At the end of April, 2009, Molly will produce her second litter for Swift Creek Kennels. At 5 1/2 years old, she is as much of a clown as ever. She is a driven, athletic Griffon that has not ceased to amaze us – at 42 lbs, we joke that she is equal parts nose, brains, muscle and heart. Molly hunts 60 plus days a year in Minnesota and Montana. She has proven to be equally versed at upland hunting and waterfowling. Molly will easily adapt from the confined grouse and woodcock forests of the North to the wide open sharptail and pheasant country of the West, and loves to “sneak at-heel” for ducks and geese. As soon as she comes in the house, the switch naturally turns “off” and she is a total “couch-potato.” Her first litter, whelped in January of 2008, has earned Swiftcreek Griffons a NAVHDA Natural Ability Breeder's Award. Molly loves children and the snow – as she plays all winter at our Nordic Ski Lodge.
SHOOTER at his NA Test - May 2009
The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon was developed by Eduard Karel Korthals in the latter part of the 1800's. Thanks to Jamie Kuhn, of Aspen Glo Kennels, for compiling the history and timeline.
On May 3, 2009, Swiftcreek's Sunbeam Tiger (Lucy - a female from Molly's first litter) ran a perfect score of 112 on her Natural Ability Test. She was the 2nd dog of the litter to earn a perfect score, and with the 5 other dogs that ran in NAVHDA Natural Ability, she helped Molly and Swiftcreek Griffons to qualify for the NAVHDA Breeders Award for Natural Ability. Great job, and thanks to all who ran their dogs.
I apologize for the lack of puppy updates - I promise lots of photos, including an individual puppy photo of each in birth order soon. They are all doing great - healthy, curious and growing like weeds.
Boogie and I have been spending every spare moment in the field or duck swamp, training for her upcoming NAVHDA Utility test - She's doing very well and we're looking forward to June 7th.
The pups have all had their first wormer, and will all have their first two sets of DHPP when they are picked up. All the pups will be micro-chipped as well. You'll want to consult with your vet, but for the 3rd set of puppy shots, you'll probably want to add "Lepto" as well. Pups will be ready to go by the 4th of July weekend.
Molly, Boogie and Tom have returned from Minnesota - a two week trip entailing teaching a "Timber Framing Class" at North House Folk School, and Boogie running a NAVHDA UT (Utility) Test. She aced 2/3rds of the test, with her scores as follows: (4's being maximum)
Nose: 4
Search: 4
Pointing: 4
Stamina: 4
Retrieve Shot Duck: 4
Steady By Blind: 4
Remain By Blind: 3
Retrieve in Field: 3
Walk at Heel: 3
Desire: 3
Obedience: 3
Steadiness: 2
Cooperation: 2
Duck Search: 0
Duck Drag: 0
Desire, Obedience, Nose and Cooperation are judged throughout the test, and her duck search and drag had an effect on her "Obedience, Cooperation, and Desire" scores.
Although she did not earn a "Prize" - she sure opened some eyes for a 16 month old pup and we had a great time - most dogs that run utility are 3 to 5 years old. You can run Utility (or any other Navhda test, except the Invitational) as many times as you'd like, so we'll definitely run again. Thanks to all who helped "Cram" for the test.
The puppies are all doing great - they've been wormed twice, and had dhpp and corona (their first of 3.) They will all get micro-chipped and their 2nd course of dhpp this week - we'll also add lepto. You'll want to arrange round 3 of vaccinations with your vet. Several folks have inquired about kennel size. Females would do best in a "Petmate Vari-kennel" Intermediate, and Males in the Large. (These may not be adequate size for air travel in the future.)
It was a big weekend for all the pups - Gunfire, Birds and Swimming were all introduced with great results. All 9 puppies swam on their own accord - several times after figuring it out. Gunfire was .22 blanks, shot at first from a distance, then slowly decreasing to 10 yards...all the dogs were indifferent to the shots. The pigeon of course was a big hit. Enjoy the videos, although please forgive the quality, as I was both lifeguard and photographer.
All the puppies were "micro chipped" last week and received their second set of DHPP vaccinations. The vet recommended waiting until 12 and 16 weeks to add the "Lepto." We will "worm" the puppies (Pyrantel Paomate) one more time before you pick them up. We have been feeding Purina "ProPlan Puppy" and will give you all about 5 lbs to help you tranisition over to whatever you'd like to feed.
