Texas Wildlife January 2011
by
Henry Chappell
The first thing I noticed when I walked among Charles Rose’s string of Wildrose German shorthairs is that they didn’t bark their heads off, jump all over me, or strangle themselves struggling against their chains. Rather, they wiggled expectantly and wagged their bobtails. Every dog sought my hand as I greeted it. One lithe female presented me with a softball-sized rock - her “pet rock,” Charles called it - when I visited her.
An endearing quirk? Certainly. She instantly became my favorite. I would also bet serious money that she’s a natural retriever and highly cooperative.
Actually, that would be a sure bet. If she didn’t possess those qualities, she wouldn’t be working birds for guided hunters who pay for and expect efficient, classy dog work. Busted coveys, lost birds, and out-of-control dogs don’t make for repeat customers.
Charles grew up hunting with a variety of sporting breeds, and he trains all pointing breeds for clients today. He got his first German shorthair in 1969 and hasn’t been without one since.
“He was a complete freak of nature,” Charles said. “Had a couple extra ribs and was ugly as a mud fence. His ears were lopsided. He has a long tail that had been broken five or six times. He was everything you ever loved or hated about German-bred dogs. If he got on a trail, he would put something up eventually. But at the same time, he was so damn hardheaded there was no training him. We just turned him loose and hunted behind him.”
The experience made a German shorthair man out of Charles, and even today, though his dogs are bred to cooperate and trained to respond to hand signals, he still prefers to direct them as little as possible in the field.
Charles and his father bred a few litters out of their scruffy shorthair, and, over time, the pups got better. In the early 1990s, Charles got into the outfitting business and decided he’d better get serious about breeding bird dogs.
“I had spent a lot of money in the dog business,” Charles said. “And I just kept coming up with bits and pieces of good dogs. I never had a complete dog that did it all and did it right. I had Brittanies, pointers, setters. We hunt everything, but primarily quail here in the Seymour area. I hunt from Texas to Washington, and we just kept coming around to the fact that shorthairs were the dogs that did it the best. So I decided that if I was ever going to have great dogs, I was going to have to quit spending money and just start breeding them.”
He pushed ahead, breeding for natural pointing and retrieving ability. Within a few years, he had dogs that could do whatever he needed, yet he remained unsatisfied.
His program took a huge stride forward when he began breeding to dogs out of the famous Dixieland Rusty line. “We got much improved dogs after just a couple of generations,” Charles said. “You could hunt quail with them down here, head to Kansas for pheasants, run up to North Dakota and hunt sharptails and Huns [Hungarian partridge], then comeback down here in January and head to the duck blind.”
Demand for Wildrose pups soared as clients saw Charles’s finished dogs working on guided hunts, and word spread as satisfied owners bragged about their Wildrose shorthairs.
Then, one night in 1998, a dog jockey – a somewhat perjorative term for someone who casually wheels and deals in dogs – called to say that he was passing through the Seymour area and wanted come by and swap a dog or two. Charles had little interest but agreed because the jockey claimed to have a pup with a superb pedigree.
Charles bought the pup as much to save its life as to acquire a good prospect. The four month-old shorthair, like the other dogs in the truck, was deathly ill, emaciated, stuffed in a crate full of vomit and excrement. Charles refused to sell any of his dogs to the trader and warned him that several of the sick dogs would die within a few days. Weeks later, word came through the grapevine that his prediction was accurate.
With a thorough worming, inoculations, antibiotics, proper diet, and socialization, the pup, Bullet, put on weight and began to show his breeding. Still, at a year old, when he should have been full-size, he weighed less than 40 pounds. Then, at around two years old, he experienced a growth spurt and muscled out into a splendid specimen. Most likely, his horrible early treatment delayed his growth.
By this time, Charles knew that he finally had something truly special. “Bullet was everything I’d ever wanted in a shooting dog,” he said.
Just as important, Bullet tended to pass his qualities along to his progeny. Many fine dogs throw unexceptional pups, even when bred to great bitches.
For the next four years, Bullet was the go-to dog for the Wildrose guiding operation. He hunted every species of upland bird between Texas and Washington and charmed clients with his friendliness.
To that point in his career, Charles had focused on breeding superb shooting dogs for his guiding business and discriminating upland bird hunters. Around 2004, a good friend who was also a serious field trialer convinced Charles to enter Bullet in competition.
As a pure hunting dog, Bullet had been trained to hold his point only until hunters arrived to flush the birds. Field trial dogs are expected to remain steady through flush, shot, and fall. After pointing, they can relocate or fetch on command only.
Charles began steadying Bullet. Only two months later, competing against some of the best dogs in the country, the former runt placed in his first trial. He earned the title of “field champion” over the next four years, with all of his points coming in major stakes. Between February 2008 and January 2009, Bullet accumulated 12 championship points by winning four of six trials.
The years are catching up with the old champion but his nose, drive, class, and delightful temperament will carry on through his pups, as will the blood of other great sires and dams. Today, Wildrose German shorthairs are working birds all over the United States and as far afield as South Africa and Tasmania.
If you’re thinking of adding a Wildrose pup to your family, get ready for an hour-long interview.
“I have this mental flow chart that I run through to make sure that every family gets just the right pup,” Charles said. “If you live in Tennessee and hunt ruffed grouse in the mountains, then you’ll want a careful dog that points from a long distance and hunts at a moderate range. I know my dogs and bloodlines well enough that I can pick a pup that’s very likely to meet those requirements. If you’re a hardcore field trialer, I’ll select a dog with different qualities. In any case I’ll make sure that you get an affectionate, companionable dog that your family will love, one that’ll be a pleasure to live with.”
I can think of no better reason for owning a hunting dog.
CONACT INFO
Charles Rose owns and operates Wildrose German Shorthaired Pointers and Wildrose Outfitting Service near Seymour, Texas. In addition to breeding German shorthaired pointers, he trains all pointing breeds and offers guided hunting for quail, waterfowl, wild boar, deer, and turkey. www.wildrosegermanshorthairs.com