What to expect from Northwind English Setters & Our Kennel

Hunted again with our Setter Jessie. We put up over 20 birds and Jessie did not have one bump! He almost also scented the birds before the other dog we were hunting with.

Not enough has been written about puppy development.Too many breeders wish-want-desire-even push their puppies for potential buyers versus understanding how to read a puppy and providing a sound and legitimate training regimen for owners not familiar with developing a hunting puppy properly. This includes far too many. Ann, I have said this before, but your training program is one of the very few more sound developmental puppy programs on wild birds I know of in America.

Ann,

I read most of your book and really enjoyed it.  I have over 10 books that I have collected over the years on bird dog training, and yours condenses the best concepts for training a true grouse dog.  Thanks again for the book.  

I would like to share my experience with buying a grouse dog from Northwind Kennels.  I began my looking for a finished grouse dog over three years ago and found nothing I would even consider.  Ann’s website caught my attention because it talked about a hunting partner that would stay in range and let the hunt unfold in front of you.

I set up an appointment to meet a dog that she believed would suit me well after talking to me several times about where and how I hunt.  The first thing that struck me was how calm and friendly Filson was (especially because I had met many other high strung English Setters).   Filson was all she said he would be in the field, stayed in range ,found and pointed birds, steady to wing and shot.  He was not trained to retrieve but with minimal work is retrieving.  Last season he tracked a wounded grouse sixty- seven yards and found the bird under a log.  He just gets better and better with more time in the field.  I also won my hunt clubs trophy for shooting the most grouse behind Filson.

 Last but by far not least he is a house pet.  We all like to get a great hunting dog but realistically even the most avid hunter only hunts his dog 5 to 10 percent of the time.  Filson is gentle, friendly with people and other dogs .  He loves my wife and is very affectionate.  He is also not a barker.  All in all as good a house pet as a hunter which is very important to me.

I believe Northwind Kennels breeds great dogs and then trains them to be both pets and hunters.

Ann,

Just a quick note to tell you about Parker’s day. We got out after the rain and moved quite a few birds. My son winged a grouse that landed in tag alder swamp. By the time we got near it Parker was stretched out on the nicest point you have ever seen. He had it nailed. He also had a nice point on a woodcock and several dead bird finds. He also ran some up and had fun.

I think things clicked for him today. He hunted independent of Abby and found his range and was all business around birds. Pretty impressive for a dog not yet 6 months old.

Mike Farren

One of the reasons that I chose to buy a setter from you, is that you are very concerned about all your dogs and want to make sure we have success.

Katie is a little over 2 years old now and she’s already one of the best dogs I ever owned.  She’s very focused, loyal, intelligent and a wonderful hunting companion.  She learns quickly, ranges well and seems to need few repetitions when learning new commands.

We got our first grouse and woodcock when she was 11 months old and we were successful on her first attempt at hunting wild pheasants as well.

Not only is she good in the wild she’s also great around the house.  As I told you many times we are the perfect match.

Jay is awesome!!! His personality alone was worth the investment. He does great on anything he is asked.

He is with me constantly. If I am outside working he is right around me. If I’m on the tractor he just follows along. He is trustworthy and never roams.

It is raining today so I decided to go for a ride to the gun store. He is curled up on the front seat.

I recently introduced Jay to a friend, a former nurse who walked away from nursing to become a dog trainer. She has a gentle way about her and is a great dog person and very dog savvy. When she met Jay and saw him interact with other dogs she was beside herself especially when she found out he was still “intact”.  She said in all her years handling dogs Jay was the most impressive intact male she has ever seen.

Jay is all about birds period. From quartering beautifully, to finding birds and holding rock solid. He also loves the river to swim in.

He is doing fantastic. What a dog. You should be very proud of him. He is turning into a great guy.

I’ve been buying products from Ann and Skip for a number of years now but it wasn’t until I purchased a puppy from them that I realized just how special Northwind Enterprises truly is. I had been looking for a credible dog breeder for years, unable to identify one that truly understood grouse hunting and the type of dog it took to have a successful and enjoyable hunt. Many of the breeders I talked with breed and trained dogs for a style of hunting that I just don’t find enjoyable. Being a grouse and woodcock hunter in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I wanted a dog that could work at a slower pace to minimize any bumping of birds. After several disappointing conversations, I decided to give Ann and Skip a call to see what they had to offer. After one phone conversation with Ann, I knew they were the people I wanted to work with. From the first phone conversation, they understood exactly what I was looking for. I purchased my first puppy from them in the winter of 2015 and have sent her to their summer training program and I couldn’t be more pleased. Ann and Skip have taken the time to not only train my dog to be a first class hunting dog, but they have also spent time training me to be a better owner. The success of my puppy and the return on my investment came from not only buying the type of dog I wanted, but partnering with the experienced and knowledgeable trainers such as Ann and Skip. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a new dog and trainers to help with developing a hunting dog.

Brian Chapman & Wren

Why I picked Northwind Upland Setters my grouse dog
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Once I decided that the best hunting habitat in my area was grouse/woodcock habitat I decided I needed a good dog that could help me have success with these birds. I did a lot of research before coming across Ann Jandernoa at Northwind Kennels. Ann is well known by grouse hunters through out the U.S. for her vast knowledge about grouse, their habitat and the type of training a dog needs to be successful in the grouse woods.

I talked with Ann numerous times and eventually asked if I could come up and watch her dogs work. Ann has been doing guided grouse hunts for years so I was very interested in how her dogs work and what may set them apart from other dogs. I was interested in a good pointing dog who would hunt WITH me.

When I arrived it was a very rainy day and not conducive to good dog work, however, that didn’t stop Annie, her English Setter. That setter had numerous points, responded perfectly to Ann’s instruction and would have been a joy to hunt with. I was sold and only hoped to get a dog some where near that quality.

When you get a dog from Ann you know it has been exposed to wild birds and has spent the majority of its training on grouse.

When I got my pup, Katie, she did a great job matching a pup to what my personality was like. She offered all the help I wanted in training Katie and now I have what may be the best dog I ever owned. Katie is now 2 1/2 years old and has been through two grouse seasons. I was blown away with how well she hunted her first year and she was even better last year. I continue to communicate with Ann about Katie’s training and she always takes the time to help.

If you’re wondering about the quality of dog she produces, last year Katie and I got out about 25 times, hunted all WI public land and we were able to put up well over 300 grouse. Can’t wait for the upcoming fall and watch Katie as she’s just entering her prime.

Ann

Great to hear from you.I thought of stopping by this fall as I was up in Bayfield several weeks. Maybe next time I’ll will stop for Betty to say hi! Betty is a lazy cuddle cat in the house. Great dog. In the field one of the best still. She did great on grouse. We had our best season ever with 31 grouse. She is now working pheasant for physically challenged and my friends. She is doing all I ask and it is now both learning each other hunting styles. She has an amazing nose and is getting much better at tracking runners to not bump them. This is a work in process but happy. I’ll attach some pics of her hard work. Wish I could clone her and have 2 right now!!!!! Keep in touch

P.S. also attached my favorite pic of Betty my buddy took hunting. Sums her up