I was able to play with another Buster X Annie puppy this week. Bailey was on her way home to AZ from spending the 4th of July in Montana. She wanted to spend some time with us and see some birds. Bailey did great and pointed nicely. She even had a good retrieve on a pigeon and pointed a couple of bobwhite quail.

Got an email from Freckles owners today. Freckles is from the Annie X Buster litter in 2009. They say she loves the water and living in Las Vegas spends most of the hot summer days in the family swimming pool. She loves to retrieve the tennis ball for her family. We look forward to seeing some more pics of Freckles this fall on her first Nevada and Arizona quail hunts. Thanks Thomas for the update. We love to see the puppy pics.

One of my favorite things in dog training is starting a young puppy. It is such a joy to watch their instincts come to life and see them blossom before your very eyes. Most bird dogs have the natural ability to be a good hunting companion. It is a rare brittany that does not have these instincts deeply ingrained. My kids love to help with the naming of young puppies. Hannah and me decided to name this big boy “Bubba”. We brought him home with his sister “Lexie” to start in our gun dog training program. Both puppies have strong pointing instincts.

Lexie is pictured below pointing a wing on a string. She is quite a bit smaller than her brother Bubba but she makes up for it in attitude. We will be training both of these pups to sell in the fall to hunting homes. They are AKC registered and are up to date on their shots.

This is one of Annie and Buster’s puppies “Bella”. I got to spend some time with her and her owners on Saturday at a training day in Nephi, UT. Travis Proctor and friends were there evaluating some very nice english pointers and setters. It was fun to get to see Bella and how she is growing up so fast. She is a little taller than Annie and seems to have some of Busters long legs. We were able to throw a quail out for her and work with her on her retrieve. She did really well for her first bird introduction and retrieved the quail right back to Mike. This is Mike telling Bella what a good job she did.

I got an email update this week from Mike regarding his Bella puppy. He has been reading the book “Bird Dog” by Ben O. Williams that I sent home with him when he picked up the puppy. Mike reports that Bella is adjusting well and is turning out to be quite the little firecracker. She is full of energy and loves to get outside and run. Mike can’t wait for the snow to melt so they can get serious about bird dog training. Bella is pictured below locked up on a point while Mike was working her with the wing and a string. It is amazing how deeply engrained the pointing instinct is with these young brittany puppies. Bella should be a fine hunting dog come next fall when she can really get after some birds.

We got these pics via email of Bailey and her holiday adventures. Bailey spent christmas with her family in Kansas City where she got her first introduction to snow. Anita says Bailey is settling in nicely and loves to play outside. She mentioned a problem about biting. It is important for puppies to have chew toys that they are encouraged to bite and chew on. Anytime a puppy tries to bite a person or something they are not allowed to chew, a correction should be made. They key is to set your puppy up for success not failure. We know that when puppies are excited they are more apt to bite or play rough, this is when we should have their chew toy handy to direct their attention and sharp teeth.

Bob had to wait until Christmas to find out what his daughter had purchased him. This little Brittany female was my personal favorite of the litter. She had a lot of prey drive when I put her in front of some quail and chukar. But, she was still enough of a people lover to crawl up into your lap for a nap. We are excited for her to be in her new home in California where she will be a hunting/companion dog. We hear that their are some decent quail populations near where Bob lives. It is always a joy to see our brittany puppies placed in just the right homes. We recommend that new gun dog owners subscribe to the excellent magazine titled “The Pointing Dog Journal“. Steve Smith and his team publish the most respected magazine geared specifically to hunting upland game with pointing dog breeds like the american brittany.

This weekend the pic of the litter went home to her new family in Wyoming. Forrest (Necha’s Father) drove more than 20 hours in a weekend to surprise his daughter Necha with the new puppy. The liver and white puppy was the pic of the litter and Necha decided to name her “Maple”. We are thrilled that she is in a loving home where she will be with a family who enjoys hunting gamebirds. Necha is getting ready to take hunters safety and is excited about hunting next year with her own pointing dog. This puppy seemed to be the most well-balanced of the litter. A real people lover but also quite adventurous and bold.

We took another puppy to meet her new family this week. They have chosen the name of Bailey for this fine little brittany puppy. She will be living in Arizona with the Perez family and I have a feeling she will be spoiled rotten. We look forward to seeing Bailey’s progress and have been promised pictures and updates from her new owners.

The first puppy went home this week to a happy hunting home. Mike and Mary lost both of their older brittanies last year and were waiting for some time to heal. Nothing can feel the void of losing a good hunting buddy like a young puppy full of promise and thoughts of many days afield. They decided to name the puppy Bella and she took to Mary quite quickly. I was not envious of their position, picking just one pup from this bird dog litter is no easy task. Bella had the most and largest freckles on her face and seemed to be the most people-oriented of the litter. We look forward to hearing about Bella’s progress and training with her new family. Mike just got back from a week of bird hunting in Colorado and commented that it was pretty empty hunting without a brittany dog.