It’s been a while since I have posted anything on the blog. I’ve been working the dogs most mornings on something. The 4 older dogs (Sally, Abby, Boss and Mann), I work on a little retrieving then let them “happy time”. Sally and Mann retrieve a Dokken quail 3 times and each time they get a chunk of hot dog. Abby had quit even trying to retrieve and I put her back on the bench and got her straightened out. Now she retrieve a frozen quail about 5 times each morning. Boss never has liked retrieving so I toss a frozen quail 3 or 4 times, not very far, for him.
Sally on point with Mann and Bodie honoring.
Abby was about a hundred yards back honoring Sally.
Gus was in a different direction, honoring Sally.
Last week I took all 6 dogs to a walk-in place in Kansas. The property was a half section with about 80 acres of soybeans along the southwest corner. The rest of the property was pasture and after I got into it a way, I could see it was grazed more than it looked like from the road. It still was a good place to run dogs. It was flat and with the short grass I could see them a long way.
On the way out I thought I would run 3 dogs on the first place and then the rest on another, but it was getting warm, quick. I turned them all loose on the first.
This was good for Gus. I put his GPS collar on him before I turned any of the others out. I heeled him up and down the road edge whoaing him occasionally. Although he’s doing pretty good at home on whoa he doesn’t know he has to whoa at another place. Then while I put e-collars and GPS collars on the others he crossed into the field across the road. When I called him he didn’t remember how to cross a barb wire fence. I walked away from him.
Finally, he crossed that fence but there was another on the pasture I was in. The grass was pretty high in the fence row and he had a hard time figuring it out. I crossed a ditch as I called him. He came to me. He was pretty proud of himself.
We stayed about 200 yards from the soybean field as we went to the north. The ground at the north end of the soybeans was pretty rough and the dogs worked it. As they came through the rough ground then back to the middle where I was,
Sally pointed. She was standing about 50 yards in front of me when I saw her. Bodie and Mann were pretty close to her and honored. Abby was about a hundred yards off but she honored from there. A dog honored fairly close to me and I thought it was Boss. All of the dogs will honor except Gus has never been worked on backing.
Gus on point.
I just didn’t pay any attention although I took a picture. I didn’t realize until I put the picture on the blog that it was Gus. I believe that was the first time he ever saw a dog on point. But he honored and did it with style.
When I got close to Sally, she moved up, trailing. When she moved the other dogs started trailing, too. Sally had been right on the top of a ridge and there may have been some prairie chickens there earlier. But any way we never came up with anything.
We went in about a half mile and moved over next to the soybeans and came back. Right along the fence line was a patch of sumac that Boss pointed in. When I got close, he started trailing. Abby went into the sumac patch and trailed too. Again, we never came up with anything. When we got back to the truck, I loaded the dogs. This time when he came to the barb wire fence Gus had no trouble crossing.
It had warmed too much for the dogs, so I drove by checking properties. There were some smaller properties I would have turned some of the dogs out on but most still had soybeans standing in the field. This time of year, a dog or dogs, will knock a lot of soybeans off. After checking several places, we went home.
Bodie pointing a chukar.
Vince Dye and I got some chukars and took Gus and Bodie to a friend of his farm. Where we bought the chukars had got about a half inch of rain the night before. The field we were working the dogs in didn’t get much rain at all. Several times it has been wetter from dew than what it was this time.
We put out 2 chukars and turned Gus loose. When he got close to the first one, he pointed. I took some pictures then went around where I could walk straight to his face. When I tried to get the bird to fly it just stood there. I kicked close and Gus ran in and grabbed the chukar. He carried it around for a while then I took it from him. The bird wasn’t hurt so Vince hid it again while I worked Gus toward the next bird.
The wind was blowing pretty good, and Gus pointed several yards from the chukar. I like to get the bird between me and the dog when I flush so I made the circle and walked toward his face. I saw the chukar lying on his back. I thought it was dead but when I kicked it ran a few feet before Gus caught it. I let him carry it for a little while then took it from him.
Gus with a chukar.
Vince had hidden the first bird for Gus. I worked him into that area. He pointed and when I walked in I picked the chukar up and tossed it into the air. It barely flew and started toward the ground, so I shot into the air. Gus had him when he hit the ground. I let him carry it a little while then took the bird from him. We put him in the truck.
We moved to a new area and hid two more birds. I turned Bodie loose. When he pointed, I got in front of him and walked in. When I kicked the grass the chukar just ran a few feet before Bodie caught him. I whoaed Bodie and petted him until he was ready to drop the bird.
Sally retrieving.
This wasn’t working very well but I worked him toward the next bird. He pointed. When I got close to this bird, I pushed my toe under it and forced it into the air. It flew straight up, and I missed it with the first shot. When it topped out it flew into the wind, and I missed with the second shot. The bird didn’t fly a hundred yards and landed. Bodie was right behind him and scooped him up. He came back close to me and dropped the bird. I picked it up. We went back to the truck but decided this was not good for the pups.
I still had 6 chukars, so when I got home, I put them in with my pigeons. We will try them another day. I think when we go back I will take release traps. Maybe that will get them to fly.