More Prospects

Sammi and Ella

These two pups were recently acquired from Robertson Kennels in Payette, Idaho. The Sire is Ch. Riverton's Funseek'N Scooter; and the Dam, Spectre Express. Scooter was sired by  Nat. Ch. Funseeker's Rebel and out of Ch. Riverton's Blackeye Pea; Express was sired by Ch. Utah's Red Rock Express and out of Spectre Lucy, which goes back to a Nat. Ch. Whippoorwill Wild Agin X Spectre Ella breeding. Ella was a littermate to Ch. Spectre Pete. Both pups are cleanly marked, bold, and stylish running around the yard.

Spring Training

Indian Head Pistol - Pete

Going into bird season my three pups, Jim, Pete, and Jill, had been collar conditioned, had been through a lot of yard work, and worked in the bird field quite a bit.They all had a good here, whoa, and heel in them, and all were running to the front, pointing their birds, and holding for the flush. All three had been run in horseback field trials and had qualifying placements in derby stakes. None were steady to wing and shot, none were finished. Now that spring seems to have sprung, all are going back to the fundamentals; all will start from the beginning by reinforcing yard work, transition work, and work in the bird field. Having a good foundation, then falling back on it to reinforce training, and then moving forward, will save a lot of headaches and produce a dog that will show style and intensity when around game. In the picture above Pete is stacked-up waiting to be cast-off in the bird field. He's dragging a check cord and wearing his e-collar in the same fashion he did prior to bird season. By the end of summer he should be a finished bird dog; running to the front, finding and pointing birds, backing other dogs, and steady to wing and shot.

Check Cords

Check Cords

I made these four check cords in about fifteen minutes out of some old, frayed, climbing rope; unsafe for it's original purpose, but perfect for yard-work with a dog. A 20-foot length of rope, a brass clip, and a bowline knot and you have a functional piece of equipment. I don't check-cord my dogs into birds, however I do let them a drag a rope around the bird-field. I use check-cords for teaching my pups to bend and stay to the front, to put a "here" in them, in heeling and whoaing and backing drills, and other yard work.

Base Camp

Feeding Time

The end of the day, and the fun continues; dogs and gear get unloaded and situated; feed pans filled and dispersed; fresh batteries installed in GPS transmitters; e-collars and tracking collars on chargers; truck gets fueled-up; ice for the coolers; more food and beverages purchased; doctoring of dogs and hunters as needed; the list goes on......
We were fortunate to be at a location where fuel, food, and accommodations are all available, and where the proprietors cater to a lot of bird hunters in the fall and winter and understand the kind of baggage we bring with us. We did make sure to clean-up after the dogs immediately, and fitted the barkers with their collars; trying to keep our presence as low-key as possible, and not taking things for granted.
The proprietors of these rural destinations are providing us with a great service and we appreciate them being there. By cleaning up after ourselves, and leaving them with a good impression of who we are, we hope they will be accommodating to us again in the future.

Crown Jewel

Chukar Partridge - Red-legged Devil

End of the Hunt

Abbi drinking, and Holly with Gertie

We got into eight coveys, and got all the dogs hunted this day. At the end of the hunt we felt like we had ridden a stage of the Tour de France; a lot of calories were burned and everyone was tired and a little sore. Back at the truck we had more water and treats for the dogs, and cheese, crackers, and leftovers from dinner the night before for us. Good stuff!

Staked-out

Stake-outs are a great option when weather and ground conditions allow for a good spot to get the truck off the road; in the late season a nice dry wide-spot is often hard to find. The stake-outs give dogs that would otherwise be crated an opportunity to stretch their legs and lay in the sun, recover from an earlier hunt, relieve themselves, and get watered-up and fed. The stakes should be kept far enough apart so that dogs can't get tangled in each others chains; this could be disastrous, if not deadly. Each of my stakes has a 30-inch chain on it, and I generally space the stakes about 7-feet apart. With that chain length, and that distance between stakes, dogs can generally just touch noses or paws.  Dog stools are picked-up as generated, which generally occurs within the first ten minutes of being staked-out after the morning ride to the grounds. Bring along a shovel to scoop the poop, and to fill any holes your dogs may dig while stake-out.