FINN X MERIT
("K" Litter)
Dam “Finn”
Bone Points Finnan
(Bone point’s Magnus NA1 UTI X Bone Point’s Kadence NAI, UTII)
NAVHDA NA 112/I
Height:24
Weight: 46
DOB: 5/25/18
Coat: black roan dense/harsh
Bite and eyes: normal
Hips: Pennhip Rt. 27 Lf .27
Thyroid: OFA normal
Furnishings: Ff
Von Willebrand’s: Clear
Exercise Induced Collapse: Clear
Finn only has two hunting seasons under her belt. However, she has been an incredible bird dog, natural backer, natural retriever. I would call her the “workin man’s” dream dog. She has required very little training and has quickly become one of our go-to dogs for guiding new hunters. Finn will hunt for any handler and we can easily loan her out to anyone and she hunts and listens the same as she does with us. She has a fantastic dense and harsh coat. She has big paws and is the fastest swimmer we have. Finn really excels at finding singles and has a knack for finding buried singles that other dogs have passed. Finn is a medium range gundog who has a great nose that is rarely wrong. She has a very muscular build for her small frame and easily handles even the largest of Canada geese on dry ground. Finn’s biggest weakness as a western bird dog is she doesn’t run as big as some of our dogs and due to her heavy black coat she requires us to carry more drinking water in the early season.
Stud “Merit”
(US ch/UK Sh Ch Kimmax Bourbon JW UTI X DC AFC Wireswest Mardi Gras MHA)
NAVHDA NA 110/I
AKC Senior Hunter,
Height:24.5
Weight: 66
DOB:
Coat: liver roan medium harsh/medium dense
Bite and eyes: normal
Hips: OFA good
Thyroid: OFA normal
Owned by Courtney/William Bastian and Meg Eden
Check out Merit’s page at the Claddagh Kennel website http://claddaghkennel.com/our-dogs/merit/
Merit was bred by Meg Eden of Wireswest Kennels in Bend Oregon. Meg is a long time wirehair breeder, AKC judge, and very active member of the German Wirehair Club of America. Wireswest has been a powerhouse for producing big running dogs with high trainability. Merit’s Dam “Stoli” was a Field Champion and the first GWP in history to receive a Master Hunter Advanced. Stoli was runner up in the 2012 GWPCA National Field Stakes and was well known for her big run and rock steady points. Stoli was 2017 GWPCA top brood bitch.
Merit’s Sire “Bisto” is a solid liver import dog from the United Kingdom. Courtney and William Bastian owners of the Claddagh Kennel have been building and extremely successful breeding program with their imported dogs and Bisto is a gorgeous dog who has been producing some outstanding litters. All his litters have produced NAVHDA breeders awards and he was the top producing sire 2016 and 2017.
Merit is the ultimate, versatile GWP When the Bastian’s saw him at 7 weeks old hitting the water hard, retrieving birds with great stride, and with nice style on point they knew they had to keep him. Merit’s pedigree is loaded with Dual Champions, National Field Champions, Master Hunters, NAVHDA Utility titles, and accomplished Deutsch Drahthaars.
Merit takes after his name wholeheartedly, everything he does is honest and true to form. He easily gained his juvenile field trial points and then went on to earn his Senior Hunter title at 2 years old, and in his first season as a broke dog placed in 2 out of the 4 field trials he was entered in. On the show scene, he earned 3 majors totaling 13 points his first weekend out including a Best of Breed over specials. With very limited showing, he ended 2016 as #11 GWP at only a year old and gained his Grand Champion title. His first National Specialty as an adult special, Merit was awarded Best of Opposite Sex at just 2 years old.
Merit is currently working towards finishing his Dual Champion title and will be running NAVHDA Utility in 2021. He has sired some very nice litters, and we look forward to seeing how he and Finn’s genetics mesh together. You won’t find a better temperament in a male GWP than Merit’s. Merit is the product of decades of meticulously planned versatile dog breeding. When we went to see him run and meet him he had great style. He was an extremely calm dog in the house and was great with other dogs and children.