The Invitational Champions

A must-have book for the field trialer and pointing dog aficionado, The Invitational Champions, by John P. Russell, covers extensively the past 56 champions of what has been deemed the "dream trial" by the late William F. Brown. The Quail Championship Invitational is limited to 12 invited contestants, the best of the best of the previous year's major circuit all-age competitors. "The trial seeks to identify a bird dog with strength, courage, intelligence, and character at the highest level, the best of the best." "The trial provides the most comprehensive and equitable test of the major circuit all-age dogs of the field trial sport." John Russell does a great job of compiling information on each years champion which includes; the authors narrative, a portion of the report from the American Field, a list of each dog running that year - it's handler and owner, information on the champions pedigree and win record, and more. The book is available at Lulu.com, and possibly Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Summer Training 2019

Photo by Holly Higgins

I was very fortunate to be able to make a month-long trip to Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota with my gal, and the dogs and horses, this past August/September. We were able to access Sharptail habitat on both public and private lands, and ran into a good number of birds. We found Sharptails in this brome (CRP) as well as native cover made up of mixed native grasses, sedges, and sage brush. Some coveys were pointed, but many flushed on the approach of the dog. On a couple of occasions, while working dogs in this mid-calf to knee-high CRP, I saw birds running through the cover while atop my horse; I whistled the dogs back to me and got some birds pointed this way. The Sharptails loved to flush wild, so there was some good stop-to-flush work that got done. There were many occasions when a sleeper was kicked up after the initial flush of the covey; if the dogs had movement after the flush we could make a correction, get out in front of the dog, kick around, and hopefully kick up that sleeper. When it happened it was a great way to end a session......

Pups on Birds

Sammi on point

Both Sammi and Ella are 9-months old and are being worked on birds regularly. Sammi has been pointing her birds well and is holding for the flush, while Ella is still ripping and chasing. Both pups have had birds shot over them and are showing promise as young bird dogs.

Cover, Forage, and Birds

On a recent training trip through Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota, this summer, a few observations were made regarding water, cover, feed, and birds. Early in our arrival, even though it was late in the summer season, most of the cover was a lush green; a product of the heavy snow this past winter, late spring rains, and scattered summer thunderstorms. There was a good amount of natural cover and CRP available which didn't really begin to cure-out until about the first week in September. All the CRP, native grasses and sedges, held a ton of hoppers, which was good to see, as hoppers are an important source of protein for young birds. Most of our finds were on Sharptails and bird-work was good. Almost every time the dogs were put down coveys were found; the coveys were made up of both young and old birds. Some finds were of a hen and her clutch, the young old enough to fly well but still distinguishable in size from the mature bird.

Pups Roading

The pups have graduated from being walked in harness, to roading off the ATV. At 8-months-old they are being run at about a third the speed as the big dogs, and only for a short time; maybe 15-minutes every other day. Initially I started both pups side-by-side figuring the pups would focus on running against each other, and not all the other extraneous things going on; quad noise, butterflies, songbirds; I was wrong. Sammi did not want to be rigged-up next to her sister, so I put her to the rear of Ella, off the back roading bar, and had her chasing; that worked. I ran them front and back a few times, and then transitioned Sammi to the front left, opposite Ella's front right position. This seems to be working. It's important to remember pups are not 100% focused on running off the quad, their attention span is short, and will often jump side-to-side chasing butterflies, hoppers, songbirds, whatever. To minimize any danger and potential Vet bills, I run them with bars fully extended and with a short chain so that when they bob side-to-side, and they will, they can't run under a wheel, which could easily break a leg or tear some soft tissue. Off to the races....

Pups in Harness

Ella in harness with Indian Head in background

In the picture above Indian Head Express (Ella), now 6-months old, is in harness and pulling with conviction. "Indian Head" (Keefer Summit), the rock outcrop from which the prefix of my dogs' registered names was inspired, sits majestically in the background.
As a rule, at between 5- and 6-months of age, I like to start walking my pups in a harness; getting them in harness and just letting them pull to the front at the end of a check cord. Starting a pup in harness on the ground makes the transition to running alongside an ATV, while  attached to a roading bar, a little easier; the pup has already been introduced to the harness, has been pulling in it, and can make the transition to running alongside the ATV much faster than if you were to just harness the pup up and put him/her alongside the machine. When transitioning to the ATV, I generally start pups at a walk, because the sound of the machine, it's movement, and being in close proximity to it, can be quite an intimidating distraction for a young dog. Some pups fall right into the program and just start roading agressively, while others take some time to adjust; it may take a few short sessions and some patience on the handlers part to get a pup on track. Once a pup gets the feel for things, I put them in with the big dogs, and its off to the races.....

Jill

Indian Head Intrigue - Jill

Jill is about 18-months old and coming along nicely. She has a great nose, style, amazing ground-speed, an edgy demeanor, and isn't afraid to get out front and run; she handles, and wants to come and go with me.  She was run in a few field trials last season and was placed as a derby, then we hunted her and got her into some wild birds. Now I'm working on getting her broke; steady to wing and shot. In the picture above she's anticipating being cast-off into the bird field. All her contacts in the field have been positive, her point is stylish and intense, her chase has been shortened-up,