Prairie Blues

 

2019 Southwestern Championship, Johnson Ranch, Trail City, SD

You're rolling in at sunset with a truck of restless dogs

And the whistling wind comes, sounding rather scary.

Unlock and open camp, then light the lanterns and the stove.

And we'll face another summer on the prairie.

Tomorrow we will cull them. And you'll say your string's the worst,

But, of course, it's far from extraordinary.

Some mornings on the check cord and some hunting of young chicks,

And they'll carry all their days the mark of "Prairie."

You'll wrench an arm - and bounce - when your brainless nag departs

After dropping you kerplunk - (you were unwary)

A skunk gets you from one side and a porcupine the other

If you dismount haplessly upon the prairie.

Your best dogs point them, too, and there's little you can do

To correct their "varmint finds" - unneccessary.

If hail and twisters lay and you find the birds today,

You may still get somethiing done out on the prairie.

The summer speeds away and you feel you've come to naught.

Then your dogs show form that's due next January.

When the money trials come up, you don't place a single pup,

So you fold your camp and vow to shun the prairie.

But, dreaming, longing nightly for the blue flax fields in bloom,

When your June time state side life is sedintary,

You'll jam the truck with gear and set your wheels for northern roads,

Towards the hopes, dreams - and mirages - of the prairie.

From the book "The Unforgettables and Other True Fables" by Bill Allen. The book is now in it's third printing and available at www.strideaway.com.

Pups First Covey

Photo By Holly Higgins

IH Pearls Blindsider (Miller's Blindsider X Pearl Again), was aquired earlier this year from Daniels Kennels, of Bronwood, Georgia."Val" has been hunted in chukar country several times now and has pointed a covey each time she has been down; a great start for a young dog. Val is showing high style on her birds and points with intensity. She's also making great progress in her yard work, roading off the ATV, and with pigeons in the bird field. Quiet in the kennel and easy to be around, Val is a nice addition to the string.

 

Days of Summer

Photo by Holly Higgins

It's that time of year again. Time to get the dogs we hunted and field trialed last season back in to shape, give the broke dogs a tune up and get the puppies that have been pointing and chasing, broke before this fall season. It's a tough time of year to train; the weather is hot, the weeds (foxtail, cheatgrass, madusahead, speargrass) are dangerous, it's snakey, and the hours at work are generally long; time is a scarce resource. The dogs feed is being cut back to help burn off the winter layer of insulation and prepare them for early season field trials and hunts; they will typically be three- to seven-pounds heavier in the winter than in the summer; depending on the dog. Some folks like to change feeds between the high activity level seasons of fall and winter, and the lower activity level seasons of spring and summer. I've always stuck with the same feed year-round, a high quality 30/20 mix, and just regulate the once-daily ration of feed according to the dogs needs. Each dog in the kennel is different in it's daily consumption; some are easy keepers and most aren't. I have a small female that weighs in at about 36-pounds, and may be a couple pounds heavier in the winter, and a male that will go 55-pounds in winter and down to 47-pounds during field trial and bird season. Even at their heaviest, my dogs have a waistline. If hipbones and spine begin to show as they cut weight during the summer, I'll add a little feed to smooth-out the bumps. Pointers and Setters are world class athletes and need to be kept in top physical condition to do their job in the field at the highest level. High quality feed, and access to clean fresh water throughout the day are important in managing your dogs physical condition year-round.

Stay at home! And yard-work dogs...

Indian Head Storm - "Kate"

It's hard to believe a month ago 40-inches of snow had accumulated here at home. It melted rapidly, as it generally does this time of year, and conditions weatherwise are now, "spring-like." Mornings are cool, afternoons are warm, and the grass is really coming on.
Stay-at-home restrictions, and a serious shortage of funds, have limited my travel from home to other locations where I might get some training done. Fortunately, the dirt roads have dried-out and I'm able to road the dogs, around here, every other day off the quad. I haven't done a lot of bird work because a flock of sheep and it's guardian Greater Pyrenees has occupied the bird field. So what I have focused on is yard work; heeling, whoaing, coming-to-here, standing, loading into the truck, loading into the crate… Dogs young and old are being put through the process every other day; going through the motions with the pups, and polishing-up the older dogs.
In the picture above "Kate" (Kelly's IB Butler X Kelly's Funseeker), 12-months old, is on a board and fully rigged-up, learning to stand-in-place and get comfortable in the gear she needs to associate with the breaking process. She's looking good doing it.

Pointing Chukar

Sammi pointing Chukar
Photo by Holly Higgins

Sammi had as a pup, out of the shoot, a ton of point; butterflies, grasshoppers, bumblebees, stalks of grass blowing in the wind; you name it, she'd point it, and with intensity! Initially her pointing, it seemed, was focused on moving objects that caught her eye; something would move, she'd point, and then pounce and chase.... When Sammi was about 6-months old I started running her in the bird field, into electronic launchers loaded with pigeons; she had a great nose and pointed with intensity. From the start, I could get in front of her and launch birds before she would chase. After letting her chase a few times, it didn't take much effort to keep her from chasing more than a few feet. Walking up to flush for her, I could see her drinking up the scent; high tail and head, mouth opening and closing, eyes staring into the distance, body motionless. I remember thinking to myself every time I ran her in a training situation, "this is a bird dog." Toward the end of this bird season I was fortunate to get her into Chukar country and get her into some birds. Unfortunately, on both occasions I had her down, her littermate Ella was down with her, and before I could get to Sammi to kill a bird for her, Ella came in and ripped them...

High Country CRP

Photo by Holly Higgins

This block of CRP was mostly brome (what the horse is standing in) but had a nice strip of vetch running through it. The vetch provided a nice edge, and heavier and taller cover for the birds. To the north you can see grainfields which are dry-land farmed for wheat and barley, and to the west out of the picture are cattle allotments where native sagebrush and bunch grass cover the landscape. All forms of cover held birds; the CRP seemed to hold birds of a younger age class, while birds found on ground heavier to native sage seemed to be older larger birds. The CRP which we trained in was loaded with grasshoppers of all shapes and sizes - great for young birds. Even on mornings like this, when the cover was moist from a bit of rain the night before, the bugs were out. Here I'm off the horse and trying to get a bird in the air for Indian Head Whiski - "Jim".

More Summer Training

Photo by Holly Higgins

Click on the photo. If you look hard you can see the Sharpie on the horizon, about equidistant that I am from the dog (which is almost directly in the middle of the photo), going the opposite direction. This is one of those occasions where a majority of the covey had left, the dog chased a little at the flush, I made a correction, and getting off my horse to flush for the dog another bird flew. Couldn't ask for a better training scenario with a young dog......

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,

Initial Training II

Sammi and Ella staked-out

At 16-weeks Sammi and Ella are coming along nicely. Most recently, both pups have been introduced to the stakeout. Initially they didn't care too much for the stake and chain, and its restraint; they pulled at it, bit it, flopped-around trying to get away from it, whimpered, cried, and made a big fuss. After they settled-down a bit, I fed them, and their view of the stakeout changed a bit. I've had them on stakeout four times, each time with six to eight other dogs; the two pups in the middle, with the older dogs on each side. I think the company of other dogs is good when making this transition from "puppy freedom" to a world of more obedience.
Both are still outfitted with their fixed checkcords and have been introduced to the full-size version with which I've begun their initial work on the "here" command. Both pups new what "here" means before their introduction to the checkcord, but now I'm starting to enforce the command, making sure that they come to me whenever I call them.

Broke on Pigeons

Indian Head Whiski (Jim) standing his birds

Both Jim and Pete are pointing their birds (pigeons) and holding at the flush and shot. In the bird field both dogs are still dragging a check cord and are equipped with an e-collar as they have been throughout the entire training process. As noted in an earlier blog, I do not work my dogs into birds with the cord, I use it to stop them, at some point in their bird-work, when they decide to chase. I believe that check cording dogs into birds can create a number of problems which stem from the handler "whoaing a dog up" when they think the dog is in the scent cone; I like the dog to tell me it's got the bird. The next step in the process is to introduce them to liberated birds.....

Initial Training

Ella and Sammi at 14-weeks with checkcords

Both Ella and Sammi have been outfitted with checkcords; a piece of 3-foot long,1/4-inch, heavy-duty nylon cord, fixed to their collars.  At about 13-weeks, I fix a checkcord to the collar of my puppy. This is the pups initial introduction to yard work. The pup will drag this little checkcord around for the next month; eating, sleeping, running, walking and tripping over it; breaking itself to the lead. After a month of living with that cord, there is no reaction from the pup when I clip it to a lead to start it's initial yard work. The pup just goes about business; no attacking the lead, no rolling around in the dirt to escape, no biting, no pulling, no whining, no whimpering; the pup doesn't focus on the lead, the pup is ready to go to work.

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.

TOAST!

Meg and Jill

These two pups had six covey finds in two hours, and covered a bunch of ground on fairly steep terrain. They were DONE! at the end of the hunt. Both pups are holding for the flush and chasing when birds are in the air. Before next season we plan to have them steady to wing and shot.
I like to line my crates with grass hay because, the dogs can burrow in it to stay warm at night, it provides a lofty layer for a dog to lay on after a hunt or while travelling, and it's relatively dust free. You can tell by the disposition of these two that they are perfectly content to be where they're at.....

Summer Training

Indian Head Intrigue - Jill

I've never tried to break more than one puppy/derby per year. This year I have three, and with a busy work schedule it has been pretty rough. All three are coming along, but all three are so very different. Jim is smart, bold, and tough, and was a challenge to get to hold point. Pete is really smart and soft, and didn't like being set-up in yard work or the bird field. Jill is high-energy and a bit scatterbrained, but very athletic and smart. All three are bird-finders, have brains and style, but have taken different paths in the training/breaking process to get to where they are. It's important to be able to figure out what it's going to take to get your dog broke and do it so they keep their style and intensity on birds.