Russell Irish Setters

So here is a good update on what I've been up to lately and on the accompllishment of Russell dogs here and elsewhere:

I travelled to Arkansas in late October to run dogs at the Irish Setter Club of America's National Field Trial and to ride and watch the braces of the NFT.  Russell dogs Jack, Meg, Sister and John competed.  John, Sister and Meg ran in the Derby Classic and all did a good job for Pro Trena Cardwell.  Trena elected to pick Meg up despite a decent run as sh...

Hope delivered 11 pups in just over 4 hours yesterday afternoon!  She is an excellent mother and the pups are all great looking, calm and quiet.  Check out the litter page for more information and photos.

AT LONG LAST!!!!!  Mary is in heat and on her way to Jack who is currently at Chukarhill Kennel in Eastern Washington State.  After the breeding, which should happen in the next couple of weeks, Mary will return home to me to have her litter, and Jack will go on the field trial circuit, including the National Field Trial in Arkansas.  I am sooo excited.  After spending most of the summer in hospital, this will be a welcome positive!!!  I can't wait for this litter, th...

Mary had her hips OFÁ Radiographed last week in Ohio by Jean Webb who is helping me to look after Mary right now.  The hips looked great by all accounts, so now we just wait until the results come back.  There is a wait list forming for this litter both because of Mary and Jack themselves, but also because of the incredibly success of Cassie Allen's litter by Jack's brother Joey out of Mary's Dam Reba.   Those dogs from Cassie's litter are two now and they are doing i...

We ran pups and broke dogs yesterday again and I am so pleased with them all.  Meg is the BIG STAR right now, she has relly figured out what this game is about.  She ran well and independantly and handled very well.  The baby pups are getting more independant and less reliant on each other when down,   Jack and Hope ran broke and had an honouring lesson as well.  Hope's range is coming back, and Jack's pattern is as well.  It is interesting to see them adjus...

I got to see Jack and Hope this week.  In December, when my father got ill and I needed to spend a few weeks away from home Trena, who owns Tate (the sire of my litter) offered to take Jack and Hope for a couple of months until I got back on my feet.  It was a difficult decision for me to send them away since I had them just about broke myself.  It was awfully nice of Trena to take them and certianly I could not have handled all the dogs myself.  I placed a couple of older...

Yesterday I went out with Trena (who owns Tate) to run young dogs off of horse back.  Meg did a FANTASTIC job especially for a dog who has only been put on the ground 3 times - far too little for an 11 month old dog.  I could not believe it, and was soooo proud, but she showed amazing independence and made some really big moves.  She also handled, and turned when asked - that she must have gotten via osmosis, because I certainly have not been teaching her!  I had her ...

This weekend's trial was cancelled due to high water, so today was a day off.  The Sun is shining, so we took out the 4 month old pups and photographed them on birds.  Have a look at the photo album!

The pups are doing really well.  I am on the road with them right now, and they travel well.  I have been working them on birds a few times each week and they point strongly with nice style.  We've been working on coming when called, staying out front, retrieving, and being alone.  It is all going superbly.  This litter are really social, co-operative, and forgiving.  I can't say enough about them.  I ran four on since I could not make up my mind betwee...

Well I am back from the field trials in California.  I took Can Ch Russell's Grapevine fresh from weaning pups and the Salandini's Can Ch Mythodical Russells Hail Storm.    I went to take Himiko the Great Pyrenees back to her breeder and decided to attend the trials in order to try to get national qualifying placements at AKC trials on Rumour and Goose for their owners.

Rumour got a third place in an Amateur Gun Dog Stake and won another small Amate...