Puppy progress
Originally published 03:17 p.m., October 12, 2007
Updated 03:17 p.m., October 12, 2007
I mentioned in a column some while back how pleased I was with the development of the now 16-month-old pointer pups, Cassie and Brewster.
Knock on wood, their development and what they are showing me now has been nothing but positive. How someone can choose the “Pick of the Litter” at six to nine weeks and feel fairly confident they have the best pup out of that soft, cuddly, swarming mass of little nose-, ear- and ankle-biters is beyond me.
And puppy breath? Isn’t that just the best smell in the world to a dog lover?
The pups ran into more wild turkey than they did quail during their initial hunting season. We hope to really have a good upland game bird season this year, even though for personal reasons I don’t harvest wild quail anymore.
Wifeus can assist me there. That woman likes to blast and will take a birdie whenever she can get it!
Hunting dogs do need to have an occasional bird knocked down for them to keep their interest and enthusiasm.
The foundation for the pups training has been laid in the yard with check-cording and whoa-breaking. Talk to any person who has messed with dogs and you will get an assortment of training tips. If you are training your first dog, getting more experience and knowing what works for you will be crucial factors in your success.
If in doubt, seek the services of a professional trainer, or find someone who has been successful training dogs in the past and see if you can work with them. It is a plus for your young dog’s development to become socialized with people and be around other dogs.
Retrieving shouldn’t be a problem with these pups since they showed a natural desire to chase things in the yard and carry anything about. You talk about swimming and liking the water, I think the litter thought they were ducks they took to water so well. Brewster has graduated from carrying around Bud Light cans to showing more interest in birds. He even brought a liberated, pen-raised quail back to me still alive during one of my demonstrations at Milford Lake during their National Hunting and Fishing Days celebration.
Praise the Lord! It was his first contact with feathers. He didn’t try to chomp it or play with it. Unlike his contrary, but bird finding Aunt Oda Mae, he never tried to claim the bird as his own and run off with it.
His fetish for the cans was probably my doing. I thought if he turned into something super and I decided to breed him, it would be easy to tell prospective puppy owners to have a “Brew” on me; hence the name Brewster.
Cassie is scary!
Jim Gourley of www.setterdogs.com is a professional trainer and National Shoot-to-Retrieve field trial buddy of mine. He helped me with “The World of Hunting Dogs” presentation during the Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) event at Rock Springs Ranch.
At her young age, Jim said Cassie is showing all the natural things you would want to see in a pointing dog. She is staunch, steady, honors her bracemate, shows a good nose and has a strong desire to hunt. These are things bred into a dog. Hopefully, I will have the ability to keep these attributes intact when I attempt to mold her to my liking and into the fine gundog she promises to be.
Genetics is very important when seeking the bird dog of your dreams, no matter what breed it is. All sporting dogs do fantastic work, and through the years I have learned to appreciate all breeds, not just the English Pointer.
After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In a dog’s world that is the one who feeds it. The owner’s ability to put his fingerprints on any young dog and to keep them top-notch performers true to their breeding is where any problems with training might lie. Sweet Sue (believe me I have called her other things) is a work in progress. She was my personal “pick of the litter” from the get-go.
She has been the slowest to develop, but the fastest to find the bits of hot dogs I threw out into the yard to encourage the pups to use their nose. With pointing dogs, where the nose goes, the hunter should follow.
Stay tuned. It’s time to get your dogs out for a tune-up and some exercise. Try to remember their names an
yway! The opening day of pheasant season, Nov. 3, is just around the corner.
I have been getting some very good reports from farmers across the state that there might just be some upland game birds to hunt this year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Recipe of the Week: Puppy Pie
Courtesy of Angela Autry, National Shoot to Retrieve Association.
Take one puppy, roll and play with until lightly pampered; then add the following ingredients:
1 cup of patience
1 cup of understanding
1 pinch correction
1 cup hard work
2 cups of praise
As many cups of fun that you can handle.
Blend well. Heat with all the warmth of your heart until puppy is raised or until puppy has at least doubled in size. Mix with owner until consistency is such that owner and puppy are one.
Any pup will do, even Heinz 57 canine varieties.
Enjoy for a lifetime!