Meet our family: Little Sis, Boo, Grandma Bumper and Bug (left to right). All of our dogs enjoy both their outdoor kennel as well as their place on the couch - and it's a toss up as to which is their favorite. They are great with kids, cats and livestock and we make sure our pups get exposed to as much as possible.
We have pheasants, sharptail grouse, hungarian partridge and a variety of ducks and geese on our property at any given time. Our dogs spend their summers swimming in the pond and splashing through the creek as well as racing through the prairie grasses. They are exuberant bird dogs and great family pets.
Highwood's Diamond Gypsy "Bumper" (AKC #SN476183, OFA clearances)
Bumper's grandsire is Rocky's Rage x Housty Samson and out of a Windmillwood daughter. Her granddam on the topside is Tina's Sadie of Quest x Rocky's Quest and out of a Sunrise Zinger daughter. Bumper has always been a hard hunting dog with an incredible drive and a great nose. At this point in her life her greatest joys are to swim in the pond and sleep next to me on the couch. She still puts her nose to the ground and flushes every bird she can find, and she still retrieves every bird shot.
Smokey Birddog Otto (AKC #SN761618) Smokey was bred to Highwood's Diamond Gypsy, twice. She produced two fine litters, the first in 2002 and the second in 2004. We kept two dogs: Beau Tae's Harvest (Tae, l/w, neutered male, AKC #SR022314) and Beau Tae's Little Sister (Little Sis, b/w, breeding bitch, AKC #SR023314), from the first litter.
Sis and "her" new kitten, BeBop. All of my dogs are great
with cats, both Sis and Bump will mother kittens.
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Smokey is a gorgeous dog with a charming disposition. Of no great bloodlines, he was still an awesome little dog with lots of hunt and heart. He's hunted both upland game and waterfowl. He's a birdy dog with style and a world class nose.
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Jay and Tae on first hunt.
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Beau Tae's Little Sister "Sis" (AKC #SR022314, OFA, CERF clearances) is Bumper's daughter by Smokey. Little Sis is a quiet and methodical hunter with a keen nose and soft mouth. Where her mother covered ground with hard driving exuberance, Sis developed a more laid back approach. She is a close-in hunting dog with a solid work ethic and plenty of class.
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Boo, Bug and their mother, Little Sis
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This is my husband, Jay, with Tae on Tae's very first hunt. Tae was just 5 1/2 months old when he flushed four birds on opening day: two sharptail grouse, a rooster and a hen. Jay shot the rooster and one sharpy. Tae was a little confused about retrieving them but he did take us right to them. He's never been confused on retrieving since.
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Boudicca's Bumper Harvest
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Harvest's Little Big Bug (AKC #SR30267601, CERF, OFA)
Bug is his grandmother Bumper all over again. From Little Sis's first litter by Skaar's Lightwynn Chinook (see stud page), Bug is a super-charged dog with a huge heart and an endearing "grin". He never walks anywhere, he leaps, bounds and pounces through life. He has a canny nose and retrieves with great pleasure. He will quarter through a stubble field or bull his way through the thick brush with equal dedication, and is fearless in water. He's a long and lean dog, tipping the scales at 50 lbs. Bug is available for stud service, price negotiable.
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Tae taught a friend's 14 year old son how to hunt.
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Boudicca's Bumper Harvest (AKC #SR39565404, CERF, OFA)
Boo is from Little Sis's second litter and a full sibling to Bug. She is an intense dog with a huge hunting drive. She has the bouncy Springer exuberance and unbridled, gleeful attitude to go with it. And yet when she sees a shotgun and a hunting vest she focuses that exuberance onto birds. No more bouncing or leaping into the air after a thrown ball, she quarters, works scent, and flushes with skill and grace.
Four Generations
With the birth of Boo's (Boudicca's Bumper Harvest) first litter in September of 2010, Harvest Kennels was proud to be able to show off four generations of our English springer spaniels.
Pictured are: Gail Ledbetter with great-grandmother Bumper (Highwood's Diamond Gypsy) on her right, grandma Sis (Beau Tae's Little Sister) on her left and Mama Boo (Boudicca's Bumper Harvest) in front. In the back is Jay Ledbetter and Boo's 2010 pups, Remmy and Murphy.
Getting four adult dogs and two puppies in the yard for a photo-op? Simple. Getting them to sit still and pose nicely? Not so simple, but worth the effort.
