Back in the Saddle: Preparing for the NAVHDA UT Test

Cleo at Steady by the Blind

This posts title is a bit misleading because we never really leave the "saddle". Were always busy with the girls working towards some type of goal. It's good for our sanity and theirs as well. Well directed GSP energy creates happy GSP's. Happy GSP's eat less of my stuff like expensive flip flops keeping me happy which in return makes Jim happy and then were all happy. I love it when were all happy.

The title is more accurate in a sense that I've been a legit crappy blogger as of late. I've been training for some Muay Thai competitions and the thing that has suffered the most has been this blog. Which sucks BUT after this July I'll be way more dedicated to keeping this blog up to date. This is when I put down my bourbon and lemonade slushy and cover my tye dye t-shirt wearing heart and raise the other hand and pledge to do a less crappy job for all of you readers.....so help me god.

Master Hunter Bling and a happy Jimbo

Now that we have that out of the way a quick spring recap and then onto the UT update. We ran the girls in some AKC Hunt Test braces this spring. Luna was our little super star bypassing Juniors and Seniors and jumping right into the Masters division and passing her first brace at the age of 13 months. By 15 months of age she completed 5 of the required 6 braces. We will finish off her title this coming fall as soon as the seasonal tests become available again. Cleo also did a pretty darn good job in Masters and only has 2 more braces to earn her respective title.

Luna also had her first heat cycle followed by a crazy growth spurt. She is close to an inch taller than Cleo now and maybe four inches longer. Her chest is dropping and we feel she is going to fill out a bit more. She's turned into quite a hellacious tank. My little pupper is all grown up. ***This is when the sad trombone music plays***

Luna returning from her Duck Drag

Cleo being sent on a duck drag. Jim telling her to Track Track Track Track....

Cleo bringing back the bounty

This time last year Luna was a 16 week old puppy and therefore missed out on a good portion of the UT work we put in with Cleo last year. We introduced her to ducks at 18 weeks of age and tried to lay a good foundation for her with mini searches and tracks but we knew the real work would start this spring. This past Friday and then again on Sunday we began formally introducing her to the sequences of the Utility Test. Both Luna and Cleo are scheduled to test in the UT this coming September at the Delval Chapter.

Cleo being sent during the steady by the blind sequence

Luna staying steady during her turn

We kicked training off for the dogs with some duck drags. Cleo has historically done a fantastic job with drags and did so again this weekend. We set a small drag up for Luna on Friday and after a successful first time out he increased the distance on Sunday. She had no issues with the track and we quickly moved onto the Steady by the Blind sequence. The steady by the blind sequence is where the wheels came off the cart for Cleo last year when she tested in UT. Up until that point she had knocked her field work and duck search out of the park with 4's. Needless to say we will be spending more time in this area of the test for her this time around. She did a pretty nice job during training this weekend so we feel were off to a good start. Luna did an exceptional job considering she had never been exposed to this segment of the test before. She heeled wonderfully, sat quietly and retrieved her bumper delivering it to hand.

Luna's duck search

Luna getting to carry her duck back to the truck

Is that Cleo or the Swamp Thing??

After some mud puddle four wheeling we made our way over to the duck search pond. Our friend wanted to see if we could get Luna to go out without a visual. He kayaked out the receiver off of one of his Dogtra remote release traps and hid it on an island across from the area we would send Luna from. The receiver can either quack or beep to be located. If needed we could use the quacking to coax Luna out farther into the pond. Jim brought Luna up to the shoreline for her first real duck search and sent her out. She swam out a ways and then returned not entirely sure what was expected of her. Jim called her over, set her back up and resent her and then our friend hit the receiver with the quacking. It was like fireworks went off in her head and she moved right out into the water, past the island and across the pond to the other side. After about 15 minutes she started making her way back with a duck. Success! It was a great first time out for her.

Water Serpent....Jim's favorite

Kerry Lucas receiving a duck from her girl Indy after a very nice duck search

Occupying my time while waiting for the dogs to return.

Cleo also had a successful duck search. She milled around for a minute or two after being sent but then took off across the pond. It took about 10 minutes before she appeared with her mouth stuffed full of duck. It was a positive and progressive day of training. We'll stay focused on water work for the next couple of weeks and hopefully be a well oiled machine by test time. Below are some additional pics of our and our friends dogs during training.

Cleo and Luna's older sister Grace owned by Keith and Kerry Lucas. I'd LOVE to know what was going through her head.

Indy also owned by Keith and Kerry Lucas jumping a tree on a duck drag

Luna's duck drag hand off

Bonnie's crazed duck game face! Bonnie is owned by Bob G

This is Cleo with the hammer down barreling towards the water. 

Cleo and Luna's father Maximus owned by Bob G

I do love me some dragonfly pics

Miss Grace AKA The Duck Stalker

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Homemade Gourmet Frosty Paws

Things are about to get real people......real flippin good.

You might be asking yourself why bother to make frosty paws gourmet? Why go through the trouble to kick them up a notch? Well because after a few bourbon and lemonade slushies you can totally enjoy one with your dogs. That's why....because they are amazing.

Couple things to keep in mind when you are making these for your dogs:

1. Only use dog approved food so that means no chocolate, no raisins, no grapes, no macadamia nuts, no salt and no dairy based ice cream. If your unsure whether or not your dog can have something check a toxic dog food list before preparing them treats. Your dog WILL think your a total jerk if you make them sick. Just saying.

2. When buying the frozen yogurt try to get plain, low fat yogurt and go organic if you can. Often fruit flavored yogurts contain additional sugars and if your hunting dog is anything like my gals the last thing they need is any amount of assistance in being spastic. Today I used fat free vanilla bean frozen yogurt because its what I happened to have my in freezer and its delicious.

3. I like to use 9 oz. coated paper cups as opposed to the 5 oz cups. I find the 5 oz cups to be to small in diameter and it makes it more difficult to stuff the awesomeness of this recipe in there. In addition I like to leave some space at the top of the 9 oz cups so I have plenty of room for peeling the paper off later.

4. There really isn't a number four. I just like it when things are even. Five bucks says most of you do too so don't judge me people.

This is a Cleo and Luna approved recipe

Homemade Gourmet Frosty Paws

What you need:
~Large container of Low fat or Fat Free Plain Organic Frozen Yogurt (48 Fl. Oz)
~Your favorite creamy peanut butter (Clearly I'm a Skippy kind of gal)
~Salt Free peanuts (coarsely chopped)
~9 oz. Coated paper cups

1. Set all your cups out in a row (I usually construct 6 to 8 cups at a time). Then fill the bottom of each cup with a layer of frozen yogurt. Use the spoon to push it down so it's compacted. My base layer is usually about an inch or so deep.

***Note: You want the yogurt to be on the soft side but not melting. If it gets to soft it makes sticking to the peanut butter a challenge. So if this occurs throw the cups and the large yogurt container back into the freezer to stiffen them up again.***

 
2. Spoon a dollop of the peanut butter on top of the yogurt and use the spoon to push it firmly down. You don't want to push the peanut butter into the yogurt but you want to eliminate any air gaps.

3. Sprinkle in your salt free chopped peanuts. Use your fingers to gently push them down onto the peanut butter.

4. Put your final layer of frozen yogurt on top and do your best to push it down so its set in there nice and tight. You should have about an inch and a half of empty cup remaining at the top. Take the full cups and leave them in your freezer until they are fully frozen. It shouldn't take longer than a couple of hours. Once frozen use a scissors to cut a line into the top inch of the cup and then peel the paper cup off of the frosty paw. Serve in an area you don't mind a mess.

Peeled but with the bottoms and backing still on. I didn't want a mess on my counter. 

Luna chasing a rogue peanut

There are plenty of variations to this recipe so if you decide you want to switch it up here are some suggestions:

Omit the salt free peanuts and instead use thinly sliced ripe bananas. If you want both then simply switch your creamy peanut butter to chunky.

Or omit the peanut butter and use canned pumpkin. Be sure not to buy canned pumpkin pie. Then sprinkle the pumpkin with chopped salt free peanuts.

Or add a layer of broken up dog biscuits. I'd suggest using homemade dog biscuits for that. If your not sure how to make them check out one of my recipes for that here.

AND if you decide you want to make these for yourself and you have no plans on sharing yours with the dogs throw in a layer of Carmel or fudge. Or go a healthier route and use granola and fresh fruit like strawberries, blueberries or bananas. And be sure to stick a Popsicle stick in the cup when finished so you don't have to lick them off the floor like the dogs although after enough bourbon and lemonade slushies you may have too.

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and get more recipes from us here.

Trailers, AKC Hunt Tests and Missing Food from the Counter....Oh My.

When you start posting pics of trailers, campers or RV's on facebook or on blogs it means your hunting dog obsession has reached new unhealthy heights and you should maybe invest in an therapist induced intervention. Just sayin.

We got a new toy!!! Yay! Jimbo and I have talked about getting a trailer for years and finally pulled the trigger through dog obsessed justifications. It's remotely similar to when we had always discussed buying kayaks but could never justify the purchases till we HAD to get one for duck searches. We may be heading up to the Catskills to an AKC test at the end of the month for our maiden voyage! Boom!

Cleo calls top bunk!!

The back of the trailer pushes out to an entire king sized bed to open up the living spaces of the trailer. You can see it in the photo above. The pointer sisters seem to be all about the bunks at the other end of the trailer but I have no doubt they will be squeezing in with us at night. We should all start taking bets how long it takes for Luna to wreck something in the trailer and for me to melt down like Chernobyl. 

***Cleo is not a mountain goat although she would argue that statement. She did not leap onto the top bunk. I picked her 60lb spotted ass up and shoved her up there because it made her happy. Mainly just because her little sister couldn't get up there. #OlderSiblingsAreJerks***

Bone Buddies. Cleo and her daddy Maximus.

Hunt test season is upon us again! To kick things off proper this year we had some well enjoyed company with Bob G and his two GSP's Maximus (Cleo and Luna's dad) and Ms. Bonnie G. The whole crew spent the night at our place last Saturday to lessen their drive up to the Hunt Test in Weatherly, PA on Sunday. We had an AWESOME time kicking back, enjoying some cold ones and watching the dogs roll each other around the yard. After spending two days with Maximus it's apparent that Cleo is not only his clone in the field but in the house as well. Now I know where she inherited the mystical art of counter surfing. 

Hmmmmm. One side doesn't look like the other side. How peculiar.  

In all fairness Bob warned me that Max was a bit food motivated but I completely forgot (let's blame it on the wine) and wandered away from the kitchen for about 2 minutes while making dinner. I returned to a half barren cutting board and an extra attentive GSP. Max managed to stuff his spotted face with approximated 1 1/2 chopped tomatoes and 3/4 of a sliced cucumber in probably a quarter second. Five bucks says he didn't even enjoy it. The main thing I gathered from this experience......Max doesn't like broccoli. Next time have less cucumbers and tomatoes and double the broccoli. I'll show him who's boss. :)

 Some AKC MH bling for Cleo

Cleo passed her first of five required MH braces so I'd like to say that we are well on our way to an AKC Master Hunt Title! I couldn't be more excited or proud of our girl.

Cleo on point with Jim walking in to flush. She held this point for a very long time.

Luna honoring her bracemate Maggie in the back field

Luna sadly struck out but at the age of 14 months we were far from disappointed. She ran fantastic staying steady through the shot, retrieved to hand and honored staunchly several times in the backfield. She got picked up in the bird field for not honoring but it was kind of an odd situation. Which brings me to my main gripe about AKC Hunt Tests....the judges often create / force these odd situations in the bird field and often discount what happened in the back field although it happened in a more realistic hunting situation. But regardless the judges were very impressed with how well Luna did considering how young she is to be running at that level. It was also a good reminder that when competing in these tests your essentially playing a game and it's not like hunting at all. I have no doubt Luna Lu will have her own MH ribbon bling within the next couple of weeks. Bob's female Bonnie also qualified for her first of six required braces. The weekend was an epic win.

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A Tale of Two Dog Beds and One Ill Behaved GSP

A picture is worth a thousand words...and a wine slushy or two

Thursday night I came home from work to discover a class five tornado had touched down in my living room. Please take note that Cleo the innocent one in the back, had her ears down. As the eldest sassy GSP she knew the shit was about to hit the fan. Luna-cifer, the guilty as hell one, stood there proud like she was saying (in my best Thor voice), "Look what I have created!!!" She is totally oblivious that destroying the new dog bed was wrong in any way. I can only imagine how much fun she must have had. I envision her barking at it while intermittently flinging saw dust laden stuffing everywhere while her short little tail wagged in glee. What a jerk. While rummaging through the stuffing I also found the remnants of the cat food plate in there. If only they had gotten their little spotted paws on some alcohol it would have been a frat party scene from Animal House.

So what does one do when their puppy is vibrating from all the pent up energy? You let them out into the yard to run laps while you clean up the mess. I still stand firm that this is quite possibly the best video I have ever taken. Fingers crossed I could win an Oscar for this....Best Director of a Dramatic Animal Documentary. 

All of this is a result of them not getting out to run. It was raining at the end of last week and everything was a mud pit. It all comes down to simple math. BORED GSP's + NOT ENOUGH EXERCISE = DESTRUCTION. On the other hand TIRED GSP's = HAPPY GSP's (which is the equivalent of happy owners). Now that we have that out of the way there is no excuse for the next picture which sent me into profanity laden fits.

This is why I drink.....well not really. But more importantly WHAT THE HECK LUNA!??!

This was an old dog bed I threw into the same spot as the new one Luna destroyed so she would still have something to lay on.  It lasted four days. FOUR DAYS!!! And then she destroyed it after having spent 5 hours running like a banshee at daycare WHILE Jim was home. Cleo just laid there idly watching her have her way with it. So time for some new math: LUNA + DOG BED = JERK. So I told Jim no more dog beds in that spot....which funny enough is her spot. So now she lays happily on the floor in the spot where her dog beds used to be or squeezes into Cleo's dog cave with her. But there has been no more destruction since...well she destroyed all her dog beds and we haven't replaced them. She hasn't even attempted to maim anything else in the house. She is such a quirky little pup. So she's officially on dog bed probation for the next month. Maybe she'll get off early with good behavior but judging by historical prior wrongs....I highly doubt it. :)

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Baby Luna Turns One!

On February 15th, 2012 our whole world changed. Jim and I patiently waited for 18 months for Bob Corsaro of Nobelle's Kennel to produce a repeat breeding of his female Tessie and Bob Gelder's male Nobelle's Dbl Trbl Maximus MH. This specific breeding had produced our other female, Cleo two years prior. In addition we were extra excited as we had pick female!

This time last year Tessie produced 8 males and one single female. I couldn't have been more excited but Jim was pretty bummed out the breeding only produced one female. So much for having pick! I could have cared less and told him it just meant that Luna was meant to be....she was ours from the moment she was born. It was destiny. He would eventually come to agree with me.

Luna looking to feed within minutes of being brought into the world. She was one of the first couple of pups born. She was so white and looking extra guinea piggish!! (The next three photos taken by Bob Corsaro)

Luna facing the camera a few days after being born. She was born with a white sash on her head (the sign of the devil) just like her big sis Cleo. It has since turned liver but the hell puppy attitude remains stoically in place.

Baby Lu at a couple of weeks old. Starting to get some color!

Here is a quick video of Luna in the whelping box the day we picked her up! 

Jim and I had an agreement that when we picked up Lu I would get to be the one who held her on the two hour ride home since he held Cleo two years before when we made the trip. She seemed so small...smelled awful and was perfect in every way. It was like holding a little piece of our soul in my arms. She was the sweetest puppy and cooed regularly and pushed back in your embrace as if cherishing it. 

Luna getting a hold of my sweatshirt string in the whelping box. I should have realized this was the first sign of trouble.

Once we got her home Cleo was excited and interested but after Luna spent the night Cleo wanted her gone. It took about 8 days for Cleo to get fully on board and love her the way we did. Below are some previously unshared videos of our first days together as a family. 

Day 3 or 4 I believe when Cleo first starting making an effort

I can barely stand to watch these videos as they pull on my heart strings so much

This video was taken on the day Cleo finally gave in (day 8) and started to Love our Lu.

Luna has completed our lives. She's the missing piece to our puzzle and there is not a second were not glad we waited for her. She's quirky, and funny and will happily destroy your shit or steal your things faster than you can catch her in the act. She cries like crazy when she sees her Sammy Lou and gives the best kisses ever....even better than Cleo. She has a nack for finding trouble and moles and prefers sleeping under the covers. She always has a wagging tail and loves to chew off Cleo's collars. We love her and couldn't live a minute of our lives without her.

Not such a little white guinea pig anymore. 

This past year has flown by and I just want to thank everyone for being along on the hell puppy ride with us. It's been awesome to share this adventure with so many cool people. I still can't believe my baby is getting so big. Here's to many many more years of Luna Shenanigans!!

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Super Dogs...Well sorta

While preparing a delicious dinner last night I watched out of the corner of my eye Cleo circling the kitchen like a shark. She intently observed my movements all the while taking note of the counter placement of all food and paper products. Her visibly moving nose giving insight to her plans. Being the grizzled veteran she is I watched her slyly check all the paths to flee before slowly shimmying towards the counter.

Meanwhile Luna sat quietly in the corner pretending to not watch the scene unfolding in front of her. Lies Luna....all lies. I took about three steps away and turned as the tension in the kitchen shifted and before Cleo could move another muscle I warned her spotted ass with spatula in hand:

Me: Don't do it Dogface.
Cleo: **Head tilt**
Me: You clearly have super powers with your nose. Use your powers for good Cleo...not evil.
Cleo: **Blinks Eyes**
Me: Who do you want to be Cleo!??! Lex Luther or Superman!?!
Cleo: **Sits down**
Me. My girl.

Satisfied with my quick come to Jesus speech with her I turned around as Cleo jumped like a ninja onto the counter stealing a wad of paper towels and taking off with her sidekick in tow. She clearly chose the Lex Luther route. As they wedged themselves under the dining room table to shred their bounty I knew somehow this would lead to me making superhero outfits for them because this how my brain works. For the record I immediately called Jim at work to tell him I needed a sewing machine which he totally didn't understand because this idea's level of awesomeness is just entirely too much for him.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an ill behaved shorthair!

I can not stop laughing at this photo. 

In reality I should have made super villain costumes for them as they clearly chose the dark side but villain costumes are never as cool as super hero costumes. Check us out and like our madness on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

The Second Dog Conundrum

It's a big question and it eventually comes up. Should you or shouldn't you get a second dog? Clearly Jim and I have two dogs....two very sassy and spirited german shorthair pointers. So obviously we grappled with the second dog conundrum ourselves. Our original motivations were we wanted a playmate for Cleo and another hunting dog in the field and for some unexplainable reason it just felt like it was time. That's not to say that the idea didn't scare the living hell out of me. I was comfortable with how life was. We had a routine and I knew each day what to expect in our little family dynamic and we were all happy. Getting a second dog meant things were going to change and I had limited control of all the factors. There where so many what if's.

**** I just reread those last three lines like four times and realized that they made me sound like a legit control freak. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Freud.****

When we made the decision to get Luna we decided to get a puppy. Not to say by any means that that is the only choice. Rescues....especially breed specific rescues do a great job of placing the right dogs in the right home.  There is always the option of purchasing a started dog as well. But regardless if you choose to get a puppy, a rescue or a started dog make sure you get breeds that are compatible in energy level. Getting a bassest hound as a playmate for Cleo would have been a disaster....just saying.

One of the things I remember us battling with was whether we should get a male or a female pup. We choose to go with a female after quite a bit of flip flopping. The main reason being Cleo is not fixed which is very common in the hunting / testing / trialing world. We logistically didn't have a way to keep a male separated from her for the duration of two 30 day heat cycles a year. We were also pretty turned off by how much unfixed males mark. So for us the choice ended up being rather easy. As far as choosing a male or female you need to pick what fits your life and family the best. If you have a territorial male you might want to get a female. If you have an older calmer dog you may want to rescue a senior dog as opposed to getting a puppy. Examine your lifestyle and current dog and the answer might be easy.

Getting Luna ended up making our life so much easier...well not at first actually. Cleo went through some phases over about an 8 day span. The first night she was interested and excited about Luna but by morning when she was still in the house she was benevolently wounded. Then she became jealous, then indignant, then slowly she became accepting and then finally on the 8th day Cleo fell in love with her and I stopped binge drinking from all the stress of it. Life has for the most part been happily ever after. That is accept for the 6,000 moles Luna has killed and all my hats and jade plants she has destroyed. Then there was the getting stuck under the deck incident...but I digress.

Some of the benefits of getting a second dog for us has been that they enjoy being with each other and playing with each other. They absolutely occupy each others time. They play tug of war, zoom around the yard after each other, hunt for moles together, dig big holes in the mud, roll each other through bushes and chew on each others faces. There are times when they snuggle up on the couch or cram themselves into their dog cave together and clean each others ears that it just pulls on my heart strings. They for all intensive purposes love each other. Over the holidays we sent Luna to Bob Gelder's house for two weeks to finish getting her forced fetched and Cleo was legitimately depressed. In the field they have become a solid team.  Watching them work together and honor each others points has become like poetry in motion. Hunting has never been so much fun.

Although getting a second dog ended up not being anymore work for us than having one keep in mind that it's twice the food bill, twice the vet bill, double the heartworm and flea meds, double the daycare costs and when you go on vacation its double the fee for kenneling. It means more birds or ducks for training and if you pay for help from a pro trainer it can double your training bill. But in my opinion its a small price to pay for the richness they bring our life.  We'll never have just one dog again. I will say tho that we were very glad we waited till Cleo was two and half years old before we got Luna as she was fully trained making it extraordinarily easy to train Luna both in and out of the field. I am now not worried about ever adding another pup to our pack and we most likely will in 2014.

So if your considering adding a second pup to your pack its totally normal to be a little nervous or unsure about it. It's a pretty big commitment. Do your research, talk to experienced breeders or people who have had to make this same decision as you and make sure you can handle the extra financial commitment. Once you start doing your research you will most likely know pretty quick if it's the right decision.

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