The Constant (Barking) Gardener

I spent a little time in the garden tonight weeding and watering. The garden is a pretty decent size this year. Were rocking: Lettuce, beefsteak tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, the pepper parade including poblanos, green and orange sweet peppers and jalapenos, we have pickling cucumbers and regular cucumbers, lots of broccoli and cauliflower plants, onions, red potatoes, baking potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Cleo's favorite little snackies sugar snap peas and green beans.  I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I would like to note that I pushed for sweet corn, cantaloupe and pumpkins as well but I got vetoed. Boo!!

Anyhow, below is how to water the garden Cleo style.

And a quick reminder to check out Cleo's new swanky page on facebook. Look for her under the heading Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer!

Staying Steady

We need to get Cleo steady. As I have stated before she is 95% steady. She'll stand there all day and let you toss birds in front of her face. She has so much desire she will actually whine in frustration but she will stay. God forbid that 5% of the time the bird flushes in her face she's all over it.

Everyday or every other day we are putting some quail out to whoa her on. After dinner tonight we did just that. She stayed steady the entire time until the bird flushed right up in her face and she broke. So we put her back and kept at it.

I'd like to point out the white sash on her head. It's clearly the mark of the devil. 

I believe at this point its just going to take practice. She's unbelievably smart but she also has so much desire. We need to keep at it. We are also at this point going to invest in some stakes and start working her through them on heel and practicing firing shots around her near a blind ect. It's time to start kicking it in high gear for the NAVHDA UT test this fall. It's the end of September (the weekend of my 30th birthday actually) and its coming up quick!!

The above picture is Cleo's, "Daddy I did good can I please have the quail" look. Plllleeeeaaaasssse!!!

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New Star Outfielder

Look out Shane Victorino there's a new star outfielder in town! You may be The Flyin Hawaiian but when Charlie Manuel see's the Cleo Express you may as well pack your bags for Maui. She may not be a switch hitter but she can retrieve the ball and point the elusive Nene bird. I'd like to see you try that.

 
Cleo is the perfect out fielder for a group of mildly boozed up gals on a Friday night. All we have to do is crack the ball across the yard and she does all the work. This equates to less time running and more time drinking. I mean..who doesn't want that? The only hard part is getting her to give up the prize.

Rebecca pitching while Cara bats

So look out Shane. There's a spotted GSP ready to give you a run for your money. Go Phillies!

Nobelles Brewed to Perfection: Call name Kona

Kona is owned by Jason and Jen Frie of Vineland, New Jersey. She is one of Cleo's sisters and litter mates. The picture of her above was taken when we tested all the pups together last fall for their NAVHDA Natural Ability Test. She's a sweet pup with a big personality like her sister Cleo. Below is a picture of their litter of 10 when they were still in the whelping box. Bob Corsaro the breeder of these Nobelle's pup took this picture and sent it to everyone who was getting a pup from the litter. Kona is the pup furthest to the bottom walking to the right. She has big beautiful patches of liver.

Photo courtesy of Bob Corsaro

Jason plans on running Kona next year for her NAVHDA Utility Test. He's been working her on force fetch lately which she has been doing great with! He's planning on doing a duck drag this week and is planning to focus on working the stop to the flush and then steady through the fall.

Kona is quite a sassy girl. Jason shared a quick story with me about Kona that made laugh. It reminded me so much of Cleo....these pups sure love squirrels! Please see the pic and story below:

Kona loves chasing squirrels. I had a bird feeder out that attracted many of them that drove her crazy. She has not been able to snatch one yet due to their escape routes being only a few feet away from the feeder. I walked outside one day to find Kona pointing something as she was standing on the wall of the wishing well. By the time I went and grabbed my phone to get a pic, she wasn't pointing anymore, but she stayed up there for about 20mins. I guess she like the higher view. See attached pic.

Later that day Jen went outside to check on her and couldn't find her. She was looking around and said she finally seen her head sticking out of the well. Watching the squirrels eating. As Jen approached the squirrels went running and Kona gave chase. Jen said all day she would hide in the well and wait for the squirrels to come back out and try to catch them again. I wish Jen would have gotten video of that, is sounded comical. 


He also reported that her nemesis is the rabbit that lives under the shed. He said she's close to catching it but hasn't had success yet. Knowing these Nobelles pups I'm pretty sure she will never give up. He said she has figured out how to use the pool as cover so she can sneak up on the rabbit from behind. Sounds like that bunnies days are numbered! It's also been discovered that Kona doesn't mind making waves. She apparently has the ability to jump into their 4 1/2 foot high above ground pool without using the ladder. Jason said she has dock dog quality range! 

It warms my heart that these pups have such similar traits and such big personalities. I know I couldn't imagine my life without Cleo and I'm pretty sure Jen & Jason feel the same way about Kona. So stayed tuned for more Kona and Nobelles pup updates!

German Shorthaired Pointer + Chipmunk in Woodpile = Obsession

This morning while Cleo was patrolling our yard she saw a chipmunk scurry off into one of our woodpiles. So basically the entire day has revolved around her trying to get into the pile and me trying to get her away from it. Once she gets her mind set to something its futile to try and change it.

I am in no way exaggerating when I say she has spent at least three hours of her time today trying to get to that Chipmunk. The cycle goes something like this: Cleo barks like crazy, enough that I have to walk back and get her to stop so she doesn't annoy the neighbors, I walk back and she's on point, I drag her away and within minutes she's right back at the woodpile.

The only thing that keeps her away from that woodpile for any amount of time is her squirrel chasing. I've blogged about that in past posts. You can read about that here: Spring Fever!

Thank god she can't climb trees or I'd be in real trouble. She has such immense prey drive. When I picked her up from daycare on Friday Ryan told me she found a snapping turtle from about 15 feet away through a fence. He said she barked like hell till he came and got it. It made me laugh. He said not one other dog there even noticed it. If it has feathers, fur or shells she'll find it!   

Homemade Peanut Butter Frosty Paws!

I know it's hot out when Cleo doesn't really want to go outside. Unless there is a squirrel or a three legged cat sitting on our deck she's not leaving the cool comfort of the hardwood floors. So I'm left being creative to keep her cool. One or two days a week we rock the doggie pool, I take her to local ponds or let her run in the creek by our house. She also LOVES being squirted with the hose but if do you anything with her to much she gets bored. She loves eating ice cubes so just to switch it up I make her homemade peanut butter frosty paws. They are super easy to make and I know they are good for her because I know whats in them.

Peanut Butter Frosty Paws

What you need:
~1 32oz. All natural plain nonfat yogurt
~1 Tbsp of honey
~1 Cup of peanut butter

1. Place the yogurt in a bowl. Whisk in the honey and then whisk in the peanut butter until smooth.

2. Then use a ladle and fill two ice cube trays. Place the filled trays in the freezer until fully frozen.

It's even yummy before it's frozen!

When your ready to give your pup a frozen treat just pop one out of the ice cube tray! They will last for a  few weeks frozen but I'm pretty sure they won't last that long.

Redemption? : AKC Senior Hunt Test

Sadly not today. Cleo failed to qualify again this morning for her Senior AKC Hunt Test. We were pretty bummed out. I know Bob Corsaro is going to bust my chops for sounding depressed about it but I down right felt dejected today after she failed to qualify again. The best way I can describe the feeling is its exactly how I feel after I loose a fight. Like my everything was just not good enough. The thing that made it so much harder to take than yesterday's failure was that she actually did a phenomenal job today and I was so proud that she was our dog.

To say Cleo was a hunting machine today would be a gross understatement. She nailed every bird that was put out for her brace and then some. The judges kept commenting about how much drive she had and how that's something you can't teach a dog. They either have it or they don't. She would barrel through the thickest cover without hesitation. At one point she actually army crawled under a log to get into a hedgerow. The  judges kept saying wow she can really hunt. But on her second to last bird, just like yesterday the bird flushed itself and Cleo broke. She lept into the air, caught the bird and delivered it to hand to Jim. It was such a great feeling that she brought it back but at the same time we knew she failed.

Cleo on the go!

Cleo not only hunted great and found birds today but she listened wonderfully and honored. I think everyone in the field was disappointed for us. When we were finished the one judge shook Jim's hand and said, "I'd love to pass this dog but I can't. But feel free to drop her off at my truck on your way out because she is one driven dog." That's such a nice thing to hear and we know she did well. So it's back to training. We won't be able to run her in another AKC event until the fall. We also plan on running her in the NAVHDA UT Test at the end of September so we have a few more months to keep working on things.

Cleo's brace mate a male Vizsla named Jak

Overall this weekend was a great experience. I can tell you both Jim and I learned so much about handling. There was an AKC official there from Tennessee that walked with me yesterday and he was super generous with information. All the judges were friendly and helpful. I also want to take a second and say thank you to the Del Val German Wirehair Club for sponsoring the event. Their volunteers really work hard to make sure things go smoothly and if it wasn't for people like them, people like me and Jim wouldn't have a place to do this stuff. It would have been nice if things would have been different but just like in fighting you always learn more from your losses than from your wins.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Senior AKC Hunt Test

I'm huge fan of spaghetti westerns. Of all westerns really. But my favorite has to be The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. If its on TV there should be no doubt that's what I'm watching. I don't know why I love it so much. It could be that iconic music they play, the fact that Clint Eastwood was a total piece of ass back in the day or maybe it's because it has a little bit of everything in it....just like the title says.

Today we ran Cleo for her first brace of the AKC Senior Hunt Test. Today's experience had it all just like my old favorite western. I'll start off with The Ugly part which was no one other than myself. You see, I'm deathly allergic to grass and trees. Lucky for me there's not a whole lot of that stuff around. Anyway, I had an awful allergy attack last night, the worst I have had in 8 years and spent the wee hours of the night suffering terribly. With about an hours worth of awful sleep, swollen eyes and face and not to mention me covered in hives Jim and I set off to spend a day in field with my arch nemesis, evil pollinating grass. We pulled in this morning and I instantly looked like I had the chicken pox (hives) and was so cracked out on allergy medicine I'm pretty sure I was incapable of holding any kind of cognisant conversation. I was not fit for human exposure. Great start to the day. But I toughed it out....below are some pics of the dogs we saw today:

A wirehair and some GSP's staked out

A bunch of Brittanys

Jim and I always call this area Viszla Alley

 A nice Setter

 Another Wirehair....they always remind me of shaggy GSP's with goatees

So for The Bad: Cleo did not pass her first brace. We were disappointed to say the least. In the AKC Hunt Tests two dogs test together. Cleo ran with a Weimeraner named Maya who is owned by Lance Fargo out of southern Delaware. Maya had already passed two braces of her Senior her AKC test before today.

Maya the Weim!

The beginning of the test

When Jim cut Cleo loose from the start she and her brace mate Maya took off. Both dogs went to the right and disappeared from sight. Eventually Maya popped back onto the trail and continued down to the next field but Cleo was a no show. She was also not responding to Jim's calls. That was because she was locked on point on a distant hedgerow. Jim and an AKC judge went over to Cleo and Jim said when he came around the corner she was locked on point. Before Jim could make his way over the bird jumped. Cleo did not move and flush the bird but when it jumped he said she caught it in the air and brought it back to him and delivered it to hand. That's how she failed. She was not allowed to move until Jim fired his starters pistol and he never got the chance. He said in hindsight the second he turned the corner and saw her on point he should have whoaed her. In reality it may have not made a difference but its all a learning experience. The judges were kind enough to let us continue on eventhough we knew she had failed.

It was pretty hot out so we stopped a few times to water the dogs before continuing

Cleo's second point which went very well

Cleo on point with Maya backing while Jim flushes the bird 

Maya did a great job today and below are some pics of her in action. She had a very nice retrieve that I know it made her owner Lance very proud.

So for The Good....the little negative devil on my shoulder wants to say nothing about today was good. But I'm pretty sure that's just the allergy drugs that I'm cracked out on making me feel that way. The reality is, today minus the hives and burning eyes it was an all around good experience. Jim as a handler learned alot, we got see some amazing dogs run in both the Master and Senior divisions, Cleo got more time in the field on birds in situations we train her for, and in the end we get to go and try again tomorrow.  It was also great that when Cleo caught the bird she brought it right back to Jim. A few months ago she wouldn't have done that. It's also just more practice for her NAVHDA UT Test this fall.

In the end the bitter taste of failure always sucks but those are the times you learn the most. It would be so easy to just quit or walk away or find an excuse for why she should have gotten it. But we will learn from it and will stick with it and we will get it. It's not a matter of IF but WHEN. Hopefully tomorrow is the big day and if its not we will just keep working for it.

And just for fun below is a video of Cleo waiting for her turn to run in her brace today. She's such a wackjob.

The Puppy Pool is Open for Business!

It was hot and humid today. When I left work the temp gauge on my truck read 91 degrees. Blah. But 91 degrees makes for a perfect excuse to have an evening of water related fun with Cleo. As soon as she saw me bust out her little puppy pool she went berserk. She would bark at me non-stop while I was filling up the  pool. All she wanted was to be sprayed by the hose. See below:

I finally just laid the hose in the pool so it could fill up. This is Cleo prime time excitement.

So once it was filled halfway I stopped. All she needs is some tennis balls and its official. The puppy pool is open for business!!

Frogs, Geese and Cleo Oh My!

It got into the mid 80's today. It wouldn't have felt so hot had it not been so flippin humid. I have a real hate relationship with Pennsylvania humidity. You'll notice I left out any inclination of love/hate. There is no love. None at all. Anyway the grass is to high at home to bust out Cleo's doggie pool so I drove her to a nearby pond to play a little fetch.

As soon as we got there she chased off a group of geese. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of it but she ran to far ahead and I didn't have my camera out yet. But she was super happy blasting into the pond and watching them honk and then fly off.

Cleo fetching her bumper

There are some reeds on the edge of the pond. She swam near them and some frogs chirped and jumped. She ran back gave me the bumper and swam right over to the reeds to investigate. She practically buried herself in the reeds.

So it was nice evening for a quick swim. On the way out we ran into a black lab named Monty and Cleo had a blast running through the fields with her. Not bad for a hot and humid Tuesday night.