Post
by gonehuntin' » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:04 am
There's an excellent breeder of Drahthaars in Caldwell, Idaho named Paul Trout. He has Vomorion kennels. I'd at least give he and his dog's a look. I have one and here is a story of an encounter she had Sunday.
"Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:35 pm Post subject: A Most Amazing Story.
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If many of you remember, this spring or last fall there was a thread on here that go me upset about sharpness in Draht's. This is the story of a most amazing encounter that addresses that.
I couldn't hunt Saturday, our Grouse opener because of work so bright and early Sunday a friend, my dog and I headed North. Saturday was a cooler day, but what the heck, it was time to hunt and the weather wasn't too hot. We hunted fruitlessly for several hours and when leaving one spot, met a government trapper coming in with two bear in culvert traps and two beaver in cages to let go. Interesting. That was the height of excitement for the day so far. That would change.
We hit a cover about 2:00 P.M. I like it the later the day gets because it's the perfect mix for grouse. 10-15 year Aspen, Evergreen, and a fine gravel road that bisects it. We started in and immediately the dog flushed one bird. I wasn't clear whether she bumped it, flushed it, or came in upwind of it.
We proceeded and an hour later, here came one very sorry looking two year old out of the woods with a face that resembled a well used pin cushion. The fella hunting with me absolutely loves that dog and there were tears in his eyes when he saw her.
She came up to me and I downed her on the road. I wouldn't go in the wood's without a leatherman and thank goodness, mine was handy. She had between 70 and 100 quills in her; nose, ears, chest, legs, and the inside of her mouth just loaded. I pulled the ears, nose, legs then rolled her over and opened her mouth. She lay quietly on her back, let me open her mouth and start pulling quills. She never whimpered, never whined, never tried to pull away, never tried to bite. She just lay there while I extracted 25-30 quills from the inside of her mouth. We then finished the hunt where she put in a fine preformance.
Back at home I discovered a tiny quill in the roof of her mouth I had missed. First thing this morning I took her to the vet's. Same deal. I layed her on the floor, opened her mouth, and the lady vet plucked three more quills out of the roof of her mouth. Again, she never tried to wiggle away, close her mouth, or bite. When we let her sit up the vet gave her a hug and got a big lick in return. She told me that in her entire life as a vet, she had never seen a dog that had such trust in people that she would submit like that with no anesthetic used. She couldn't believe it.
In a life time of dog's spanning nearly 50 years, part of that as a professional trainer, haveing trained numerous FC labradors and nearly every common sporting breed, I have never seen a performance like this one. There is no title that dog ever could win, no feat she could ever accomplish, that would make me any prouder of how she handled that de-quilling. I consider it a hugh testament to the breeder, Paul Trout of Vomorion Kennels in Caldwell, Idaho that he produces dogs with such outstanding ability and temperament. My hat is off to he and his outstanding kennel program. Thank You Paul. "
I have de-quilled many dogs in my lifetime and usually the legs, chest, and face, aren't a problem. The inside of the mouth always is. That's what made this so unusual. The dog quietly lay there with mouth open so the quills could be removed.
LIFE WITHOUT BIRD DOGS AND FLY RODS REALLY ISN'T LIFE AT ALL.
