Puppies

It’s that time of year! When we start getting puppies in to train and develop for the up coming hunting season! Here is a shot of us last week getting some puppies out and socializing the heck out of them. Left to right you have a German Whirehair, Brittany, German Shorthair Pointer, and a English Pointer. We love working with puppies, helping them learn and develop. The first six months of a puppies life is so crucial. It’s a time where he can learn so much so quickly. Make sure you capitalize on this time get the pup out to see the world. This will help him be confident later on in life.

GSP Puppy 12 weeks

I was reading an article in the Gun Dog Magazine yesterday titled “Select the Ideal Puppy: When and When Not to Get Emontional” by James Spencer. In the article it talks about some key points to focus on when looking for that ideal puppy. It details what points you should be emotional about and which ones to make based on good old facts.  I really liked these points.

Which Breed? James states “This decision should be highly emotional, ergo lots of fun” have fun with this decision. Write down the qualities and traits your looking for in a dog and then find the breeds that accomplish those tasks. Be open minded and look out side the box.

Which Breeder?
James states you should talk wit more than one reputable breeder  who regularly produce good working dogs. His advice is to talk with the breeder about the dogs the breeder has. Ask questions about health, which litter, timing, and do you just plain like the guy. Just this week I spoke with a gentleman that kept asking me the same questions over and over like I needed to reassure him about what he was looking for.  I told him that he needed to find a breeder that he connected with and cold trust. Especially if your buying a dog sight un-seen.

Which Litter?
This is a totally rational step.  If you have selected a good breeder than this step is easy because if they are reputable then get on the list for the next litter.

Which Puppy?
This is an emotional step.  James gives the idea of staying away from the litter until the puppies are old enough to come home. This way you wont get attached to a particular puppy based just off the puppies appearance. This will allow you to also get to evaluate the puppies personality. Great advice James!

A Word of Caution
Every puppy, no matter how well-bred, is a gamble.  These are some steps to help reduce the risk of  getting a dud. But you never know what can happen.  James says and I quote “If for any reason, you can’t take that risk, you should opt for a risk-free (but more expensive) “started” or “fully trained” dog.”

The National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic is going to be held this weekend February 17-19 in Kansas City Missouri. The event is scheduled to help people learn about conservation, dog training, upland game bird hunting (pheasant and quail) and much more. If you live near by don’t miss this opportunity at a great event. For more information visit the Pheasants Forever website.

Maggie German Whirehair Pointer

Gun dog training is a passion we have here at Best Gun Dogs. Here is a 6 month old German Wirehair Pointer that we are introducing to birds. Starting dogs young and getting them introduced to birds is a vital step to getting your bird dog to utilize his natural abilities. Bird Introduction is one of the 7 areas we focus on in our training program. We like to take our time to introduce young dogs to birds. Make sure it’s an enjoyable experience, keep things fun, let pup get a good nose full of scent, move the bird to get his attention, and toss the bird to let him watch it fly away.  By letting the puppy smell and see the bird, being careful not to let the bird hit the dog with a wing. You will get his senses firing and his natural bred hunting skills will take over. Bird introduction is a huge part of training don’t miss this critical time as a puppy to get the dog more than interested in birds get him excited about birds.

Starting Sis the Brittany

Jon Lee from Annabella Kennels  brought us another one of his best American Brittanies to start her training. Sis is a one year old female Brittany that we are going to train to be steady to wing, introduce to the shotgun, start working on her retrieve, e-collar train and obedience train. Sis has a ton of bird drive and lots of energy. Were excited to watch her develop in the upcoming months and lay solid foundation for her bird training career.

English Pointer Emma

This is Emma, one our few English Pointers in our kennel. She was sired by National Champion Attitudes High Finance. Emma has been such a pleasure to have in our kennel. She is almost completely a finished dog. Here I took a picture of her pointing a Bob White Quail. We are working on her staying steady through distractions,  so I got up real close in her face. She held this point for several minutes while I got to her with the setter in the back ground teaching him to honor. We are just adding some polishing touches on Emma’s training. Some of Emma’s strengths are her natural desire to retrieve and natural bird finding abilities. She has even retrieved to me some shed horns of deer and elk. She is quite in the kennel and on the chain. She also has a real sweet personality. Not real big in size either. Great things do come in small packages and Emma is proof of that!

Luke , Me, Ruby

A few weeks ago my neighbor  invited me to go do some chukar hunting here in Southern Utah. To say I was excited was an understatement. He had found some birds while out scouting for elk and was confident we could find them again. Well as luck would have it we were able to find some birds. After a few hours of hiking I came to an area that had a nice rock ledge with some sun flowers in the bottom of the wash. As I took a breath to look around I saw a chukar bob and weave through the rocks beside me. Turning to get better footing, I could see that Luke was heading my way also, just then the covey erupted! I was able to pick a bird out and landed a nice shot. We watched where the birds landed and were able to regroup the dogs and headed that way. We spent the next few hours shooting some singles and watching as the dogs got an education on wild birds. Ruby had a solid point along a short stretch of  level ground covered with thick grass. As I approached her the bird flew between us. I was able to connect and Ruby retrieved to hand. Those moments stay engraved in your mind forever. The perfect point, the perfect shot, the perfect retrieve.  What a great day of chukar hunting.

Jetta On Point

Over the past several years we have had more inquiries about our solid liver dogs. Not only are they a stunning dog for show they can also hunt real well. Here is a Female GSP named Jetta.  We have had her at our kennel for about 5 months now. She has a very strong German bloodline which you can see in some of her facial features and body structure.The German bred dogs seem easy to recognize with there distinct physical features. Jetta is standing her birds on point. We have taken her through our training program andshe has become accustomed to gun fire and the electronic collar.  Her bird drive and hunting drive increase each time we go the field and train. We are excited to see her progress and hunt wild birds over her this next fall.

Scout Pheasant Hunting

Jared,

I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you how happy I am with my new dog Scout from Best Gun Dogs.  Scout is currently about 9-month-old and has exceeded my expectations (and my skeptical wife).  Already Scout has been an excellent hunting companion, thanks to the great bird training he received earlier this fall.  To date he has successfully hunted pheasants, chukars, hungarian partridge and ducks (all WILD birds I might add).  The GSP is truly the ultimate versatile breed!  I attribute his success to a solid introduction to birds and a natural genetic drive to hunt.  I am excited to see him improve his skills as he matures.  My wife was very apprehensive about getting a typically wild dog to be around the house, but Scout has proven her wrong.  He is a very good dog at home and is well socialized and behaved with all the neighbors pets and little children.   I look forward to him returning to Best Gun Dogs this spring for additional training!

Thanks again,

Rick White

Luci to visit Ben

We have taken one of our finest English Pointers Luci up to Rich Heaton so we can breed her to Idaho’s Lucky Strike Ben. Ben is as nice of an English Pointer in the western United States. Ate age 6, Ben is already a 6 time American Field Champion. Not only can Ben find birds, but he has a great personality. He is a dog that likes to hunt for you and be with you. With Ben’s class and style combined with Luci’s ease of training, natural retrieve, and point were are excited to see how these puppies develop.  We believe we will have the total package for our bird dog clients.  View our planned litter page for greater detail and pedigree’s.