Meet Sherwood

[Mills Morrison]

Our new Brittany Spaniel puppy. Picked him up Saturday. Here he is with my son, Harry

The Parker is a GH 12 gauge on a 1 frame with cyl/full chokes which should be a good gun for the upland hunting I see coming.

[Gerald McPherson]

Awesome!!! x2

[Jim DiSpagno]

Double WOW. Beautiful pup Mills. Many happy and memorable years for you and the boys. Good luck

[Larry Frey]

Mills,
That is a beautiful puppy and with all that orange reminds me a lot of my little girl. She will be a joy to your entire family but especially to the boys.

[Randy G Roberts]

That is awesome, congrats Mills !!!!

[Gary Laudermilch]

Your son's expression says it all. Have fun!

[Mills Morrison]

Thanks for all the kind comments!

Harry and Sherwood went to the grandparents to spend a day. I just got off the phone with my mom and the day has turned into two days! Dognapped!

[Michael Meeks]

Mills,

What a pup! Looks like Harry is already a dedicated Brush Worn...

[Mike McKinney]

Congratulations, Mills an family! I believe the days with my first Brit were some of my most fun times.

[Eric Eis]

Congrat's great looking pup

[Hal Sheets]

Mills,
Nothing's better than boys growing up with dogs! I was about Harry's age when I got my first puppy (a setter), about 64 years ago. For the past 44 years we've had Brittanys and like a Parker, life is better with more than one. Sherwood's a real good looking pup, I know your family will have fun with him.
Hal

[Mills Morrison]

He had a brother and everyone (except my wife) is saying we should have bought both.

[Michael Meeks]

I had two male setters several years ago that were littermates. I won't do that again. We lost both of them within a couple months. That was too tough to go through. It put a real funk on my bird hunting for a couple years. I have my setters staggered about three years apart now.

[Todd Poer]

Btw if plan to hunt him only as bird dog and not in blind then Sherwood is a fun name since most don't train em to those commands for that type hunting. If you work in sit and stay command for family dog and retriever work in a blind then a name beginning with S is not ideal since dogs typically only hear first part of a word. Teach a lab or most dogs to sit and stay proper and all you have to use is first to letters and most will do the command. ST and SH are to close and can be confusing.

It maybe to late but just be cognizant of it. If you teach sit and stay and then call his name he may get confused, especially if you use his name to send him. Maybe you can morph his name into Woodie. That is good South Georgia duck dog name.

BTW have seen the mistake made with Brittany we had named Suzie. Great bird dog and very smart but then we thought we could teach her to retrieve only and she showed signs of it and want to do it but we messed it up. It was frustrating until our friend and Vet that was a duck hunter and had labs told us our mistake. After that when we took her quail and grouse hunting we almost could not use her name because she would stop and just stare at us looking confused. I swear if dogs could talk she would have this crooked look and head twist with an almost angry brow scorn look saying "What do you want me to do" .

[Mills Morrison]

Thanks for the advice. It may be too late as the women like the name

[Todd Poer]

There is that. Maybe you can tactfully explain that Sherwood is his proper name but you need to shorten it for simplicity to Woodie. Worth a try. But if you start having trouble then you will at least know why.. There are work arounds like instead of using name to send use Go. High on or hunt on are great release commands. I have a Springer that is very obedient family dog only but say the high on command and he will bust a gut to go about his business. Which is another problem. If walking him at heel and even see someone and say Hi, that is his understood que and will dash off toe nails clicking.

[Hal Sheets]

Mills,
TroutSetter"s correct, two the same age or from the same litter can be a problem. 'Bin there, done that.' (They'll bond to each other & get into trouble together. My 2 got out & went on a joy run together. Only one came back.) Get the first pup BONDED to your family (esp. your wife), then in 2 to 4 years bring in another, (a pup, not a wife). An older huntin' dog can really help with training a second pup.
The book "Gun Dog" by Richard Wolters, is a great book to go through with your sons & family. It will help your sons understand & be a part of the training of a pointing dog. Now's the time to start with the wing on the string.
Hal

[Mills Morrison]

If we get another, it will be a lab and that is no time soon. I will order gun dog. Thanks for the suggestion. Any good DVD training video suggestions are appreciated too

[Hal Sheets]

Gun Dog is loaded w/pictures that the boys will understand. I think a CD was made of it, after Wolter's death. Ebay is a good place to look for both. Also, Google 'Richards A. Wolters, quite a man with many interests. Working with hunting dogs, he was a good friend of Gene Hill.
I'm 73, and re-read Gun Dog every time I start with a new pup.
By the way, crate training is important with all hunting dogs & should be done! However, sleeping with the boys will do no harm to the boys or the pup. Being a Brit. it will help with both the house & hunting conditioning.
Following with a Lab. someday is also a fine idea. At that time I'd suggest, Water Dog, also by Wolters.
Best of luck to you. Hope we can meet at a PGCA function someday.
Hal

[Michael Meeks]

Mills,

George Hickox has really good training videos on DVD, if you aren't already familiar with them. You can get a copy from Gun Dog Supply.

https://www.gundogsupply.com/gehitrpododv.html

[Mills Morrison]

Thanks guys! I just order the George Hickox video as well as Gun Dog!

Hope to see you at PGCA function too, Sheepherder. As a matter of fact, I hope to see all of you at the PGCA annual meeting in September!

[David Penland]

Mills, awesome looking pup. Reminds me of my Brittainy Hank who just turned one. IMHO Britts have enough get up and go but no so much to get up and be gone. Good luck with training.

[Todd Poer]

Mills,

Woltors wrote three of them and they have some of the same components along animal psychology, but training a gun dog is different than a retriever, water dog. In addition to Gun Dog he wrote Water Dog and Family Dog. Great reads and more like manuals to refer back to. I think in Water Dog he even mentions staying away from S named dogs. Learned that one the hard way though.

Good luck and have fun.

[Brett Hoop]

There may well be something better than a birddog pup, but it would be a damned short list. The boy and the pup will learn a lot about many things together.

[Robert Rambler]

Congrats Mills, Just imagine all the fun and memories about to fill that young mans life. Pups are the best. :)

[Daryl Corona]

Mills,


but training a gun dog is different than a retriever, water dog.
Good luck and have fun.

Not to be argumentative Todd but I've trained my last 4 retrievers (Labs) to be gun dogs. My male might not have the grace of a setter on point but he can, and often does, go from retrieving ducks in the morning then working upland birds in the afternoon and doing it with a purpose that produces birds in the bag. He's got great style and he is my meat dog.

Mills, Great looking pup. Do yourself a favor and train him to respond to a whistle. All those books mentioned are great resources but concentrate on obedience first then if he has good genetics put him on birds, plenty of birds. He'll figure it out in no time.

[Mills Morrison]

Already have a friend who owns a bunch of bird dogs offer to help training. Things are coming along

More photos

[Michael Meeks]

Great pics! Oh man, those two are going to be as thick as thieves! :)

[Joe Dreisch]

What Daryl said........! I had Britts years ago. Good luck, Mills!!

[Todd Poer]

Not to be argumentative Todd but I've trained my last 4 retrievers (Labs) to be gun dogs. My male might not have the grace of a setter on point but he can, and often does, go from retrieving ducks in the morning then working upland birds in the afternoon and doing it with a purpose that produces birds in the bag. He's got great style and he is my meat dog.



Its a valid point you make and don't believe you are being argumentative at all. Some breeds like lab and Brittanies are great crossover dogs. Believe you and I talked about this and pointing labs once before and how utilitarian they can be. Are labs the best on upland compared to setter or brittany, no; but because they like to please and have drive and maybe a nose they can be decent and some will even hold a point for a bit. Is setter good as water dog, no not when its cold water, but have knocked down a few ducks on some ponds and had a setter that was a dang good swimmer that would go get em with some coaxing. Are Brittanies good retrievers, can be and they can take cold water better than setter but not as good as a lab.

Labs are also good in colder upland game climates. Living in SE it is tough to have a lab to hunt quail or even for put out pheasants. That fat layer around them can really work on em in the heat and it puts too much strain on them in our climate. I will say this though what I like about Brittanies and labs is that they will tend to hunt close to you than some setters and most pointers.

Actually in Mills case if all he could have is one dog to potentially do it all in the SE, Brittany is definitely the best all round choice. If he takes to retrieving just get him a camo vest for flotation and little extra warmth and you'll be in goof shape. Duck hunt in the morning and quail hunt in the afternoon.

[Mike Franzen]

Mills, I think any parent wanting a young child to grow up embracing the Sporting Life would do well to pay very close attention to how you and Julia are raising those boys. Might make a good recurring column in Parker Pages.

[Todd Poer]

True about what Mike said. One of my favorite reads is short stories from Ruarks Old Man and the Boy. Your kids on that path.

[Mills Morrison]

Thank you Mike for the kind words

[Mills Morrison]

Sunday morning pictures

[Craig Larter]

OfSweet I never owned a Brit but have friends with them. They are great pets and hunting dogs. Enjoy him to the fullest.

[Mills Morrison]

Keeping me company today.

[Matt Valinsky]

Puppy breath, nothing like it.

[Mills Morrison]

Sherwood is growing like a weed. I am amazed at how their size expands so fast. God's hand at work for sure.

[Todd Poer]

Brittanies make a great lap dogs:rotf:

Actually that is just mild sarcasm. My first lab that I trained from our litter started as a lap dog. He loved it so much even when full grown and 80+ lbs he still considered himself a lap dog that would not be denied. If I fell asleep on the couch, that was his cue to get lap time. My mom would get so mad at us she made us both sleep on the floor. It was worth it.

I am bad. Currently have only a 50 lb Springer that is lap dog, it is a bit easier to handle. Not certain were origins of the word dog come from but it is more than a coincidence that is essentially God spelled in reverse.

[Mills Morrison]

He decided to start barking in the middle of the night last night. My wife got so worried, she made me go check on him.

[Craig Larter]

Mills beautiful Brit. Thanks for all the photos.

[Hal Sheets]

He decided to start barking in the middle of the night last night. My wife got so worried, she made me go check on him.

Easy fix! Let him sleep with the boys.
He can crate train at other times of the day.

[Mills Morrison]

That is what the boys want.

[Todd Poer]

Actually it is not a bad idea to do it a little while. It helps the dog bond. Our veterinarian actually recommended it. He was also a big time duck hunter that trained labs and he had some good ones.

But its a lifestyle choice. Puppies and kids together are like slumber parties, nobodies getting too much sleep.

Btw if training in the crate at night and he barks for no apparent reason and gets your attention, pretty soon he puts it together and will start barking to train you to come be with him.

You can put his crate in their or your room as well. It can serve two purposes.

My dad about 4 years ago got a new brittany for field trialing. She is really good and a strong minded and willed type A personality dog. To help bond they would let her sleep with them. It was okay first couple of nights then about third night that dog got bored in the middle of the night and quietly shredded the comforter. My parent are pretty light sleepers so for her to do that was pretty amazing. That experiment got over quick. As a young dog she was tough to handle but has settled in some now. When younger she was wilder than Cooter Brown on a 5 day binge.

[Hal Sheets]

I got my first pup (a 5mo. old Setter) for my 9th B-day. She was last of her litter & had been kenneled, so at first she was a wild one. First night she raised hell when left alone. Second night, she was let in my room & slept on my bed till I was about 15. That's when I moved to an upper bunk and Jon, my little brother (12 yrs. younger), got the lower and the the dog. Just as well, by 15, I was about 6' and room at the end of the bed was limited.

When Jon was born, we had just placed the last of my setter, Bridget's puppies. (The only time she was bred.) Bridget then took over my brother Jon, as if he was one of her pups. As a baby & toddler, in the house or outside, she would always be where she could watch him. Not intruding, but always laying there nearby, watching that he was OK.

[Mills Morrison]

Things are coming along. Julia is spoiling him rotten. Hoping to introduce him to real birds in the near future

[Todd Poer]

Gonna be a good one and I can see that is already smart enough to vote.

[Gary Laudermilch]

That is one handsome Brit.

[Rick Losey]

did his vote get counted ?

[Mills Morrison]

I hope it got counted

[Mills Morrison]

Enjoying my Research letter collection when this happened

[Hal Sheets]

I can see when he wants attention that he will not be denied. All Brits have that trait ! At least all ours have had it.

[Mills Morrison]

He is a sucker for attention for sure

[Mark Britton]

When that dog is old and that boy is in collage you will be where I am now. Take plenty of pictures of the both of them together , I'm glad I did. Time goes by.