Sometimes training stings...

5 Month old Luna on point

Last night 6 fighters from Jim's mixed martial arts organization had fights locally, which is always a late night so we opted to stay home and train on our own today rather than join Bob Gelder like normal in South Jersey. Our plan was to get the girls out on some chukars and then head over to a nearby lake with our new snazzy kayak and do some water work. Everything went well until we got attacked by angry jerk bees or wasps or whatever the hell they were but they stung the crap out of us while doing fieldwork so we high tailed it out of there a little premature.

Seriously Luna?? A face only a mother could love....

Before our fieldwork got cut short we ran Luna on 4 planted chukar. She stayed steady through the flush but then broke on the shot on 3 of the 4 birds. But at 5 months old we were beyond pleased with her.  She has so much natural ability its sick. Now if I could only get her to stop stealing the welcome mats and eating things like i-phone chargers and hoses.

Little Lu has got some intensity

We got Cleo out on 3 chukars before we were attacked. She was steady on every bird, no creeping and retrieved to hand great. We had hoped to get her out on some more birds but after getting stung we both said the hell with it.

Cleo rocking the single flap ear and looking a little less fugly than her baby sister Lu.

After our fieldwork we got the girls out on some ducks. Cleo had a great duck search, probably the best to date. I drug a duck out behind the kayak all the way across the pond and let it loose in the reeds and lilly pads and then kayaked off and hid. Jim sent her out and at first she went out about 40 yards and then turned to the side into the lilly pads and after searching for a few minutes headed straight across the pond to the reeds and got herself a duck! Boom! It was awesome.

Cleo retrieving a dispatched chukar from early in the day. I wouldn't take my camera into the kayak so this is what you get instead of swimming or duck action shots. :)

We also sent Luna out on a mini duck search. Similar to Cleo I kayaked it out but threw it out much closer at about 30 yards. Our luck the duck turned and B-lined for the furthest shore across the pond. I had to guide Lu in the kayak a bit but she swam clear across the pond which is quite a distance, searched on shore for her duck, picked it up and swam the whole distance back to Jim and delivered it to hand. Holy batman super pup! Now if we could only get our hands on a pheasant we could start focusing on her track for her Natural Ability test. It's coming up quick! Jim and I are practically counting the days till hunting season. Can. Not. Wait.

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GSP Puppy Kisses Luna Style

5 Month old Luna nested on the couch

If your over the age of 25 you've more than likely seen the old school slightly crappy Tootsie Pop commercial from circa 1970 where a kid asks an owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop? In case you haven't seen the commerical or don't remember the one in question the owl licks the tootsie pop three times and then inadvertently says the hell with it and bites it? Yea well thats kind of how Luna gives kisses. Well not really....its EXACTLY how she gives them.

Am I cute?? Or am I Cujo? Lean in and let's find out. 

Lulu is cute. I know I'm partial and all, but she is quite the charmer. She woes you in with her cute eyes and you barley notice that they roll back in her head like a great white shark going in for the kill, but she totally sells it like she's just so in love with you that you ignore all the warnings from that little voice that lives inside your chest and you pucker up in lean in. She lovingly licks your left cheek, sticks the tip of her tongue in your nose, but you still hang in there (stupid), then she licks your right cheek, part of your neck and then bites the crap out of your nose. Yea....lame right? And sometimes its a loving nibble and sometimes she honks it like she would a goose. Never a lot of teeth more like a dementors kiss from the Harry Potter book series. Like she's trying to steal your soul from you in a very slobbery way via your nose but not really maim you.

Luna on point....I have no idea what that white slobber stuff is on her lip

But here's the thing. It's gross and I could get mad, I could get angry or I could totally learn from my mistakes. But in reality I do none of the above. Why you may ask? Because she's cute and at 5 months she still kinda has puppy breath which might as well be the pied piper of doom for us dog people. It's my kryptonite and renders me helpless against its forces. And everytime her eyes roll back like jaws I blissfully shut my eyes and blindfully walk into the harmless puppy nibble. And afterwards I always think myself the fool, realize I've been had and pray she grows out of it soon.

**No people were harmed in the making of this blog post**

Also

***Luna is not Cujo although for fun I allude to it....don't get all worried that she's some crazy biter cause she's not. The post is just for amusement. Don't be a fun wrecker. No one likes a fun wrecker.***

I'll leave you with a picture I took the other weekend of Cleo and Luna's sister Maggie on point. Maggie is from the C litter so she is Cleo's little sister but Lulu's big sister. She's quite a lovely dog and has a nice point!

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The GSP Puppy Chronicles: 5 Months Old and as Naughty as Ever!

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good", J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. That quote must be the secret mantra of all GSP's. It surely is for my girls. They seem to constantly try to out do each other. I often wonder if Cleo has been subjecting 5 month old Luna to some crazy sorority initiation hazing like if she doesn't destroy enough crap Cleo will never let her join her club.  Well I, along with the rest of the members of this household wish she'd let her in already!!

In the last week or so Luna has done the following:

1. As pictured above she chewed the cord to the blower for our wood insert. It's been rumored she tried to pay Bailey the Siamese a large amount of catnip to hang around and look guilty. LUCKY for me I'm not buying that crap.

2. She ate Jim's daughter Sam's I-phone charger cord.

3. She chewed the break light cords on Jim's trailer. (Which I laughed like hell at....I don't know why it's so much funnier when his stuff gets destroyed. I guess it's because Cleo only destroyed my things for the first two years. I secretly LOVE that Luna spreads it around. Well....I guess that's not really a secret anymore huh? Oops....)

4. Killed a mole

5. Quickly upgraded and with some assistance from Cleo killed a groundhog. Yea...a groundhog. Which was surprising and sad since I kinda like groundhogs. But most alarming she tried to bring it in the house.  Which I have that part on video but won't post since I sound so unbelievably annoying in it.

And interactions like these have become the norm in our household.

Me via text message to Sam: I have no idea what this is. I hope its not yours as I plucked it from hell puppies mouth.
Sam: Haha. Handle from my laundry basket....
Me: Ohhh....sorry about that.

Me via text to Sam: Look what I just extracted from hell puppies mouth now.
Sam: Hate that dog. How'd she get that? It was inside my makeup bag this morning!!
Me: Lol. I have no idea. I saw the shiny metal end sticking out of her mouth. Imagine my surprise when  I pulled out a brush!

Hunting for birdies

Bringing in the ducks

But for as naughty as she can be in the house she's been amazing in the field and water. Jim had her out on birds this past weekend and she is having strong points and is tracking great.  She's been more than impressive in the water and is quite the stealthy swimmer.

She is also quirky and cute as a button. If we stay up past 10 she gets up and goes and climbs into our bed and puts herself to sleep on my pillow. She thinks that if she sits in front of the refrigerator it will open and give her food. She is also fluent in Klingon. Which I will leave you with tonight. They are also doing a Klingon interpretive dance. It's quite rare. Please enjoy below and turn up your volume. :)

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Duck Search Seminar Weekend!

Chase a Large Munsterlander owned by Don Kissling

This past weekend Jim and I drove 2 hours out past Harrisburg, PA to attend a special two day duck search seminar put on by Greg Fry (The owner of Deadwood Kennels) and hosted by the Keystone NAVHDA Chapter. Jim and I had first heard about this seminar last year but were unable to attend so we made a special point of signing up and putting it on our calendars earlier this year. Needless to say our expectations were not only met but greatly exceeded.

8 month old Wic, a GSP from Friedelsheim Kennels, owned by Kathy Krommes 

Greg has a great teaching style. He refuses to just give you an answer rather he makes you think about it, quizzing you along the way. He also gets you to participate not only in your own dogs journey but engage with all the other dogs who are there that day. Through that he arms you with a set of troubleshooting tools to help you not only in the present situation but he equips you to deal with what you might run into down the road. His advice and perspective was eye opening.

Greg out in the kayak

Poggi the worlds fastest moving Spinone owned by Deirdre Lehman

Our current situation happens to be getting our 2 1/2 year old GSP Cleo to go out and search without a visual. Once she's out there she's good to go. Cleo is full of drive, has little fear of thick cover and she almost never comes back without her bird. But getting her past the shore has been tough and frustrating for us. She gets to the water and waits for you to throw her something. Greg wanted to remove the human connection and build her drive to want to move out and search. He started off by throwing a duck (without Cleo seeing it) out into the lake and bringing her up on shore to see it and retrieve it. Once she brought it back he built upon that and each time made it more difficult as her confidence grew. With the aid of some additional drills and a few of Greg's techniques, by the end of day one Cleo was moving out and searching without a visual. Success!

Cleo returning with a duck

By day two Cleo was not only still searching without a visual but was successfully being resent. During the seminar she got to do 6 or 7 duck searches in multiple ponds with various kinds of open water and thick cover. It was a great learning experinece for all of us and the exposure Cleo got was outstanding. We will be heading down to NJ tomorrow to work in the water with Bob Gelder and I'm so excited to see us continue to build on this momentum.

Our 18 week old Luna at the waters edge

We also got to expose our 18 week old GSP Luna to duck searches as well. We had brought Luna along to the seminar because we could not leave her home crated for so long. Almost immeaditly Greg got her involved eventhough she was not originally signed up to participate. After the first day 18 week old Luna was swimming 100 feet after taped ducks and delivering them to hand. It was amazing to watch! On day two after Greg really built up her confidence he removed the tape from a rather worn out duck and sent Luna out after it. The look on her face was priceless the first time the duck dived under water but instead of quitting and returning to the shore the wheels started turning and she began a search. After a few minutes she found the duck. The exposure Luna recieved this weekend was more than we could have ever hoped for.

Yay!! Way to go Lulu!!

Luna totally eating lilly pad stems while doing her search. Why is this puppy always eating something?

We also got to meet an amazing group of people and watch all levels and breeds of dogs work. Below are some more pics of the dogs in action.

Deadwood's Junie owned by Bob Dewar

Brown spinone owned by Dan Devlin

Deadwood's Scout owned by Chuck Hershner

8 month old Wic owned by Kathy Krommes

Maggie owned by John Lehman

I would highely recommend attending one of Greg's duck search seminars. Even more so if you are struggling with some aspect of the search, not sure how to introduce your dog or pup to it, or if you are looking to learn some new techniques. Greg has lots of experience and is a wealth of knowledge. He has owned shorthairs since 1984, has been with NAVHDA for 19 years and has 4 Versatile Champions. He spent several years as a NAVHDA judge and was actually the first person to have mother/daughter VC shorthairs. He will and has taken his seminar on the road as he just recently did this past May for the Grand Canyon NAVHDA Chapter in Arizona. Greg can easily be contacted through facebook at Deadwood Kennels to set up a seminar for your local NAVHDA chapter. I would also recommend anyone in the Harrisburg/Gettysburg PA area to reach out to him for upland or versatile dog training. I also want to take a second and thank the Keystone NAVHDA chapter for sponsoring such  a cool seminar!

So overall it was a great weekend. When you go to a NAVHDA event like this your always guaranteed 3 things: 1. Your gonna meet an amazing group of people  2. Your gonna learn a lot of great info and 3. Your gonna get legit bad tan lines. Pretty sure theres no chance of me wearing a tank top for the rest of the summer. Be sure to check back and follow our progress!

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The Anatomy of Digging a Damn Good Hole in Daddy's Yard

Digging holes is hard work. So is constantly filling them....just ask my boyfriend Jim and he will tell you. In the almost 3 years we have had Cleo she has only ever dug one hole in the backyard. She would stick her toys in it, drive me crazy drinking muddy water out of it and would wedge her spotted butt in it when it was hot out. As far as dogs go I'm pretty sure she loved that hole. Little Luna had even gotten into loving that stupid old hole as well. But most importantly Cleo never dug more than that one hole. Then about 4 weeks ago Jim filled it in in anticipation of his daughter Samantha's college graduation party. And now? Well now we have tag team hole diggers. The dogs have spoken Jim!! They want their hole back. Pretty sure they are starting a war and this how it begins:

First things first....go over to where Dad has planted new grass and dig a hole there. 

When he gets mad and fills it (after berating me for not stopping it because I was too busy taking Dog-a-razzi pictures) go dig another one on the other side of the yard. But this time make it big enough to catch a lawn mower tire. Genius. And clearly well thought out might I add.

Send in Shortround to get the hole started. Be sure to use the shovel method to move the most amount of dirt as possible.

The hole needs to be well rounded to optimize fighting space for later so be sure to shovel dig from all angles.

When you start to get too tired just lay on your side and continue digging. There apparently are quotas to be met.

And if you have to take a break make sure you stay hydrated and have a snack. 

**Note: Chewing like a cow is not required. It's just how Lulu does things**

And then finally bring in the big guns to make sure the job is getting done right.

It's all about team work.

I tried to reason with them. Told them Jimbo was gonna be unhappy. (Clearly this is a lie....I would have told them "no" but to Jim's credit I was too busy being the Dog-a-razzi. Someone has to document these things). Anyway, this hole is just one of about four more. I tried to tell Jim they are doing this because he slighted them by messing with their hole. It's all about retribution people.


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Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Last year my girlfriend Jackie gave me some sweet potato dog treats that were wrapped in this bacony meat stuff. Cleo LOVED them. I have looked everywhere for similar treats and have been unsuccessful in finding any that are manufactured in the United States. I found plenty that come from China but I am definitely not buying those. So that left me with having to make them myself mad scientist style. Which is fine since I make most of Cleo and Luna's dog treats anyway and who doesn't love a good recipe creating experiment?  Click here for some recipes I have shared in the past.

These treats are pretty easy to make since the dehydrator does most of the work. I make huge batches of all kinds of jerky during hunting season so I have a pretty snazzy Cabela's dehydrator but any simple one will do the job. Some people when they make jerky or dehydrate foods they use their oven. I personally am not a big fan of this for two reasons: 1. Most ovens (like mine) can't or won't hold temps below 160 degrees so instead of dehydrating your baking. 2. I don't want to give up the use of my oven for hours at a time. Besides....as a self proclaimed cooking and baking junkie any excuse for me to get another gadget, electronic or swanky cookware thing, well I'm all over that. But as previously stated an inexpensive dehydrator will work just fine.

A couple of things about the recipe first and then I'll stop blathing on and give it to you. You want the sweet potato pieces to be the same thickness so use a mandolin. Keep in mind the thicker the slices the longer it will take to dehydrate. And just when you think I can't possibly spoil my dogs anymore than I currently do I am wrapping these sweet potato treats with prosciutto. Yea....that's right delicious dry cured Italian ham. Yummmmmm. I originally thought I would use bacon but my experiences with making jerky have taught me that fat doesn't like to be dehydrated and considering bacon is mostly fat it left me to find alternative choices. I will also share that I did not have the prosciutto sliced for me at the deli counter. I bought it presliced and packaged as the slices tend to be more uniform. Also as an aside I'm pretty sure that you could use regular ham, turkey or roast beef lunch meat as a substitute for the prosciutto. I personally went the prosciutto route since its dry cured ham and the less moisture the better when dehydrating. And before anyone flips out that I'm giving my dog ham and that I have doomed them to get Pancreatitis I already tackled that subject from my soap box when I made Pineapple and Ham Quail Biscuits. Feel free to check it out. So without further ado:


My Sweet Potato Dog Treats


What you need:
~2 medium and similar shaped sweet potatoes
~Approx. 9 ounces of prosciutto

1. Use a mandolin to slice the sweet potatoes long-wise. If the slices are so thin they feel like potato chips you need to increase the thickness. About a 1/4 inch is perfect. Then with a knife cut each sweet potato slice in half longways.

2. Cut each slice of prosciutto longways into two or three pieces. Wrap one prosciutto piece around one sweet potato slice and repeat. It is very important not to walk away or get distracted during this phase of the recipe.

Clearly it's not just my dogs who are ill behaved.  Please note how they cast the potato slice away like it was worthless. 

Pre-dehydrated....post cat chewed. 

3. Place the freshly wrapped treats onto trays in the dehydrator. How long it takes for the treats to be done will depend on the thickness of the treats, what kind of dehydrator you use and how full it is. It took my dehydrator about 4 hours on 150 to 160 degrees to finish. If your unsure check them intermittently every two or three hours to see if they are ready.

4. Remove them from the dehydrator and let them sit out for approximately an hour before storing them in the fridge or feeding them to your doggie children.

Finished product

Cleo and Luna approved this recipe and want you to know they give it four paws up. 

The treats came out great so I think I will be sliding this recipe into regular treat rotation. Be sure to check us out and follow us on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

The GSP Puppy Chronicles: Kicking mischief up a notch

Luna(tic) has generously kicked up her A-game this week getting herself into as much trouble as possible. She is exponentially lucky to be so cute and even more blessed to have such pouty eyes. She is proving to be the handful I swore she wasn't. Oh silly naive me. I mean I guess I knew she had it in her since I wrote the The Puppy Chronicles: 12 Weeks old and looking for trouble. But still, she has managed to raise the bar. Please see below for some photographic proof of a few of her recent antics.

Exhibit A. - Aren't all welcome mats for chewing??

*Please note the lack of guilty face

Cleo loves to sun herself on the deck and in the yard. Now that we have Luna on the electric fence we have been letting her out there without a lead tie off to lay with her. Things have been going great so far. This weekend I walked inside to grab some water while Jim was working in the yard just feet away and when I had returned I found she had stolen the welcome mat, flipped it upside down and began deconstructing it. Please note all the shredded bits of mat in the background. I told her no....told her to "leave it" and put the sad and shredded mat back where it goes until I can pick up a new one this week. About 20 minutes later she grabbed it and made a mad dash across the yard with it. She had that look in her eye like Thelma and Louise did when they were running from the cops. So of course I run after her yelling like a fool trying to reclaim my tattered mat. I have no doubt that I am the "entertaining neighbor".

Exhibit B. Trash tastes delicious. Especially when its BBQ. 

*Please note Luna still licking the driveway.

Jim's daughter just recently graduated from Ursinus College and we threw her a graduation party this past weekend. It left us with a surplus of trash that we couldn't all fit into the containers we have. We knew it could be a gamble but Cleo has never been a trash picker and we prayed Luna would follow suit. So Jim and I finally sat down to relax yesterday from the cleanup and within minutes we heard a clinking noise. We rolled our eyes and trotted off around the side of the house to find both dogs feasting on hot wing, rib and pulled pork trash left overs. Pretty sure that equates to dog heaven. Cleo just looked at us like, "What? She pulled it all out.....". As an aside Jim later harassed me over the fact I took this picture instead of helping him pick up all the food. I told him it was in the name of blog journalism.....I have an obligation to report the truth. I'm pretty sure he flared his nostrils at me. 

Exhibit C. - The straw that broke the camels back

That was once a jade plant. A beautiful, healthy and very much alive jade plant. Luna(tic) managed to efficiently annihilate it in minutes while rubbing the dirt into my carpet and covering my freshly cleaned hardwoods with potting soil. On word for you. Jerk. Ok....two words. Dog Jerk. 

Allow me set the scene for you. Jim and I are snuggled on the couch watching the Nascar race. He gets up to get a drink and walks over to check on Luna and Cleo laying in the dining room chewing on each others faces.  Jim returns to the couch with Cleo in tow. 

Me: What's Luna doing in the dining room? Does she have a dog approved toy? (Aka she's not chewing on the legs of my antique Pennsylvania House cherry dining room table is she?)

Jim: Yes....I just gave her a dog bone.

(Two minutes and one beautiful jade plant life later) 

Me: Are you sure she's just chewing a bone?

Jim: (Eyes roll) Yes.

Me: Ugh.....I'm gonna go check.

(10 seconds later I see spotted hell puppy shaking her head violently with jade plant remnants in her mouth)

Me: LUNA!!!!!!!!!

I was mad but still managed to laugh at the absurd amount of destruction she had created. I don't think she even realizes that it was wrong. You know when you see those youtube videos of people busting their dogs doing inappropriate things and the dogs seems all remorseful and aware they messed up?? Yeah....not this dog. She's kinda proud like, "Look what I have created!" I have no idea what this will lead to. It makes me wonder what else she has up her sleeve. It also makes me worry that she will be the dog that after doing wonderfully and proving herself months from now that we will slowly let her not be crated during the day and then randomly one day we will come home to half a couch. I guess only time will tell. 

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Puppy Chronicles: 17 weeks old and causing a ruckus

See that crazed look in her eye!?!?

Luna(tic) is officially 17 weeks old today. In the last few weeks her energy level has gone from light speed to ludicrous speed. And I'm praying we don't hit plaid soon.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about I'm clearly quoting the movie Spaceballs, which is 1987 at its best by the way. We've quickly realized that it's getting harder and harder to wear her out.

The rips.....

Lulu gets herself in such a frenzy in the evening that she grabs a toy and rips around the yard like she's been possessed by a demon. Then she'll stop on the fly and start to dig a hole. She's like lightening in a bottle.  Her and Cleo will have epic face biting battles and although Luna now weighs 30 pounds (half Cleo's weight) she is still no match for her. Cleo will take and enormous amount of crap from her then finally snap and go stuff her in a bush. Please see exhibit A and B below.

Exhibit A: Luna getting what she had been asking for

Exhibit B: Luna getting in a couple good bites

In other news, last Tuesday we sent Luna to a half-day at doggie daycare for her first time. As a childless 30 year old chick the only thing I can imagine it to is dropping your kid off for their first day of kindergarten. I was all nervous about it and had a slew of questions and all this pointless info to give them. You would have thought by the way I was acting that these aren't the people who have watched Cleo twice a week for the past two years. They quietly nodded along and then slowly shooed me out. Needless to say she had a great time and I think it was really good for her to be with other dogs without Cleo around. She has since gone back twice.

We also just picked up her electric fence collar and have started training her too it. That's what that ugly green collar is in all the pictures. We have a little over an acre and half and Cleo is trained to one as well. Luna has picked it up wonderfully. Overall she has been so easy to train. It's been a blessing having Cleo fully trained and Luna just seems to follow suit. I couldn't ever imagine doing this and having their ages being closer together. Not to say they aren't a handful anyway.

Cleo doing laps

I thought that I would just throw in one more of Ms. Sassy Spots, AKA Cleo doing her own spastic laps around the yard. Also Cleo is back in heat. I'm sure I'll do another post on that in a week or so. She's only about 3 or 4 days in so I haven't started drinking heavily yet. Just joking.....wait...no I'm not.

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