Doggie Drakkar

Why? Why? WHY??? Do dogs find it necessary to roll on disgusting, smelly dead things? Why? I don't understand it. I'm sure that I could look it up on wikipedia or ask.com and receive a perfectly logical answer. But why bother? I guess I don't care enough to be educated on the matter....I just wish my dog would stop rolling on dead stuff. Seriously. Tonight I went for a nice long run. I came back and took Cleo out to some fields by our house for nice stroll. Please note the video below.

It was a wonderful night to be out. So serene and enjoyable. Well seconds later that serenity was marred by Cleo diving onto a heinous carcass and thrashing about. I ran across the field screaming at her to stop. She knows she's not to roll on dead things!

By the time I got to her she had this gloating look of satisfaction on her little doggie face. Like nothing is better than when she is surrounded in a little halo of stench. It's her perfume of choice. I really shouldn't be surprised tho....and I'm not. She throws this card every couple of weeks. This past fall in the same field she disappeared over a hill and when I called her back she arrived to my horror with a deer leg in her mouth. So proud she was. I flipped out and screamed "Drop it" which she immediately complied and then of course rolled on it vigorously until I could reach her and drag her off. What a dog. At least she only rolls on dead things. My Aunt Gail and Uncle Sherman had the sweetest beagle named Baby for years. Sadly, Baby passed a few months ago. But I've heard a story or two of Baby rolling in bear crap at their lake house in Maryland. So I guess I should be thankful Cleo doesn't dabble in poo. But still....now I gotta go give Cleo a bath because her favorite place to sleep is on my pillow.    

Cooper's Field of Dreams

I came across this story on facebook yesterday. It was posted by the NorCal (Northern California) GSP Rescue. The story is about a beloved GSP and hunting companion named Cooper that was blinded. It's a quick video on Cooper still getting to hunt even though he is blind. A lesser person would have put Cooper to sleep but they still let him enjoy what he loves and was born to do. Check it out and if you get a chance look up Norcal rescue on facebook. They do quite a bit to help GSP's in need.
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2011/04/coopers-field-of-dreams/

If Natasha jumped off a bridge would you??

Cleo is a really good pup. She's sassy and has a tendency to talk back occasionally but all in all she's a phenomenal dog. Some of the best advice we received when we first got her was to make sure she was well socialized with other dogs. Most GSP's by nature get along with everyone but we absolutely made the effort from an early age to let her be with other hounds. Cleo loves her people but she really loves other dogs. Twice a week she goes to daycare and gets lots of socialization time. That's one of the hardest parts of her being in heat is that she doesn't get to go to daycare. I think it almost depresses her. Cleo's saving grace has been Natasha.

Jim and I live outside a small town in Pennsey about an hour or so north of Philadelphia. We reside in a small older development in the middle of farm and cow fields. Each house has between an acre and half and 3 acres of land, nothing huge but it's not crowded. Everyone has a garden, keeps to themselves and in the summertime you can hear gunfire and cows mooing in the distance. It's slightly rural but rather nice actually. People here don't have fences and it's common place for their dogs to walk about. This took allot for me to get used to. Cleo is on an electric fence and never leaves our property. But there is an older, out of shape German Shepard who lives up the street named Natasha and everyday she wanders down the road and comes to visit Cleo. Cleo anxiously awaits her visit everyday. She often sits patiently in the corner of the yard closest to Natasha's house and waits for her arrival. Since Cleo can't go to daycare Natasha's visits seem extra important. Below is a quick clip of the dynamic duo in action.

Take note that the driveway Natasha was wandering down at the end of the clip is not hers. It's her brother and littermate's. She makes her daily rounds before heading home everyday. It's pretty entertaining when the neighborhood kids come across her and walk Natasha home scolding her for wandering off but petting her the entire way and she happily follows them. Natasha has been visiting for months and they both seem to love it and its rather cute to watch. But regardless....I would never let my dog wander the neighborhood. But I would be lying if I said I don't look forward to her visits too.

Preparing for the NAVHDA Utility Test

 

Per the NAVHDA website, "The Utility Test is designed to test a hunting dog's usefulness to the on-foot hunter in all phases of hunting both before and after the shot, in the field and marsh and on different species of game." The UT test is challenging and demanding. I relate it to someone training for and testing for their blackbelt in martial arts. It takes time, discipline and lots of practice. Today we trained Cleo, and her brothers Bruin and Griz for several parts of the UT test. First up was "Walking at Heel" which is a test of obedience. The dog must walk at their handlers side through at least 10 pairs of stakes set on a zigzag. Its much harder than it looks. Regardless if you speed up, slow down or stop altogether the dog must remain at your side.We started off with this today and Bob walked each pup through several times and then handed the reins off to each owner for them to practice and learn.

Bob walking Griz through his first time

 

 

Bruin going through his first time

 

Bob with Cleo

 

Now the Handlers turn. This is Jim with Cleo. We felt she did a really nice job.

 

Ed and his handsome boy Griz

 

Steve working Bruin

 

We also did duck drags today which is something that we did last week and is part of the upcoming test. After yesterdays retrieves we were hopeful she would bring the duck back. Cleo was up first and she did a great job. Watch the video below to see her in action.
 

 

Steve was kind enough to drag the duck off for us and then hide in the woods so that he could let us know whether or not she picked the bird up or played with it first. He reported back that she nipped it several times before bringing it back. When it was Bruins turn he had a similar result. He brought his duck back to hand but he had nipped it as well. This is an issue because they will loose points on the UT test for nipping. Griz on the other hand had no issues with nipping and brought it back but not to hand. Again, he will also loose points for this. See his video below.
 

 

After the duck drag we put each dog back on the whoa table to start from basics in order to break them of their retrieving issues. Cleo and Bruin for nipping and Griz to retrieve to hand. Once they got it on the table we transitioned to the ground and then back to retrieves.

Jim and Cleo

 

 Steve and Bruin

 

Bold Grizmont

 

Next up was "Steadiness by the Blind". This portion of the test per the NAVHDA website, "is a test of the dog's reliability in the presence of game while in the exciting atmosphere of repeated gun fire." We set up a dog blind that Bruin of course pee'd on. Let me just take a moment and point out that Bruin pees on allot of stuff. Today he pee'd on Bob's blind twice, he pee'd on Jim's throwing bumper, and most notably he pee'd on Steve's boot. Which was hilarious. And since were on the topic last week Bruin was kind enough to empty his bladder on Jim's cooler, Bob's truck, Jim's truck and I'm sure countless other items. If I can recommend to anyone who has a small child and knows Steve Fiasco watch out because Bruin may just take out your kid with a stream of free flowing urine. Just saying. Anyhow, each handler stood behind the blind with their dog while another person/gunner stood several yards away in order to assist by firing and another person was available to throw a bumper for the dog to retrieve. During the actual test this will occur at a pond and a dead duck will be launched into the pond for the dog to retrieve. But we need them to understand what is required of them on land before we move to the water. Check out the video below of Griz in action. Griz did a very nice job.

 

Here is some pics of both Cleo and Bruin doing the same thing. Cleo is shown in the blind with Jim and Bob below.

 

   Cleo retrieving the bumper

 

Bruin in the blind with Steve. Jim in the distance as the second gunner.

 

Bruin on retrieve

 

Next up and last on the list for our training for the day was putting out a bunch of decoys and having the dogs retrieve the bumper thrown out for them among the bumpers. This exercise would normally be done in the water but we introduce it to the dogs on land so they understand what is expected of them before they are put in the water. I thought Cleo would struggle with this because at home she tries to stuff as many toys in her mouth at one time as possible. But she actually did pretty good with it!

Jim walking Cleo through the decoys before throwing out the first bumper

Cleo being sent out on retrieve of the bumper

 

Cleo bringing the bumper back

 

So it was a great day for the older dogs. Everyone learned allot both dogs and handlers. Not to mention it's just great to hangout and talk some trash too. We were joined for a good portion of the day by Jim Given who owns a full blood sibling to Cleo, Bruin and Griz named Scout but he is only 19 weeks old. Scout is an amazing puppy. He did the decoy drill above that the elder 19 month old pups did and he had zero issues with it. He really is an amazing puppy. I walked the field with him earlier today and he shows a very high level of awareness. He looks for his handler, will follow hand signals and comes when called. He also pointed birds and held his point for Jim. Scout has desire and I think he will do amazing things come his NAVHDA Natural Ability Test this fall. Below are some pics of the super sweet and very cute Scout.

Scout is a tank!! He's very solid for 19 weeks!

Jim, Scout and Bob

Scout on Point

 

We also got to see Anthony and his 18 week old DK puppy Chase. Chase looked great in the field today. It's amazing how much he grew since last weekend. He had nice definitive points and looks so flashy in the field. Below are some pics of Chase doing his thing.

Nice point Chase!

Chase loves those birds!

 

 We also got to see our Red and White Setter friend Chaeli (hope I spelled her name right this week) who is owned by Ron Levin. I only got to see one of Chaeli's run's today but it was clear you could see improvement from last week. She has a nice nose and her first bird today she hit from a good distance off. Way to go Chaeli!!

 

Chaeli wanted those birds today!

What a cute face!

 

Once again it was a great day of training. There were a few more dogs there today that we didn't get to see or I didn't get pictures of. At any given moment there is a lot going on and I wish that I could be in more than one place at a time to get it all documented but its just not possible. But as always its no nice to get to spend time with the dogs and their owners. Learning this is so much fun. It's a challenge but it's also very rewarding.

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Be vewwy vewwy quiet. We are hunting Pheasants!

If you would have told me two years ago that I'd not only be getting up at 5:30 in the morning to go hunting but was excited for it I would have laughed at you and told you that you lost your mind. In fact I may even think you were certifiably crazy. Nonetheless, I was up and ready to go at the crack of dawn. Jim and I took Cleo over to Powderborne gun club this morning on a pheasant hunt. We kept our expectations low...we just wanted to have a good time with Cleo. We ended up having a great day in the field!

Cleo pointed her first bird after about 10 minutes in the field. She held pretty nice and I had to put the camera down so that I could hold her so she would stay steady on the shot. We then sent her out for the retrieve hoping she would return but she did not. She got to the bird and played with it. We weren't to disappointed....we just wanted to enjoy the morning. Jim did have her put the bird in her mouth and hold it. It was a little on the job experience. See pics below.

Next bird was a cock bird and he had roosted in a tree. We also sent Cleo in on the retrieve but she did not bring it back.

Things stared to change after these two birds. Cleo started to settle in and we really began having a good time. The third bird she turned on a dime and pointed a hen. We flushed, fired and sent her in for the retrieve and just like that she brought it back to hand. That's the great thing about low expectations when you exceed them or blow them out of the water there is not a better feeling in the world. We were so happy and proud!

Same point different angle.

Cleo's retrieve!

Next bird she found in a hedgerow. She hit it pretty far off. I hustled up to get a hold of her so we could keep her steady. Once Jim had flushed and fired we sent Cleo in and she brought the bird back to hand no problem. 

 We had such great momentum at this point. Then we heard a bell in the distance growing louder and louder and lots of yelling. Another hunting party was getting a little close to us and they were calling for their dog Ginger who had clearly blown them off and by the sound of things was charging across two fields and heading are way. Jim and I started to pay allot of attention to what was going on. Cleo could have cared less and was off in the distance locked on point. Jim was hustling over to her when I saw Cinder not Ginger bust through a hedgerow. Cinder was a pretty big male Viszla and he was charging our way and Cleo is very much in heat. I screamed up to Jim that he was an unfixed male. Cinder blew by both of us on his way to Cleo who was still locked on point. Cinder did not honor her point damn near knocked her over and flushed her bird which Cleo immediately took off after it with Cinder in hot pursuit. I ran off in the field after them while Jim used the electric collar to call Cleo back. Cinder did not turn and chase Cleo but stayed after the bird he rudely flushed. So we don't know if he was just a dog who does as he pleases and goes where he wants or if he just wanted Cleo. Jim yelled some choice words across the fields to Cinder's owner and we set back to hunting another field or two away. But when it was all said and done my adrenaline was pretty high....higher than when I'm in the ring fighting. 

So in the end we got 5 birds. We lost the one Cinder flushed, we lost another one because the safety was on and the bird flushed fast. But it was a great day and we had a blast. Below is a quick video I took of Cleo on point and some pics of our bounty.

 We love our time in the field with Cleo. It's great for us to get to watch her do what she loves the most which is hunt. She found lots of birds today and had one entertaining rabbit chase. It was a great morning.

Cleo's love of squirrels

Cleo points a squirrel. 

Retrieving....

 

We had another great day training today. We worked on quite a few things but we really focused on retrieving. The last few weeks we have been working on the force fetch with Cleo so we could get to this point. She has greatly improved with her issue of holding birds in her mouth. She's not completely there but she's made great progress. Two weeks ago while working with Bob he was trying to determine exactly what her disconnect was. After Cleo had successfully retrieved some chukars he decided to do a pheasant drag. Cleo did a nice job of tracking the pheasant but she did not bring it back. It suddenly became apparent that she understood that she needed to find the bird but she did not understand that once she finds it she needs to bring it back to Jim. Today we basically worked on getting her to understand any bird she finds she needs to bring back. Bob implemented this in more than way.

First he started off with a dummy launcher. Depending on the charge he used he could shoot the dummy closer or further away. The launcher serves more than one purpose. When its fired it makes a noise similar to a gun discharging, then it shoots the dummy into the air and it shoots the dummy a farther distance than you could throw it.

Bob with the dummy launcher

 

Cleo retrieving the dummy

 

   Cleo bringing the dummy to hand

We also worked Cleo on some live planted birds today. We've been working on keeping her steady to the shot meaning she can not break when the gun is fired. Remaining steady to the shot is a requirement for her to pass her AKC Senior hunt tests and her NAVDHA Utility test.

Rocking the intensity

 

  Another good point

 

Jim keeping Cleo steady while Bob fires a cap gun

 

A highlight of the day was introducing Cleo to the duck drag for the first time. In short, a dead duck is drug through a field and hidden by a hedgerow. Then Cleo has to track the duck and bring it back to hand. It was very similar to what Bob did a few weeks back with the pheasant. Two weeks ago Cleo did not make the connection and failed to bring the pheasant back. Today she found the duck and brought it right back to Jim. We were elated. Not just because she brought the duck back but because she understood what was expected of her. Were moving in the right direction!
 

 

 

We brought home some chukars and Steve was kind enough to give us his dead duck so we will work with Cleo this week and hopefully be ready for the next step next week. Cleo's litter mate and brother Bruin was also doing duck drags today. Bruin will be testing for his utility test this fall with Cleo. Bruin also did a great job and brought his duck back to his dad and owner Steve Fiasco.
 

We also experienced the DK invasion today. DK is short for Deustch Kurzhaar and is basically a pure breed German bloodline GSP. Cleo is not a DK dog. She is an American bloodline GSP although she does have some DK in her bloodline.  We got to see Jasmine and her owner Vinny again today.

 

 

We also got to see two 17 week old DK brothers in action. The first one was Boss. This handsome little fellow is full of desire!!

Boss on point!

 

Bob working boss

 

I'm pretty sure that Boss will make his owner Rich very proud this coming fall. Boss's brother and litter mate Chase had a great day of training too. I got a chance to spend a little more time with him and his owner Anthony and it was great to witness Chase's instincts come alive.

Chase on point!

No bird Chase!

 

So once again it was a great Sunday spent with wonderful people improving our bird dogs. I look forward to us working with Cleo this week in anticipation of having her ready for next weekends training. Cleo has come so far in the last 19 months. She has really come into her own and I also feel Jim has grown immensely with her as a handler.