Drift x Smoke, Fall 2026

Seven pups born August 4: four males and three females. Five are liver roan like both parents and two are liver and white with ticking, so Drift and Smoke must each carry one copy of non-roan. Neither parent is solid liver, so there are no solid pups in this litter. Tails were docked and dewclaws removed on August 7. This is my best pheasant female bred to my most finished dog. Both parents are clear for cone degeneration and lupoid dermatosis, both have OFA Good hips and normal elbows, and both have Natural Ability Prize I scores. I expect medium-range, cooperative dogs with a lot of point and a natural retrieve, the kind of dog a walking hunter wants in South Dakota cover. I named them for prairie plants, as I do with every litter. Call them what you like. The pups are just under seven weeks old. They have been on quail for a week, they wade in the stock tank every warm afternoon, and they heard the blank pistol for the first time this week from across the pasture. Nobody looked up. Picks were made at six weeks. Two pups are still open. They go home September 29, which makes them eleven weeks old on the pheasant opener. Take your pup along for a walk in light cover this fall and leave the serious hunting for next year. Yarrow is the only pup who has held still for the camera so far. The rest of the photos go up as I get them.