Welcome to HARDTRIGGER! I hope the following pages are helpful to you in your search for a versatile gun dog and exceptional hunting companion. If you have found this site and are reading about Pudelpointers, I’m sure you are an avid sportsman searching for an outstanding gun dog. Hardtrigger is dedicated in producing some of the finest versatile gun dogs available. Through our affiliation with North American Pudelpointers Breeders Alliance (NAPPA) we are committed to the improvement of the Pudelpointer breed through proven genetics and rigorous testing programs.
Hardtrigger produces a limited number of litters. We are not focused on breeding dogs just to sell puppies. We are passionate about creating, through our selective breeding program, great hunting dogs. Idaho and Eastern Oregon have some of the best upland bird hunting found in the West. We are very fortunate to live in Idaho where it’s a short trip to wild bird hunting. Our dogs are hunted on wild upland game and waterfowl. We evaluate each of our dogs on how well they perform in the field during actual hunting situations on wild birds. We also test our dogs using the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association’s Natural Ability, Utility Preparatory and Utility Tests for an unbiased appraisal of our dogs. If they underperform in any part of their evaluation they do not make it into our breeding program.
I have owned many breeds of dogs. I’ve enjoyed each breed, training and hunting them according to their individual specialties but wanted to find a single breed of dog that could hunt all game from upland birds to waterfowl. I also wanted a dog with the ability to track and recover any wounded game. That is when I became interested in “versatile” hunting dogs. While living in Eastern Washington State during the mid 1980’s, a friend owned a German Wirehaired Pointer. It was the first GWP I’d hunted with. We hunted together often, he with his GWP while I hunted my black Labrador. Each time we hunted together, I became more and more impressed with his “versatile” dog. I searched and found a GWP litter from a kennel in Spokane, WA. that had what I thought were favorable genetics and bought my first versatile hunting dog in 1988. She quickly impressed me with her hunting desire, cooperation and eagerness to please. I thought I would never again find a dog with her hunting talents until I trained and hunted over my first Pudelpointer.
Since that time, I’ve trained and hunted many versatile gun dogs. I’ve enjoyed doing all the “dog games” and participated in AKC hunting tests, NSTRA events and NAVHDA tests. Back in the early 1990s, I was competing in a NSTRA field trial when a guy approached the gallery with a brown dog at his side. The guy introduced himself. That was the first time I met Bob Farris and his Pudelpointers. Since that time, Bob and I have become good friends. My first Pudelpointer was from Cedarwood Kennel many years ago. I am continually impressed by the Pudelpointers intelligence, prey drive and retrieving skills. I am equally impressed by the breed’s ability to “turn off” prey drive while in the house and become a quiet member of the household. The Pudelpointer is truly an impressive breed and in my experience the versatile breed that offers me the “complete” hunting dog.