, it was a harsh winter with near record snowfall in the Dakotas the birds seem to have wintered well and with the moisture there should be plenty of nesting cover and bugs to bring of big healthy broods of chicks.

I am really pleased and happy with the prospects of plenty of birds and cover to work this summer at camp.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

Howdy

Just a reminder that it is only a couple months before we make the journey north to SD for summer camp once again. I am looking forward to serving you once again. Daniel and I plus another helper will be working together to train excellent bird dogs on wild birds as well as young pups and gun dogs.

Keith - Posting from the Great White North

Mac and Rhodie Pups

We have a pair of well bred and very bold male pups by Mac (Ch Arties Royal Mac X CH Teasel Wind Em) out of Whiterock Rhodesia. These pups are sight pointing birds and are in the process of being crate trained, both are bold and fearless and indications are these are very special young pups.

Contact Chuck Wilson for Details and cost - 254-644-5207