Epagneul Breton, French Brittany Spaniel

Training, Stud Services

Phil Rogers
2991 70th St SE
Napoleon, North Dakota 58561

Breeding quality gun dogs for over 9 years.

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I have one on Gar and Gypsy's pups from last spring. Name is Rooty,(Short for Rooty Bird) Every time we go hunting he really impress's me. At ten months old he is pointing solid, retreiving to hand, and backing like he has done it all his life. Huns are his specialty, I sear he can smell them about 1/4 mile away and then locks down hard about 25 yards. Hunts like a machine during the day and is a lap dog in the evenings, what more can a guy want. Thanks Phil for a great dog.

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Thought I would give you an update on Gert she is from the 2011 litter of Gar and Gypsy, you sure can see her daddy in her she is almost completely black now only has the markings on face/muzzel, legs, and the true Gar marking right under her tail. I had emailed you a couple months ago about her overall drive and picking up on potty training, you had said to just give her more time which proved to be 100% right, she is now barks when she needs to be let out to the relief of my wife and I. She also has a lot more drive and seemed to be catching on to the whole game of bird hunting on our last outing, still needs some work on holding points, but that is not her fault but her owners to spend more time on it with her. She has a supper friendly personality and has melded perfectly into our little family. Hope you have fun with the busy spring litters coming up.

The Millers.

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To Phil Rogers;

You may remember we picked up “Hank” Jr. early June, 2010. He was introduced to Pheasant wings at our house the very next day. He instinctively pointed the wings, and we have some entertaining video of his at work at just 7 weeks and 2 days old. My wife and I worked with him regularly through opening day of the 2010-2011 North Dakota, Grouse and Partridge season in early September. Weather permitting we ran him in light cover near our house in NW ND to get him comfortable with live birds. When it was too hot for field work we swam him in the local reservoir and practiced retrieving drills. After just 5 weeks of the 2010-2011 North Dakota Grouse and Partridge season “Hank” had already pointed 44 birds, most of them Partridge. His best single day tally for the 2010-2011 season came on opening day of Pheasant when he pointed 31 birds, all Pheasants, near Fortuna, ND. His season total was 209 points, all on wild birds, and not even a year old! He also had a handful of water retrieves, bringing back some Shovelers, Teal, and Gadwalls.

The 2011-2012 hunting season brought about more opportunities for “Hank” to work ducks and doves since locally our upland bird numbers were just a fraction of what they were in 2010-2011. The dove numbers near the house were very high and we had ducks on every slough and sheet water pond until late November. I usually hunt “Hank” together with an older female yellow lab so they split the retrieving work. “Hank” gets the shorter open water retrieves and the lab works the more demanding casts. I try to keep the dove work divided pretty evenly. I’m pretty pleased that my little Brittany has absolutely no objection to working downed birds in the water. He is a good swimmer and his manners in the boat are pretty good also. I don’t have to listen to whining or have to worry about him tipping my pirogue every time a Musk Rat or Grebe swims next to the boat. This past season I could see a decent progression in finding crippled birds both upland and waterfowl. I also noticed that larger ducks (Mallards and Pintails) and smaller geese (Light Geese and Lessers) didn’t seem to intimidate him.

It has been fun so far hunting over “Hank”. He has become a good pet for the family and he has a generally affectionate disposition. Even though he is a solid 54 pounds he is still a puppy and he can be quite creative and mischievous when left unattended. He needs to be worked often and this fact is reaffirmed by an inexhaustible drive to hunt. I haven’t seen him get tired yet. I let him be the gauge of how long we hunt for or how fast we cover ground. He quarters well and works the wind accordingly so I very rarely pull him out of cover or force him to work certain areas while he is on the ground. He and other Brittanys that I have owned in the past have repeatedly proven that their judgment is far better than mine! I don’t talk to him much at all when we hunt. He checks in often enough that I don’t worry about him ranging or pushing birds. For the most part he works close but he’s not afraid to stretch out in open cover. Overall he’s been a really good hunter and a great pet. Thanks Phil!
Sincerely, Bill Lowry

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Sage (from, Hank and Gypsy) is almost two years old now and is a fabulous addition to our family. She is hunting well and enjoys it very much. She has been hunting pheasants, hungarian partridge and sage grouse here in Wyoming. Sage is going to be a great hunting dog. She is able to get into thick cover and find birds. She is also determined. After watching her for about five minutes pointing at a small piece of sagebrush, Mark walked over to her and kicked at the bush. Out flew a bird! She has a great spirit and really loves her kids! Thanks again Phil for an excellent hunting dog and companion.

Sincerely,
Mark, Mandy, Claire and Matt Dube

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Jax is a Gar Gypsy Pup from last spring
I just had to brag a bit to you about a hunt Jax and I had at the game farm yesterday. In one word "WOW"!! Jax was amazing, with finds, points and then retrieves. We put 10 pheasants out and brought back 9. Better shooting and we would have had 10. We hunted with my brother and his dog, an Italian spinone. Everything came together for Jax, he was awesome, not just as a 10 1/2 month old puppy but as a hunting dog.I think Jax retrieved 6 or 7 of the birds, sometimes he had to run the bird down to retrieve it. A couple were big roosters and he had no problem bringing them back to me. Can't tell you how happy I am with you, your puppies and obviously Jax. It looks like many years of good hunting with my hunting dog and friend Jax. Thanks again.

Neal

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Jaxs is 10 months now and has hunted at least twice a week since he was about 7 months old,Son of Gar and Gypsy. So far he hunts mostly at Wild Wings game farm, but wild bird as well. He is doing exceptionally well, with lots of points and lots of birds shot over him. We are still working on retrieving, but, he is still a pup, all other parts of the hunt he is doing excellent. Thanks again Phil for an excellent hunting dog and companion.
Neal

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Coral, he pup is working out well. I have been letting her do her own thing pretty much as far as pointing and she came on wonderfully. By the end of the season I was getting some really beautiful "classic" points on a daily basis. When she has a bird hold in sight, Coral literally turns to ice, crouched, head forward, leg up, eyes just about bugged out. A marvelous thing to see for as pup her age or any age for that matter!!. Generally speaking, control has not been an issue with her. She behaves very well for a dog at that stage of her development. The older dogs really didn't give her much chance to retrieve although she tried a couple of times. Pearl dominates waterfowl retrieves and Opal takes over the uplands. Doesn't leave much territory for Coral, but we're getting things worked out. The three dogs get along famously together. Pearl was very tolerant but it has taken until this past week for her to truly bond with Coral. It was certainly a banner year for sharptails! I haven't seen flocks like that since I was a kid. Hardly any huns though. Personally, I felt the pheasant population was about where it was in 2010. Not great but not bad either.
Gees, as I write this Coral is on point in Cathy's dining room chair watching birds at the feeder out the back window. She watches them for hours on end. It's a riot! When I get the Montana photos developed I'll send some copies to you via email. Should be a better one of Coral in there. She has REALLY freckled out and also developed a nice "cape" of white fur hanging over her black saddle. A BEAUTIFUL dog.

Pat Chapin

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(both dogs were from differant Windy Acres Kennels)
HI Phil:
I would love to tell you more about Juneau. First, she is without a doubt the happiest dog I have ever seen. Her tail wags constantly and she truly smiles. She seems to find joy in everything around her. By comparison, Bristol appears depressed. Juneau is very gentle, but not at all affectionate. She NEVER will jump up by one of us, whereas Bristol is ALWAYS on someone's lap. I took Juneau hunting several times last year. At the time she was just under one year old. The first few times I had her out she ran around, basically playing with Bristol but had no clue why she was there. There were several occasions when Bristol was on point and Juneau ran between Bristol and the bird without even slowing down. I thought she was hopeless. The fourth or fifth time I had her out, it was as though God flipped a switch inside her. All of a sudden she was hunting exactly like Bristol. And, I purposely did nothing to train her. She picked up scent and held perfect points. She even backed Bristol. On my final hunt in March Bristol and Juneau simultaneously went on point. They were about 10 yards from one another. Neither one crept an inch. They were pointing into thick cover, and I saw no bird. The grass wasn't moving at all. I walked toward the cover and both dogs stood there like statues. I walked in smaller and smaller circles, getting closer to the bird. Still nothing, but the dogs wouldn't move. I gently started kicking, again and again, but nothing. Both dogs continued to point. There was a very shallow hole under the thick grass where a bird was nestled. When my foot fell into that hole a bird flew straight up. Without exaggeration it was easily five minutes that both dogs held a perfect point. I was astounded! Over the summer I had the dogs up in Wisconsin quite a bit, but they just swam in the lake and played. Absolutely no training other than basic obedience commands. This fall I have been out with them four times. It is like they never missed a beat. The only flaws with them are they still break for the bird on the flush rather than on the shot. And when we start out they both range a little farther than I would prefer. These are minor points. Juneau responds to commands (like "TOO FAR") as well as does Bristol. One is almost indistinguishable from the other. I have to conclude that a good part of Juneau's talent is purely due to your phenomenal breeding. The rest is her immitating her very well trained sister. Bristol has turned into quite the retriever. A few weeks ago three of us were out hunting and Bristol retrieved 14 of 14 birds shot. A couple went down far enough away that I though they couldn't be recovered. The only problem is that Bristol is such a good retriever that Juneau doesn't get a chance. It is pure joy to go out with them. They are a real gift from God, better than anyone deserves. I can't thank you enough for allowing us to care for such wonderful pups.
God Bless you and Merry Christmas.
Ken and Janene Pollack

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In October, I was lucky enough to stay with Phil Rogers owner of the Windy Acres Kennel and hunt my 6 mos old dog, Tucker (from Phil’s last litter). It was a thrill to see Tucker on birds
for the first time, and then have him hunt alongside Phil’s championship dogs. It was amazing to see his dogs track a pheasant for over a quarter of a mile! Tucker improved each and every day and he even retrieved birds and brought them back to me. His own natural ability was nothing short of amazing and with Phil’s expert guidance he just excelled beyond anyone’s
expectation. Not many 6 mos old dogs have 25 pheasant under their belt, but, Tucker does! Phil and I even entered a Pheasant’s Forever longtail contest while I was there. With Tucker and Phil’s awesome dogs, we won second place! What a rush!. Phil shares his dog training knowledge freely and is the ultimate host. I had the best time ever. Next year Tucker goes back to Phil for training to finish him off. I can’t even imagine how good he’ll be after Phil does his magic. Windy Acres has the best dogs, period. You’ll never find a better kennel!

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GABBY IS A & MONTH OLD FEMALE FROM HANK AND NELL 2011
I thought I would give you a quick update on Gabby. We were waiting for deer season to end, but couldn’t hold on any longer. She wanted to hunt.
On Saturday morning (a cold one) I took her out by herself since I was working tree rows. I am amazed every time I go out with her on the instinct and maturity she has for a puppy. Hard to believe she will be only seven months in a week. It took us the full two and half mile walk but we got our birds. If the roosters didn’t flush way ahead us Gabby found them, including one old bird that tried to give us the slip. She was trailing him in the tree row and got to a point where she lost scent. We overshot him. I gave her time to work it out. Instead of giving up and going on down the tree row she started working back until she caught scent again. We had to trail him almost all the way back to the beginning of the tree before she locked up on him. She held while I walked up and booted him out the grass. I put him down. Biggest bird of the season with exceptional tail feathers. This was Gabby’s first retrieve. She always went to the downed birds, but never tried to bring them back. She even ran down and held on to a couple of wounded birds. But on Saturday she wrestled with the fluttery rooster and I hollered fetch, she commenced to dragging it back. She grabbed him by the neck with wings fluttering and brought him to me. Good girl.
The last bird of the morning came out of a cattail slough that we worked into the wind. It appeared to be a pretty simple thing for her this time. Catch the scent, narrow it down and go on point. A rooster got up and I put it down on the other side of the slough. I am a born and raised ND pheasant hunter and know too well that when you put a bird down out of site you get there quick, so I ran around to the other side and the bird was down a few feet away. Gabby busted through the cattails, but apparently figured that I close enough the bird didn’t require retrieving. She smelled it, check it out, and waited for me to pick it up. Oh well, still a good girl.
With the pheasants shot on Saturday I check my numbers and believe that was numbers 29, 30, and 31 that I shot on solid points under her. Not bad for not ever 7 months old. We have had a couple of others that were flushers that never held for her, and few birds that were done with the Springer in tandem.
I am looking forward to the late season hunt with her. I have a feeling she will be one bored puppy when season ends. I normally hunt with one or two other people, but this year spent a lot time hunting alone with Gabby. I didn’t want other people or dogs around as distractions at what I thought was a young age. But I think now she is fully lost to hunting and nothing else matters in the field then to find birds. Prior to Saturday the last time out once she was in the field she paid no mind to the other dog or the other person except to stop and say hi on the way back and forth once in awhile.

Kelly

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