Our breeding program is designed to produce some of the finest versatile hunting dogs in North America.  We hand-select our future breeding prospects from the most proven genetic stock available today.  From here, each dog will be hunted hard on upland game and waterfowl, undergo a strict training and evaluation regimen as well as being NAVHDA natural ability and utility tested.  While most turn out to be fantastic hunting dogs, only a very few will become a part of the breeding program.  It is our philosophy that in order to consistently produce the best dogs we also have to maintain the toughest breeding requirements.  You can't produce the best dogs by breeding to the same standards and making the same excuses.  The bar must be raised and the same strict standards must apply to the males and females. 

At Bone Point Kennels our goal is to produce high-caliber versatile gun dogs that can compete with the field specialists in the uplands and with the retrievers in the marsh.  We feel that just because this breed is a 'jack of a all trades' it does not have to be a 'master of none'.  Below describes what we look for in our breeding stock, what we strive to produce and what you can expect to get from a Bone Point puppy.

FIELD WORK

We look for a strong, bold search driven by the dog's burning desire to find birds.  We prefer dogs that search with a high head looking for air scent.  A superb nose is essential to a great dog and will enable a dog to still excel in the poorest scenting conditions, find birds where there aren't any and allow for the dog to point birds from extreme distances; a required asset when hunting late season birds.  We like hard driving dogs that can adjust their range according to the terrain and conditions.  Our best dogs will stretch out several hundred yards, if needed, to find huns and chukars in the wide-open deserts of the northwest, yet require no hacking to keep them within gun range for pheasants or forest grouse.  It is that delicate balance of independence, cooperation and intelligence that allow for a dog to excel in such a variety of conditions.  We breed for the foot hunter, however, we do strive to put enough power in our dogs that a handler should be able to make a competitive horseback field trial dog should they choose to go that route.  We feel that you can always take some out of the dog but it's hard to put anything back in.  Points should be intense, stylish and productive.

WATER WORK

A well-bred wirehair should make an excellent waterfowl hunter.  We prefer dogs that pound the water with enthusiasm to retrieve.  We select dogs with strong desire, water love, tenacity and coat to ensure we are producing dogs with strong inherent abilities to hunt waterfowl in the harshest conditions that mother nature has to offer.  Many of our dogs have made great duck hunters and several have virtually trained themselves for the NAVHDA utility duck search.  Breaking ice to retrieve should be second nature to a well-bred wirehair.

TEMPERAMENT

Mental stability is one of the most important ingredients to breeding great versatile hunting dogs.  Shy, sensitive and aggressiveness dogs all have temperament flaws.  Wirehairs should be confident and alert yet gentle and cooperative.  They should be a valued member of the family and must have a temperament suited for taking extensive training.  Most wirehairs make great family dogs.  Many newcomers to the breed have been amazed by their ability to 'turn it off' in the house.  They make very loyal companions and thrive on attention from their families. 

COAT & CONFORMATION

A thick, water-repellant, wire coat is the breed's most distinct feature.  We aim to produce a dense, harsh, flat-lying coat that is 3/4"-1 1/2" in length.  We feel that this coat is most beneficial to the dog in both the field and the water. 

A dog's conformation is an important factor in determining whether the dog can hunt all day, day in and day out.  We prefer medium built dogs, longer than they are tall with nice, long legs.  A dog with truly great conformation almost appears to float across the terrain in an effortless manner.  We prefer males 60-65 lbs and females 50-60 lbs.