Dually

Over the years many dogs have come and gone from the kennel.  Some I saw periodically and others I never saw again.  From the first litter of Wynot Ace X Elhew Liebotschaner there was a big pup that first went to a guy in Canada and then came back as the guy was worried about the dogs tail.  I told to wait it out but he was convinced that it wouldn't be good enough for field trials.  The dog was bigger than his brothers Wild Apple Jack and Autumn Moon, so much so that we called him Dually.  Jack Harang took him to Texas and gave him to Steve Willy.  Dually didn't get worked a lot but he was always fun to watch.  With his long legs he could just eat up the Texas prairie.  I remember one day on the Vest Ranch at the end of the day I was just sitting back in the saddle enjoying watching him roll when he suddenly swapped ends and landed in as perfect a point as one could wish for.  I could drive you to that very spot tomorrow even though it happen 6 0r 7 years ago and I seen many dogs point in many places since.  There was nothing wrong with his tail on that day or on many others when I saw him.  Got word yesterday that Steve found him dead in his kennel the other morning.  Dually was a good dog, loved Steve and his wife Sandra, and was loved back.  He left me with many fine memories.

The Return of Summer

Summer has not quit yet.  Despite two mornings with frost recently, it was already 60 with high humidity when we headed out this morning.  After two braces of dogs it was pushing 70.  Now, at 11:30 it is 86 headed to over 90.  The dogs we ran this morning still did okay.  Rigby had two woodcock finds with Pete backing on one of them.  And then Trip and Little Thuddy had a divided find on a brood of grouse with Trip having a second brood near the end of the brace.  I had other dogs on the truck but most of the customer dogs are gone now so I didn't feel guilty not running LJ and Glo as they both went yesterday.  After another 80+ degree day tomorrow things cool back down.  The Saturday I'm heading out to Montana with a detour to visit my family in Kentucky for a couple nights on the way.  Should be in Montana by this time next week.  I'll try keep you all updated with how we do in Montana but I'm not sure what I'll have for Internet access or even phone coverage where we're going.

Yesterday I ran LJ who had a single grouse, Trip who had a brood of grouse and a single grouse, Sam who had two woodcock and a grouse but had some handling issues that we're trying to get straightened out, and Glo who gets dog of the day honors for digging out five woodcock finds in a nasty little corner that we reserve for puppies.

Bruce and Tony were out working dogs as well yesterday and I caught up with them just in time to help pull quills out of Big Thudd's foster dog Maggie.  It's never fun, but at least she only had one in her face.  As you can see from the picture most of them were in her left front leg and shoulder.

It could have been a lot worse!

Wild Apple Kennel Guide Service

As of today I am officially a licensed New Hampshire Guide.  Today was the culmination of a process I began last winter as I had to get first aid and CPR certification before I could apply.  There was a written test I took in the spring as well as an oral exam.  I had a little trouble with the map and compass section of the exam (I've been depending on my Astro and now my Alpha too much) which required I retake the oral exam today.  Still struggled a little bit with the map and compass stuff but passed the other parts without a problem.  In fact I score a 98 out of 100 on the lost hunter scenario and I only needed a 70 to pass.  (so if you come up and wander off,  I know what to do to eventually find you.)  I've been hunting Northern New Hampshire with pointing dogs for 25 years and now that I'm retired from teaching I thought it would be good to share these experiences with others.  This first year I'll be offering discounts to my training customers (a few have already tentatively booked dates) but I still have openings.  I will also give discounts to anyone who mentions the blog when they contact me.  You can reach me on my cell at 603-381-8763 or email me at wildapplekennel@gmail.com

Feels like Fall

From the house and yard you look across the valley to a large hill.  Have noticed in the last few days that it is just starting to change color.  There is a little hint of red and yellow mixed.  This morning it was 57 when I got up and that was the high for the day as a cold front came through with some heavy showers that slowed us down for a while.  The low in the morning is supposed to be in the mid-30s.  After the front passed we were able to run the rest of the dogs.  Ruby and Maggie have gone to their new homes and seemed to be settling in nicely.  Maggie had her best work out of the summer the day she left.  With three woodcock finds and a back on her new kennel mate Mike (who is a younger brother of Wild Apple Jack).  Ruby had a number of good runs before Ed headed back to Maryland with her.  We also shot a pigeon for her as Ed was curious what her reaction to the gun would be.  She ran out and grabbed the pigeon which had been hit pretty hard.  She then happily carried it around in her mouth as we led her out of the bird field.   I'll see both dogs in October when their owners come to hunt with me.

Tim was here for the weekend and was so impressed with the progress Max has made this summer that he wanted to take him on our trip to Montana.  I think Max is headed home instead where he can get some TLC before Dennis gets a chance to take him out hunting in October.  Jagger is also headed home on Tuesday via Bruce Schaffer who has been up here training and has got his string of dogs into a lot of birds.  Rafael Franco was up to see his dog Biscuit and seemed pleased with the progress that Bruce has made with him this summer.

Once Jagger and Max are gone I'll be down to a very manageable 8 dogs in the kennel.  A bunch of those will be going to Montana to visit Alex and Birdy who pointed her first covey of Huns this morning and was just a dot on the horizon in a video that Alex posted on Facebook.  It looks like I may have a couple of adult dogs for sale in the near future.  I'll post particulars here once I know for sure whose going to be available when.