Lola pointing a planted bird.

Most of the yard work is done, the Family Vacation is over and it’s hot. 95 degrees was the high today and we’ll be over 100 by the weekend. For me it’s time to get serious about the dogs.  I’ve been trying to work the dogs right before sundown.  I can accomplish a lot with short evening sessions this time of year.

Lola will leaving in one month to spend 3 months in Montana working on wild birds daily with Keny Glasscock. This will be a good tune up for fall and hopefully she’ll be ready for some field trials. We’ll be making preparations for our new litter of puppies. Now is the time to get the work in for a successful fall hunting season.

Keep those dogs cool and it’s always fun to involve your best helper!

I was happy to see Gigolo dominating the NBHA trials this year.   He looks to have locked up NBHA Open Shooting Dog of the Year.

I have had an interest in Gigolo since Jason Wilde showed up to a NSTRA trial one day with a snappy new little Female Pointer.  Molly Gone Wilde (Honky Tonk Gigolo x Okaw Gypsy).  I watched this dog win or place at trial after trial and then go on to win the 2009 Region Championship.   She had a tremendous nose and that head crank that some of the Fiddler and Honky Tonk dogs are famous for.  I knew by watching her that there must be something to Gigolo as a sire.

Soon after, I had my own Gigolo pup out of Rock Acre Blackhawk female.  Lola has been a pleasure to own not only in the field, but also as a family pet.  She has exceeded all my expectations.   She has all the style in the world, a great nose,  and runs big.  Now we have Tina, a litter mate of Lola’s  joining the team.  I am excited to see what she’ll do and what her pups will do.

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3xCH/2xRuCh Attitude's High Finance

Finally it looks like it will all come together. Earlier this year I purchased a litter mate Sister to Honky Tonk Heartbreaker. She’s been used as a brood bitch in South Carolina and had one exceptional litter with winners already. We’ve been waiting for her to come into heat so that she can be bred to National Champion Attitude’s High Finance.  Looks like she’s ready and will be bred this week.

This breeding should bring everything you want in a fine English Pointer.  Nose, Style, Versatility and Biddability.  Whether you want a hunting companion or a competitive field trial dog you will want to consider one of these pups.  I’ll take a limited number of deposits once I verify that she is pregnant.

Here’s some info on Ben.

Nat.Ch. Attitude’s High Finance.  Ben’s record speaks for itself.  He is royally bred and has a production record of (16-17-104).  He has produced a Champion, Sand Mountain Spirit.  We have Ben home for the summer and are offering him at stud for $500 at the kennel.  Don’t miss a chance to breed your nice female to Ben.  Ben was NBHA Nat. Open Derby of the Year, Nat. Amateur Shooting dog of the Year, National Amateur Shooting dog Champion, National Open invitational Champion, Southeast Regional Ch, NBHA Nat. Free For All Ru Ch and Nat. Amateur Invitational RU Ch.All of this by the age of 5.  He has been campaigned sparingly for the last 2 years but made the call back at the 2010 NBHA Open Shooting Dog Championship this March.  Puppies available.  DNA certified Blue and Gold.

Today I set out birds in my Treads and Tracks launchers.  I am working on getting Lola broke so that we can enter some trials later this spring or in the fall.   I planted 3 birds in the same spot, hoping to teach the dog that there might be more birds than just one after a flush.    I decided to grab the camera and try to film it.  I found it very hard to work a check cord, E-collar, blank gun, and camera all at the same time.  Lola did very well considering I haven’t put her in this situation before.  I wish I could have had a bit more intensity, but I believe that will come.  She stood through it all on her own.  I didn’t have to hold her back or nick her with the collar at all.

I got a chance to get out and train dogs with some top notch guys and some really nice dogs.  We set up a mock trial coarse and gave each dog a chance to work 4 birds.  It was fun to get out and give the dogs an opportunity to run, learn, and work birds.  We saw some good things and each dog made some improvements.  It was a great day to get out and enjoy the warmer weather.  Thanks to Chris Rhea, Brandon Downs, and Landon Beard for a very enjoyable day.

Click on a thumbnail to see the photo and a description.

 

Check out a new online community of Upland Hunters, Gun Dog Trainers and Bird Dog enthusiasts in the West.   Wild West Gun Dogs was launched 02/03/2010.   Come join us!

I like to recognize a great product when I find one.  Here’s one of the most simple parts of owning a dog.  The collar.  I’ve tried several over the years and I’ve finally found something that lasts.  I bought two of these collars a year ago.  They stayed on my dogs all that time.  I recently changed my phone number, so I needed new collars with the correct information on them.  I was surprised when I took them off the dogs.  They still looked new!  Durable, inexpensive and they come in 13 different colors.  If you want a hot pink collar for your dog, they’ve got it.  I bought them from Gun Dog Supply.  They are called K-9 Komfort TufFlex Center Ring Collars.  I get mine with the D-Ring, so that I can hang my rabies tags and dog licenses on them.

These collars come with a free ID plate.  It is very important to list your Cell Phone number on the ID plate especially for those times you are hunting out of state.

I don’t have any affiliation with Gun Dog Supply or the manufacturer of these collars. I just wanted to share with you a product with which I have been pleased.

Come spend the day learning from one the Nation’s Premier Gun Dog Trainers, Ronnie Smith.

Keny Glasscock of Lost Arrow Gun Dogs along with Wasatch Wing & Clay will bring Ronnie Smith to Utah for a three day training seminar.  This is a great opportunity to learn from the Pros.  Keny is one of only 6 trainers to reach Gold Level Certification with Team Huntsmith.  This will be a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to improve their training skills. Seminar will be held May 21-23, 2010.

Contact: Keny Glasscock  at (801)918-7451 or keny@lostarrowgundogs.com

Cick here to view or print a flyer about this event.

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Lola Wins Dog of the Year.

After a spectacular season, Honky Tonk Heartbreaker “Lola” was awarded the 2009 Utah Field Trial Juvenile Dog of the year.  We had a lot of help getting this done.  We would like to thank Keny Glasscock, Brandon Downs, Kim Sampson, Tom Kosmack, John Evans, Art Cox, and Casten Pigmen.  All of these folks either handled this dog, scouted this dog or were kind enough to loan me a horse to ride. Many others helped us in other ways. Thanks to all!

2009 Field Trial Results:

12/06/2009 Vizsla Club of Utah, AKC Field Trial 3rd Place Open Derby
11/21/2009 Timpanogas Field Trial Assoc., American Field Trial 2nd Place Open Derby
10/25/2009 GSPC of Reno AKC Walking Trial 1st Place Open Derby
03/08/2009 GSPCU AKC Walking Trial 2nd Place Open Puppy
03/07/2009 GSPCU AKC Walking Trial 1st Place Open Derby

Let’s hope we can continue the success into the broke dog stakes next year. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Brandon Downs handled Bad River Rooster and Honky Tonk Heartbreaker to placements on a very cold day.  It was 2 degrees fahrenheit when we pulled in this morning.  It was good to get out despite the cold.  First time to have Rooster and Lola in the Winners Circle together.  I hope we’ll see more of this in the future.

Vizsla Club of Utah Field Trial Open Derby Results 12/06/2009
1st-Bonita Austin-Hope/Vizla
2nd-Joel Hilkert-Chopper/GSP
3rd-Rob Ashby-Lola/Pointer
4th-Rob Ashby/Brandon Downs-Rooster/Pointer