Adventures of a GSP Hunting Dog: Black Friday Pheasant Hunt!

The heck with shopping on black friday! This year I handed over my coupons and instead hit the field with Jimmy for some pheasants. We had such a good time and Cleo hunted like a machine.

We hit the field early. Everything was still frosted over and the sun came in on a hard angle. It was refreshing and beautiful. It never ceases to amaze me how breathtaking it can be hunting. The abundance of life in the fields, the way the dog works, how crisp the air is, it makes me thankful to be there to witness it and to be a part of it. People who hate hunting clearly have never experienced it before.

Cleo had a phenomenal day. She found and pointed 12 pheasants. She stayed steady on every shot but one. She retrieved all 8 birds we shot and delivered them to hand. She didn't chase any birds, even when they wild flushed or ran. She was a beast and she made it fun. Watching her work was an absolute joy.

Cleo on point

It took us forever to find the hen Cleo was pointing in the picture above. You would have thought it was wearing an invisibility cloak. Cleo stayed steady while both Jim and I searched for it. We tried to ease her in closer to help us but she would take two steps and look at us like she wanted to say, "Really? For the love of god its right there. Do you want me to flush and shoot it for you too??"

Same point, different angle

Eventually we found it, flushed it, shot it and Cleo happily brought it back. I think she was a little annoyed with us that it took so long.

It was pretty chilly this morning. After a few birds Cleo really started to put off some heat. Below is a picture of her on point. It's hard to see it in the first picture so I re-adjusted my position and you'll see in the second pic just how much steam was pouring off of her.