Traveling Pointing Dogs

Boss, Bodie and Gus are in Nebraska/South Dakota. The guy that has them showed some pictures of the cover and it was really green. Last year he had a lot of birds and he’s expecting even more this year. Should be really good for the young dogs. Hopefully, all of this last litter of puppies will be with their new owners and I will be able to take a trip or two to the same area that these dogs are at now. I would like to check on their progress.

Puppies with the formula mixed with softened puppy chow.

They love to chew on my pants leg.

Gracie pointing a pigeon.

Most of the recent pictures I have are on my phone. I haven’t figured out how to move them from my phone to the blog so I take a photo of the pictures on my phone, with my camera. That works but it’s not always as good as a picture from the camera.

I have been only putting Abby with the pups a couple of times a day. Early morning and late evening for about 30 minutes. They were 5 weeks old Friday, 7/7/23. That’s old enough to start eating food, especially, softened puppy chow. I soak it in water before adding it to the formula I mix for the puppies. Just about a week ago they weren’t eating all of the formula but in the last few days they clean the pan of formula and the puppy chow.

This morning for the first time I locked the wings on a pigeon and let the puppies find it. Actually, I locked the wing on 3 pigeons for them. The first one got it’s wings unlocked before a puppy even saw it and flew away. The second one had 2 puppies next to it when it got it’s wings unlocked and flew away. But the third one worked perfect and a couple of the puppies really enjoyed the bird. The pigeon, probably, didn’t enjoy it that much.

We had our monthly brunch for the kids, grandkids and great grand kids last weekend. There were probably about 15 people out petting the puppies. Also, I had two guys, at different times, bring 2 grand kids each to see the puppies. Then I had a couple bring two little girls over. So this last week has been a busy one for the puppies.

Abby has been fighting a problem with her eye for over a week. I thought I had found something in it and expected it to get better. No such luck. I didn’t want to wait through the weekend to get her checked so I took her to my vet. He checked her eye and couldn’t find anything. Vets dig in to find anything. I can’t do that to them or me. Just as he was getting ready to quit he saw just a little bump that he thought was a small tumor. When he touched it it came off. A really small grass seed near the corner of the eye. He checked it with some dye but that little seed must have been the problem. I’ve been putting some drops in the eye but it looks to be completely healed. That little seed wasn’t as big as a head of a straight pin.

Gracie and a pigeon staring each other down.

This morning I put the formula and puppy chow in the puppy pen and cleaned their pen while they were eating. If I don’t do it this way they are underfoot or in my pan that I scoop the poop into. Then I turned all of the older dogs out and cleaned their pens. I’m still feeding Abby twice a day. I let all of the dogs back into their kennel and when Abby was through eating I let her in with her puppies. I turned Gracie out and tied her to a stake.

I had also put bark collars on Sally, Mann and Abby. When the pigeons come back to their coop the older dogs bark a lot without the bark collars. I hid 4 pigeons on the training grounds for Gracie. I hid 1 pigeon on my side, but I rode the complete circle, and 3 on my neighbor’s side. I like to put plenty of 4-wheeler tracks down so the dog doesn’t learn to just follow the 4-wheeler tracks to the bird.

Gracie pointing a pigeon.

Gracie would like to jump on me when I come to take her off the stake but I stand back until she sits. I don’t say anything I just wait. She’s used to it now and sits pretty quick but it wasn’t always that way. I make her sit for a few seconds after I drop the chain as I pet her. I don’t want the dropping of the chain to be her cue to take off.

At 3 months old she stays right in front of me on the way to the bird field. When we got close to the first bird she started slinking around. I don’t like this but until she learns to trust her nose she will do this from time to time. With her slinking around I walked past her. This got her to moving again and she hit the scent cone on the first pigeon and pointed.

When she pointed I stopped and just watched her. She is really steady. I don’t like to leave her on point very long at this age. After about 30 seconds I flushed the pigeon. It hit some brush that it was hidden in and she almost caught it. It came out right over her head and flew away. She seldom slinks around after the first pigeon.

Bodie

We went all the way to the back on my side and back to the crossing to the neighbor’s side. For some reason she could not place this next bird. She knew there was one close but never pointed. When she got close I flushed the pigeon. I think flushing some birds before they point is very important. It makes them more cautious around bird scent and it will happen to them if they get too close to a wild bird.

She was a long way from the next bird, but had the wind in her face, when she pointed. I watched her for about 30 seconds and she didn’t move. I stroked her sides and belly telling her what a good dog she is. I don’t say anything or touch them very often but still they need some of it. But mostly they need me to stand still and be quiet. Again, after about 30 seconds I flushed the pigeon. It fluttered around a little and landed next to the trap.

Boss honoring Sally.

When it fluttered she was charging. She chased it through the brush for just a few seconds and caught it. I knelt down and called her to me. She wanted me to see it but not to have it. She came close but wasn’t stopping. I got her turned to my side and I petted her. I petted her for over a minute, probably, while she held the pigeon. When I reached for it she turned it loose. I think she was tired of having it in her mouth.

The bird wasn’t hurt but was probably a really young pigeon. When they get about 3/4 grown it’s hard to tell them from an adult bird. Since it didn’t fly well or at all I carried it back to the pigeon coop.

But we still had one more bird out. We were walking into the light north east wind and she smelled this one a long way off and pointed. After catching the last one I thought she might try to move but when she hadn’t moved in about 30 seconds I flushed the pigeon. This one, too, fluttered around and she was right there but it flew away with her right behind it.

Gus.

I like for them to be chasing at least 50 yards before I introduce the blank pistol but she’s not old enough or fast enough, yet. I’ll wait. There is a long time before bird season.

I don’t know why it’s called the dog days of summer. It’s way too hot, even early morning, to work dogs. At 6:00 am this morning it was 78 degrees. I usually wait until it rains, where I can’t get outside, to write on my blog but when it goes over 90 by lunch time that’s good enough. That usually puts me in the house for the afternoon.

Gracie yesterday on a pigeon.

Puppies drinking the formula that I mix for them.

Another shot of them eating.

The puppies are growing and learning to eat or at least to drink the formula I mix up for them. I’m, also, playing the Master’s Voice gun conditioning CD for them twice a day when I give them the milk. They seldom hear the end of the CD. The formula puts them to sleep within minutes of them finishing eating.

Usually, the CD plays through and quits after each track has played. This morning it was still playing when I got down to the shed with their morning food. Supposedly, the Mexicans played the same song over and over for 24 hours before they attacked the Alamo. That must have been what that CD was like for the puppies and Abby. When they went to sleep it was playing, when they woke up it was playing. After they finished their milk this morning, I stopped the CD.

I weigh the puppies each Friday to make sure they are growing and to know how much worm medicine to give them. Some of them are getting out of the whelping box but just into another box about like the whelping box. There is a dog door to go outside in this box. When they get big enough to get outside I will have to move them to the kennels. I can’t take a chance on one or more of them being outside during a rain storm or where a varmint might catch them.

Three guys that have bought dogs from me before have bought the 3 males. One will be going to North Carolina, one to Mississippi and one will be just about a mile from me. I have two of the females sold. One will go near Topeka Kansas and the other to northern Missouri. So that leaves 3 females. The pups will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and are starting to get personalities. They have started playing with each other and not sleeping quite as much as before.

Sunday we will have our monthly brunch for kids, grandkids and great grandkids. They all have to play with the puppies which is good for everyone. Through out the week I have people that stop by to pet the puppies but Sunday there will be enough people to really tire them out. This is good for the pups and the grandkids and great grandkids.

Gracie, the puppy from the previous litter, is still being worked on pigeons in the release traps, occasionally. I walk her to the back every day, and most days morning and evening, but I only put birds out part of the time. This keeps the pups from going on point where I have hidden a bird for them in the past, I think. Gus, Bodie and Boss will be on their way to Nebraska and South Dakota, probably next week. Bodie and Boss have been gone for a month and Gus a couple of weeks.

Gracie in the clump of brush with the pigeon.

I worked Gracie a couple of mornings ago on 4 pigeons in the release traps. While I hid the birds I had her chained to a stake out post. That was the best she’s ever done. I never heard her whine or bark all the time I was hiding the birds. She did try to jump on me when I came to take her off the chain. I just stood back and waited. Soon she stopped jumping around but when I reached for the chain she jumped again. We did that 3 or 4 times and I just stepped back and waited. I didn’t say anything. I just let her figure out what would work. She finally stood without jumping. I took the chain off and petted her. I still didn’t let her move until I was ready.

She saw me get the pigeons out of the coop and ride to the back with them but she still doesn’t expect them to be on the training grounds. In a few weeks she will know the difference. She will be beating me to the bird field but for right now she waits for me.

A lot of times I put the first bird a long way into the bird field but on this day I had it near the front. It was warm and almost no wind but she hit the scent and stopped. She is intense but doesn’t always have style. Usually, her tail is about level with her back but when she’s close and getting a lot of scent her tail comes up. On this point she was a ways from the pigeon and the tail was level. I watched her for a while and she didn’t move. I don’t like to leave them on point real long when they are this young. After 30 to 45 seconds I flushed the bird. She chased but not far.

Another point in the clump of brush.

I had placed the next bird in a place that was holding onto the scent or something. We went completely around the clump it was hid in and she never got a whiff of scent. There was almost no wind. When she was close I flushed the bird and it flew right in front of her. She chased for a long way then came back.

When she got with 15 yards of the next bird she pointed. Again, the tail was straight but about level with her back. I watched her for several seconds, maybe 45, then flushed the pigeon. The bird never even flapped it’s wings. It lit right next to the trap. Gracie moved about 2 steps and went back on point. This clump was thick and some of the stuff had small thorns. I tried to get the pigeon to fly without getting scratched. I took a stick and tried to make the pigeon fly but that didn’t work.

Oh well. I tried to call Gracie away but she wouldn’t come. I went back and carried her about 30 yards and set her on the ground. She went back and pointed the pigeon. I decided that was what I wanted her to do. So I watched and tried unsuccessfully to get it to fly. But when it ran for a ways Gracie would move but point, with a lot of style, when she got close.

Bodie pointing last quail season.

I don’t recall how many points Gracie made on this one pigeon but a lot. Finally, the pigeon was getting tired of this and started moving through the brush. Gracie started trying to catch the pigeon without actually touching it. There was a small tree inside the clump and the pigeon started circling it with Gracie right behind.

Then it moved through the brush and Gracie caught it by using her foot. Then she would let it go and chase some more. She still didn’t want to grab the bird with her mouth. But she was getting more aggressive with her feet. I walked about half way around the clump of brush and when I looked back Gracie had the pigeon by the wing and was looking for me. She had finally picked it up with her mouth.

I called her to me. She had her head as high as she could get it and was dragging the pigeon to me. She was still 20 yards from me when she dropped the wing. Before the pigeon even knew it was loose she grabbed it by the head. I called her and she came right to me. She was really proud of her prize. I petted her until she turned the pigeon loose. I took the bird back to the coop and it’s still alive. In fact she never even hurt it.

Boss on point with Abby backing.

That was really good for Gracie. If she had of went with me when I carried her away she would have missed a lot of good training. It’s not always a bad thing when they catch a bird. She is only 3 months old and this should really help her drive to find birds. And it taught me something. Don’t be in such a hurry.

We got close to the fourth bird and she smelled it from a good distance. But she was still fired up from the last bird and got too close. I was expecting that and flushed this one before she got too close. She chased a short distance and we went back to the kennel.

Sally, Gracie’s mom, is 7 years old this month and my vet wasn’t real happy with me breeding her at 6 years of age. I didn’t think that was too old but after doing some research, he was right. But Sally raised a small litter and seems very healthy. Bird season before last Sally was in heat in November and she couldn’t hunt most of the start of the season. Last season she was in heat in January and I lost her for almost another month. I decided since I wasn’t going to breed her ever again to get her spayed.

Boss pointing a single, with Abby in the center with Bodie closest to the camera, honoring

That happened last Thursday and at the same time I had a hernia fixed on her. My vet had said that it was just fat hanging out when she was young and there was no reason to fix it. I think he’s reluctant to put a dog to sleep unless it’s necessary. I think the hernia spot is more sore than the spaying. The vet tech said to keep her quiet for 5 days and even then not much activity until the stitches are removed at 10 days.

She’s been in a wire cage in my basement for a week now. I could take her back to the kennel but it’s near a hundred degrees and she’s been in an air conditioned place for a week. Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same but then it should cool down. I’ll wait until then to take her back.

Sally is a real easy keeper. I take her out on a leash every 3 or 4 hours for a short walk, during the day. She has never barked or whined wanting out. She is a talker and at the kennel she’s pretty loud but here in the house she talks to me quietly. She even comes to me for her pills although she tries to spit them out. I dropped them as far as possible into her mouth and push them back with my finger then blow in her nose. She swallows them right down.

This is Mann pointing a covey with Abby in the middle and Boss close to the camera, honoring.

I’m hoping there are a lot of wild birds for the three, Boss, Bodie and Gus to work. I’m looking forward to the reports from Nebraska and South Dakota. Nothing makes bird dogs like wild birds.

The latest litter, from Abby and Mann, are doing fine. Abby is a good mother and the puppies are growing fast. But they should be. I’m feeding Abby 4 cups of dry dog food of the morning and 4 cups each evening. I don’t know how many calories that is but the pups are staying fat and Abby looks good. That may be more than she needs but as long as she’s feeding this litter I will keep giving her as much as she will eat. There are only 3 females left to sell.

Puppies in their whelping box.

Puppies with their new collars.

Puppies in the grass.

I have been working Gus and Gracie on pigeons, in the release traps. Both of them were doing really well but Gus was getting too fast for me. He really likes the pigeons and when I released him at the kennel he would beat me to the first bird. With him way ahead, when he found the bird, I had no way of knowing whether he was creeping or running around the trap or what, before I got there. So I started putting him on a leash.

Now these dogs are smart enough to hunt harder when I have birds out than when I don’t. I walk them through the bird field maybe 3 times to every time I have birds out. Walking them through the bird field with no birds out makes them hammer the birds when they’re out and keeps them from being so sticky.

The leash worked well for a few trips. To make the dogs really have to use their nose I sometimes put 1 trap on my side and 3 on my neighbor’s side or vice versa. Anything to change it where they have to find the bird. If they point where I had a bird last week or whatever, I just keep walking. I do sometimes tell them, “you’re not smelling a bird. You may as well come on.”

Then Gus, when I unsnapped the leash might point one on my side or even go to the neighbor’s side and I would have to hunt for him. Most of the time when I found him he would be on point but I was back to not knowing whether he had moved before I saw him. The way I work these pups is, they point and I flush the bird at their first movement. But if he’s way ahead of me I don’t know whether he’s moved or not.

The first of June I had taken Boss and Bodie to a guy that was going to northern Nebraska and South Dakota. He will run them from a horse on wild birds. Last year he had a lot of prairie grouse to work the dogs on. I thought that would be good for Boss and Bodie.

I could have maybe kept up with Gus on the 4-wheeler but I called my man that had Boss and Bodie to see if he had room for one more. And he did. So, hopefully, he will be able to keep up with him and get him into a lot of wild birds. The wild birds will not sit for a lot of movement.

Gracie, straight tail but level with her back.

That’s the way we used to train dogs. Just take them hunting and they would chase for a while then start pointing. If they moved the birds flushed. The dogs would rather point than chase so they learned to hold point. That’s the way I try to make the pigeons, in the release trap, work. When the dog points I flush the pigeon at their first movement. If they point with a raised foot, even if they ease the foot to the ground, I flush the bird when the foot touches. I want them to learn that any movement on their part and the bird is gone.

I still have Gracie to work on the pigeons. She hasn’t figured out when I have birds out and when we are just going for a walk. I walk her most mornings and most evenings. I started her by carrying a bag of birds and hiding one in the strips of grass that I have left on both sides of the training grounds. After a few trips like that I introduced her to the release traps.

Gracie, a little better.

To do that I took a bag of birds and placed a release trap about 10 yards from her. I teased her with a bird until she became excited and I let the pigeon fly away. After a couple of pigeons I let her watch me place a pigeon in the release trap and I let another pigeon fly from my hand. While she was watching it I flushed one from the release trap. The trap didn’t bother her so I moved it closer. I kept flushing one from my hand then one from the release trap.

Only when I was sure the release traps didn’t bother her at all did I hide some birds, in the release traps, on the training grounds. For most dogs this may not be necessary but if you’re wrong on your dog it’s much harder to cure them of trap shyness than it is to start them right.

Gus pointing a pigeon.

I have only worked Gracie a few times on birds in the release traps so she hasn’t figured out when I have birds hidden and when I haven’t. But it won’t be long. This morning I hid 4 birds and came back and turned Gracie loose. She checked all of her favorite places on the way down. She was probably behind me as much as she was ahead. I have a burn pile just at the edge of the training grounds and as we passed the burn pile she found a stick to carry.

There was a bird hidden not far from the burn pile. As she ran in front of me, with the stick in her mouth, she hit the scent cone. I wish I had been videoing. She hit the scent cone, from about 10 yards away, and whirled into a point. Her tail was straight and rigid but was level with her back. I watched her for about thirty seconds and she didn’t move. I flushed the pigeon. I don’t like to have them point too long. She’s just a few days over 11 weeks old.

Miss Gracie.

When we got close to the next pigeon, I had hidden one in a grass strip, she was way off, maybe 15 yards, when she pointed. She was just barely getting the scent and wasn’t very intense but she knew where the bird was. She had a foot up and as I watched she started lowering the foot. The moment it touched the ground I flushed the pigeon. She’s too young to chase much but she tries.

The third bird she looked good on. She was closer when she hit the scent cone and her tail was up some. About 10:00 o’clock. I don’t try to brush their tail up at this age. Delmar Smith says, and I believe, that the parents put the tail where it will be. Anyway, so far she has a straight tail, and I think it will come up as she gets more used to pointing birds. She didn’t move for a long time, 45 seconds or more, so I flushed the pigeon.

The fourth bird, she pointed from a long distance. Her style wasn’t great but she was opening and closing her mouth. What I call chewing the scent so I knew she had it. She also was looking right where the bird was. There was no doubt for either of us. I flushed the pigeon after about 30 seconds. A young bird flew into a tree right above the trap. She pointed with more style because she could see this bird. We went to the shed.

Bodie on point.

When we get to the shed I put a check cord on her and grab a small retrieving dummy. This morning she grabbed the dummy before I got the check cord. I carried the check cord to my chair in the shade. I called her to me and put the check cord on her and petted her until she dropped the dummy. I was using a paint roller cover but her and Gus both seemed to like the dummy better. I tossed the dummy about 10 feet away. She is really quick to grab the dummy and most of the time returns to me but sometimes I have to call her as I pull on the check cord. I only throw the dummy 3 times. I want to leave her wanting more. But I do the 3 times both morning and evening.

As warm as it is now she is thirsty when we get to the kennel and ready to go back in her kennel, most of the time. I think this helps teach the kennel command. Each time as she goes through the gate I say, “kennel”.

Bodie honoring.

I really enjoy having the puppies point the pigeons. Although I miss Gus, I think he’s in a better place to learn to be a bird dog. And having Gracie to work with will keep me walking around and I will have one puppy to work with.

We had 3 survivors in Sally and Mann’s litter and I kept the left over female. I could not see any difference in the three pups other than color. The first pup picked went to Nebraska to a hunting home and the second went home with Don and Linda Hansen. Since we hunt together I will be able to keep a close eye on her. So the remaining puppy is still here and I’m working her occasionally on pigeons hidden in the grass. This will be the last litter out of Sally and I wanted to keep a female.

Miss Gracie.

Gus pointing a pigeon.

Gracie finding the dog food I threw in the grass.

My vet wasn’t happy that I had bred Sally at 6 years old. His advice was to quit breeding them at 5 years old. But by the time he told me this she was already pregnant. So to keep me, in a weak moment, from breeding her again I will have her spayed in a few weeks. Sally and Mann have been really good dogs so I thought, although Boss is out of their breeding, I should have a female.

Now to the new litter. Mann is the sire of this one and the dam is Abby. I put Abby in my shed with a dog door to my big pen. The shed is about a hundred yards from the house and usually before I would get up 2 or 3 times each night and walk down there to check the females. The last few litters I have used one of my security cameras. With it I can just check the camera, on my cell phone, without even getting up and go right back to sleep.

In fact when Sally had her litter I was 10 miles away working on my duplex. Occasionally, I would check my phone and when she had a puppy I could her it squealing. I left the duplex to be with them.

The night that Abby had her litter June and I went to eat with our son and his wife. We sat outside at the cafe we ate at. A nice cool evening with almost no wind. I checked on Abby a time or two. As we drove home we hit a squall line of driving rain with strong winds. It was raining so hard we could hardly see the road. Finally, when we got close to the house we were out of the rain and wind. Actually, it looked like we got almost no rain.

I checked the phone and Abby had a puppy and I could hear it crying. I headed down to the shed but before I got close I could hear puppies crying. My first thought was they had to be really loud for me to hear them outside the shed. Then I saw a puppy lying in the grass. Then another. These two puppies were squalling really loud. I grabbed them and took them into the shed but I had seen 2 more puppies in the big pen. I got them into the shed and called June to come help me dry and get them warm.

Abby’s pedigree.

The first two puppies I had picked up were outside the pen that Abby could get into. I don’t know how they had gotten where they were. We had got a little rain and the grass was wet. I don’t know if Abby had the puppies in the yard or whether she carried them from the shed when the storm blew through. The puppies were really cold even after we dried them. We put them on the heat pad. Abby had 5 puppies at this time. I went into the yard 4 or 5 times with a flashlight to make sure there were no more puppies outside in the grass.

Abby had 2 more puppies while I sat with her. I thought she was through having puppies about midnight. I still woke up and checked on her during the night. She was locked in the shed so I knew she couldn’t leave or get the puppies out. About 5:00 am I went back down to check on her. She had had another puppy and we were up to 8. All were warm and their stomachs looked full.

Mann’s pedigree.

She has 5 females and 3 males. I think we have 3 puppies with some black spots, maybe tri-colors. Two of them are females and one is a male. The other 5 are white with some orange.

I had a long list of people wanting a puppy but when I started calling them when Sally had her 3, most of them backed out. I don’t require anyone to put up a deposit so it’s easy to back out.

Now I have 6 of these puppies needing homes. The way my list is when you tell me you want a puppy I put you on my list. I don’t pick your puppy. Where you are on the list is when you make your pick. The next person to tell me they want a puppy will have the third pick. If all of the males are picked and you are wanting a male I will notify you as soon as I get your e-mail.

Bodie, a pup from Abby and Mann’s last litter.

If anyone is interested in one of these puppies they are $600.00 and located in Independence Missouri. You can contact me through an e-mail to windypointsj1s@aol.com. I will put Abby and Mann’s 5 generation pedigree in this post.