Sage hunting quail in Idaho desert. Photo credit Shelli Schroeder/Deep Creek Griffons.

Sage with upland trifecta (pheasant, grouse, partridge) in his first season all solidly pointed and retrieved by him.

Sage completing a retrieve on quail. Photo credit Shelli Schroeder/Deep Creek Griffons.

Sage and Phil on Idaho chukar hunt. Photo credit Aaron Utz.

Sage on his second field hunt for geese as a pup. 

Sage and Phil at Sage's NAVHDA Natural Ability test.

 Sage
Sage is standing at stud to approved females.
We can help you find placements for your puppies as people are inquiring about getting Sage's pups.

Sage (Cascade's Give Me Birds) is from our 2017 Rainy /Zeb litter.
Sage's pedigree holds tremendous genetic potential;
Pairing Rainy and Zeb brought 3 NAVHDA VC's (Versatile Champion) in 4 generations.
Sage's mother, father, maternal grandmother, paternal grandfather and paternal great grandfathers have produced a combined 13 NAVHDA Breeders Awards.
Sage was the "silver spoon in his mouth" pup of his litter. Although he was mid-sized, he never got stuck behind Mom, never failed to hook up to a faucet at feeding time with minimal effort, never seemed to have difficulty encountering new things. He was one of the first to explore independently outside, usually the first one out the gate when it opened, first to use the doggy door, learn to use new toys, find planted wings in the yard, point birds, and generally approached life boldly  and calmly with minimal stress. He was one of the most people connected pups in that litter but also very independent when left alone.  He was the first in his litter at 6 weeks old to notice honking pairs of geese flying over while the litter was playing in the yard. While they were all nice, there was just something charmed about Sage. I just had to keep him and see how he turned out.
Sage is intelligent, biddable, eager to please, calm in the house, exuberant in the field and just really nice to be around. His obedience, yard work and Whoa training was so easy. His housebreaking was simple and quick. He spends much of his indoor time at the window, on point, intently watching small birds in the yard.  He's a very athletic 61 lbs with nice furnishings and a harsh wiry field coat. Sage's posture, gait and personality command attention. As Karen puts it, "He just looks like a stud."
Sage started pointing birds  and voluntarily entering water at 10 weeks old. He was holding his points and retrieving shot birds to me before 5 months old.
In his first season, he was successfully hunted on pheasant, sharptail grouse, hungarian partridge and geese. He holds his points, searches hard, has incredible prey drive, tracks moving roosters with finesse, and is honoring other dog's points.
Sage's Pennhip is better than the breed average. (Griffs average tighter hips than most other sporting dog breeds to begin with)
Sage is dual registered with both NAVHDA and AKC. His DNA profile is registered with AKC and NAVHDA.
Sage's K-Locus is KBKB (meaning he is not a carrier of the "tan point" gene).
We tested Sage in his NAVHDA Natural Ability test in spring of 2018 and he obtained a Prize 1 with maximum scores in every portion of the test for a total maximum score of 112 points. The judges rated his coat as "harsh" which is very desirable in a field dog and not frequently seen. (Lots of breeders represent their dogs' coats as harsh, but a review of the judge's ratings on the test sheets don't show very many)
In his second season Sage has been hunting pheasant, sharptails, hungarian partridge, sage grouse and waterfowl. He is a staunch pointer, enthusiastic retriever and pleasure to be around in the field and house. He honors other dogs points with style. I can't think of anything I would try to change or improve on with him. He's exactly what we want to be producing in our bloodlines. Sage has had some 300 yard retrieves on big Canada Geese in his 2nd season and is handling them like a pro. He lays calmly in the layout blind with me and completes multiple goose retrieves with minimal handling.
In his third season we added quail and chukar hunting to his experiences. He just excels at everything we ask him to do.
Sage is completely unrelated to Jacque (Griff D'Automne Mr. Brown) Jacque is a great dog and a prolific stud in the northern Rocky Mountain region. We selected Sage as a stud, both, because of his excellent bloodlines and traits, and because he was completely unrelated to Jacque, giving a breeding option for the many fine female dogs who have Jacque in their pedigree.
We think he may have a pretty special future as a stud. If you are interested in breeding to Sage, he is ready to breed approved females. (Please have your female's hip eval, NAVHDA testing results and some hunting pictures ready to provide when inquiring about breeding to Sage.)
​More photos of Sage on Photos Page and Progeny Page.

Sage (in foreground) honoring a companion's GSP's point as Phil walks in to flush the bird.

Sage is handling big Canada geese in his second season with style. He has had multiple retrieves on these big birds over 300 yards. He is enthusiastic and easy to handle.