2001Kevin, I put out a total of ten quail in a CRP field last night and this morning. Sage (GMPR Grits x Levi) pointed every one at least twice. Some she pointed and then flushed and pointed again up to three times. She even pointed a wild bird that I didn't know was there! Some of the points lasted well over twelve seconds. Some points were three legged and some four. I shot two rolls of film which I am having developed today. I will try to scan them in the computer tonight and e-mail them to you. It has been 100 to 105 F for the past twenty days without any rain. Therefore the scenting conditions have been poor to say the least. Every time she was down wind she would literally nail the location of the bird from up to ten yards away. She has an outstanding nose that she uses constantly. My only problem now is that she keeps running looking for more birds. So much for a lap dog! Not bad for a fourteen week old pup. Must be the trainer (or could it be the breeding?). Thanks for a great pup! Kevin: Just thought that you would like to know that Maggie just received her JH title. She was four for four. She was the only one in my training group. Some of the judges are pretty tough out here. In the first test, only 40% passed in the second test only 1/3 passed. In the fourth and fifth tests, the pass rate was around 70-80 percent. Next step. CP and possibly IPR in fall. If I can get her steady. SR in Spring of 2002. MH and GMPR in 2003. |
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This picture is a testament of the quality of the breed and your breeding program 49 days old and doing well in retrieving. Jim Gilbraith |
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I just read your references on your web page and felt compelled to add to the list. Bailey just turned two last Thanksgiving and is out of your Cajun litter. I have done her training myself and with the help of friends who know a lot more about it than I do. Any faults she has, and there aren't any that a little more work won't fix, is my fault not hers. She has an INCREDIBLE hunt drive and is very biddable. She started pointing at 9 months completely on her own as I had not worked with her in that regard. She is now very staunch on point. I hunted her this past fall in Iowa, Nebraska and Montana. In Nebraska she pointed pheasant and bob white quail even though she had never been on quail before. She also made 2 unbelievable finds on downed birds in very poor scenting conditions and retrieved them like everything else without a mark on them. In Montana, she pointed and retrieved pheasants, sharptail grouse and hungarian partridge. Again she had never hunted grouse or partridge before. She is an absolutely fantastic dog and is more than I ever hoped for in a hunting companion. She is very loving and of course is absolutely allowed the run of the house. I will definitely be contacting you in another year or so to get her a companion. Keep up the great work in your breeding and also congratulations on a great website. Please feel free to use me as a reference if you like. Best regards, 2000I purchased a puppy from your kennel. I received my dog (male) in April of 1997. I have hunted Duke now for three years. I think it takes at least two years to really see how he (or she) will perform. I can now say that this is the best hunting bird and waterfowl dog I have ever had the pleasure of hunting with! Wow! What a great dog duke has been! I would be more than happy to give a reference if you ever need it. I would like to pass on some info on my dog: His sire was Cajun, the dam was Sugar's Golden Canyon. My dog's AKC name is 'Black Forest Duke Cajun's Sugarbaby'. He is black in color. He is OFA excellent! And he's a great dog! I only wish I could find a female up to his quality! Please except my profound thanx on your superior gene pool and breeding! A satisfied owner, I purchased a dog from your kennel in the spring
of 1998. It was from a litter
that mated Grits with Honey Bear.
I wanted to write and let you know how the dog
has progressed in his two short years. First
of all, I can hardly believe this dog belongs
to me. I have never trained a dog before and
my limited knowledge is surely holding this
dog back. I have been lucky enough to seek the
counsel of a few professional dog trainers (German
Shorthair and Laborador trainers) that have
given me tips and advice from time to time.
All in all Zeus has been very easy to train
or it seems so to me. I have to admit, I have
put the time in I primarily hunt upland birds, but Zeus has turned me into a avid waterfowler as well. His enthusiasm, his ability to find birds,his drive and his incredible endurance has set a new standard in this neighborhood. He has hunted many times with German Shorthairs. They can out run him for the first hour, but they can't even come close after that. We usually put the Shorthairs up to rest by 11:00 a.m. to rest, Zeus is an eight to five man. He won't honor a point by one of the Shorthairs, I think mainly he has no respect for them. He points beautifully, but isn't rock steady to wing and shot yet. I know that will come in time. I plan to work on that this off season. I hunted frequently at a local duck club this
year, mainly because of how much Zeus loved
it and me loving to watch him do his business.
Laboradors are of course the favorite dog at
the club. The comments about Zeus in November
started with "nice looking Lab" to "where did
you get that dog and how do I get one". I have
passed Black Forest Kennels on to them. Most
balk at the price, I say you get what you pay
for. Laboradors are being bred in puppy mills
out here with little regard for the traits of
the breed. Some of the dogs I see are poor specimens
of the breed and consequently poor performers
in the field. Ron I have not given you an update on Maggie yet, so here it is. Today I shot her 42nd Pheasant over her. She is a natural hunting machine. In September I sent Maggie off to puppy hunting school. At the time I had lost track and thought that she was six months old. It was hard to let her go for a month because she had already cemented her place as my best friend. The Day before I picked her up I commented to Allison that Maggie would be seven months soon. Allison quickly corrected me, letting me know that she was going to be six months old. Turns out that I sent her to school at five months, in fact just shy of five months. I was concerned that I may have done harm to Maggie. NOT A CHANCE! The trainer bragged about her and her amazing will and drive to hunt. When I apologized for misleading him he was not upset just amazed that a five month old dog was stronger in ability and will than most year old dogs. Minnesota pheasant opener was two days later and I had Maggie out for it. That first weekend she flushed 8 pheasants. Unfortunately only one was a Roster but we shot it down. She was very proud of what she had done as she stood over it. I don't know if you know what Minnesota Pheasant hunting has been like for the last two years? It has been Terrible! What Maggie did was enough to make her an Urban Legend. Today Maggie Celebrated number 42 at the ripe old age of 9 months. This may not be a big deal to others but the fact that I have Hunted over dogs for 15 years and not seen a dog with this kind of nose or instinct amazes me. I have put out a total of 30 birds for Maggie at game farms on 3 separate trips (10 each time) and she has flushed 41 birds. I shot 32 of those birds. She deserves a better gun handler! She is amazing! It might seem odd that I have tallied all these birds in categories but I wanted an accurate account of what she has done. Over four weekends of hunting wild Pheasants in Minnesota she flushed 29 birds and my buddy and I shot 10 over her. She was hunting five hours a day in 60+ degree heat and she never showed one sign of boredom. Amazing! Please keep up the good work in your breeding. I am the proudest owner in the world and she is more than I could have hoped for. She is also showing signs of pointing. Steve |
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getting him trained to this point, usually 5
to 10 hours per week. He does have to wear a
electronic collar because of his strong will,
but I rarely have to use it.
