NAVHDA Natural Ability and Utility Test Results

The big day finally arrived and yesterday we drove down to our home chapter (Del Val) and tested 6 month old Luna in her NAVHDA Natural Ability test as well as running Cleo in her Utility Test. We had a pretty darn good day. Luna received a prize one and Cleo earned a pretty respectable prize two.  Jim did a great job handling the girls and I thought he showed a tremendous amount of poise for being not only a first time UT handler but running both girls in the same day.

Cleo on point with Jim in the middle and Jake Bean and Robert G gunning

I once caught a fish this big!

Cleo did a great job in the field. She ran big and it took over 2 minutes for Jim, the gunners and the judges to reach her on her first point. I was so nervous I had to turn and look the other way. It was the longest 30 minutes of the day for me but she stayed nice and steady and had a great run. Luna kept the sentiment going and also did a great job making us super proud of our puppy.

Luna on point

The two things everyone worries about on test day are the track for the NA test and the duck search for the UT test. Those always seem to be where dogs get themselves into trouble. Luckily Luna had no issues with the track. Cleo had a super interesting duck search but in the end it all worked out. Our biggest fear was that she wouldn't immediately go out and search that she would mill around the shore for a few minutes before expanding. Much to our relief after 35 seconds she headed out to the furthest part of the pond. After 9 minutes the judges instructed Jim to call her back and he did. Not 20 seconds later she found a wild duck and it took off across the pond with Ms. Sassyspots in hot pursuit. To make a long story short she eventually got her duck and delivered it to hand and we breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Luna Lu AKA Shark Girl

Geneva convention of dogs

This was my favorite picture from the entire day. I wonder if he saw any remnants of my flip flops or jade plants in there. I mean there had to be residual cat poop or SOMETHING...... 

The wheels kind of came off the cart for Cleo when we got to steady at the blind. For some bizarre reason when Jim walked away she stood up and barked at him four times. She has NEVER done anything like that and I couldn't even begin to fathom why. But just to keep the self destruction going (I mean why stop there) she went and retrieved the duck and then dropped it twice before handing it over to Jim. Our hearts pretty much sank and we knew she blew it. She also dropped the duck during the drag which was always one of her most solid parts of the test. It was frustrating to know she had done so well earlier and then stumble somewhat at the end. But regardless we really were happy with the prize 2.

So here is your official WARNING.....I'm about to have a bleeding heart moment. In fact it's incredibly rare. Five bucks says hell is freezing over at this exact moment at the melting of my black little heart. So either run to your TV to watch the news reports of icebergs in hades or sack up and get some kleenex cause were about to get real people.

I'm thankful. Like really flippin thankful. Jim and I were blessed to get hooked in with such a great NAVHDA chapter who's members really rallied around us to help us achieve the goals we set. We have been nothing short of fortunate to have spent the spring and summer training with this group of people.

Flash back moment to Luna working with Bob G when she was only 13 weeks old.

Thank you so much to the folks who came out and gunned, organized, supported, and cooked an amazing lunch for everyone. What a great group of people they are. The judges also deserve a big shout out as they lost a day they could have spent with their families or working their own dogs. Without them we wouldn't get to do what we love. Thank you Larry Lawton from NY, Glenn Basko from NJ and Chip Holcher from MD. You were good judges and we appreciated your insight and thoughts at the end. Also thank you to all you readers. You guys and gals ride the highs and lows of this fun sport with us and for that I'm thankful as well.

As for us and the pointer sisters were going to enjoy hunting this fall. Most likely we will go for a couple of Cleo's master hunter braces and then go for that UT prize 1 in the spring or fall.  I wish part of earning a prize 1 in NA means you have to behave but Lu's already dashed those prayers by trying to eat a frog tonight and then foaming at the mouth profusely. What a jerk. Anyhow like us and follow us on facebook at Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer and I'm gonna stop being all sappy. Back to my hardened facade. I got a fight to train for. :)

Say Good Bye to Summer Recap

Even hell puppy needs her beauty sleep

I've been a real bum the last few weeks with my blogging. This is the biggest layoff I've had since I started it more than a year and half ago. My work recently moved and Jim's father passed away making keeping up with this nearly impossible. So I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed with a recap of the last couple of weeks.

We  ended the summer like we always do at my parents shore house in Cape May, NJ. Click here to read about past shore shenanigans. We ate too much, drank too much, partied too much with the rowdy neighbors and slept too much. It was a phenomenal time. We also celebrated as Cleo turned 3 on September 1st. She spent the day running the beach, napping and chewing on fresh marrow bones with her pesky little sister in tow. What a life they have. When I die I want to come back as one of my GSP's.

Nothing like a 50 pound lap puppy to make chilling at the shore a little better.

Cleo and Luna partied like rock stars all night for Cleo's 3rd.  She originally demanded flasher beads but we think she's a little young for that so she settled for Hawaiian lei's. She drives a hard bargain that dog. She waved her paw at me and barked something about what happens in Cape May stays in Cape May!? I tried to no avail to explain to her that was Vegas. Sheesh...kids these days. Anyway below are some post party early morning hangover pics. Luna showed her youth by drinking the hangover off. Cleo not so much.

Someone check that puppy's I.D. Don't believe her if she says its in the car and she'll get it later.

**Disclaimer: The dogs didn't have any booze. Those are our and the rowdy neighbors empties. Don't get riled people. I'm not a jerk.**

But of course no hangover could stop hell puppy from working her magic. She was so well behaved all weekend until I returned early from the neighbors house to find that she had infiltrated the cat litter box and feasted on three days worth of kitty turds. I'm pretty sure her farts smelled like litter for two days. Jim says that only happened in my head. Glad were not voting on it Jim cause they did.

Luna's face full of litter. I wouldn't let her kiss me for a week. Barf.

To top things off we had a 5 1/2 hour ride home in shore traffic which was just enough to stir Luna(tic) into a tornado of destruction. And upon arrival home she managed to eat my favorite hat and destroy her dog bed in about 5 minutes. During the destruction Jim sat about 5 feet away immersed into fantasy football (which he is totally going to loose at by the way because I have the best team in our league, just saying).

Bye bye cute Mossy Oak hat. We had a great two years together. I will lament your loss. Rest in Peace.

Ugh!! WTF Luna!!! Really?

Even with all that has been going on we've been managing to squeeze time in working with the girls getting them ready for their upcoming NAVHDA Utility (UT) and Natural Ability (NA) tests. Cleo is looking great in the field and her duck searches have really come around. She's come a long way since we started training in the spring. Fingers crossed we do well with the UT otherwise I have a feeling it will be a long and quiet ride home with Jimbo. Luna on the other hand were not really worried about. She's 6 months old and impresses us every time we take her out. And she is so young we will be happy with whatever she does. 

Cleo returning from a duck drag

Luna's first track on a live pheasant. 

Brought it right back to Daddy!

So summer is officially over. For most people that probably bums them out. Not me. Aside from not having daily tomato sandwiches from the garden I can't wait for chilly weather, hunting, photographing dogs at field trials and hunt tests, drunken pumpkin carving, venison chili and copious amounts of fantasy football trash talk. This is my favorite time of the year. I'm looking forward to taking Luna hunting for her first time and watching as the leaves change and fall.  Hope you stick around for the ride and find us and like us on facebook. Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer. 

Luna's first trip to Cape May!

Running the beach!

I'm super lucky that my parents own a shore house in Cape May, NJ which is in my humble opinion one of the nicest beaches in the Garden State. A few times a year I manage to escape and get down to enjoy the beach and charm of the small Victorian town. This weekend I crashed my parents planned weekend getaway with Cleo and 6 month old Luna in tow. Cleo is a veteran of the Cape (you can read about prior shore shenanigans here) but this was Lu's first time on the beach.

Yay!! Stinky dead crabs! Should we death roll on them or eat them? What will make mom more crazy? 

 
Cleo and Luna got plenty of beach action this weekend. Cape May has one beach that is dog friendly during season called Higbee Beach. Each morning the girls would get me up at 7am and off we'd go to run the beach. The first day Luna didn't know what to make of the waves. She lumbered in after Cleo and had a wave break right into her face. That's was enough for her and she was done with all that nonsense. She spent the rest of the morning like one of those little birds that runs from the surf as it ebbs in and out. It wasn't until Sunday morning when the surf was placid that she ventured up to 20 or 30 feet out.

Waiting to steal Cleo's bumper as soon as she gets to shore. I mean why do all the work when you can just cherry pick?

Jockeying for the bumper

Luna loved the whole experience. The new smells, the sand dunes, playing with a 120lb Rhodesian Ridgeback, digging random holes and trying to constantly steal Cleo's bumper. It's not actually Cleo's bumper per say but Cleo thinks everything is hers. Luna was on way more than one occasion being a total little sister jerk about stealing the bumper and biting her ears and then finally Cleo had it and tumble weeded her from one edge of the beach to the other. Through a pile of driftwood into oncoming waves. Documentation of this event can be found below.

Cleo: "Go ahead....bite my flippin ears one more time and see what happens!!" 

Cleo: "Were done when I say were done!" 

**Please note Luna's tongue and the fact that Cleo wrapped her in that 

lead....hilarious and well played**

Jim couldn't make it to the shore this weekend so considering I was on my own with the Pointer Sister's they did pretty well for me. We only had one awkward outburst on my part when Cleo blatantly blew me off after being warned and rolled on some disgusting smelly dead horseshoe crab. I remember me screaming something like,"(Insert favorite expletive here), I'll shock the (insert next favorite expletive here) out of you!! What the hell Cleo!!! Ugh! Your a jerk!" Which by the way is a total bluff threat cause I'm not going to shock her, just like when I threaten to sell Luna to the Gypsy's for eating my underwear. I'll never actually sell her to the Gypsy's but they don't need to know that. I just want them to think I'm half crazy when it comes to rolling on dead things.  Unfortunately, for me the only people who think I'm half crazy are the other humans on the beach who actually now what the words I yelled mean. This is just another reminder to use the inside my head voice more often. And whatever....my dogs love me even if they do smell like dead stuff.

The best part about long dog excursions on the beach is the after effects which is copious amounts of doggie sleep and bone chewing time. Which I actually think they enjoy as much as the actual excursion itself. Cleo is a pro at sleepy time and Luna is a pro at bone chewing. And I am a pro at drinking wine while they are in a sedated state. Epic win for all!

Cleo rocking the full cocoon

Luna hoarding bones again

Cleo: "What? Did you want to lay on the couch too?"

Oh Snuggly tired shore pup!

So not only was this Luna's first time to the beach but it was her first time sleeping away from home. For whatever reason, maybe it was Jim's absence but both the pups slept extra snuggly with me at night. Luna kept her head planted in the middle of my chest while Cleo's head rested on my hip. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of our snuggles. I love my girls so much. So we're back at the Cape in two weeks for an extended Labor Day weekend. With some help by Jim I'll be able to bring my Nikon and get some good pics to share. In the meantime, check us out and like us on facebook if you haven't already: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

Life with German Shorthaired Pointers: Part 1

Gunny, Baby Luna at about 10 weeks and a crazed looking Cleo

I belong to a bunch of GSP facebook groups and quite a few hunting dog forums as well as a German Shorthaired pointer breed specific forum. Topics and questions on owning a GSP come up rather often or someone will ask should they get a GSP versus a Vizsla or an english pointer. There is always the normals questions of "what are these dogs like in the house", "do they have a lot of energy", ect ect. Well I'll tell you what it's like to own a German Shorthaired Pointer. I'll tell you ALL about it. But for fairness purposes don't just take my word for it. I've asked a fellow GSP owner and my good friend Jackie Secan (the Thelma to my Louise) to throw in her two sense because no one likes a biased opinion. *As a note in case you haven't noticed this is a GSP blog people.....I'm totally flippin bias*

1. Say goodbye to your privacy. 

8 week old Baby Luna who magically appeared with 

my undies wrapped around her waist

Me:  I'm thirty years old, so I'd safely say I've managed to go to the bathroom on my own for 26 or 27 years now. My GSP's have helped me realize that I am incapable of doing it without their involvement. They feel they need to be in the bathroom with me at all times to oversee whatever maybe occurring in there. If I lock them out they scratch the ever living crap out of the door and whine incessantly. When they come in they think I'm only there to rub them behind their ears. They don't realize its annoying to have two dogs who want to rest their heads in your lap. Or in recent months since the arrival of hell puppy, Luna has on more than one occasion tried to boldly steal my underwear while I'm still wearing them, almost dragging me off the can and I have to constantly protect the toilet paper since she's tried to rip it out of my hands. A quick pit stop in the crapper can turn into full contact sparring. If bathroom time is your "you time" prepare for that to end. Or just be willing to share to it with your new spotted shadow.

Gunny - Owned by Jackie Secan

Jackie: So you know the scene in the movie Psycho...the lady is taking a shower all unsuspecting and whatnot and then BAM cray cray dude?? That's kind of what it's like to shower with the door open with my dog minus the bloody stabbing and all. For awhile when Gunny was a puppy I routinely felt "eyes" on me while showering, usually while my face was all soapy or something and I was unable to open my eyes. I finally caught Gunny in action one day. He is notorious for popping his head in the shower and just STARING at you. He must have been a creepy old man in his past life, he's now for sure in peeping tom heaven. 

Skype dates with my man who is deployed, online classes and telephone calls?  Forget about it. He's like Stewie on that episode of Family Guy...."Mom, Mom, Mummy, Mummy, Mama, Mama, Ma, Ma, Mum, Mum..." but worse.

2. Expect the Unexpected

The death of my lovely jade plant compliments of Luna

Me: Each GSP has its own personality but to a certain extent when you get a German Shorthaired Pointer you should expect to get a very active dog, with some level of inherent prey drive, that usually never wants to be away from its people, that loves to please and to be loved. With all that said, if they only came with a crystal ball or blasted Ouija board you would be way better equipped to deal with expecting all the unexpected things that inevitably happen. Like jade plant destruction, stealing the cat food off the counter, rolling on foul dead things, unraveling entire paper towel rolls and then shredding it on every exposed surface in the house, pooping on the welcome mat, stealing things like expensive shoes and then comandoeing under the bed and refusing to give them back, anything that involves underwear or dead limbs. That's right...dead limbs. Like the time last fall I took Cleo on a picturesque hike through some fields at sunset. It was wonderful, one of the moments your so happy to be alive....that is until she didn't come back after disappearing over a hill top. A few minutes later and a stern "Come" command she comes back with a full deer leg in her mouth flinging maggots, happier than a pig in $hit. And it was clear when she arrived she had spent her absence rolling on it's carcass. Wonderful evening indeed.

Cleo and Luna rolling in the dirt after baths of course

Or when Cleo turns into "rubber dog".  This occurs when she's standing on the far side of the yard, you yell to her to come but instead she lays down. Frustrated, you march over to her and she rolls onto her back refusing to stand because not only does she not want to go inside but she doesn't want you to leave. When you grab her collar she limply lays there so your left wrestling with this 63 pound spotted monstrosity around her mid section trying to get her up and moving along. And appropriately rubber dog only happens when your in work clothes and running late.

Glam Gunny

Jackie:  Gunner definitely has OCD tendencies. At field trials he rips all the grass around his stakeout from the ground and then continues to to bark at offensive blades of grass just out of his reach. He will stand and stare at plants or grass in the yard for 5, 10,  or 20 minutes at a time and then rip them from their roots. (Baby Lu is learning from Uncle Gunny - Robyn you can thank me later!)

Then there are certain words I can't say in my own house. Let's take "Bug" for example. Bug is like the normal person's "F word" here - it's a no-no, (Though the F word is perfectly acceptable). If you say the B-word...it's game over. Gunny rushes around the house staring at all the corners of the ceilings and then looks into every single light bulb in the house trying to find a bug. Pretty sure he is slowly damaging his retinas.

Normal dogs, you know are scared of thunder. Nope we are scared of wrapping paper tubes. Gunny has been known to have a bit of a meltdown when those blasted wrapping paper rolls come out during the holidays. Don't even think about making noises in them, the poor dog has a meltdown.

Oh and then you know things like jumping through screened in windows and landing six feet down outside for no reason at all. Especially when my not so easily amused father is watching him for the week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was entirely to much to cover in one post. Until the next segment of Life with GSP's is posted in the following weeks be sure to check out more of Cleo and Luna's (and sometime Gunny's) shenanigan's on facebook at Adventure's of a German Shorthaired Pointer.
  

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.

Be sure to check us out on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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!

For extra fun, pictures and shenanigans find us and like us on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer!

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. :)

Find us and follow us on facebook! Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.