Piper's Inside

Piper made her debut into the house on Friday the 17th.  Penny & Jill are trained so well inside, and the remodeled kennel is great for the dogs outside, that we have not made the time to get the pups trained inside yet.  So, a thorough bath she received and she has fit right in with the big girls.  Here they are on the kitchen couch, hanging out while we cook.  Otherwise they are on their bed by the Christmas tree (which yes she has snatched a couple of ornaments off - eek!) or on the couch/recliner with one of us.  John and I are really blown away by how much like Jill she is.  We call her the little clone.

Penny, Jill, Piper (from left to right)

Piper (left) and Mama Jill

Piper

Piper

Piper

Jill & John

Jill is such a daddy's girl. They have shared an amazing bond since Day 1.

Snow Fun

The pups (and big girls) loved playing in the snowfall we had a few weeks ago!!!

Jill

Jett

Jill (front) and Jett

Penny coming full speed!

Piper

Penny (left) and Piper sniffing out berries.

Jill (left) and Piper

Update on Callie!

We heard from Callie's family today!  What a great update - makes us feel very proud even though we didn't have anything to do with it, haha.  Callie is a beautiful pup; she reminds me of our Piper!

I hope all is well and you are enjoying your Brittanys as much as we are. Callie took her first "real" hunting trip over Thanksgiving weekend. Jeremy and some friends took a trip out to South Dakota for some pheasant hunting. Jeremy and Callie worked very well together and took in their limit everyday. Callie has such an exceptional nose on her that she showed up the yellow lab that was hunting with them. Needless to say, they were all very tired after 3 days of hunting but Callie was always raring to go!  She did get caught up on some rest and relaxation as she was pretty lazy when they returned home. Jeremy had so much fun hunting that he has opted to go back out to South Dakota with his "girl" this weekend and do some more hunting. Callie brings us so much joy even though she thought it would be fun to chew the Christmas tree ornaments!  She must have been bored that day :)  

Wisconsin Hunting Trip

John took the girls (Jill and Penny) to Wisconsin at the beginning of November to hunt grouse and woodcock.  Three days of hunting produced some excellent dog work, with birds to bring home for the table.  The woodcock held especially well for the dogs on point.  With multiple woodcock opportunities, Penny has finally matured and is holding her points well.  John was very pleased with her progress.  Jill, as always, was the superstar of the hunt.

Here are a few pictures:

Jill in the truck - 13 hour drive one way!

Mark's New Home & Update

Mark went to his new home on Saturday, November 20.  His family lives in Illinois.  We met them at John's grandmother's house, as we made a weekend of it to visit her as well as sell Mark.  The new family renamed him "Reagan".  The family has another Brittany, a liver and white 6 year old male named Finn.  

We feel confident he is in excellent hands and will be well taken care of.  It was definitely hard to say goodbye, though.  We'll miss him!

Here are some pictures of the meet up.  The two dogs were very playful!

John holding Mark, talking to new owner.

Asher looking a little sad.

Mark with his new family.

Finn and Mark

Allie standing near John, she doesn't like goodbyes and went inside shortly after.

And here's an update, received November 26:

I attached a picture of Reagan that I took with my laptop.  He's starting to adjust to living here and is definitely happy!  Him & Finn are really close and are best friends now.  I will definitely send some more pictures that I took from my camera of them together.

Mark - Started Pup - SOLD

As of November 20, Mark has been sold!

We have one started pup from the Take Flight Litter available for sale. Mark is a close working dog with a strong desire to please. He is soft-hearted and takes direction well. He would make a wonderful dual hunting/companion dog! He is 8 months old. These photos are from 21 weeks old.

A Callie Update!

We were thrilled to hear from Callie's family in Minnesota today!

Thanks so much for all  the updates on the pups. I was so sad to hear about "Freckles". I can't even imagine losing a pet like that.  Jeremy thought it was best to send Callie off for professional training than do it himself.  On August 26th, Jeremy & the girls brought her to Willow Creek Kennels which is about 1 1/2 hours from us.  It killed me to see her go but I knew it was probably best.  She too was getting very adventurous and got away from me a couple times and I thought she was gone.  I was worried sick that she would get hit by a car as she is very quick.  I told Jeremy that it would be in our best interest to get Callie trained so she knew the basic commands.  What I didn't realize is that she would have to go so far away and be gone for 8 weeks.  Jeremy and the girls visit her on the weekends and I stay home because I know if I went to see her and would want her to come back home with me. 

The trainer says she is an amazing dog and a really nice pup.  She was very easy to train and loves being there so that helped me feel comfortable where she was.  They say she has a GREAT nose and can sniff out everything and also retrieves very well.  I will get to see her progress when we go pick her up this Wednesday and finally bring her back home where she belongs.  I will email pictures later in the week and let you know how the training went.

Wild Bird Training

This past Monday John took Penny & Jill to the Clay WMA (Wildlife Management Area), about 45 minutes from us, to attempt to locate new coveys of quail for future quota (lottery) hunts.  He was given permission to exercise and locate established wild birds (no shooting).  He had the girls out one at a time.  He walked 6-8 miles, unfortunately with no success!  He saw one squirrel and one rabbit.  He was later told he needed to walk in further in one of the areas, he had walked in about 1.5 miles and they said the birds live about 2 miles in - from where you park!  However, it was a beautiful Fall day to be outside, enjoying nature and seeing the dogs work.

Ben Update

We just wanted to send you an update on how Ben is doing!  He is a complete joy to have and we just love him so much!!  The boys have fallen completely in love with him and we couldn't be happier to have him in our family.  He has adjusted very well and acts like he has lived here for years lol.  

We registered him through the AKC and gave him the name of Ben's Spying Eyes of Dogwood Hills.  We took him up to a place in MI called Rustic Ridge Hunt Club for some bird dog training and he was AMAZING!  He did so well and went on point immediately after only finding the second bird.  The trainer was very impressed as were we.  We are going back up there this weekend and going to do some more training.  We are thinking that we are also going to start getting him ready for the Jr. Trials as well.  He is such a great dog and the trainer up in MI is very excited with his progress and thinks he is one of the better dogs he has seen.  We are hoping to have him ready for hunting out in the field with us by the beginning of November for pheasant and Quail hunting.  

He is obeying very well. He has sit down pat, and whoa!  We are still working on the Come, he does that when he feels like it. LOL, that's the puppy in him. As promised we will continually keep you updated.

Thanks again for introducing us to Ben, I can't imagine our lives without him now! 

Freckles (Sammy) Update

It is with saddened hearts that I regret to inform you that Sammy aka "Freckles" passed away yesterday.  We had him out doing our yard work and he ran away through the woods behind our house and onto the highway and was struck by a vehicle.  He had become a part of our family and needless to say we all are grieving.  I'm sorry to bring you such tragic news, but I thought I should let you know.  We're not sure yet whether or not to begin looking for another to take his place.  Please keep us in your thoughts!

We were just sick when we received this email.  Sammy passed away on September 14.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.