Gun Dogs from the Past

[Alfred Houde]

My wife and I cared for an Irish Water Spaniel pup while the owner recovered from unexpected surgery. Without a doubt he was one of the smartest pups I have ever been around. At 10 weeks I had him doing play retrieves on both land and water. At 12 weeks I had him sitting on the whistle and looking out over the pond. Just play stuff, nothing real formal. He loved it.

It was really hard to return him to his owner when the time came. My wife got real attached to him as well. The owner didn't hunt, but she did turn him into a show and dock diving champion.

They are a great breed with a lot of waterfowling history. The biggest challenge is finding one from real field stock. Even the breeders in the UK import dogs from here periodically.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Our first bird dog was Deacon Blue (yes, named after the Steely Dan tune). He taught us about hunting birds. Pheasant, chukar, grouse, mudbat, he would find them all. He never retrieved until we hunted him with Ghillie the first time. First bird went out and a buddy dropped it. Ghillie picked it up and began his retrieve. Deacon took the bird from him and brought it to hand! From that bird on, if he got to the bird first he retrieved it. He didn't take birds from other dog's retrieves either. Got him as an eight or nine week old pup. Ken Alexander picked him him out from one of his Decoverly litters. Ken also did the training sessions with us. Deacon was our longest lived dog making it to 10 1/2 years. I miss him terribly. He'll always be my boy.

[TARNATION !!!]

TAZ has been gone for about 15 years. 90 pound male GSP. A great hunting partner and home guard dog. Wife insisted we install security system after he departed.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

Our first bird dog was Deacon Blue (yes, named after the Steely Dan tune). He taught us about hunting birds. Pheasant, chukar, grouse, mudbat, he would find them all. He never retrieved until we hunted him with Ghillie the first time. First bird went out and a buddy dropped it. Ghillie picked it up and began his retrieve. Deacon took the bird from him and brought it to hand! From that bird on, if he got to the bird first he retrieved it. He didn't take birds from other dog's retrieves either. Got him as an eight or nine week old pup. Ken Alexander picked him him out from one of his Decoverly litters. Ken also did the training sessions with us. Deacon was our longest lived dog making it to 10 1/2 years. I miss him terribly. He'll always be my boy.

Gosh what a pretty head...on the dog, not the guy.

Mike, you definitely have had a string of beautiful setters.