Birdsboro Pointers

 

Garrett (left) and Boone (right) running past me at Lake Chauncy in Massachusetts 2004

 

The Life of Dogs

 

Being part of the Birdsboro pack is the dog equivalent to growing up with a lot of siblings.  We try to make sure to give every dog individual attention and make sure they get to do their favorite independent activities.  Hopkins likes to go on car rides, Boone and Garrett like to play Frisbee at the park, Oz and Maya are the biggest couch hogs, and everyone loves to do agility and run in the woods!  But, as you can see from the pictures, having a lot of siblings can be a ton of fun; the playing and snuggling at our house rarely stops.

 

Dog Adventures

 

In the fields, in the woods, or at the lake – Pointers have fun!  The last picture is of Boone and Garrett saving lives (they have neck wraps on); Boone, Oz, and Garrett were all blood donors and have since been retired.

 

  

 

 

Games Pointers Play

 

Tug Of War

 

  

 

The Pouncing Game

 

The Pointers have a few favorite games that they innately seem to understand (and often dogs of other breeds that visit do not).  One is stalking, pointing, and pouncing on each other.  The other is the staring game.

 

Sorry… need to scan these pictures in still!

 

The Staring Game

 

This is another Pointer game, which can best be referred to as a stand-off.  They will stare and make subtle maneuvers for toys and bones for literally hours.  This is one of their favorite games, and they usually play for at least an hour at a time.  Boone, being the alpha dog of the house, typically wins.  The first two pictures are Boone and Oz.  The last picture is Boone at age 5, with Garrett’s ear in the picture.

 

  

 

The staring game is the all-time favorite Pointer game in our household.  And Boone thinks that it is never too early to start teaching the youngsters, as you can see with him and Garrett, who is 4 months old in this picture.

 

 

 

Doggy Love

 

                

 

 

Dog Piles

 

We have a dozen dog beds scattered throughout the house, but somehow the dogs and us always end up in a pile together on the couches and futons.  Dog piles are great for the winter though!  We have outgrown normal couches, so are planning on leather couches in the future.  You will also notice that one of us takes more naps.  

 

            

 

 

Traveling Dogs

 

Our dogs are very well traveled.  Hopkins, Boone, Oz and Ben (my sister’s Lab) all went through college with me.  Now all of the dogs are part of my vet school years.  Occasionally we even go on a vacation… but vacations always seem to include the dogs.  Here are pictures of a few of their adventures.

 

The College Years

 

This is me at Green Lake Park in Seattle with Hopkins (left) and Boone (right) in 1999.  Boone was about 4 months old in this picture.

 

 

From left to right: Oz, Ben (Lab), Hopkins (Beagle), and Boone.  This was in the Summer of 2001, a couple months before I graduated (and a couple months after the arrivals of both Ben and Oz).  The dogs are watching me do yardwork from the comfort of our bedroom.  All of the dogs had a whole lot less white on their faces then.

 

 

Cape Cod Crew 2003

 

In the first picture, from left to right: Garrett (5 months), Boone, Maya, and Oz.  Note that the Beagle did not feel her presence was required for the first picture (she was off doing Beagle things).  In the second picture, from left to right: Boone, Maya, Hopkins, Oz and Garrett

 

 

 

Boone trailing one of my former roommates dogs and swimming.

 

 

 

Garrett (5 months) trekking through the water and facing off for a ball with his dad (Boone).

 

 

 

Boone cohogging (clam digging) – yes that really was what he was doing!  Garrett was trying to figure out what his dad was up to.

 

 

 

New Jersey 2004

 

We visited Kyle’s parents in his hometown of Brielle, NJ before we moved out to Michigan.  They were kind enough to let us bring along Boone, Garrett, and Maya (the other two stayed at home with a roommate).  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

 

Sorry… need to scan these pictures in still!

 

Michigan Dogs

 

Here are pictures of our dogs since our move to our first house (that we own ourselves rather than renting) in January 2006.

 

The Good Life 2006-2007

 

The first picture is of our dogs shortly after we moved in to our first house.  They were too cute until I got the camera out, then they decided, this is Michigan in the winter and they would rather be inside! 

 

 

 

The field boys, Steve and Oz.  Saffron is also in the middle picture on the couch. 

 

   

 

Steve and Saffron

 

  

 

Saffron and Larch, the Spinone girls.  Followed by Sarah and Maya, the Pointer girls.

 

 

 

Life With Foster Dogs

 

One of the best traits of Pointers is their ability to get along.  Most breeders with more than a few dogs need to keep the dogs in kennel runs or rotate them in the house in groups to prevent dog fights.  We have been fortunate in that all of our dogs have great temperaments.  People are generally astonished when they hear that we have 13 house dogs, including three intact (unneutered) boys, that are always out together and coexist peacefully (and quite happily).  The only time we seperate our dogs is to split up girls in heat from the intact boys.  In addition to our big crew, we usually have a few foster dogs in the house.  Our dogs welcome them in and make them part of the crew as far as snuggling and playing.  Below are some pictures of our dogs with their foster siblings.

 

Arnold with foster brother Isaac in the first picture.  The next few pictures are of Arnold and Sarah with their foster brother Rerun (Rerun is emaciated in the pictures as he was a parvo survivor).  Then, there are pictures of Arnold with Polly (Polly was our foster dog with 2 broken legs!).  The last two pictures are of major dog piles with a lot of foster dogs (during the time when we took in a large crew of dogs from an Arkansas puppy mill situation).

 

         

 

2006, the Year of the Puppies

 

Growing up together.  2006 was the year of the puppy at our house.  Steve, Arnold, Bray, Brett, and Brody were all growing up together.  The tug-of-war picture is of Steve, Arnold, Bray, and our foster puppy, Rerun.

 

       

 

The Midgets, Arnold and Bray.  They are good copilots for road trips.

 

 

 

 Hunting Fools

 

Our Pointers are born hunters.  But, as much as they love birds, they love us just a little more.  After they go on point, they looks for us to catch up.  We are buddies out in the field, working as a team.  We like to hunt with the dogs in silence, without whistling or nagging the dogs.  These pictures are of father and son, Boone and Garrett.  Boone is on the left in the first picture and on the right in the second.  These were two different birds on the same day in Heartland, Michigan.

 

 

 

 

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Birdsboro Pointers

1875 Burkley Road

Williamston, Michigan 48895

(517) 648-1666

 

ehoran81@yahoo.com