First Outing

Loaded up a truckload of dogs to work this morning that included Pete and Maggie that arrived Saturday afternoon.  I know some have accused me of at least hyperbole when reporting bird counts during the training and hunting season do I don't want to sound to pretentious about covers, etc but this morning was a perfect example of what I have to put up with.  Here at the kennel I've got a 45 minute loop that is a perfect place to let a dog hunt while working on pattern and handling but the puppies boosted a grouse off a nest 10 days or so ago so I've been staying off that loop and keeping the puppies lower down in the woods around the bird field.  Today I wanted someplace to run where I wouldn't disturb any nesting birds and that's not as easy as it may sound (really).  Just up the road from me is a place I like to let the dogs run, it's bordered by a wide canal on one side and the main river on another.  It's a good safe place to let a dog run and usually this time of year you can make a short loop without finding any birds.  Pete was first out of the truck and handled great, made some good casts, and looked great on the ground.  His application was a little erratic and at times he came all the way back in to check in but I'm sure once he spends more time with me and gets into birds on a regular basis he'll apply himself with more intensity and consistency.

Pete popping out of the cover after a good cast into the alders and poplar cover along this gated road.

Maggie was up next and showed a willingness to listen, and good application, as she hunted her way around the loop.  This cover usually has woodcock later in the summer and can be unbelievable if you hit it just right during the woodcock flights.  There are usually a few grouse in here as well but they're on the other side of the canal and we didn't go over there today.

Maggie passing in front of me this morning as she crosses from one piece of the cover to another.

Brandy was next and this was the first time she's run with a bell.  It freaked her out a first but she did got used to it.  Finally I took LJ out for the same loop.  Now he's run here many times and reached out further then the new dogs as one would expect.  That's when my plan went astray.  LJ's bell stopped down in a little basin next to the river and I flushed a woodcock when I went to him.  I didn't see a nest (they should already be hatched out) nor did I see any chicks.  If there's woodcock in this cover now they should be around most of the summer which will be handy.

Ran the puppies before the big dogs and the apple trees are getting close to full bloom.  It was very wet this morning and I didn't want to put out any quail as wet quail often become dead quail when little puppies are in hot pursuit.  The Belle pups still had a find on a bird that had stayed out from a previous day's release.  

Some of the more than 200 apple trees here at the kennel.  Kind of makes the name of the place obvious.

Another day at the office

The puppies continue on their walks and as you can see from the videos are hunting for birds now.  Maggie and Pete are still in the get acquainted stage of things as we go through a yard work refresher with them.

Maggie spending some time on the barrel as we get know each other.

Mini Camp

Like a sports team, we have some early arrivals for our summer training camp.  This was due to the schedule of the dog hauler.  Maggie (a pointer for a client via Brad Lambert in WV) and Pete from Virginia arrived around 5:30 yesterday afternoon via Joe of Buckeye Dog Haulers.  I was really impressed with Joe calling me when he picked the dogs up and then periodically along the way refining his ETA as he got closer.  Both dogs were in great shape after two days on the road.  Maggie came out with her tail up bouncing on the end of the lead.  Pete was a little more tentative and really didn't know what to make of his brand new Scott Kennel.  However, this morning when I took him out on a checkcord and worked him around the yard his tail was up and he seemed happy for the attention.  He hadn't eaten all his food last night but finished it right up after he cleaned out and got a little exercise.

Brandy got worked on a longline again this morning.  The point here is to get her understanding the word "come" which wasn't in her vocabulary when she arrived.  I am now overlaying that with collar conditioning so we can get her off the rope and expect her to come back.  

The little guys got out this morning as well and had really good walks.  I threw out a few quail before we headed out for our walk.  The Moon pups each had a find and we flushed a grouse.  I got a picture of both of them but I was a little late on the second one.  The Jack pups also had a good walk with each of them having a couple of finds.  It seems that some of the birds we released last week are hanging around as we moved birds in places I had not put them.  We've got a Total Recall quail caller coming, hopefully it will get some of the birds back to the pen or at least anchor them in the area.

It's Apple Blossom time here at the kennel.  This is one of  over 200 apple trees on the property.

One of the Moon pups pointing a quail this morning.

Moon puppy backing her sister.

I was just a pounce late catching this Moon pup on point.  If you look carefully you can see the quail right above her head.

This is Maggie during her yardwork this morning.

This is Wild Apple Cider, he's LJ's brother.  I sold him to a young guy locally who had to give him up due to changes in his family situation.  He's a heck of a Frisbee dog.  We'll see what kind of bird dog he is as the summer progresses.