Sage is the result of a 1/2 brother, 1/2 sister match, Ch Griffonpoint Defies Gravity CD with Ch Prancing Acrobat -  the common Grandparent being our foundation bitch, Ch. Checkered Meg.  Meg has always produced pups with tremendous desire, determination and intelligence.

    Sage is a small Griffonne, she only stands about 20 inches at the shoulder, and this does pose problems when she is worked in deep cover, she is not tall enought to run  through cover,she has to bound, which is a very ineffecient technique of locomotion.  However, when she is in shortgrass prarie, or in grazed rangeland, she is at her best.  She flies over the terrain and can go all day long. 

     Sage has very tidy, correct conformation, and her outer coat is harsh with a good, thick undercoat. Her hunting traits are very strong, she has excellent desire, a good nose and intense point and natural retrieve.... but I would say that her strong suit is her cooperativeness.  She is the kind of dog that is very relaxing to hunt with, she is an honest worker and has a delightful manner.    If she can't find a bird, she will bring whatever other treasures that she can find, usually a wolf-killed deer-part, or a bit of hide.  

      I did mis-read Sage in her early training, I think I talked to her a bit too much in our early days of exposure.  As a result she developed a immense desire for eye contact.  When we are out hunting, she will look for eye contact, and if she attains it, she will shorten her range.  I did figure out how to deal with it, though, and it works very well.  In fields where I want her to move out more, I will wear sunglasses so she can't see my eyes, and she will then work independantly.  On days where I don't have my sunglasses with me, I will look away before she establishes eye contact, or look in the direction that I would like her to search next.  It is a great solution to what could have been a very frustrating problem.

     Sage has her CKC field dog title, she earned this title before she was two years of age. On Sage's final leg of her FD, her littermate  Griffonpoint Cassie's Intrigue (Cassie) was tested on the same day.  As it turns out both Griffonnes earned identical scores of 93%, which was in itself a testament to the consistancy of this litter.  Sage and I are now working toward her Field Dog Excellent title, she may be the first Griffonpoint Griffon to achieve a FDX.  

There are three levels of CKC field dog test for pointing breeds in Canada. 

Field Dog Junior (FDJ) is the entry level field test that some people put their dogs into for testing, but it is not necessary to start at the FDJ level......  both Sage and Cassie were put directly into Field Dog (FD) which is the mid level test. The Field Dog Excellent (FDX) Title is the master level field test title in the CKC field test system.

     One fun thing about Sage is that when she was young I was trying some new things, and I wanted to see how easy it would be to train a "hearing ear dog".... within a few minutes I conditioned Sage to alert me when the telephone rang, and even now, when the telephone rings, Sage gets excited and runs back and forth sometimes making little happy noises....... These Griffons are so smart, and they really make you laugh.