ABOUT PRAIRIE WIND KENNELS, BREEDERS OF NGSPA FIELD TRIAL GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTERS

PRAIRIE WIND KENNEL'S BREEDING PHILOSOPHY OF GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTERS

The Prairie Wind Kennel Breeding Philosophy is Based Upon a Proven Foundation and Applied to German Shorthair Pointers

Bobbi Richardson started breeding dogs over 30 years ago. She bred, trained, and handled show quality Lhasa Apsos. Bobbi earned a national reputation for having some of the best Lhasa Apsos in the USA, and in fact her pups were sold around the world. They were threats in the show arena wherever they were shown.

Bobbi studied genetics. She read all of the books she could find on dog breeding and genetics. The great breeders of the past revealed their secrets. It does not matter if these practical studies were of German Shepherds, or English Pointers. They have a common foundation: Line Breeding.

Bobbi applied these time honored, winning principles of breeding and developed a consistent line of winning Lhasa Apsos.

When we bought our first German Shorthair Pointer in 1996, Bobbi applied her many years of study and experience to this wonderful breed. Keith got up to speed with his reading and studies, and working together, we soon began breeding outstanding German Shorthair Pointers carrying our Prairie Wind name.

Why Prairie Wind? We live on the high-grass prairie just outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming and the prairie wind that sweeps across the plains brings vitality, energy and an expression of freedom and endless possibilities. This is the way we like to think about the dogs we breed.

LINE BREEDING GERMAN SHORTHAIR POINTERS

Many of today’s breeders confuse “line breeding” with “in-breeding”, and have many misconceptions and mistaken ideas. Many of the great dogs of the past were line bred. It is a proven approach with proven results over time.

It is true that there are things to watch for when applying the principles of line breeding, but this is true of any breeding program. There is “art” as well as “science” behind the effective application of any breeding philosophy. It is important for breeders to understand the science so they can better apply the “art.”

First Breeding Intended to Achieve Excellent Field Trial Prospects

We spent the first part of our German Shorthair Pointer “performance career” in NAVHDA. It was not until 2002 that we decided to “jump into horse-back field trials with both feet”. We studied the lines we admired and selected a stud dog, Sport’s See that Spekk (Spekk), whose lineage, qualities and characteristics blended and strengthened those of our bitch, FC AFC Billy Dee’s Blues in A (Blues). This was the first litter we bred to specifically produce dogs that had the genetics to compete effectively in the Field Trial world. We bred to produce outstanding bird dogs possessing extreme range and power, hoping to find one All Age dog in the litter.

The results of this breeding proved the pre-potency of Spekk and his ability to “throw run.” We have used him at stud several times since with outstanding results.

Rare Achievement: a Litter with Three True All Age Dogs.

Our breeding selection far surpassed our highest expectations. There were three stand-out pups in this litter. They compete today as true All Age dogs in hour long NGSPA field trial stakes. We refer to these littermates as “the Blues Crew.”

Prairie Wind’s Comeuppance (Penny)..Won the GSPCA Futurity in 2004. Named NGSPA All Age Dog of the Year in 2007, being the youngest dog (four years old) to have done so, and earning the most points in recent history (14).

FC Prairie Wind’s Zackly Right (Zack)..Placed third in the GSPCA Futurity in 2004. Finished Field Champion in All Age Stakes at four years of age.

Prairie Wind’s Von Hulk (Griz).. Griz is a “Super” All Age dog. He has one NGSPA Championship, and we look forward to a great future for him.

As they say, “the proof is in the pudding.” This first litter alone demonstrates we are on the right path. Those that have followed continue this path of excellence.

We kept a fourth pup from this litter:

Prairie Wind’s Hell on Wheels UT (Hellie). We did not compete Hellie in Field Trials as she was not as strong as her sister, Penny. Instead we had her trained for the NAVHDA testing program. In August, 2008 she earned a Utility Prize 1, and she will be attending the 2009 Invitational. Duck searches are arguably the most difficult event in the Utility Test program and it is her strong suit. In fact her NAVHDA trainer, Tom Swezey, said her duck searches were consistently the best he had ever seen. Our intention is to prove that our field trial bred dogs can perform in the strict arena of the Versatile Hunting Dog testing program conducted by NAVHDA.

Bred to Breed

FC Prairie Wind’s Zackly Right (Zack)..was selectively bred so that he would have a high probability of being pre-potent. That is he would possess a lot of dominant genes which influence those traits that make an outstanding Field Trial competitor. Furthermore, that this “pre-potency” would be evidenced by pups that possess those same qualities.

By contrast a non pre-potent stud bred to a non pre-potent bitch would likely produce average dogs even if both parents are accomplished Field Trial dogs, or even National Champions. In a breeding like this the best qualities are weakened and the worst qualities are improved. The pups are often mediocre, with no outstanding pups that meet or exceed the qualities of either parent.

Zack has been bred twice with excellent results indicating his pre-potency. It looks like we are on the right track.

Zack’s first breeding to FC Rocky-By Blues (Jazz) (date) produced some very nice pups which we are now competing.

Prairie Wind’s Queen of Jazz (Ella)   placed fourth in the GSPCA Futurity in 2005. She is a big running Shooting Dog and needs one more win to earn her FC at three years. Ella already has 14 points but due to the “no two wins in one weekend rule” she has to place again.

Prairie Wind’s King of Blues (BB)  is an All Age dog who at his young age is just coming into his own.

Prairie Wind’s Take a Shot (Shooter) is a solid shooting dog who has one Runner Up in NGSPA Championship field trials. She has a great future ahead of her.

Zack’s second breeding to CH Up N’ Adam’s Eager Beaver JH owned by Katie Tazza produced an outstanding dog, CH Up N’ Adams Prairie Wind (Keith). Keith has already had a remarkable show career. Winning the National Show Futurity Senior Class in 2008, and went on to earn his “CH” show champion title at 20 months of age. He also shows tremendous attributes in the field and has earned puppy and derby points. He will be competed in the 2008 GSPCA Futurity. Katie aspires for Keith to become a dual Champion, and he is well on his way.

Zack’s third breeding to Prairie Winds Flirtn w Dezaster (Dezi), has produced some very nice pups according to Carl Porter who owns the bitch and bred the litter.

We know that Zack has strong conformation attributes that would take him far in the show ring, and we have been encouraged to try to “dual” him. Our focus is the Field Trial venue, but we are proud to have bred a German Shorthair Pointer that is such a beautiful, flashy, and well built dog that knowledgeable show people see his possibilities in the show ring. We are excited about his pup, Keith, and are looking for great things from him.