Maggie this morning

Well, it's not a classic pose, but she is certainly showing some interest in birds:

The bird is about 20' away.  She had a pretty good point as I walked up but looked at me when the camera clicked open.  I need to do more yard work to steady her "whoa".  She jumped as I walked up on a couple other birds but stopped immediately on command.  One point was over 100 feet.

Weather was good but not perfect:  clear, mid 30's, some moisture in the  ground, but a bit too much breeze.  Nice to live in San Diego.

Mike, want to come down for a long weekend some time and work the dogs?  I've got a local source for pigeons now.

Shadow Oak Bo wins 2013 National Championship

I just got word that Shadow Oak Bo, handled by Robin Gates, has just been named winner of the 2013 National Bird Dog Championship at Ames Plantation, which concluded today.

From the Ames synopsis of his brace:

Overnight drizzle added to the already wet terrain. Damp and 38 degrees at the start. Shadow Oak Bo tallied seven finds and also had three backs. Rivertons Funseek'n Scooter notched five and also had an unproductive. Both dogs finished the three hours.

Bo is owned by Butch Houston and Dr, John Dominy.

This is a huge boost for setters in general and should encourage more setters at the top levels of field trial competition. Congratulations are due to BO, his breeder, Buddy Smith, to Robin Gates, and to the owners. 

 

Beginning to wait

... for the beginning of next season. 

I'll find stuff to do until then - field trial, go fishing, work on the house, fix Airstream injuries, work on my old Willys flatfender... But I'll be thinking forward to the Fall.

Pete and I have talked a bit about going to Montana and Saskatchewan. I'll fill a few evenings with planning for this, but this is a flat time of year - good mostly for tying a few flies and catching up on reading. 

first birds over Maggie

Well, I messed up and did not get pictures ...

I spent the fall letting Maggie run in the hills, getting into plenty of wild birds and generally becoming addicted to feathers.  Today I took her out for the first time in a controlled training session with a pigeon in a launcher and a couple friends gunning.

She pointed the first bird staunchly but was only a few feet away when she caught scent.  We flushed and killed the bird and she carried it around proudly for several minutes.

She handled the second bird perfectly.  She crossed the scent about 50 yards downwind, turned and locked up instantly.  Held point staunchly as the gunners got into position, tail high. intense, nose tugged upwind by the scent.  I flushed the bird and several shots later the pigeon was still flying briskly.  Damn, I wanted to reward that great performance with a bird on the ground, but Maggie seemed to be content with the result.

I think I've got a bird dog.

The National Championship again

As of right now there are two apparent leaders: Shadow Oak Bo - a setter male owned by Butch Houston and handled by Robin Gates, and Miller's Dialing In - pointer male handled and owned by Gary Lester. Bo (photo above) had seven finds and three backs, finishing the three hours to the front. Dailing In had seven finds, one unproductive, and finished the three hours well.

Every year there are a few setters running and the hope of setter enthusiasts for the first setter victory since 1970 is rekindled. But there are a lot of dogs yet to run, and luck of the draw plays a huge part in this game.

Still, I am pulling for Bo.

A Little Excercise

Just before Christmas a big storm came through northeastern California and dumped about two-feet of fresh snow at our place; it was the first big storm of the year.  Then a couple days later overnight temps dropped into the single-digits, with daytime highs in the low-to mid twenties.  This weather pattern stuck around for about three weeks.  Snow had settled to about half it's original depth, but the frigid  weather had made it rock hard. Finally last weekend it began to warm-up, the snow began to thaw and roads became accessible with my quad. The girls last bit of exercise was the day before the snow flew.  They had endured those three weeks of frigid weather doubled-up in their dog boxes, eating double rations, kennel-bound with no exercise; they were full of energy. Jane is in the front, Abbi and Kris off my hip, and Jessi is in the rear, unharnessed.

Indian Head Outlaw

Jessi was delivered from Harris Kennels, Fort Scott, Kansas, October 10, 2012, via Delta Air Cargo.  Her lineage is what drew my attention to the breeding; her Sire a frozen semen son of HOF Ch. Guard Rail x Kraftsman's Ko Kane, her Dam coming from Pike Creek breeding's to Ch. McAdditional Class, Ch. Pike Creek Mike, and HOF Ch. Additions Go Boy, the bitches bread to these sires all being of Fiddler stock (Ch. Fiddlin' Rocky Boy and Ch. Fiddler's Ace). Her training to this point is as follows:

Jessi was about 10-weeks old when I picked her up.  Her yard work started upon her arrival to my kennel with a new collar and an introduction to her crate; the collar established a point of contact, the crate a place of security and rest. I am fortunate that I could take her to work with me, by doing so I fed her 3-times a day, let her out every couple hours for exercise, and got her accustomed to her crate.

At 12-weeks of age I fastened a short check-cord (piece of 1/4" nylon rope) to her collar, just long enough to be dragged between her rear feet. She dragged it wherever she went, slept with it, and basically broke herself to the lead. This is important because when the pup goes to the field she'll be check-corded or running with the cord in search of birds.  If she didn't have the association with the check-cord prior to go to the field she would be fighting the cord and not hunting birds. The next month consisted of, continued socialization, riding on the ATV, formal crate training, initial recall work, walking, and learning how to stand on objects; board, barrel, bench.

At 4-months old she was pulling pretty hard on the lead so I introduced the half-hitch around her waist.  This introduction was important because her initial whoa-work will be done from this point of contact. The half-hitch also gives some relief to her neck when she is pulling. At this time, the game of standing on objects became more demanding and she experienced her first bit of pressure; the half-hitch is pulled up, the chin bumped with a short piece of PVC to get the head up, and a moment of steadiness is requested.  There is no talking at this time, no verbal commands.  In the field she was running and bumping, having a good time, becoming bold.  When she came in from a cast I would throw a pigeon and let her chase; doing this, the pup associates birds with the field and me, and keeps to the front, which is where I want her.

In the picture above Jessi is just over 5-months old.  She has learned to accept the pressure of being stacked-up; her head and tail are both high, her head forward, and she is steady, stylish.  Initially the pup will tuck it's tail, not want to stand still, and constantly move it's head. Sooner or later, after a lot of bumping, lifting, and stroking, it all comes together.  When we go to the field now she makes her initial cast and comes back to me, about ten yards out she stops with head and tail high, and I throw her a bird; her reward for standing with style.

Putting a good foundation in a pup is the key to successful training.  The building blocks that support the foundation are established incrementally and placed in sequence, so that when you have a sticking point you can take a small step back and do not have to apply more pressure than necessary to get the job done. Minimizing pressure will keep a pup stylish and upbeat.

At about 6-months of age I will begin her collar conditioning, start formalizing her whoa work, and begin introducing pigeons in launchers in her field work.  JT