Just a pup

[tom tutwiler]

My 6 month old Lew at the trainers in WV. Sophie is out of the old LynnHill lines in Pa. When they closed down their operation for health reasons their dogs went to different places. East Coast Llewellins in Va got the mom and dad and this is a repeat breeding. Soph is a tri-color Belton.

Four weeks ago she had never seen a bird. My things have changed. Headed to Maine in October and then the journey begins.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1418/13596104/24371763/411461674.jpg

[Angel Cruz]

Nice point!! Love those colors.

[Bill Murphy]

What a great looking setter. Are you going to paint him orange before you leave for Maine?

[tom tutwiler]

What a great looking setter. Are you going to paint him orange before you leave for Maine?

LOL, I think your right Bill. Damn hard to see in the woods. I'd sure I'll have a orange vest on her the entire time. I ran my Golden's with orange vests on them for years.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1418/13596104/24371763/411461877.jpg

[Daryl Corona]

What a neat colored setter Tom. An orange collar or vest would be all you'd need to keep track of her as long as she did'nt range too far.

[Daniel G Rainey]

Anyone who loves a parker, loves a bird dog

[chris dawe]

Couldn't thank you enough for that one !

[Dave Tatman]

What a great looking dog! Beauty!

[Gary Laudermilch]

That certainly is a uniquely colored setter. I like it! Get a Garmin Astro or equivalent and you will always be able to find her. Then, let her run!

[tom tutwiler]

I have an Astro I bought specifically to keep track of her. I figure out real soon how far she ranges. If she is a 100 yard dog it will be easy. A 400 yard dog might be more interesting to say the least.

[Gary Laudermilch]

I doubt you'll have a 400 yard dog, given her breeding. Two hundred, maybe, but you can always reel her in a bit with training. Personally, I like a dog to range about 100 most of the time with an occasional foray out to 150 or so to hit a particular target. I've seen lots of folks trying to keep their pointing dogs in too close. Let 'em do their job and stay out of their way as much as possible. You have many enjoyable seasons ahead of you. The only problem is that they will pass too quickly. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Beautiful setter Tom, I have 3, including young Fancy, who I am currently training. Who is your trainer In WV? Nice meeting you at Hausmann's

[tom tutwiler]

Beautiful setter Tom, I have 3, including young Fancy, who I am currently training. Who is your trainer In WV? Nice meeting you at Hausmann's

Thanks,

Bruce Shaffer. Almost Heaven Kennels.

[tom tutwiler]

I doubt you'll have a 400 yard dog, given her breeding. Two hundred, maybe, but you can always reel her in a bit with training. Personally, I like a dog to range about 100 most of the time with an occasional foray out to 150 or so to hit a particular target. I've seen lots of folks trying to keep their pointing dogs in too close. Let 'em do their job and stay out of their way as much as possible. You have many enjoyable seasons ahead of you. The only problem is that they will pass too quickly. Good luck and keep us posted.

Gary,

Think you nailed it. I've taken her out twice on my own. I'd say she is a 100 yard dog right now and maybe even 75 when its thick.

The following was taken yesterday and it was her first point when I've been handling her and was on a planted quail:


http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z470/vaturkey2/sophiequailpoint.jpg

She followed up yesterday with pointing a few more today. She was a bit unsure on this one, but didn't break point until I flushed the quail. At 6 months old I'm just happy as can be that she is this staunch:


http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z470/vaturkey2/sophieseconddayquail.jpg

[Gary Laudermilch]

Yep, you've got a long and enjoyable road ahead. It is not uncommon for a young dog to stay a bit closer until she gets her confidence built up. She'll loosen up some with time and you will be able to see it happen. This time is important to you as well because you will gradually become confident and comfortable in her bird handling performance. In grouse cover she'll be out of sight most of the time so you need the confidence in her ability to hold birds until you get there.

Have fun! The puppy days are some of the best.

[Bill Murphy]

Gary, I guess you and I have a different idea of "Grouse Cover". I don't think I want my GWP out of sight any more than occasionally.

[tom tutwiler]

Gary, I guess you and I have a different idea of "Grouse Cover". I don't think I want my GWP out of sight any more than occasionally.

Different world out there now Bill. Many owners don't want a close ranging dog, they want a dog that will reach out there and operate at 200 yards or further. Sometimes much further. I've got a buddy who has a honest 400 yard dog. The dog will of course stay closer if he smells birds closer, but if there are no birds to smell that dog will hunt way way out there. I personally wouldn't want or need a dog out that far. The trainer thinks Sophie is a 75-100 yard dog which is pretty much a close ranging dog these day. Even that kind of range doesn't necessarily work well in some cases. I know more then one fellow who wants their dogs to range like a flusher (35-50 yards) and just point the birds instead of flush the bird. That fellow hunts on a lot of preserves and wants that dog real close or it will be out of the planted field and into someone else's assigned cover.

PS. A GPS tracking collar is a must for these long ranging dogs. They operate well out of beeper or bell range.

[Phillip Carr]

Two thumbs up for my Garmin GPS tracking collars. We cover thousands of acres a day and I like my dogs to hunt about a 180 degree arc in front of me ranging out to a max of 200 yards. They will quarter 200 yards to the left and 200'yards to my right. Of course they find birds a lot closer most of the time. I also like them checking in every 5 minutes or so. Pretty open country where we hunt many times, really works well when hunting a long wide draw.
You have a Beautiful pup with a great point.

[Stephen Hodges]

Tom, she has a really nice point, her tail is nice and high, you will have fun this fall.

[Bill Murphy]

Wonderful pup. Congratulations.

[John Taddeo]

Beautiful setter Tom... My Grouse hunting buddy has a Lynn hill setter, also a beautiful very natural grouse dog.... If any Garmin owners out there haven't tried Garmin Base Camp download, give it a try.. It is a Birds eye satelite overview on your GPS and really seems to help when looking for edges and two tracks as well as showing your dogs location on the satelite image.. You can save your covers to a SD chip and have the ability to catalog your favorite haunts...

[Gary Laudermilch]

Most of the grouse cover I hunt is very, very thick. Sight range is usually not more than 20 yards, often less. Heck, I've been within 10 yards of the dogs before I see them on many occasions. Not trying to stir up an argument here but I like to use the dogs to do their job and that is to find birds that I would otherwise walk by. Dog range is like light guns vs. heavier guns - to each his own.

If I may, I'll cite this one example, primarily because it was my grandson's first grouse hunt and I'm still excited about it.

Our bird numbers have been way down for several years now. Not the best time to break a youngster into the game. Nevertheless, we were pounding the brush as much as you can with a 12 year old. The dogs were hunting hard and I took my GPS out to show grandson what it tells us when I discovered the batteries were dead. Now what are we gonna do, he says. I tell him we will hunt the way we did before GPS, listen to the bell. We are in to some pretty heavy cover and the dogs are out 100 yds plus, working hard when simultaneously both bells go quiet. Grandson is anxious to get there as quickly as possible and he asks how are we gonna find them. We search and search but no dogs but still no bells either. I tell grandson not to worry, we'll find them and after 20 minutes of looking, there they are about 150 yards from our original position, locked up tight on what turned out to be the only bird in this cover. I was not carrying a gun so I walked with grandson into the point and up goes the bird in good range. Bang, bang - miss, miss. However, he turned around with a big grin on his face. I asked what happened and he commented that they were a lot faster than he thought they would be - still smiling. I asked did you have fun and he replies yeaaa. I smile as well - good dog work and the making of a grouse hunting buddy.