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Why we play this game.
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:07 pm
by Garrison
I went to one of my favorite spots this morning with my father in-law. We were both rewarded with the best piece of bird work that my young setter has shown me, actually the best piece of work from any dog that I have ever owned.
We were in an absolutely beautiful spot, close to where the opening scene of a classic TV Western was filmed. With workable coveys of valley and mountain quail mixed in to ponderosa pines, manzanita and pockets of meadow, I try to get up there as much as possible.
We came out of some thick manzanita in to a clearing and he quickly opened up to work down an edge. He ran down the edge and looped back headed towards an island of trees in the middle of the meadow. As he passed the cover in the middle at full stride, he jumped to clear a cactus. Completely stretched out and in mid air he caught scent and turned about 95 degrees to his right and locked up while in flight. He stuck the landing and was rock solid. I kicked around the cover in the middle of the meadow and nothing. I went to release him and he wouldn’t budge. I worked it again and still no bird so I kept on towards the edge that he hadn’t worked yet and boom, a pair holding about 25’ across the meadow on the opposites edge.
Just awesome!
Garrison
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:31 pm
by shags
Moments like that make all the training, all the drills, all the aggravation that comes with birddogs - totally worth it.
Congrats
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:29 pm
by deseeker
I love it when it all comes together
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:24 pm
by Garrison
shags wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:31 pm
Moments like that make all the training, all the drills, all the aggravation that comes with birddogs - totally worth it.
Congrats
So true, I smiled the whole hour it took me to pull the cactus thorns out of my shorthair who at 10 should probably know better and during the tailgate operation to trim the flap of skin that was dangling over his eye......I didn’t even yell at them to be quite when they woke me up last night barking at something outside in their kennels!
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2020 7:24 am
by NEhomer
Garrison wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:07 pm
I went to one of my favorite spots this morning with my father in-law. We were both rewarded with the best piece of bird work that my young setter has shown me, actually the best piece of work from any dog that I have ever owned.
We were in an absolutely beautiful spot, close to where the opening scene of a classic TV Western was filmed. With workable coveys of valley and mountain quail mixed in to ponderosa pines, manzanita and pockets of meadow, I try to get up there as much as possible.
We came out of some thick manzanita in to a clearing and he quickly opened up to work down an edge. He ran down the edge and looped back headed towards an island of trees in the middle of the meadow. As he passed the cover in the middle at full stride, he jumped to clear a cactus. Completely stretched out and in mid air he caught scent and turned about 95 degrees to his right and locked up while in flight. He stuck the landing and was rock solid. I kicked around the cover in the middle of the meadow and nothing. I went to release him and he wouldn’t budge. I worked it again and still no bird so I kept on towards the edge that he hadn’t worked yet and boom, a pair holding about 25’ across the meadow on the opposites edge.
Just awesome!
Garrison
Terrific story. Reminds me of a time a few years back while I was training with Whip. He had leaped high and long over the patch of grass you see to the right. In that patch of grass was a release trap with a pigeon in it. He scented it and turned mid-air like you describe and stuck the landing like Spiderman on a wall. I'm guessing the point looked something like this!
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2020 8:32 pm
by Garrison
NEhomer wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 7:24 am
Garrison wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:07 pm
I went to one of my favorite spots this morning with my father in-law. We were both rewarded with the best piece of bird work that my young setter has shown me, actually the best piece of work from any dog that I have ever owned.
We were in an absolutely beautiful spot, close to where the opening scene of a classic TV Western was filmed. With workable coveys of valley and mountain quail mixed in to ponderosa pines, manzanita and pockets of meadow, I try to get up there as much as possible.
We came out of some thick manzanita in to a clearing and he quickly opened up to work down an edge. He ran down the edge and looped back headed towards an island of trees in the middle of the meadow. As he passed the cover in the middle at full stride, he jumped to clear a cactus. Completely stretched out and in mid air he caught scent and turned about 95 degrees to his right and locked up while in flight. He stuck the landing and was rock solid. I kicked around the cover in the middle of the meadow and nothing. I went to release him and he wouldn’t budge. I worked it again and still no bird so I kept on towards the edge that he hadn’t worked yet and boom, a pair holding about 25’ across the meadow on the opposites edge.
Just awesome!
Garrison
Terrific story. Reminds me of a time a few years back while I was training with Whip. He had leaped high and long over the patch of grass you see to the right. In that patch of grass was a release trap with a pigeon in it. He scented it and turned mid-air like you describe and stuck the landing like Spiderman on a wall. I'm guessing the point looked something like this!
Yes!!
Re: Why we play this game.
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 5:21 am
by NEhomer
Lol!
....indeed why we play this game!