July 2008

Puppies on the Prairie

Well, Keith arrived with the dogs and His oldest son, Daniel on the 29th of June. They have been busy doing chores. Getting grass mowed, quail pens repaired, and repairing kennels.

If you want to contact him you can call him, probably in the evenings for sure, at 605-865-3275.

Keith told me on the phone that the cover looks quite nice and he has seen quite a few young birds aroun the place. Hopefully Keith will soon have his internet up and running so he can give you the information himself.

Till later.

Teresa Hickam

From: KHickam
Jun-14 8:17 am

Well, the reports are in and the bird numbers are up. We have booked a number of puppies and we will introduce you to them briefly here.

Camulus - He is a 6 month old son of NRSFTC National Champion Chaparral. He is a beautiful irish setter that is already running and pointing with great style. The best so far of the young red dogs.

Cullen - He is a 6 month old son of FC Harry O'Floin (brother of 2 time ISCA National Champion FC AFC Speedie Edie O'Floin) He is a handsome irish setter already pointing well and running hard

Nikki - He is the 14 month old son of CH Shoeleathers Tanner and a field trial winner himself - he will be going up as a derby dog - and will be run off horseback alot

Rhemy - Littermate to Nikki and although has not accomplished as much as her brother - due to a somewhat willful nature - I believe will be a force to be reckoned with this summer on the trial string.

Diamond - 5 month old daughter of one of the best irish setters I have ever trained. She is already finding birds and pointing with class and style.

Garnet - Also Ruby's son and littermate to Diamond - He is doing a fine job and although not pointing with the class and style of his sister quite yet - I believe as he gets stronger he will be a fine dog.

Emerald now Lucy- The best of Ruby's litter - she is a classy, stylish and tough young irish setter that will lead the pack of her littermates I believe.

Millie - Daughter of Erector Set (Rock Acres Erector) and a beautiful black and white all age pointer - she is a coming derby and a force to be reckoned with.

Jake X Blaze litter - Blaze is the full sister of CH Shoeleathers Tanner and FC/AFC Blackeyed Storm MH. Jake is a huge running, indepedent dog that came to TX as an older dog and impressed the hell out of me. We have 6 orange and white pups from this breeding that are going up with mom to get sorted out on the prairie. I am really looking forward to watching this litter. I personally have my eye on a female that Teresa named Ember.

Diva - Daughter of CH Shoeleathers Tanner, and a field trial winner herself. I watched her run in MO - very nice dog. Pretty classy in my book.

Gus - Irish setter that is a handsome guy, that I am looking forward to watching run more. Plus a couple more. There is a brief introduction to this years Puppies on the Prairie II.

From: KHickam
Jun-30 7:23 pm

Well, today was busy - we had to get internet, post office and other stuff done. But, we are pretty set with everything now.

I took several puppies out with me on my several times a week 4 mile run. We did this very early just as daylight was coming. The reds and a single pointer pup went with me. They moved about 50-75 birds - including several younger birds. It was quite fun to watch them chase across the prairie.

We have barley nearby and we had a great time. Mosquitos are very numerous - but we have enough insect repellent to handle it. We had a great conversation with ranchers and I am optimistic about the chances we have of getting some great work done this summer.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-1 10:13 pm

Well, today - we set up the whoa posts and drop chains - fixed some other stuff and mowed more grass. I saddled one of the new horses and went for about a 3 mile ride across the prairie.

Cam, T-Bone (Teasel son) Lucy, Cullen, Gar and Di tagged along. It was great fun. Cam and TBone - were at times 1/2 mile or more to the front - it was great fun to watch them flash point and chase birds. The younger dogs were running about 100-200 yds in front - and knocked a few birds themselves. Mosquitos were aggravating though. Can't wait to start working the big dogs.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-2 7:15 am

My experience on the prairies has shown me that - whatever their natural inclination of range is - generally speaking is intensified and expanded.

Yes, Ruby looks a bit different and so do her pups - last night I found myself part of an irish setter sandwich - I went to sleep - Cam was laying on the floor along with Dot - when I woke up - one was on either side of me on the bed - DARNED IRISH SETTERS - no manners at all! :-)

In a week or so, we will start to house break - Ember, Flame Strike and Bon fire and I may find myself in the middle of a llewellin sandwich instead. Due to our ATV being in the shop - we had to road dogs, the old fashioned way - Daniel and I saddled up and roaded a dog each for 30 mins - then we came back and got 2 more - we repeated that 3 times - we also took the derbies in pairs - free running.

Nikki and Rhemy were awesome most everytime I looked up they were 1/4 to 1/2 mile away.

Chuck - After I got done roading we took Lacy out with Codeman - she is great - a bit young but after a summer on the prairie she will be fine. You can handle off her though - she is one big horse - I barely had enough adjustment in my saddle and bridle to fit her.

Disclaimer - These posts are for entertainment purposes only, no animals were injured in the making of this story.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill.

From: KHickam
Jul-4 6:28 pm

Today - I went on my morning run and had 4 pups tagging along initially. The pups that went with me were irish setters this morning - they were Katie, Gus, and Lucy

We ran 4 miles and Katie and Gus had contact with a bunch of pheasants right away and were pointing for about 15 second then the chase was on. Gus found his way back to me in short order but evidently Katie was running and chasing up the long tree line for about a mile, and decided to go home and was waiting and running around the camp when I returned.

With one puppy down we continued to run up the road and Gus and Lucy found 4 more bunches and pointed twice and ran over 2 more bunches. We returned in about 40 minutes and Katie was waiting for us at home. After I got back we worked the big dogs on "whoa" post and all of them did a wonderful job. Not really happy with the amount of contact and the lack of dogs getting into birds - Daniel and I loaded up more pups and went to the hog farm.

We took Cullen, Cam, T-Bone (Teasel son) Lucy, Garnet, Diamond, Breezy (Erins Southern Justice daughter) and Robert (Frans pup and littermate to Lucy, Garnet and Diamond) The hog farm is about 4 miles away so we had to drive there - the cover was thick but generally there are hundreds of birds there - and we saw plenty but they ran through the cover and eluded the young dogs but we managed to move 20 or so big birds and another 20 or so smaller birds.

The hog farm is a pheasant heaven and it seems harvest is later than usual because we generally get more bird contact - once the crops are harvested (wheat and barley around the 640 acres that make up the hog farm) it will be great again - I think.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-5 5:59 pm

Well, I just thought I would post an update on the very young puppies on the prairie. We brought with us a total of 8 puppies that are 4-6 weeks old now. Blaze is starting to wean them - and they are starting to explore the big wild world that is the prairie around the Rusty Windmill.

We brought 2 puppies that are from the Polly X Bodhi litter and they are little pistols - the male and female haven't been named yet - but they are sure beginning to show personality and I am sure it won't be long before they are tagged with the appropriate moniker. I am starting to like the two Polly pups - they are carrying things around - bones, sticks and tack as well as gloves - when I go out the front door they generally meet me and are underfoot until I pick one or the other up.

The little girl is an even masked tri-color that has been pointing toads/frogs in the front yard and she managed to hunt down and kill a little pocket gopher. Today, as I went out in the afternoon I found her about 100 yds away from mom and adopted siblings along the road that leads to the main road. It probably won't be long until she is tagging along as her 1/2 brothers and sisters did last year on my morning/nightly runs and chasing birds as she goes.

The little male is a bit slower but shows lots of spunk and carries a high tail as he walks/runs - he too is pointing frogs/toads and grasshoppers and shows nice style and class when he does so. He is less independent right now - but this doesn't concern me because his 1/2 brothers were similiar at first - last year on the prairie. His biggest achievement to date is finding and pointing a baby bunny near the other old place next to ours. It sure was cute though.

He is a nice belton colored dog and looks similiar in markings to his daddy Bodhi. The Blaze/Jake pups are starting to explore some too - but right now they seem more content to sleep than explore - when they do scoot around they are carrying high tails and I am keeping my eyes on a orange belton male and female and an even masked female.

Only time will tell, but I think in a couple weeks these pups will be harassing the liberated chukar and pointing everything in site - mom and dad have really left an imprint on these pups I think.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-21 5:43 pm

Well, I figured it was about time to post another report. I have been remiss and right now we are not running dogs from horses because of a little mishap that I needed to order parts to get my saddle fixed. Anyway, all the pups are progressing well. I am very happy with the young and older ones alike.

Breezy - She is running with us 3 times a week and she has been pointing and knocking a few birds along the way. We also took her and the younger pups out on Friday and worked CC and pen birds - we have a nice pic of her on point that will be up sometime near the end of the week. She covers the roading course in short order and was in on several finds of sharptails.

T-Bone - Loves running and is in on nearly every find of birds when we are running him with the roading dogs - he has pointed several sharp tails for as long as 15-30 seconds. He and Cam are really rolling now.

Lucy - This is a sweet irish setter - she is running with us well, and is in on several finds or flushes of pheasants and sharptails. We also took here out with her littermates on Saturday and worked CC and chukar - She is the shining jewel of Ruby's litter and I am certain will make a fine dog.

Garnet - I may have been too hasty with this little guy. And further evaluation is in order. He has been running hard and he is pointing with much more style and class than he had previously shown. That is the real beauty of summer camp for puppies. Those that are a bit slower - have much greater opportunity to get into birds and this really accelerates the learning curve as opposed to what he would have been exposed to in Texas over the same period of time.

Diamond - Lucy (originally named Emerald) had better watch out - her sister is fast catching up and may even equal Lucy's class, style, and range by the end of summer camp. Di is very staunch for such a young bitch - and I am starting to admire her guts and tenacity when we are roading and she comes for all of the 6-8 miles.

Cam - Watch out for this guy - he and Cullen are really coming on - Cam is already running 1/4 mile casts and he manages to find birds on every outing. Sunday morning on our jog he found and pointed 1 bunch of pheasants (10 or so) and knocked two more bunches - but pointed two singles.

Cullen - Runs with just a little less class, style and range than Cam - but he holds his own and he is Daniels little buddy. He started slow but is improving every day now. He pointed 2 single sharptails yesterday for a decent period of time. And finished well.

Auggie - Well on his way too - yesterday, we did water work and this young moonster was making 50-80 yd retrieves and is expanding his search on the water for those he did not mark well. We are rotating him into our yard work program now that many of the older dogs that I had started in Texas previous to coming here are rotating to wild birds only work.

Gus - Running hard, making nice moves, he is showing a great nose and he is pointing very staunchly and has a very soft mouth I like this young irish setter very much and I continue to see daily improvement with him. He has been in on several points and has backed at least 1 time I have witnessed.

Katie - Rolls across the prairies like a prairie wind - barking at every bird and generally seems to enjoy it very much. She has great style and class, has shown that she can smell birds a ways out and is very stauch on point. She has had less contact with wild birds because she would rather chase meadow larks than look for sharp tails - some yard work will hopefully fix some of that.. Until Next time.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-22 5:59 pm

Today - I woke up a bit late and didn't get the dogs hooked up and roading until after 5:00. At first I was a little miffed at myself until I saw the results of the later start.

We were roading the B Team (hunting dogs) so we were letting the young pups - 1 yr and under roll out with us. Anyway, it was a clear and beautiful morning with a beautiful sunrise and as the sun came up - we were able to watch ducklings and birds running around.

Among the participants were T-Bone and Cullen - a llewellin and a young irish setter. At about mile 3 in the 6 mile roading course - there is a mowed alfalfa field that is bordered by prairie that has always held birds - mostly sharptails but occasionally pheasant. I watched as those two young dogs worked at 200 yds to the front at about 2 oclock - taking the edge like pros - it was a beautiful move.

As I was watching and hoping they would get to have some reward (bird contact) for making such a breathtaking move - Cullen slowed and worked into a beautiful point - T- Bone established point at almost the same time - (reminder to self - take the danged camera along!) they stood beautifully for about 15 seconds - until Breezy saw them and in her youthful exuberance to see what was up. Knocked a sentry bird - causing Cam and T-Bone to break and knock the remainder of the 15-20 birds on the edge (probably two groups feeding) and all 6 pups chased across the prairie like a bunch of red demons (4 irish setters, 1 pointer, and 1 pretty llewellin setter) It was wonderful to see Cullen and T-Bone put it together like that - and I am sure experiences like that will make them old pros at the young age of 8-10 months.

The rest of the trip proceeded in a boring manner after that. It is moves like that, and moments forever frozen in time like that - makes this old dog trainer's heart well up and give thanks that I have such a great job and that I get to see wonderful moments in my young charges lives like today.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: KHickam
Jul-31 3:59 pm

Now to the Puppies on the Prairie

Gus - We braced cousins together today, in the 3rd brace with Katie (after we ran Katie for 8 miles). Gus, was running well, mostly forward and in front with very little handling - he pointed one pheasant and I dismounted from my horse - my saddle is fixed now.  The bird left from behind us and Gus broke at the flush and chased.  He finished the brace strong and to the front.

Katie - We ran Katie for 8 miles before we cut her loose on this brace and that seemed to do the trick - she was responsive, always to the front and running a nice lick for the entire 45 minute brace.  She had no bird work but I am super pleased with her progress - we are getting to know one another and she is handling well for me.

Cam - Big race always to the front,he finished 30 minutes strong and like Katie we ran him 8 miles. Earlier today and he had contact with 4 birds in the wee hours this morning.

Breezy - She is running well, I have decided to run with her at night because the birds seem more concentrated and the liklihood of contact is greater.  Last time out she was in the middle of 10 sharptails, before she smelled them - although she pointed briefly before knocking and chasing them.

T- Bone - Nice young llewellin, always in or around birds every time we turn him loose - multiple points in the last week on pheasants and sharptails and he is holding them for some time before breaking and chasing.  He is a forward going big running little dog and he is doing super this year.

Gar - Gonna try to get him in more birds by taking him on my daily run at night - hoping that the concentration of birds will help him - he runs a very close race, looks great on birds  and I think that he will be a great hunting dog.

Lucy - The star of the 6 month old irish setter pups.  She is always running to the front, she has been in the middle of many flushes of birds when I turn her loose and she looks great when she points.

Diamond - Lagging only slightly behind her litter mate sister and well ahead of her litter mate brother.  She is coming along nicely running well in front and looks great pointed. I also have been having her do some water retrieves.

The very young pups are doing great so far we only have named one of the pups - she is a Polly/Bodhi female that we call Chukar Chaser - Chase for short - they are venturing out on the prairies and have engaged in search and destroy missions on a few of our chukar.  Which they have been succeeding at a little more than I would like.  They are also splashing around in water and running out on the prairies now - several times we have spotted them several hundred yards out on the prairies.

Keith - Back online and Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: Cuilean/LadyA
Aug-5 6:04 pm

Well, we are getting some great work done. The puppies are running well and we have had some great stories unfold here on the prairie. We had great work from all the youngsters yesterday.

After a very late start due to a severe thunder storm we finally hooked up the dogs and roaded them around 10 am We took the youngsters along - Breezy, T-Bone, Cullen, Cam, Diamond, Garnet and Lucy. So, we had 5 irish setters, 1 llewellin setter and 1 pointer.

We roaded 10 miles total and several of the dogs were still working and making nice casts at the end of the trip.

Breezy - Was running well and to the front, she has a nice carriage and a cracking tail. She found herself in the middle of a large bevy/covey/flock of sharptails. She has pointed several times and is doing well.

T-Bone - Hard running, and wonderful dog. He is a classy, stylish dog that makes casts over 1/2 mile and finds birds every trip out. Pointing and holding for over 30 seconds now.

Garnet - Is running better, making longer casts and staying in front now more. He has been in on several finds and loves birds.

Cullen - Nice hard driving irish setter, he has been lengthening his casts and has on several occasions pointed way in front of me and held birds for up to 1 minute before breaking and flushing including a group of 5 pheasants yesterday.

Cam - Special dog - hardest driving irish setter we have at camp near his age. He is always in or around birds has pointed and held until I flushed birds in front of him on several occasions.

Lucy - Superior to her littermates, in run, application and ability to find birds - has found and pointed many birds already this summer.

Diamond - She has been caught up to and surpassed by her siblings and although a very nice dog in many ways does not have the drive of her littermates.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: Cuilean/LadyA
Aug-12 6:01 am

The puppies continue to grow, mature and excel in training. Since, the last post the very young pups have started to wander around the prairie - I have taken them running a couple times and Ernie has taken them on puppy walks up the long tree line. Reports from Ernie is that they are doing great, they have also been running some with me and are doing a bit of bird finding.

Gus - Running well, he runs between 3 and 4 days a week, both running with the quad as we road the big dogs 12 miles and some horseback work. He is generally to the front and making nice casts. We have been running earlier and although we are still maintaining adequate bird work from him, we may rotate him into the running with me, line up in order to get more contacts for him. He has been run from horseback several times and is doing well with that. He is making much better decisions/figuring out cover likely to hold birds and running well to objectives.

Katie - We never turn her loose without a Tracker, and generally do not run her from horseback without first roading her at least 30 minutes. She is all the dog anyone could wish to have. Very long on endurance, very stylish running and has a gorgeous point. She has done very well, generally running to the objectives but often has to be gathered up and brought forward on occasion. She is absolutely crazy about birds, doves, sparrows, owls and anything else that flies and that has occasionally been frustrating - but, she is getting better with more wild bird contacts.

Breezy - She is doing well, starting to gain more endurance, and has had more bird contacts in the last few times out than all the previous times. I attribute this to, maturity and bird contacts. This has helped her learn how to recognize bird rich cover and objectives. Consequently, the more she goes to those and is rewarded by bird contact the more often she seeks them out including distant objectives, Her pointing is coming along too and she is pointing and maintaining her points for longer periods of time at longer distances too.

T-Bone - Is the 2nd biggest running dog of the older puppies runs only slightly behind Camulus in range, application and maturity in ground coverage. This dog has often been seen making moves to objectives that much older dogs would not likely be making. He has pointed for long periods time, on both sharp tails and pheasants.

Camulus - This young irish setter is only slightly ahead of T-Bone in run, application, and bird finding. They are really quite a pair to watch run - very fun and seem to challenge each other to bigger and better things. I expect to see quite a bit from these dogs in the future.

Cullen - This young irish setter is an up and coming young dog. He is running hard and although does not range quite as far as T-Bone and Camulus. He makes up for it in bird finding. Like Camulus he has a knack for being around birds. Yesterday, we went running together (4 miles) Cullen had 3 fabulous finds on 3 single pheasants in the first mile. He also knocked a bunch of birds without pointing. Cullen was picture perfect on several finds and pointed with high head and tail each time. The birds were well located before he broke and flushed them. By the time we finished running he had 10 finds of pheasants, and sharp tails each held for a significant period of time (up to a couple minutes) and he ran big often hanging 1/4 mile in front of me as I labored along behind at a steady jog.

Lucy - She is running bigger, and finding birds last time out she pointed on wild birds and was in the mix knocking and chasing about 5 groups. She is doing a super job and her application is getting more mature. She is hanging out there a bit longer and running bigger.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill

From: Cuilean/LadyA
August 27 5:52 pm

Well, this has been a great week for the puppies. First the progress of the red dogs.

Katie - A little red fireball! She is running a nice forward shooting dog pattern. She is working well with the horse, and coming with me and turning well with the horses. Huge potential.

Lucy - Running well and pointing and backing. Her pattern and race improving greatly, and her stamina is improving.

T-Bone - Nicest young llewellin of the camp - he is always in birds, and pointing and knocking every group he finds - some of his points are over one minute duration.

Cullen/Camulus - Wow, running hard, pointing hard and generally acting like much older dogs than they are. At only 8 months, they are better than most derbies I have seen.

Breezy - Very nice pointer, making casts of 1/4 mile now. She is doing awesome at finding birds now too. I am very pleased with her progress.

Gus - Wow, nice little red setter - not quite as good as Katie in application but better than Cam and Cullen. He has found and pointed over 100 birds in the last week (10 to 15 finds) and seems to be getting in great shape.

Keith - Posting from Under the Rusty Windmill