English setter (Gauge)

I have been working with this English Setter (Gauge) the past month, force fetching and steadying to wing. He is good bird dog, and a great grouse dog.  Gauge is for sale. Contact me by phone (208-254-0243) if you want to know the details.

Nothing better than a lab for a pal

Recently we sent a young lab home to a family, and it was one of the more rewarding dogs I have worked with. The dog came to me wilder than a march hare, the family was at their wits end. They had purchased the dog to replace a dog that passed away, one that was mature, gentle and a great family member. They got a wild young pup and were pulling their hair out with frustration. They loved the pup, and didn’t want to get rid of the dog, but didn’t know what to do. I think many people find themselves in this position. This is just when dogs end up tied in the back yard, dumped off at the shelter, or back in the want ads. We were able to catch this dog just at the right time and get her on track to becoming a great companion dog for the family and a best buddy to their young son. We trained the dog to be a great bird dog, but more importantly, she is a great companion.

James and his new best buddy

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything new; it’s been busy.  In October we moved from south central Utah to southeastern Idaho.  Moving is a huge pain, but we are slowly getting settled in and getting the kennels set up like we want. It was really hard to leave good friends, but we are looking forward to making new ones. Hunting buddies are always welcome. Unfortunately it will be further for our Las Vegas clients, but will be closer to our Northern Utah/Southern Idaho clients.

One reason for the move was the ready access to wild bird populations. It is really enjoyable to look out and see pheasants feeding in the back pasture, and hear ruffed grouse on the hillside. Other birds I have seen while out in the area include: huns, dusky grouse, sharp-tail and sage-grouse, valley quail and chukars. I also look forward to hunting spruce grouse, as that will be a new species for me.

If I can’t chase it with my shotgun my interest wanes a bit, nevertheless, I don’t pass up an opportunity to catch huge brook trout. These two limits were taken by a buddy and me on Boulder Mountain, UT. The biggest one approached 4 lbs. I’d love to say that they were taken on a size 22 dry fly, but in reality they were taken on the never-fail, tried-and-true mepps spinner. We did, however, catch a few 6 – 8″ native Colorado River cutthroat trout in one of the streams with nymphs on a flyrod. All I can say is, “what a beautiful time of year.”

I had an opportunity to go fishing with Dave Walker at Lake Powell this Spring and we had a great time. The first day fishing was hot, then a storm blew in and the fish just shut down. That left plenty of time for visiting. Dave is the author of “The Bird Dog Training Manual” and numerous pointing dog DVDs. He is a hall of famer and the pro’s pro of dog training. Most of what I know about pointing dogs comes from Dave and he is a pleasure to spend a few days fishing with.

I had an opportunity to work with a Braque Du Bourbonnais (pronounced “brock-do-bor-bon-NAY”) this last weekend. This French pointer is an uncommon breed; in a quick web search, I only found four breeders in the US. I guess this is an old breed, which traces back to the Spanish pointer of the 1500′s.

Honestly, I had never heard of this breed before I got a call from the owner. The dog was strikingly different in appearance. He looked like a stocky shorthair with khaki-blond ticking. After reading a bit about the history of the breed I was curious to meet the dog and see it’s hunting instincts.

After spending half a day in the training field with the dog, I was impressed.  He was self-confident without being over bearing, seemed to have a quick aptitude for learning and most importantly, was keen on birds, not noise sensitive, pointed birds and would naturally retrieve. Based on this one dog, I look forward to seeing more of this breed.
 

If you have read many of my blogs you know how critical I think exercise is for their physical and mental health.  Let’s put it this way, I believe it is more critical that all other training, without exercise everything else falls apart.

We run our dogs 3 – 4 miles every day and see worlds of difference from a well exercised, well rounded companion vs. a coiled spring without controls. When it comes to puppies, exercise is still critical, but you have to think differently. Give them lots of exercise, but let the puppy set the intensity and the duration. They seem to know best. When they get tired they’ll lay down. Think low impact, low duration. We’ll take a puppy for a good stiff walk rather than running or roading with the big dogs. Too much intensity can be hard on their fast growing joints and bones.  I like to keep puppies exercise sessions frequent, but short in duration (about like their attention span).

Don’t be afraid to take them for long walks, for instance when our puppies were just four months old, we took them on a five mile hike. They did great; when they got tired and flopped down on their bellies, we stopped and took a break. We judged it was time to go again when they were up wrestling and playing tug-o-war with sticks. Some people have suggested a limit of five minutes of exercise per month of age for structured leash exercise; which may not be a bad rule of thumb. Think about when you are out on a long walk and they get tired, will you have the time or be in a location where you can stop and let the pup rest (or pick up the pup and carry her)? If not, make sure your walk is short enough to make it back to the house before the pup needs a rest.

The key for a puppy is frequent, low-intensity, short-duration exercise. This will not over-tax their growing joints, and will benefit both their social, mental and physical development.
 

We went out to cut a Christmas tree and took the dogs. Lilly, a cute, caffienated French Brittany was with us as we looked for a tree, circling out and back like when we hunt for blue grouse. After cutting the tree we noticed she had been gone for a few minutes longer than usual. We immediately started looking for her. That’s when the blizzard blew in and started dumping snow. We looked for four hours in the blizzard before it got dark. We went home and I got better geared up for snow and went back up looking. I spent the next two days covering every inch of the area to no avail.

I feared the worst. I didn’t know if she had gotten caught in a trap, eaten by a lion, or what. It just wasn’t like her not to come around after just a few minutes. She had just vanished. God smiled upon us and this little dog. Two days later I got a call from a land surveyor working in the area. He found Lilly trotting down the road toward town.  We were so glad to see her and she us. Needless to say, she hasn’t left my side for a week.

 

A little neighbor girl got a new puppy the other day. She is so cute with the pup. Kids and puppies just go together. She came over to find out all about puppies and how to take care of him. I hope the excitement lasts. She sure does love this little puppy.

 

 We had Oakley (black lab) out last weekend trying to polish him up on both flushing and retrieving. It is getting near the end of the pheasant season on the shooting preserves here in Utah. The birds all worked great for the dog, they held fairly well and flushed strong and wild. It was a great workout for Oakley, plus it was a great time for Jake (owner) and his brothers.