April 30, 2014

Bad weather continues here in Erie. We have had very strong wind and heavy rain for a couple of days now. I took Silas for a walk around the development this evening due to field flooding. We had a nice time in a fenced in baseball field as he was able to run free. There are so many distractions for a puppy in a townhouse area with lots of other pets around. Sarah and I are attempting to make a move back to the country in the Venango/Clarion county area. Silas an I will have much more room to roam there; more wild birds too! Silas spends most of his time now with free range over the entire house. He is doing quite well with all the new space. I have fencing to make the deck safe as well since it is elevated.

April 26, 2014

Mom and Dad came up to Erie this weekend. Silas discovered he likes to  sleep on the couch with Dad almost as much as he does with me. I have noticed quite a change in his behavior over the past week. He is a little more relaxed throughout the day. He explores very well on our walks but checks back with me. He does well with positive reinforcement to include a piece of kibble or a little petting when he does something I ask him to do well. He is fairly reliable with both whistle and call at this point. He has started to really notice birds on our walks. He had his rabies shot on Monday and weighed 10.10 at the time. The week before he was 10.1. I am feeding him 1/2 cup Purina Pro Plan puppy, Focus, 2 times a day. I am thinking I will continue 2 smaller feedings a day throughout his life. Just an update of his development.

April 23, 2014 Jazz/Silas is 12 weeks old today.

Silas is 12 weeks old today. I have not posted for several days because I haven't had a chance. We had a beautiful weekend in Oil City, Venango county over Easter weekend. Sarah sang a church. Silas and I took a nice walk on Saturday. It was our nicest day so far this year. I called a nice gobbler in while Silas hid beside me. He is becoming more and more independent and is exploring his environment a little more on each walk. He alternates from walking around my legs to quick sprints out ahead. I think he is coming along quite well. At home, we have begun to allow him into other rooms of the house. So far that is going as well as expected. He attempts to play with the cats but they are not yet ready for him. He is starting to bark some at the cats or us when we are not in the room with him. I'm not sure what to think of this behavior yet as we live in a town house and I don't want the neighbors to complain. Anyway, he is doing well so far as my limited experience tells me. He sure is a nice boy!

 

April, 15 2014 Snow in Erie

As I write this post Silas is chewing a rawhide on the kitchen floor. We just returned from our evening walk in snow, 2 inches with more falling, and a bitter 20 degree air temp with wind. On a positive note, he seems to adore snow. Silas has changed quite a bit over the past few days. He is biting at our hands, pants, etc. much less. A firm no and short time out have seemed to work well. He comes out and plays hard following this but with no nipping attempts. Silas is meeting many new adults, children and other animals and has become much more outgoing with them. We took a walk through Oil City on Saturday where he was quite a hit among the townspeople. Silas is now sleeping through the night in his kennel. I put him to bed around 10 pm after a restroom trip and he sleeps soundly until 5 am when I get up to feed him and take him for a walk. He is a really good boy. Yesterday he noticed a robin and chased it a short distance. He had a couple of booster shots yesterday and has a rabies shot next week then he will be off to pet smart for puppy class with Sarah and me. I want him to have more socialization with other dogs.

April 11, 2014

Silas and I missed an absolutely beautiful day outside today. I woke up at 2:30 am with the flu, which has been going around work. It was all I could do to get him out to the bathroom. He was a good boy throughout the day as it looked like he was aware of something being wrong with me. On another note, he has become much better with walking on a leash over the past 2 days. I am not certain though that he is able to comprehend the meaning of "no". Perhaps I should use the French word.

April 10, 2014

We finally have a nice day here in Erie. It is in the mid 60's but windy. Yesterday Silas decided he would jump in a water hole and swim across, and it was only 45 degrees out! He just loves mud and water. He and I are impatiently waiting for Sarah to get home from work so we can go play at the game lands fields. I am amazed daily at how bold he is. He loves to investigate everything round him. He is a really good boy at the house too. Since he has come home, he has not barked at all during the night. I've said it several times before, but Bill Kelley has an excellent line of dogs in his kennel. I can't wait to see how Silas develops as a hunter.

April, 8 2014

 

I took Silas for a run on the game lands along Old Waterford Road this evening. I want to introduce him to as much cover as I can early on. We walked about 2 miles, mostly along an old tram road that runs into a hemlock bottom and clear cut. I kept the check cord on him tonight as he has started to range out ahead pretty well and I want to be able to stop him if need be. He has been doing a nice job with returning on 2 whistle blasts. I also use "here" and two whistles of my own. I want to always have the ability to call him back, even if I loose the red whistle. Young pups are really fun to watch and I can certainly see some real potential in this pup. I take along a rope with a ball to toss for him on occasion. I want to keep his trips fun. I am thinking about applying a little bit of grouse scent to it when I start throwing it in cover. He returns to me most of the time. I'm in no hurry to take it from him as I want him to enjoy it. I believe I will introduce him to a cool pigeon this weekend so he can get the feel of a real bird in his mouth. I will also start with some live birds very soon. I am having a little trouble getting them at this point. Well, things are going well. He is sleeping on a little blanket on the floor as I write this. I hope he is having big dreams of wild birds.

April 7, 2014

I had Silas out for his evening run in the rain once again. The weather in Erie has not been spectacular. I believe Si is adjusting well to his new home. Ideally I would be home all day for the first week or two, but that isn't possible with a job to maintain. I have never had a bird dog, nor an indoor dog in quite some time. I often get the feeling I am doing this pup an injustice with my poor knowledge, to say the least. Silas is nearly house trained with only an occasional accident from time to time now. We keep him confined to the kitchen on the linoleum floor to help. He is in the nipping stage. At times any moving thing is a potential target, be it finger, pant leg, shoe lace or whatever. He sleeps well throughout the night and has since we picked him up. I take him out around 1 am and again for 30-45 minutes at 5 am. I have noticed that he goes through periods of lethargy and periods of nearly manic behavior. He has not yet chewed any furniture in his bursts; he loves rawhide bones. I wonder if it is common for a pup like him to have hyper periods. his most active time is in the evening about an hour after feeding. He runs around the kitchen shaking and chasing his toys about 100 mpg. I can't imagine where the energy comes from after the long runs I take him on. Well, I will continue on with the suggestions of Joan Baily and Bob West and do my best. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

April 5, 2014. Still a little snow...

April 5, 2014
I have had Silas for a week as of today. It was 33 degrees and windy here in Erie today but we went to the game lands anyway. Silas has begun to quarter ahead of me fairly well given he is only 10 weeks old. I am able to relay on him returning to me with either my call or the whistle. He is also starting to move through a lot of cover on our walks. He checks back very often as well. We flushed another woodcock so I walked in to the flush point with him and he really worked over the scent. I believe I am going to introduce him to some birds while he is on the check cord, in the next week. I took a retriever dummy along today. I tossed it 20-30 yards and he went out, grabbed it and returned it to hand for me. I'll work on him releasing better in the future. Right now he is sleeping in a sunny spot on the kitchen floor.

The Ruffed Grouse Society

www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/

 

Every serious grouse and woodcock hunter should consider membership in the Ruffed Grouse Society. They promote creation of habitat and provide a voice for hunters.

Serenaded by an American Woodcock

April 3, 2014
I take Si for a 30 minute walk at 5 am each morning before I get ready for work. The robins are now singing at that time but what is more exciting is the fact that a Woodcock has set up shop behind our place and can be heard peenting and flying on our walks.

First day in the field for Si

April 1, 2014
I took Silas to Sigel Marsh game lands for his first real field run today. With patchy snow and quite a bit of mud and water, I was uncertain how he would like it. It didn't take me long to see he has quite a drive to explore cover. He ran ahead 20 yards or so and would come back to my legs as we moved along. He is very curious. He seems to love being in mud and water. He often runs across the snow patches looking happy. This will bode well for him as we chase woodcocks. I saw he was occupied at one point so I snuck away 30 yards and watched him. When he noticed me missing he began to search around to find me. I only allowed this to transpire for 30-45 seconds then gave two whistle blasts. With that, he was quickly on his way to me. He received ample praise for his obedience when he got to me. As luck would have it, we flushed a woodcock on our way out. He saw it fly away and I gave him a nice nose full of scent where we flushed it. What a great two hours in the field with a puppy born only January 23.

16 gauge L.C. Smith feather weight field

I was fortunate enough to find this L.C. Smith featherweight field grade at Presque Isle Firearms a couple of years ago. I have wanted a 16 gauge since I was a boy. My gramp had an Ithaca 37 16 gauge and I loved those shells of his. I have used the gun as pictured but have made the tough choice of having it restored. It is in North Carolina with Dan Printz of The Firing Pin. He is reblueing, color case hardening and beefing up the wrist at the back of the side plates. I believe it was Connors who said the 16 carries like a 20 and hits like a 12. I agree. This gun has killed squirrels, doves, rabbits, pheasant, quail and squirrels as well as a turkey. When it comes back Silas and I will have it in action for woodcock and grouse. I use 2 1/2 inch RST shells. The gun was made in 1937 so the chambers are short. I will post follow up pictures when I get it back.

Cache d'Or Bretons, a Breed(er) apart!

Silas, day 3: 3-31-14
It is becoming quite clear that the excellent breeding program Bill Kelley of Cache d'Or Bretons has going works. Silas has had no accidents in the house today. He is eating well. He comes quickly when he is called. I walked him to an area a bird was feeding in and he used his nose! Silas learned to fetch and return with a small toy after his vet visit this afternoon. I have done nothing more than give these things a try and reward him with some positive praise after he has done well. This is a very smart little 9 week old.

Silas, Day 2 3-30-14

Silas, day 2: 3-30-14
Sarah and I had a very long, rough ride back to Erie with ice and snow making travel tough. Silas did well in his crate on the back seat. He made barely any noise the entire way. He slept or looked at us while he was awake.

 

Silas, Day 1 3-29-14

Silas, Day 1: 3-29-14
Silas learned to wear a collar and walk on a lead today. He is also coming to his name and 2 shorts blasts of the whistle. He is walking up and down steps on his own. I have done nothing.

Finally Meeting Silas

 

Sarah and I drove from Erie to Frederick, Maryland to pick up Silas (jazz de Cache d'Or) on Saturday, March 29. Silas was born on January 23, 2014. We met the breeder, Bill Kelley, at his gun shop in Frederick, Maryland, to get Si. Bill was very helpful over the past few weeks as we waited for Si to be old enough to come home. Bill has some fantastic dogs that perform in both the field and the show ring. Silas was friendly and curious from the start. As he will be my first attempt at training a pointing dog, I hope he has ample natural talent. My primary interest will be in hunting American Woodcock and Ruffed Grouse with Si and my 16 gauge L.C. Smith shotgun. This blog will follow the progress of Silas and me as we learn together. Every now and then we may be side tracked by fly fishing or dragonflies too. I hope you enjoy reading about Silas's progress as much as I will in training him. God bless.