Late summer training.

 

It's certainly starting to feel like fall and a little too early for me. Silas and I have continued to train daily. He is growing and around 30 pounds now at 7 1/2 months old. I use the e-stim collar and am able to run him off lead now. We work on obedience almost daily in the yard. There have been scant few encounters with birds this summer. I joined Oak Ridge Pointers for a training ground. I also have shot the .410 over him while he retrieves. He is quite successful finding the dummies with scent I have placed across the fields. Saturday we are going to visit a farm loaded with pheasants. I can't wait to see how he does. A post will follow.

Canine Connections LLC.

Last evening Sarah and I had Eileen Murdock of Canine Connections come to the house to assist with a behavior modification program for the home. Silas is a very nice dog but we were having some trouble with him around the cats, their food and jumping up. Eileen helped us identify what we were not doing in order to change these behaviors and we are already seeing a difference. Sarah has never owned a dog so she required some education to assist with her becoming a leader with Silas. We were very pleased with Eileen's approach as she is also a hunter and field trial judge. In the field, Silas is moving along. I will contact Knap farms to assist with birds, etc in the next week or so.

Silas is growing in all respects.

 

I haven't posted in some time because it was really just business as usual until I purchased some chukar two weeks ago. Silas was introduced to one I placed in an onion sack. His first response wasn't what I had predicted; he layed down and barked at it. After a short while he became more bold with the bird and started to become very curious. After a second introduction he snuck in and flushed a planted bird which he attempted to chase. Finally, at the third bird he stopped and pointed. It was brief but I did get a photo. I killed one of the birds to use as a retrieve bird when it had cooled. Silas was very eager to retrieve to me. I have started to use the check cord with him at all times because he started to ignore the recall command at about the time he lost his first set of teeth. Also, he hasn't really blossomed into a nice house companion at this time. He is very hyper, running in circles at full speed for 10 minutes at a time, even though he gets out every day on long runs. we are having a very difficult time breaking him of jumping up on us and others. We are staring to look at some various obedience school options. He is a hard worker in the field but not calming down at home. We really hope this improves as he gets a little older.

I took Silas out with the gun for the first time. I aired him out for a while and started to use the retrieve dummy with him. After a few excited retrieves I fired the .22 when he got to the dummy. He didn't seem to notice the shot. We tried a few more times with the same result and I put the gun away quite satisfied with his progress. We were also fortunate to get into a flock of young turkeys which he flushed. He chased them and briefly pointed one that landed in a low tree. After searching for others we came back to the flush site and he worked into the golden rod and trailed the adult hen, he flushed her right at his nose and wasn't at all bothered by her flush and cackle. He jumped after her and made chase for about 50 yards across the field. As you can see by the above photo, we have plenty of open training space in our neck of the woods. I will buy some adult quail as soon as they are ready and get down to some more bird work. I am considering testing at the NAVHDA meeting in Harrisville this September. I think he will do well.

 

 

Warm Temps...

Silas and I continue to get out into new types of cover daily. We go rain or shine, but with the temps heating up we are restricted to early morning or late evening. I am amazed at his growth looking back over the posts now. I will post some new pics after our trip to Clarion county this weekend. We have begun some table work with woah training; nothing too dramatic but a "show dog" style approach. At four and a half months he is doing quite well. I hope to run into some grouse and woodcock before too long.

The steps to nowhere. 5/24/14

Silas and I had took our walk into the steps to nowhere this morning. This is not an official name but the one I use to keep it a secret. This place is full of grouse. We walked about a half a mile along a tram road and then came back. He jumped into the stream to cool off. He took a long, fast leap into the water. This was his first time to play and swim in water. I just stood there and watched. I guess water is not an issue for him. He is now working in front of me on our walks. I try to keep the wind in our face. He is also beginning to explore more boldly on his own. He is also starting to chase robins, etc. He has pointed quite a few bees. I haven't weighed him in two weeks so he must be 15 or so pounds now. He is really getting tall and lanky. I don't really do any training with him at this point other than regular obedience around the house and yard. I just want him to explore and gain some confidence in the covers we walk. I have started some very light, early whoa training and he is doing well with it. He is a very smart dog!

Roderick Reserve, where the idea started.

I have hunted with beagles for much of my life, though I always wanted a bird dog. I had given up on the idea of another dog for a long time before I was reawakened to the idea one morning four years ago as I hid along the pond pictured above hunting ducks. As day was breaking I saw a steady stream of migrating woodcocks crossing the lake from Canada. Upon returning home, I started my search and study of potential bird dog breeds. I initially considered a Small Munsterlander. I spoke with a man in New England at length about one of his dogs, but decided the breed wasn't what I wanted. After some more searching I decided an Epagneul Breton was what I really wanted to help me chase the woodcock and grouse I desired. I grew more determined to have a dog after reading Frank Woolner and Burton Spillers work. There is something magnificent about the staunch point of a well trained bird dog. That said, I have never seen a dog point in person. A woodcock over a pointer is about as classy as you can get. So I came to find Jazz de Cache d'Or (Silas), from Bill Kelly's kennel in Frederick, Maryland. Today I took Silas to the Roderick Reserve. I wanted to see the place with him along. The desire that began again that day has come to fruition in Silas and it was nice to photograph him where the idea began. When he is ready, I will hunt for the woodcocks in the cover around the pond. I can't wait for that day.

Empty Purple Hulls

Silas and I took a walk early Sunday morning on Game Land 191, Erie county. The weather was beautiful, warm and calm. I have a small silver turkey bell I have been wearing on him in the field. I can here it quite well and he seems to enjoy it because it means we are going for a walk. We are able to go for 20-30 minutes before he seems to tire. I am fortunate to live where I can let him off the leash to really run a bit without fear of him running onto a road. We are always along dirt roads that get very little travel. He responds quite well to the whistle; two blasts and he checks back. I ran into some empty 16 gauge shells on our walk, two of them. I don't see many empty shotgun shells and even fewer 16 gauge shells anymore. I like to see them as they tell a little story of other hunters that passed by the same way at one time or another. I often wonder what they shot at and if they hit or missed. The second photo above shows our view at the truck. The view is long.