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Blast Zone, son of Ch. Full Blast, is off to an impressive start to his derby career.  “Strike”, handled by Thor Kain, has shown an amazing ability to handle grouse and woodcock with finished manners at his young age.  Thor, an amateur and friend of ours, had “Strike” this summer and set videos of “Strike” on dozens of wild bird finds with steady-to-wing and shot manners.  When the trial season started with the Mohegan Wild Bird Trial in August “Strike” went right to work with a scouted stylish woodcock find steady-to-wing and shot for a first placement.  Then in September at the New York Grouse Championship open derby, “Strike” ran his driving, snappy race and scored on a grouse, again with adult manners.  This first place win was followed by his performance at the West Branch Grouse Trial where he was the only dog in the entire trial, including the all-age, to find and handle a grouse with finished manners.  He threw in a steady woodcock find to cement his first place win.  Later in October, Strike earned a fourth open derby placement at the Nittany Valley Grouse Trial.  We are excited about Strike.  He runs hard, as big as the cover with lots of class and eye-appeal.  He is the earliest and most naturally developing wild bird handling young dog we have ever had. That statement would include a lot of dogs and some great dogs in our 35 year program.  Much of “Strike’s” success certainly goes to Thor for all his hard, consistent work over the last months with Strike.

Full Tilt is retired; however, her impact at trials and on the breed continues as her offspring scored some nice wins in the early part of the fall competitive season.

Game Changer (Impact Player x Ch. Full Tilt) won 2nd at the West Branch Grouse Trial Club Open All-Age in September with her hallmark big forward, easy-handling hunt and a find on wild pheasants.  It took her owner, Thor Kain, nearly ten minutes to locate “Sally” once her bell stopped and it was clear the birds had moved in that time but a prompt, sharp relocation effort yielded a handful of cackling roosters.  Sally stayed steady and cool under the pressure.

Michter’s Rock N’ Rye (Ch. Lilleyhill’s Secret Stash x Ch. Full Tilt) won the Nittany Valley Grouse Trial Open All-Age in mid-October with a strong one hour hunting effort and a stylishly handled woodcock at the famous “The Barrens” gamelands outside State College, PA.  Her owner, Jared Specht, was the handler.  To top it off “Riley” is recorded as the sire of both the 1st and 2nd place winners of the open derby stake at this trial.  The line continues.

All In (full brother to Michter’s Rock and Rye and out of Full Tilt) is also producing some outstanding offspring.  His son, All In, has three open derby wins in the early fall for his owner, Thor Kain.  “Nick” won at the Mohegan Wild Bird Trial, West Branch Grouse Dog Club and the New York Grouse Championship.  The line continues.

Ch. Straight Forward, our six year old female, added to her list of championship accomplishments with an exciting performance at the New York Grouse Championship, September 13, 2015, that earned her Runner-Up Ch. honors.  As the judges stated, “there were many fine performers who had good birdwork, so the stake was very high quality.” Ch. Grouse Hill Belle, the winner, was outstanding.  “Cracker” was all business during her hour of hunting.  Driving, forward, determined and classy,  she was not to be denied.  At 28 she scored her first grouse find off to the right of the trail where handler Dave Hughes got up the bird immediately.  Without any hesitation “Cracker” went back into hunting mode.  She doesn’t waste time checking in or running on the paths.  10 minutes later she nailed another grouse just before a road crossing.  Her straight 11 o’clock pointing style let Dave locate her quickly and the grouse was put to wing right where “Cracker” said it was.  From here “Cracker” continued to pound the course in continued search mode right up to the 6o-minute pickup mark.

Blast Zone, our young derby sired by Ch. Full Blast ex Marty Stoker’s Hardcore, is off to a fast start in his derby career.  With Thor Kain handling “Strike” won the open derby at the New York Grouse Championship with a determined hunt through the heavy cover in course #1 and paired this effort with a steady-to-wing and shot grouse find.  Just weeks earlier “Strike” won 2nd at the Mohegan Wild Bird Trial in PA.  In this event he had a strong hunting race under the whistle of Thor Kain and at 25 minutes he was found pointing in a creek bottom where he had a woodcock pinned.  He was also perfectly steady-to-wing and shot on this find as well.  In terms of finding, pointing and wanting to stand steady on wild birds “Strike” is perhaps the most remarkable dog we have ever worked with.  Last winter in TX, while still a pup, “Strike” would get the wild quail pointed (something few pups can do regularly) and then stand steady while the bracemate pup(s) would mill around and knock the covey.  We’ve got high hopes for Blast Zone.

“Sharp” a March 2015 male pup by Ch. Full Blast ex Ohioan Dave Mains’ female, Fling (Ch. Lilleyhill’s Secret Stash ex Grand National Grouse Ch. Full Tilt) is developing nicely.  A 40 lb. boy, he likes to hunt hard and has been absolutely excellent on his birds, both wild and released.  It’s seems like a miracle to me to have a good bird dog who points and lets you flush his birds when the animal didn’t exist but just 6 months ago.  We are excited about “Sharp” and more work will tell if he can make the traveling dog truck.  In the meantime we are all having fun together.

Blast Zone, our setter male, won the Freeland Open Puppy stake in his first field trial start in early May.  “Strike” is sired by Ch,. Full Blast ex Marty Stoker’s female, Hard Core.  “Strike” has impressed us from the start with his exceptional desire to find, point and stand birds.  In Texas this spring he was handling their touchy wild quail regularly and exhibiting his desire to stand, even when younger pups were circling him and putting up his birds.  Built in the image of his Dad, “Strike” is remarkably classy while on the move–a priority of our kennel.  We look forward to campaigning “Strike” in the coming derby season.

 

 

Twenty-nine of the country’s top young cover dog prospects produced in 2014 went to the starting line at the 68th Grand National Puppy Classic held in the Allegheny National Forest, April 10, 2015.  After each pup had 30 minutes to demonstrate their potential to make a championship calibre cover dog, the judges selected four dogs for placement.  Three of the four winners were sired by Ch. Full Blast out of breeder Dave D’Hulster’s, Springfield Showgirl.  It is a first in the long history of this premiere stake that three dogs from the same litter placed in the Grand National Puppy Classic.  This bears testimony to the strength and consistency of the genetics that produced these bright young prospects.

Specifically, the winners from the Full Blast x Springfield’s Showgirl mating are: 1st- Springfield’s Side Kick; 3rd-Willwoods Squig (Chris D’Matteo/owner; 4th- Springfield Dark Knight.  The first and fourth placed dogs are owned by Dave D’Hulster.

Additionally, in the days following the Grand National several other Full Blast pups placed in other Puppy Classics across the country including The Venango Puppy Classic, the Bob Doran Puppy Classic and The Michigan Puppy Classic.  Judged on potential to become cover dog champions, these youngsters are proving that Ch. Full Blast is a dog you can go to to get a dog that can hunt and compete at the top of the game.

Michigan Puppy Classic

Meredith’s Traveling Blast, daughter of Ch. Full Blast and owned by Dennis Keysor and handled by Scott Chaffee, won 2nd in the Michigan Puppy Classic held in mid-April, 2015, at the Gladwin preserve.  “Quinn” bested a strong field of the top young dogs from the region and beyond.  Michiganer Ken Moss is the breeder of Quinn.  Ken bred a daughter of his Grand National Grouse Champion Moss Meadow Traveler ex a Ch. Pennstar female to Full Blast–note the line breeding to Pennstar.  Another pup from this litter won at the Venango Puppy Classic in PA.

Lake States Open Puppy

 

Brian Ralph’s young setter male, Ralphys Darkside, son of Ch. Full Blast,  placed 3rd in the Bob Doran Puppy Classic, April, 2015.  He was handled by trainer Scott Chaffee.  “Stone” is ex a daughter of PA Grouse Ch.Doodleridge Jiggs.   “Stone” was a pick of the litter stud fee pup that we were impressed with as a young dog when we worked with him over the summer of 2014.  He was acquired by Brian last fall and “Stone” sharpened his hunting skills by spending the winter in Texas with Russ Richardson.  Big, strong, quick, athletic and classy, “Stone” has a bright future.

 

All Out, young male setter owned and handled by Thor Kain of Carbondale PA won the time honored Venango Puppy Classic at Marienville, PA in a field of 30 pups.  “Nick” is sired by shooting dog winner, All In (Ch. Lilleyhill’s Secret Stash ex Grand National Grouse Ch. Full Tilt). who was originally owned by our kennel.  Jim Chambers Unionville, PA, is the breeder of “Nick” whose dam is a littermate to our 2X Ch. Full Blast.  Jim is also the breeder of Full Blast.  Nick, a June pup, benefited from wild bird exposure in Thor’s northeastern PA covers, pheasant hunting with Bob Watts,  as well as a month hunting quail in TX this past winter.  Nick is a classy, fast, hard driving youngster who has come on strong both in pointing wild birds and hunting with drive and desire in the last few months.

Garnering third in the Venango Puppy Classic was another pup with connections to Full Blast as his son, Blast Off. owned and handled by Justin Evans of Duncannon, PA, put down an eye appealing ground effort that featured a forward and hard hunting effort.  Sired by 2X Ch. Full Blast ex Moss Meadow Rose, Michigan breeder Ken Moss has reason to be pleased with the results of this mating “Sam’s” littermates are also showing promise and winning in important juvenile stakes

 

Missions Point Man won the Chester Halley Amateur Derby Classic in April over the famed Gladwin grounds in MI for owner/handler Del Johnson.   “Mickey” scorched the course to distinguish himself from the field in the first derby event of the spring season.  “Mickey” is sire by Ch. Keystone Red Rage ex our Grand National Grouse Ch. Full Tilt.  A couple of weeks later his littersister, Full Rage, owned by Steve Snyder won 3rd in the Ruffed Grouse Field Trial Club Open Derby in a large, strong field.  “Libby” had a nice woodcock find to go with her hunting race.  This is Libby’s fourth derby win.  Steve purchased “Libby” from us just a week earlier so we take special satisfaction in her win.  These two winners bring to 11 the number of  winners produced in three small litters by Full Tilt who is enjoying retirement on our couch.  She’s eleven years old.