[QUOTE=Jack Cronkhite;9882]Good eye Trigg The top is a Golden "Morgan" and the bottom is labXhusky "Charlie" Before we adopted "Charlie" I had spent the better part of two seasons dogless. "Morgan" is the neighbors pet. Never been in the field in her life. I thought I would ask if "Morgan" could have some time doing what she was bred for. They agreed and "Morgan" found me a few roosters on 3 or 4 trips out. She is pretty much a natural. Just another example of a pet being up to the job. I was a bit concerned about firing the shotgun, since she was not at all introduced to it. I didn't want her to be gun shy, so the intent was to let her wander out a ways and fire in the opposite direction and repeat a couple times. Trouble was, she got onto a bird right away and flushed two nice roosters, so it was an immediate trial by fire. Didn't phase her a bit. She went on to find more, so she was invited a few times. The neighbor has a new found taste for wild pheasant.
Here is a shot of "Rio" who is an outdoor farm dog - a pet, but not a house dog. "Rio" is amazing and leaves the yard to hunt with anybody that even remotely looks like they might be hunting. Another natural hunter with no training but does it all and very well.
Brings to my mind the great story by the late Gene Hill: "Brown Dog"-- My gun dogs have always been house dogs and companions on trips to town, etc. A fine shotgun is an inaminate object by itself, treasured, but when its in the gun safe- well you see where that's going. But how can a man have that bond with his gun dog when he shuts him out of his daily life (other than his job and family duties?)
Yes, of course, a fenced kennel to the dog's security from speeding UPS trucks, etc- but no gun dog of mine ever spent one cold night outdoors, and when out in the daytime, was kenneled in a triple insulated dog house on the leeward side of my pole barn- cement floor, heater in the base of his dog house, and also an electric heated fresh water pan- and no "rinky-dink" orange drop cords, wired to code by an electrical friend underground romex to the box in the pole barn, and GFI protected.
I had a friend lost the best Setter I've seen in years to a electrocution via a improperly wired line to a heater-he has never forgiven himself for allowing that to happen. Hard to say what is the most moving of all the great stories about Man's Best Friend: Corey Ford's "The Road To Tinkhamtown", Ben Hur Lampman's "Where To Bury A Dog", Nash Buckingham's "Not Unsung" or Gene Hills "Old Tom" and "Pepper"--
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