North American Pudelpointer Alliance

Where Performance is Priority

Oxbow’s Big Gun

NA 112 / UT 204 “Goat”

The story of the development and life of Oxbow’s Big Gun is best told through his shared history with his owner, Lucas Kennedy. Lucas reports that while in college, in Montana, he was introduced to the world of pointing dogs through vizslas and shorthairs and seeing those dogs transform from full sprint to stone left a great impression upon him. Although Lucas wished to get his own pointing dog at that time, flight school, and a fifteen month deployment to Iraq would put his plans on hold. During this time however, Lucas states that he was researching the various versatile breeds and landed upon the pudelpointer as the best fit for his upland and waterfowl needs.

Upon returning from his deployment, Lucas stated that he began contacting various breeders and settled upon Oxbow Kennel and their “B” litter. This litter paired Cedarwoods EZ Top, who was previously featured in this series, and Killbuck’s Legendary Luna a 200 point Utility Prize 1 female. An examination of Goat’s pedigree provides an easy explanation as to why he would be destined to create a lasting legacy. Goat’s Coefficient of Inbreeding is 16.5% which would make him a solidly linebred dog. While great dogs do come from outcrossed pairings, the odds tilt heavily in the favor of the pup whose ancestors were both related and above average performers, and Goat’s pedigree reads like a who’s who of the foundational dogs from the influential Cedarwood kennel.

Through using BreedMate software, NAPPA members are able to calculate the Coefficient of Relationship for a dog. This calculation is the percentage of genes an ancestral dog contributes to a pup. Consider for a moment the Coefficient of Relationship for some of the dogs in Goat’s Pedigree…

  • Cedarwoods Quincy Dan – COR 48% – UT Prize III with multiple NSTRA 1st place wins
  • Cedarwoods First Offense – COR – 53% – UT Prize II, 1st Place NSTRA wins
  • Cedarwoods Zinfindel – COR 53% – UT Prize 1 – sister to First Offense
  • Cedarwoods Calendar Girl – COR 38% – UT Prize 1- the most influential pudelpointer in history
  • Cedarwoods Amadaus – COR 43% – UT Prize 1/ multiple 1st place NSTRA wins and once described by Bodo Winterhelt as the best pudelpointer in North America
  • Cedarwoods Image of Jake – COR 48% UT Prize 1

This incredibly strong pedigree no doubt played a role in a first time versatile dog trainer / handler taking this young pup to maximum Natural Ability and Utility test scores. This is all the more remarkable as Goat’s foundational training was interrupted by a second deployment to Iraq, and Lucas reports that it actually was his wife, Leah, who was able to handle Goat to his maximum 112 Natural Ability title, while he was overseas. Lucas said to us, “I will never forget the call to her that day from Iraq and hearing his score.”

Lucas has many wonderful memories to share about Goat and his hunting adventures. When Goat was only five months old he found himself left behind, at home, while Lucas hunted waterfowl with an experienced Labrador retriever. Lucas states that during the course of the hunt he sailed a wigeon which pitched down a couple hundred yards away at the end of the waterway. After an unsuccessful search for the duck with the Lab, Lucas drove home and retrieved the pup, who would end up tracking the wigeon a full 150 yards away from the water and into a stand of cedar trees where the bird was recovered. Lucas told us, “I knew I had a bird dog at this point and everything I had read about PPs game finding ability and dedication to recovery of dead and wounded game was true.”

For some, naming a dog is a mere afterthought, while to others it is a decision with which great thought is put in and the decision imparts a special, personal, meaning to the owner. For Goat it seems to be a mixture of both. Lucas explained, “Big Gun” was my battalion’s call-sign while flying during that deployment. You can probably find many veterans out there that would recognize “Big Gun” as the Apache Helicopters that supported them above Bagdad during “The Surge” in Iraq.” The name “Goat” would seem to have, perhaps, slightly less significance… “I always knew I wanted to call him Goat due to the beard, Billy Goat’s Gruff or Goatee”…

Given the nature of being in a military family, Goat has had the opportunity to hunt in a myriad of different states, on many different species of birds, in varying terrain. Lucas can recall nine separate States Goat has hunted and eleven separate species of uplands birds successfully harvested. Lucas believes that Goat’s best attribute is that he is able to adapt remarkably fast from one bird to the next, or to a species which is completely new to him. Goat’s hunting adventures were not limited to the water’s edge either. He is among a very select group of North American dogs who have retrieved the triple crown of North American teal (Greenwing, Bluewing, and Cinnamon), in addition to puddle ducks and multiple species of pochards.

As a producer Goat has left a very large mark upon our breed. He has been utilized by seven different kennels and has had a total of forty offspring who have run in a sanctioned NAVHDA Natural Ability Test. The average of those forty dogs is 106.7 points! Thirty nine of the forty pups have passed that test. This is all the more impressive considering only one of the females he was paired with, Paladin’s All In, had obtained a Utility title herself! The most successful of Goat’s prodigy likely are Jackson Creek’s Capt Call, a 112 point NA dog / 204 Utility dog, and Shore Things Bluewater Augustus, a 112 point NA dog / 198 Prize 1 Utility Dog. Hopefully these two outstanding male dogs will continue their family’s legacy and leave a mark for themselves in the pedigrees of the future.

Amazingly, Goat is still by Lucas’s side, at fourteen years of age, although he has been retired from the field. Lucas sums up the impact Goat has made upon him and his family as “Goat has been the “Dog of a Lifetime” for me and one that I will measure all others against.” Every serious sportsman should not only have the chance to own such a dog, but also the insight recognize such a dog, for what they are, before they are left with just an empty collar, fading pictures, and fond memories.

As is always the case, a dog such as Goat, is the product of the genetics found within their pedigree, coupled with proper training. If you wish to learn more about the breeders who continue to work with these genetics, please visit the North American Pudelpointer Alliance website at https://pudelpointer-alliance.com/breeders.