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Dr. G. started it all for me.
Dr. G (Jack) came to us as a young dog from
Dick Straub who owned and campaigned multiple champion Dr. Ray. Jack was a
bird finding machine and truly filled any country he was turned loose in.
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Forerunner (Reba) came to us from
Texas. Bred by Lou Gleber and Terry Tully. Reba was a tightly bred
Sunrise dog and brought that leggy stylish look that was magic in motion. |
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One of the things that has kept me intrigued with these dogs is the fact that
they point early and break easily. Both
Jack and
Bucky were winning derby stakes
while still puppies. There is no foolishness about them . When they
go out to find birds they do it right. Staunch and stylish with nothing
but business on their minds. When they do make a mistake, they take
correction well and that is probably the last time they will do it. One
they learn it, they remember it. Honest bird dogs is how It would have to
be described.
Dr. G was in a trial one time and we lost him.
He was found 2 braces later, buried in a fencerow and we had ridden by him.
He must have stood those birds for over an hour. That is the way his
offspring have been. They will stand until you find them.
Bucky is already displaying the same
tendencies his grandpa did.
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We would like to thank Dom Preite for developing
BlueBell Slugger or the young "Rocket"
as he was called after seeing him run in Delaware and a thank you to Pete Flanagan
for recognizing the potential stud dog. Those two gentlemen collaborated on
several breedings that have certainly brought many smiles to the owners of the
pups they produced. I along with many others have benefited from their
foresight. The list is a long one and still growing today with many winning progeny on
the stakeouts of some of the top trainers in the country. Barbaro, Blue
Bell Promise, Strike Zone, and Iron Hawk are just some of the youngsters that
are just getting started. The future is bright because of Pete and Dom! |
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The Slugger
infusion added a dimension that makes these dogs stand out.
Truman Cowles saw
Sugar
go one time in New England and afterward he asked
where she came from and who she was out of. When I
told him, his only comment was "I knew it from the time she
hit the ground." He had also mentioned that if Slugger
had been breed more or won a championship, he would have
changed the face of english setters in this country.
Light-footed and high-headed are the best descriptions for
them. Intelligence is another component and that shows
in that they adjust their pattern to what you are doing and
the cover ahead of them. There are several
daughters of his today that are producing some very nice
animals. Smokescreen and Bluebell Jackie were both
multiple Champions, but died very young.
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Slugger is from a line of AA dogs that Harry Benson bred, "Nesneb",
in Delaware. He goes back to crosses of
Flaming Star and
Tobacco Road. Slugger was a linebred
Nesneb setter from the Heart of Harry's breeding program.
Mr. Harry was a stalwart setter enthusiast originally from
New Jersey, retired to Delaware in the 70's. He was
winning trials in the early 30's. He died a few years
back. His dogs were campaigned by Collier Smith, hence
the Flaming Star connection. He crossed with
Brian Sullivan's Grouse Ridge Billyboy. |
It has always been my belief that a dog should point
feathers and do it right. The folks who have my pups
hunt different parts of the country and they all tell me the
same thing; "They are great bird dogs no matter what the
game they are pursuing". I don't care what we are
after they had better get it right. I took
Dr. G to Vermont to my
brother's place when he was a young dog. He had never
seen a wild bird and within 3 days he was handling grouse as
well as any other youngster that trip.
Grouse Ridge Setters also has two competitors today in Grouse Ridge Jerry and
Grouse Ridge Spencer that also exhibit the
BlueBell Slugger influence in their
pedigrees that can be viewed at
www.grouseridgesetters.com. The female brings a lot to the table and
the Grouse Ridge females crossed well with the Rocket blood. Grouse Ridge
Midge was a littermate to Future Force and along came Smokescreen.
Matrix has had a big influence and is out of Clark's Black Copper and Bluebell
Jackie. Grid Iron's dam is Smokescreen out of Slugger as well. |
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We are campaigning some nice dogs right now. A winning son of Bergen's
Cadillac Jack and Shameless is Champaign Spirit Walk. Owned by Bob Hughes
out of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. |
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