Douglas County bird dog team wins Wisconsin championship

DOUGLAS COUNTY — In the town of Lakeside, a champion roamed.

Lake Effect Ali, a 6-year-old English setter, darted into the brush alongside a trail, the bell on her collar clanging. When the sound stopped, it meant she found a bird. Twice in about 10 minutes the bell stilled. Both times Ali had found a grouse.

Owner Tim Kaufman and his son Jay trekked along the trail, which meanders through the family’s property. When the bell stopped, they headed off the trail to find Ali standing on point.

Once he reached the setter, Kaufman shot a pistol loaded with blanks. Ali stood rock still through the sound of the gun. She didn’t even move when a Telegram reporter crashed through the underbrush for a different kind of shot. Once Kaufman touched her back and gave the command, Ali sprang off in search of another bird.

102924.N.ST.Ali at point 3.JPG — Lake Effect Ali holds her point in the underbrush as Tim Kaufman watches behind during a training run in the town of Lakeside Tuesday, Oct. 22. In less than 10 minutes, Ali found two grouse.

Ali recently won the Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship. She finished first in a field of 36 bird dogs from throughout the country.

“I’ve never won a championship before. It’s pretty exciting,” Kaufman said, likening it to the Super Bowl in football.

Ali has amassed so many points at field trials and championships this year that she may qualify for a spring invitational for the top 12 dogs in the country.

Ali is a third-generation bird dog for Kaufman, who’s been involved in the sport for 15 years and runs Lake Effect Kennels.

Ali’s grandmother, Mazy May, earned the runner-up slot four times. Her daughter Tilly won an invitational in Michigan. Ali has surpassed them both.

The setter has a definite work personality that comes out when it’s time to hunt.

“She just freaks out. It’s pretty crazy,” Kaufman said. “That’s when you know it’s fun for them. … They love to run, they love to go and try to find birds.”

Lake Effect Ali races past owner Tim Kaufman as she searches for grouse in the underbrush off a trail behind the Kaufman family’s home.

Ali jumped about wildly when she saw her belled collar on Oct. 22 and zoomed through the forest with enthusiasm, seeking birds.

Ali gets a few dog biscuits at the end of each run. But the real thrill for her appears to be the hunt itself and the occasional “good girl” from Kaufman.

102924.N.ST.Trophy.JPG — The traveling Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship trophy rests on a table in the hunting shack area of Tim Kaufman’s garage in the town of Lakeside.

Bird dogs hunt by scent and are scored on their ability to both find birds and stand in a rock-steady point until their owner gives them the release signal.

To do that they need a good nose, high tail and heat tolerance, as weather can vary widely during the hourlong field trials. Kaufman has run his three generations of setters in snow, rain and sunny days that reached temperatures of 74 degrees.

In the fall, Kaufman and Ali participate in a trio of trials — the Minnesota championship, Wisconsin championship and the Moose River Grouse Dog Club trial.

“There’s pros and amateurs; I’m an amateur,” said Kaufman, a member of the Moose River group.

Next up for the award-winning duo is the Grand National Championship, which starts Nov. 5 in the Chippewa Valley forest, just south of Thorpe and Stanley. Roughly 80 dogs are expected to enter.

“It’s never been held in Wisconsin before,” Kaufman said.

102924.N.ST.Tim with dogs 2.JPG — Tim Kaufman sits on the tailgate of his truck with bird dogs Lake Effect Tilly, left, and her daughter Lake Effect Ali, right, Tuesday, Oct. 22 in the town of Lakeside.

The bird dog season runs from spring through fall. In July and August, Kaufman takes Ali out for hourlong runs on the trails behind the house a couple of times a week. In the fall, that ramps up to five days a week.

“I just enjoy it,” Kaufman said. “I enjoy getting out. I enjoy the woods. I enjoy being outside. Get to meet a lot of different people and be with dogs. It’s pretty fun,”

He doesn’t take Ali out as often in the winter, when his afternoons are spent coaching wrestling at Northwestern High School.

The setter is hitting the prime years for a bird dog and has had one batch of pups. Now about a year old, they’re seeing similar success. Three have already placed in juvenile stakes derbies. When Ali has her next batch of pups, Kaufman said, “I’ll be keeping one.”