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Owners 3 |
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| Some of you have sent pics by US mail and I have filed them in special mysterious places. It will take a rainy day for me to get around to digging them out. We certainly could use a few rainy days!!! | ||||||||||||
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Roxie & Ron V.
We Love those lobsters! And the fish was out of this world!! M |
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| This is my favorite picture and I have it on my screen saver. Ralph settled down mid-season to become a really good dog, both for hunting and as a pet. In the picture you can see two quail at my feet. We were hunting wild quail when he went on point, the covey being a good 20 feet from him. They all broke at once and I dropped one, then swung on a second bird and missed. Ralph marked and retrieved the first bird. Then, he went to the edge of the field and retrieved the second bird, which I had not missed after all. My first ever double on wild quail! Blacksmith should be proud of his boy. David W |
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| Kerry,
3/29/03 - Just wanted to drop a quick line about
Havelock Spartacus that we got from you. He was born on Sept 20,02 and today
was our first AKC Field trial at just over 6 months. He did quite well, he
went against dogs that were 11 months and up. He placed fourth so we are
very happy at such a young age. We are running pretty much every weekend
through May. I will keep you posted by the way Sparky has an unbelievable
nose and his bird work has been spectacular. Thanks, Jon B |
Go Sparky!!! |
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Happy Hunters with Havelock Setters Grace x Powerball |
Rosey & Jazz Taking a rare nap break |
Chestnut | ||||||||||
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| In the snow | In the woods | At the beach | At the Barbecue | |||||||||
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| Chris and I just wanted to send you an updated picture of "Martini". She has been a great dog to work with; her ability to learn has been amazing. Her favorite thing of course to do is flush birds, we fortunately have a double lot and she has a blast stalking, pointing and chasing birds out of our evergreens for hours at a time. She also loves to run, our longest run this summer has been 3 1/2 miles where she enjoys all the interactions with both dogs and people. We couldn't be more happy and we look forward to eventually adding to our "family." Chris & Tammy |
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| I just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know how happy we are with our new puppy (Reba x Blacksmith litter - female #2). She arrived safely yesterday and has had a blast getting acquainted with her new home and brother (1 1/2 yr. old male). She (aka - Maggie Mae) is truly a beautiful dog. We couldn't have found a higher quality dog anywhere. We will definitely be in touch in the future. A.P. ...................... Ohio | ||||||||||||
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| Just a note to let you know that "Libby" made it just fine. She fat and sassy and fits right in with the household. We decided to name her Liberty Belle so keep an eye out for her in NSTRA here in a few years. I really lover her already and am excited to show her off. Thanks again! Sincerely, Samantha M. | ||||||||||||
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| Dakota made it to Oklahoma City safely. He is doing wonderful. We want to thank you again for the puppy. I think he will make Tyler and I a good dog. We saw the Pheasant when we left. We had to see about 100 along the road between your place and South Dakota. Thanks again, Michael, Tyler and Maria B. | ||||||||||||
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| Subject: coincidence in Lander Wyoming. Hi, Last night I was visiting with a new person in town about our new English Setters puppy...to be born in March, in N Dakota and she suddenly said, "this sounds familiar." She told me that she works with a woman who also has a N Dakota Setter pup "reserved" that will be born in March, and the description of the 'web site' was familiar too. Well, it turned out she was talking about Wendy J. I know Wendy too, so I called her up and found out that they already have two Havelock Setters. We talked excitedly for about 30 min over our lunch break and then she brought her two setters by the Library (where I work.) WOW!!! Do I ever know how to pick a fantastic blood line from among many suggestions! Their younger dog, "Barney" is the most beautiful setter I have ever seen. Of course, they were not hunting, just lounging in the car, but he is knock 'em dead gorgeous. She said he is from "Ike" and "Grace." Their other dog, Otis, is also lovely and is a son of Blackie. Both are tri color, but Barney is ticked in both black and orange so really exceptional. I think Wendy said that "he turned out even better than they had thought!" They have 2nd pick male from the Jingles litter and will pick up our pup for us if we decide not to make the trip (I really want to see N Dakota though, so we will probably still drive up to get our pup.) Anyway, she is as excited as I am. Loved seeing the pictures on the web of the two January litters. Hope Fuzz is looking really fat and happy by now. Less than a month to go. Barbara O. | ||||||||||||
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| Hi Marian and Kerry, It was sure good to meet you and pick up my new pup. I felt like the Pied Piper when I drove into your place and had all the dogs following the suburban. We had a great first day. "Tana" was in and out of my arms all the way home and adapted extremely well to he new home. She is eating out of the automatic feeder and water dish and going in and out of the kennel door just fine after a quick "lesson". She walked about 1/2 mile with me early this morning and never got behind. She even ventured out a little on her own and explored the woods and the river bank. The most amazing thing, she seems to be house broken already. She has not had an accident . I stopped and let her out every hour on the way home and she "did her thing" right away. Same last night. My wife is amazed. I couldn't be happier so far ! Steve S | ||||||||||||
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| Subject: Zeke (Blackie/Bonnie) and Darla (Blackie/jingles) Dear Marian and Kerry, This week marked the end of the 2002-03 hunting season for Zeke (18 months old) and Darla (8 months old). We've had quite and enjoyable season and the dogs are showing their breeding. Zeke is about as obliging a bird dog as I've ever had. He has long legs and a range to fit the legs, but he's learned the whistle and voice command "here" quite well. It does take a handler's attention to keep him at mid range for hunting on foot. With attention it is quite doable. But for the first week of the season in Kansas, when the temperature was in the 60s and the wind high Zeke held his points well. He responds to "whoa" and is working toward steady to wing and shot, but in the absence of the hunters in thick woods I believe he was overly tempted early on by the sight of the covey. I also think that his pre-season work on game farm quail misinformed him of the flight characteristics and other behaviors of coveys of wild birds. As the wild bird season progressed he became near perfect and began adding backing to his talents. Next year we'll work on hunting dead and bring out the tack collar to soften the mouth a little. He's prone to chewing the birds which won't do, especially with quail. Darla is a bit young yet. She's prone to chasing birds of all kinds. When she points she's solid, but all too often she's gets into the coveys. She's weak on "whoa", which I haven't worried about too much. She has a natural backing tendency, but her curiosity often drives her to bust Zeke's points. This is a forgiven season for the pup. The major objective is to cultivate the desire to hunt and the orientation to the hunter. We seem to be succeeding there. For the most part Darla's quartering surpasses Zeke's and her return to the hunter is full of joy. They're both smart. They do allow us to spoil them, which is only natural. I'm pleased that the spoiling doesn't seem to affect their field work. You have quite a line of dogs. Sincerely, William H. B. - MN | ||||||||||||
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| Kerry
and Marian, Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you Happy Holidays
and to give you a progress report on Jack. The pup is doing great. He's
bright and eager to learn. He's adapted well to living in the fenced-in back
yard, and really seems to enjoy big brother Blue (who now weighs two pounds
less than his little brother). Jack is up to 41 lbs at 18 weeks. I think
he's going to be a big boy. He's learned the kennel, come and heel commands
pretty well. Like all pups, he has lapses, but he's doing great. But
this last weekend sealed the deal. I took him with me to a preserve in CO
(we don't have any birds at all this year - what a shame). I hunted the
majority of the morning with Blue, but at the end of the morning I put out
two Chukar for him. When we went out to find them, the first was out and
running around. He chased it, flushed it and then chased it with all the
happy abandon a pup should have. I was quite pleased, but it just got
better. The second bird was holed up in a bush. As Jack ran by it, you could see the light bulb go off. He spun in his tracks and started to scent the bird. He got to within three feet of the bird and suddenly locked up in a head erect, 90* tailed point. He held it for about five seconds and then jumped in on the bird. Needless to say, I was walking on cloud nine the rest of the day. Boy, I'm sold. Anytime you need a recommendation, just let me know. With this kind of instinct, the only way I can see he wouldn't be a great bird dog would be if I screw up the training. Thanks, and hope that your holidays are exceptional. Tom B. |
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| Dear Kerry and Marion, You might be interested in knowing that the British Columbia Council of Pointing Dog Clubs awarded a magnificent trophy to Storm Boy and me as Derby Dog of the Year 2002. He is really doing a great job for me. I should tell you also (and this is not kennel blindness) that Storm Boy is the most handsome field english setter that I have ever seen. He is simply spectacular. Kindest regards, Michael S., (proud owner). We were the ones that arrived at your farm the afternoon of July 4th, 2000 all the way from Victoria, on Vancouver Island (Joanne S) | ||||||||||||
