Growing up in Central Michigan, I fell in love with hunting deer, pheasants, and grouse. My father and uncle had English setters and talked about hunting and their dogs but I was too young to go along so I could only dream. Our next-door neighbor, Jack Stuart, was a very successful trainer of pointing dogs, especially setters, and wrote a couple of books on the subjects, so I grew up hearing whistles and guns being shot. I often saw and watched him lead his dogs out to the training field behind my house as I hid behind a tree to watch as much as I could and dream of my own dog. Our neighbor on the other side had a great pair of Britneys that helped produce game bag after game bag of grouse every weekend. At about the age of 11, my uncle bought me a single shot 410 and after proving my maturity I was allowed to go out behind the house and hunt. I was hooked for life. The same year a stray beagle/crocker cross showed up at my house and adopted us, and she quickly learned how to run rabbits with the best beagles and was pretty good on pheasants. I now knew hunting was fun, but hunting with a dog was great.

In my junior year of college my now wife Sandy surprised me with a registered English setter pup of good breeding. I guess she realized I was going to go home each weekend to hunt anyway, so I might as well have a good dog to go along. I read every book on dog training I could get my hands on and asked several questions of Jack Stuart. Lucky for me she had the drive, the smarts and the point to be a great dog. She even retrieved. For 12 years she was a great hunting dog and part of my young family. When she passed I was unsure of what to do. I loved the point and style of the setter, but disliked the long hair and the first few years of craziness. My family fell in love with a black lab pup at an outdoor fair and our journey with the Labrador retriever began. She was a great flushing dog and retriever and an even better house companion who would climb the ladder to the kids' tree house and ride all day on the rack of the 4-wheeler. After her life was cut short I read an article in Outdoor Life on Mayo Kellogg and pointing labs. After calls and letters to him I again dreamed of a pointing dog, but did not want to buy one sight unseen. Eventually I came across an ad of a Michigan man, Chuck Schaap, an advid hunter with a litter of well-bred pointing labs. After several e-mails and phone calls I picked a female I soon called Jazzy. Before the sale was complete he asked me what I wanted the dog for, and I said to hunt her butt off and live with my family. I said if she turns out to be a good dog I would like to have a litter of pups with her and recoup some of my purchase price. He told me to promise if I did breed her to not just breed her to any lab but to keep the bloodlines strong and breed her to the very best pointing lab I could find. I agreed.

Jazzy has proven to be a driven, bird-finding nut with point and could come in the house and become our pet. After a couple of years and much research I found a highly titled chocolate lab in Indiana to breed to, but the breeding was unsuccessful. While at his house Bruce Smiley liked what he saw in Jazzy and recommended if I wanted her to be all she could be to send her to Dale Swiderski, a young, driven, successful trainer in Michigan. Dale was having great success in the American Pointing Lab Assocation hunt tests across the country. He was also committed to improving the quality of pointing labs, in fact he is obsessed with doing just that. He trained Jazzy and she easily passed her CPR in Iowa a short time later and I got her AKC JH title.

In the meantime Dale was impressed with some of Jazzy’s qualities and we unsuccessfully tried to breed her with his highly titled male. Dale thought Jazzy’s run and other skills would be a great match for his friend Frank Fraquelli’s very successful 4XGMPR Gator. Gator is a wild bird hunter with a specialty in grouse. He has tons of talent and is now being bred though out the country producing pups with great talent in the upland field and as well as waterfowl dogs. Gator puts strong point and bird sense in his pups and is highly sought after. Frank and I hooked up with a vet in Freeland who successfully bred Jazzy and Gator twice. The first litter in February of 2010 produced a great litter of pups who now have proven to carry on those traits we were looking for: Great prey drive, smarts, looks and strong point. Two of that litter of pups have passed their CPR with ease and with high praise of judges and spectators. Another male is ready to pass its CPR and more if the owner chooses to get him tested, and another female has been to advanced retriever training and is a waterfowl specialist. Dancer, my female pup from that litter, has her CPR title and shows great talent. She will probably be bred next fall after she has her health clearances. She promises to be a wow dog. This year’s litter is showing lots of the same qualities and I am excited about where these dogs will lead their owners. The sky seems to be the limit.

After 33 years of teaching high school and dreaming about hunting every day, I am now retired and lucky to say I have a wife who tolerates my passion. I hunt most every day and my dreams of hunting over some great dogs are now a reality. Thanks to the many people who tolerate my stores and many pictures. These dogs have led me to meet some great people who share my passion and have guided me to I believe a part in improving pointing labs for people to enjoy for years to come. Thanks for letting me live the dream.

Mike
December 2011