Traveling Pointing Dogs

You can tell from the title to this post that I haven’t had much to report. The puppies are doing great. This is when they are fun but also a lot of work. Now, at 6 weeks old, I take them out of the raised kennel 2 or 3 times a day. I put them in the grass and each day they get a little bolder.

A puppy learning about the big, big world.

More puppies.

It’s hard to see but one of the puppies is off the high part of the patio crying to get back on.

I did the Super Pup system with the puppies. The Super Pup thing is: Tickle between the toes with a Q-tip for 3 to 5 seconds; hold their head straight up for 3 to 5 seconds; hold their head straight down for 3 to 5 seconds; hold them on their back for 3 to 5 seconds and place them on a towel that has been in a freezer for 3 to 5 seconds. You do that from day 3 through day 16 each day. That’s just a snap shot of the procedure. If anyone is interested just Google “Super Pup”. There is a good video on how to do it.

Because of there possibly being two sires for this litter I sent the DNA kits off the same day I got them. They were furnished by UKC but the DNA test will be performed by one of the California colleges. It’s been more than a month and I haven’t heard from them.

On their 16th day as a graduation present, from the Super Pup program, I put collars on them. I’m not sure whether they think it was a present or more of a punishment. They stopped to scratch their collars every once in a while but after a couple of days they were used to them. Each collar is a different color so it makes identifying them from a distance easier. And most of them will wear a collar for the rest of their life. May as well get used to it.

Watching the puppies learn is a lot of fun. Their raised kennel sits on a concrete drive. There is a patch of grass between the concrete drive and the asphalt drive that wraps around. On the other side of the asphalt is more grass. The puppies were okay with the concrete drive but wouldn’t step on the asphalt for several days. After a few days I moved a chair across the asphalt and then called their mother, Abby, to me. If mom could do it so could they.

Then this morning, one of the pups was trying to get on the patio where most of the other pups were but she was at a spot where the patio was about 16 inches high. They just learned to get on the porch and that is only 6 or 7 inches high. It was crying until a couple of puppies went to check on her. She still couldn’t get up. Then another puppy came around through the yard to look at her. I could see her thinking. Hey, I can go that way. Puppies have to learn everything and that is one of the ways they do it. Watching each other.

Just puppies being puppies.

The puppies are 6 weeks old today and the guy with first pick will be by this afternoon to make his pick. Once he makes his pick I will know where most of them are going. A couple of people have made their selection if it isn’t picked by the guy with first pick. But they aren’t taking them today. I like for the puppies to stay until they are 8 weeks old, at least. But in my opinion, much longer and the pups either turn into bullies or wallflowers.

The guy that has my other two puppies, Annie and Stormy, was running them in a field trial in northern Oklahoma so I drove down to watch. Annie was in the second brace so I had to be there early. I fed Abby and the puppies so I could leave by 4:oo am. It was about 3 1/2 hours down there.

More puppies.

They were running in the open puppy class. The guy that is handling them had a side by side and I drove it hauling other spectators or handlers when their run was over. The first brace didn’t happen. Evidently someone didn’t show up and the puppy that was brought to the line kept going back to the chain gang that he had been chained to. So he was put back on the chain gang and Annie and her brace mate were ran.

Annie’s brace mate wanted to play to start with but she just went by him and went hunting. She was all business. About half way, up on a hill, she went on point. She was skylighted by standing on the hill and looked great. She was far enough in front of the handler that she stayed on point, for a minute or two, then flushed the bird. But it was a puppy class. That’s what puppies do.

Puppies.

Stormy ran later but she had a good race with no finds. But it is easy to tell that both of these pups have been worked a lot. Both of them are true puppies, with Stormy’s birthday the 25th of April, she will be 1 year old. Annie was a year old the 20th of February. They seem to get better each time I see them run.

Because of the puppies at home I drove home after the puppies ran. Another 3 1/2 hours. But I feed Abby and the puppies twice a day and I don’t like to ask anyone to do it for me.

Abby pointing a covey.

The puppies were running in the amateur the next day but it wouldn’t be until afternoon. I drove back but I didn’t leave until about 8:00 am. The handler (I’ve got to ask him if it’s okay to use his name in these posts) had a guy lined up to run the pups for him. The pro handler couldn’t run them in the amateur.

Just before I got there he called me. He and his young son put some ointment on a small cut on Annie’s foot. When they finished he told his son to put her up meaning in the truck. His son put her back in the kennel. Long story short, she was home. Too far from his kennel to go get her. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

He had Stormy with him. Then just before it was time to run her we noticed that we were braced against the guy that was supposed to run her. Originally he had asked me to run them but I felt at my age, 81 years old, I could walk 20 minutes for each heat but I knew I would be slower than the younger handlers. I didn’t want to hold someone up or be so far behind I didn’t know what was going on. But now I was it. They did offer a 4-wheeler but since there is only one dog to run I could tough it out for I brace. I had to borrow a blank pistol and GPS but I was ready.

Annie at Grove Springs break away.

I brought Stormy up on a Wonder lead and we turned them loose. She was running against a young pointer. A couple hundred yards into it both dogs went a long way to our right. We started calling and they weren’t gone long before they were both in front but covering a lot of ground. The temperature was 88 degrees with a strong south wind. Not the best of days for dog work.

Some of my dogs just get a drink out of any available water and go back to hunting. Not Stormy on this hot day. She jumped in to any available water. She was a muddy mess by the time we finished but it cooled her off. We ran in the last brace of amateur puppies.

They hadn’t given the placements on the amateur derby that was run just before the puppies. They gave those out then placed Stormy third in the puppies, the pointer we had run against was second and a German short hair was first. It was late afternoon so I jumped into the truck and went home. Another 3 1/2 hour drive.

Annie pointing an armadillo.

The next day I couldn’t believe how tired I was. My mind didn’t even work very well, if it ever does. I had driven 14 hours over Saturday and Sunday, and ran Stormy in 88 degree heat walking as fast as I could. But it was all worth it. I enjoyed both days with a bunch of people that like to do the same things I like.

Vince Dye and I ran the dogs in north central Missouri, a few days ago. With Vince and me it’s hard to know whether it’s more about the dogs or more about the good breakfast on the way. It’s hard to tell but they both are important. We stopped in down town Lawson Missouri for breakfast. I don’t remember the name of the cafe but Lawson isn’t very big. Should only be one down town and it was good.

Bodie pointing a covey.

Boss and Mann with a divided find.

Abby pointing a covey.

Vince has several places in this area to hunt but the place we were going to he had hunted twice during the season. One time he found 11 coveys and the other he found 10. Just running dogs we probably wouldn’t hunt it as close as we would hunting but it is a great place to run dogs.

Another reason we are checking this place, we have had two big storms. Once about a foot of snow and the other almost as much with super cold weather. One night it got down to minus 8 at my house and this is 50 miles farther north. So the weather could have devastated the birds.

We stopped by the owners house to make sure it was okay then drove to the farm. This friend of Vince’s has several places. After putting GPS and e-collars on the dogs, Sally, Boss, Mann, Abby and Bodie, we turned them loose. They didn’t go a hundred yards until Mann and Boss were on point, side by side. As we got closer Bodie pointed, looking into a plum thicket.

I could see Bodie real well but Mann and Boss were buried in the tall grass, side by side. Sharing a find. When I got closer I saw Abby on the other side of Mann and Boss. She was not honoring she was pointing into the plum thicket, too. When I looked back, I think, only Sally was honoring.

I took pictures then we walked in without flushing a bird. But I think they either ran from the dogs or flushed while we were putting the collars on the dogs. There was too much scent for there not being any birds. I think 4 of the dogs were pointing the same scent in different spots.

Sally honoring.

We went on around. It was a warm day and the dogs hadn’t been out of their pens since the middle of January. The were out of shape. I saw a pond and we went toward it. Before we got there Abby pointed, standing on the dam with Mann right behind her, honoring. By the time we got close the other dogs were backing.

Since we weren’t hunting Vince didn’t come on up. I tried to kick the cover in front of Abby on the down side of the dam and there was some brush hidden in the tall grass. I got my feet tangled in it and down I went. The dogs went through the cover pointing and moving. All 5 made points but we never saw a bird.

I got all of the dogs to water in the pond and we went on around. Just a little farther Sally went on point. Then Boss was close either honoring or on point, according to the GPS. Vince started around a clump of brush about 40 yards from me and walked into a big covey of quail. Neither of us had seen the dogs but they were close.

Mann honoring Abby. Abby isn’t black. She rolled in a muddy pond.

I kept watching the GPS. Neither of the dogs had moved. They were just about 40 feet from me but in the brush and tall weeds. I still couldn’t see them. I went through some brush and about 35 yards away I saw 7 or 8 quail flush. There were probably more on the other side. A few seconds later Sally came by, trailing.

I think both of these coveys were close together and when they detected either us or the dogs they started running. Had Vince stayed with me we wouldn’t have seen the first covey. If I had been back just a little farther I wouldn’t have seen the birds I saw. We were close to the property line and both coveys flew off the farm we were hunting.

We went on around an edge. The GPS showed Sally on point ahead of us. When we got close she was pointing into a thicket, then moved into the woods and pointed again. We started in and saw one quail flush about 40 yards down in the timber and heard some others. As I was standing, watching, Bodie came in front of me and pointed into a small brush pile. He only stood for about 15 seconds then started trailing.

Boss and Mann honoring Abby.

It was a warm day and with the dogs being out of shape we headed back to the truck. Actually, Vince and I aren’t in top shape either but like to blame it on the dogs being out of shape. We did see 3 coveys or we think we did and I believe 2 more ran away from the dogs that we didn’t see. A friend was hunting some pen reared birds 75 miles or so away and said they were all runners, too. Would pen reared birds and wild birds have the same traits. I don’t know but if wild birds last until late February they are smart. Maybe survivor is a better word.

Over the years, I have competed in several different kinds of field trials without really getting hooked on it. But when I heard a field trialing friend was going to run his dogs on a lease in Oklahoma where they were averaging 22 coveys a day, I sent him my puppies, Stormy and Annie. He convinced me to let him run them in some field trials. So far Stormy has placed a third and a second out of the 4 trials she has run in. Annie has made some good runs but hasn’t placed yet.

Annie at Grove Springs break away.

Some of the horses.

Annie pointing an armadillo.

It has been brought to my attention that not everyone is okay with me putting their name in my blog. That really came as a surprise to me. I never put anything in my blog that I think will hurt anyone. There may be a lot of reasons for people to feel this way but from now on I won’t name names unless I have their permission.

When I heard that Annie and Stormy would be running at Grove Springs Missouri I wanted to see them. I hadn’t seen them since November 22. There were a lot of puppies running in their class. Annie was in brace 11 and Stormy in brace 14. It’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive for me. I knew it would be late in the day before they ran but I wanted to see some of their competition. I set the alarm to get up about 4 am so I could be on the road by 5:00. I must have really wanted to see the pups. I woke up at 2:00 am and could not go back to sleep. I was on the road by 4:30.

I took Thomas, Stormy’s litter mate, that I had been working. I wanted to get him with someone that would work with him. I have too many dogs, if that’s really a thing. He made the fourth male and with the two puppies I have 4 females. I need to get rid of one more male. So next week I will try to sell Bodie. I hate to do it. He has become a great bird dog but I need the room in my kennels. That will get me down to 6 adult dogs, counting Annie and Stormy as adults. That’s how many runs I have in my kennel.

The last part of my drive to Grovesprings was in a light mist. As the day went along the mist got heavier. At noon some of the people were thinking that they would not be able to run that many braces on Saturday. They were thinking maybe a couple of braces on Sunday. That meant I would see Annie but maybe not Stormy.

Stormy in the woods.

I rode in the dog wagon part of the time and we saw some of the braces run. Some of the time I rode with the handler that has the puppies but we stayed on the road but got to see a lot of the puppies.

Finally, it was Annie’s turn to run. Her brace mate was a young pointer. At the breakaway Annie started like she knew what she was doing, after going by a couple of people in the gallery and saying, “Hello”. But she was fast and to the front as she should have been. Her brace mate kept trying to go the wrong way so his handler picked him up. Annie had the course to herself.

Judges and scouts.

She ran good but she is still a puppy. There was something that she thought she should roll in and she spent a minute or so getting the smell or whatever on. There was a terrace along a hillside with some trees. A good place for some quail and she found some. She came on through and was hunting well. Right near the end of the course and of her time she was on point. She was a couple of hundred yards from us but the handler said she was pointing an Armadillo. He said she had found 3 bunches of quail and the Armadillo. Not bad for 30 minutes. I was really pleased with the way she ran. Her handler said it was the best she had run since he had her.

He says that Annie thinks too much. That the first time she does anything she thinks it out. He says Stormy just reacts. No thinking but she is pretty much a natural. The time she won second she had 3 finds and a back. Neither he nor I have worked her on honoring. She just knows to honor.

The mist was getting heavier. Now it was a light rain but they thought they would be able to get all of the braces run. That would allow me to see both pups run.

Stormy?

It was nearly dark when they let the last brace go. Stormy was paired with a male setter. Stormy got into some quail from the get go. She was almost where Annie had pointed the Armadillo. Stormy decided she could find birds in the brush alongside the course and she was really digging in. The handler was trying to get her to come on down the course but Stormy knew better. There were birds right here.

Finally he got her across the road into the next part of the course but the next time she hit a good area for quail she went to checking every blade of grass. The handler was trying to get her out of the brush and on down the course. Finally the handler was in the brush trying to get her out and one of the scouts was off her horse helping. One of the judges stayed until time expired then he rode on. The handler and scout were trying to get her out. I was riding in a side by side with a couple of guys and she came out right in front of the side by side.

Before I could do anything she picked up a dead quail and ran past the handler to the scout about another 50 yards. The scout knelt down and Stormy took the quail to her. She grabbed her and we were able to go in.

Another picture from the trial.

By the time we got back it was dark or nearly so. The handler and I didn’t think either of them would place so I jumped in my truck and headed home. On the way he called me and said the judges wanted me to know, that Annie had done a nice job and they had her at sixth place. That’s not bad out of 28 dogs. This was the fourth trial these pups had been in and some of these puppies have been running all year. And these two are among the youngest.

I enjoyed the day and met a lot of new people that enjoyed bird dogs, just like I do. There are a few more trials before the season ends and I will leave the puppies with him. I hope to watch them run another time or two.