I figured you folks would understand if I took a minute to brag about the training session today. You see - as I mentioned earlier, I fostered this French Brit (Epagneul Breton) who I got hooked up with through NBRAN (my thanks Anne!!) .. And after a year of training and about 5 months of field/bird training -
it all came together today!! I'm like a "proud papa" - as the long days of work came together for her..
Today - in an abandoned field, we planted 3 birds in the morning. This afternoon - with temps reaching about 90 degrees and a strong breeze, I didn't have much hope that the birds hadn't moved off a distance. Anyway - I started working the field with Briahana, knowing it would be a short session due to the heat & humidity... She was excellent, cutting back and forth, staying about 10-20 yards in front and working a swath about 40 yards across, and then would cut back. Wonderful.... If you train your own dogs - you know what I mean. In fact, I would have been pleased just to see her work in this fashion without a point...
About five minute later, while working this pattern - she locks on point. First bird... I quietly "whoa" her and make her hold for a minute or two. Then - I flush the bird and let it fly away... She holds till I call her off and start her working again...
Ten minutes later - she locks onto bird two. This time - make believe I can't find the bird (which is about 10-15 feet upwind) - and release her from her "whoa" to "easy forward"... She creeps up, halving the distance to the bird - and locks up again...
Bird three has wandered a bit (well - the length of the field!!
) and again - she locks up on point after a 15 minute cast back-and-forth...
I am thrilled.... But - shes done all that before... So why is today different?
We water and rest her for a bit, and during that time - Dave goes out and hefts a chucker into the overgrown weeds. I ask Dave to bring his shotgun - and let's see if we can't bring it all together. He agrees...
Off into the field again... About 15 minutes later - we are working those weeds - and Briahana locks up on point. I whoa her and Dave readies the shotgun. So - I step forward and flush the bird. Briahana holds point - while Dave downs the bird about 30 yards out. She holds after the bird comes down - looking at me like "
OK - so what's next??".. I call "mark - fetch" - and BY GAWD - THAT DAWG FETCHES THE BIRD TO HAND..!!! She comes running back to me - bird in mouth - and puts it at my feet (I was too slow to take it from her mouth - as I was dumbfounded..)
Months and months of working on whoa - easy forward - working with blank pistols - fetching - mark - holding - all paid off.. Simply wonderful.. And if you do your own training - you know what I mean...
I am so damned proud of her... And to think - she was going to be put down by a shelter because someone "dumped" her in mid-winter in Maine.. And when I got her - she wasn't even house-broken nor had any training at all...
I am so proud of her - I could "burst"....
And oh - two pics from today - from the first point (Jen took these two as I was working with Briahana - first is on point - and second is me steadying her on whoa, but gives you an idea of her size. She is tiny...)...
John