Flickering
The beat goes on here in the uplands of New Hampshire and Vermont, as we plod on towards autumn and all of its glory. Will there be "glory" this year? As Hamlet might have said, "That is the question". Some of our sessions (always in the morning, when the woods are the coolest) yield very little in the way of grouse or woodcock, but other sessions have been quite good. We've had a couple of each this week, so perhaps there's some hope for the season ahead.
Monday saw us venturing in to some familiar areas in New Hampshire in the hopes of finding some birds to train on. Rosie got the call first, and she immediately showed that she's in bird finding shape, even after a litter of puppies and a few months off. She contacted six grouse and two woodcock in an hour of work, pointing at least half of them. As you would imagine, the bird sightings, even when pointed, are fleeting at this time of year - lots of vegetation out there to obscure the view. Still, Rosie brought a lot of energy in her run and we look forward to seeing a lot more of that in the fall.
The other dogs (Millie, and the two puppies Bella and Rocky) unfortunately took the bagel in their runs. No birds found, and a good amount of that could have been the areas that we were in - marginal coverts that we hadn't explored too often, but still the dogs were not rewarded for their efforts. Millie especially runs with great gusto, and I was doing my best to keep an eye on her and stay upright through the dense vegetation. By the time the pups were out there, it was nearing seventy degrees, and the run was more for exercise and to practice the recall command.
Monday saw us venturing in to some familiar areas in New Hampshire in the hopes of finding some birds to train on. Rosie got the call first, and she immediately showed that she's in bird finding shape, even after a litter of puppies and a few months off. She contacted six grouse and two woodcock in an hour of work, pointing at least half of them. As you would imagine, the bird sightings, even when pointed, are fleeting at this time of year - lots of vegetation out there to obscure the view. Still, Rosie brought a lot of energy in her run and we look forward to seeing a lot more of that in the fall.
The other dogs (Millie, and the two puppies Bella and Rocky) unfortunately took the bagel in their runs. No birds found, and a good amount of that could have been the areas that we were in - marginal coverts that we hadn't explored too often, but still the dogs were not rewarded for their efforts. Millie especially runs with great gusto, and I was doing my best to keep an eye on her and stay upright through the dense vegetation. By the time the pups were out there, it was nearing seventy degrees, and the run was more for exercise and to practice the recall command.
Woodcock splash is always a welcome sight when you're training puppies new to the upland game. We found a lot of it today.
This morning, the puppies both got chances in the Vermont uplands, which are tremendously damp right now. Sopping wet and unbelievably thick are two phrases that immediately come to mind. But, it was worth it. Rocky got the first run this morning, and we came across two woodcock in his time. Neither was pointed, but he seemed to pick up on their scent and was very excited with the flushes and the shots from my starters pistol that followed.
Bella had her best run by far after that, as she had quite a time finding four woodcock (all singles) in very wet cover. She seemed to be searching and more importantly, using her nose to lead her to the birds. Then, she had a find of a small brood (get used to it this fall) of grouse. Bella crossed in front of me, going to my right, seemingly led along by scent. Once again, she didn't point them, but she was very excited as they flushed off out of range.
By this point, I was elated with our progress and began thinking to myself that a point could be coming soon for Bella. Shortly after this, my daydreaming was realized as she stopped quickly in an area with plenty of woodcock splash and a second or two later a timberdoodle vaulted in to the air in front of her, a few feet from her nose. A point! The first one that I have witnessed from Bella ... but not the last.
Bella had her best run by far after that, as she had quite a time finding four woodcock (all singles) in very wet cover. She seemed to be searching and more importantly, using her nose to lead her to the birds. Then, she had a find of a small brood (get used to it this fall) of grouse. Bella crossed in front of me, going to my right, seemingly led along by scent. Once again, she didn't point them, but she was very excited as they flushed off out of range.
By this point, I was elated with our progress and began thinking to myself that a point could be coming soon for Bella. Shortly after this, my daydreaming was realized as she stopped quickly in an area with plenty of woodcock splash and a second or two later a timberdoodle vaulted in to the air in front of her, a few feet from her nose. A point! The first one that I have witnessed from Bella ... but not the last.
As we were nearing the trail that led back to the truck, a group of three grouse flushed (one went to a tree, but two of them stayed on the ground) ahead of me and to the right. I saw them but Bella didn't, so I backed off the trail I was on and went to the right, in the direction of the grouse. This is the closest thing to a training situation that you can get with grouse. Bella came in behind me and went ahead and then stopped, for nearly ten seconds. She broke when the first one flushed, but then the second went, and finally the third from above as I walked under the tree it was in.
Note: If you watch the video, you'll notice that I give the "whoa" after the first bird flushes and Bella breaks point. Mistake on my part - it was a reflex command that I commonly give the older dogs, but shouldn't have been used here. Not only is Bella not whoa trained, but I also couldn't enforce the command - never give a command that is not known and can't be enforced.
The lightbulb is flickering for her, and more birds should help her become more consistent. In all, she was exposed to six grouse and five woodcock in an hour and a half, and we moved thirteen birds total in our time out there today. Pretty good for what might turn out to be a very average year. We'll hopefully be back out there tomorrow and maybe Rocky can start stringing some good sessions together.
Note: If you watch the video, you'll notice that I give the "whoa" after the first bird flushes and Bella breaks point. Mistake on my part - it was a reflex command that I commonly give the older dogs, but shouldn't have been used here. Not only is Bella not whoa trained, but I also couldn't enforce the command - never give a command that is not known and can't be enforced.
The lightbulb is flickering for her, and more birds should help her become more consistent. In all, she was exposed to six grouse and five woodcock in an hour and a half, and we moved thirteen birds total in our time out there today. Pretty good for what might turn out to be a very average year. We'll hopefully be back out there tomorrow and maybe Rocky can start stringing some good sessions together.
Bella's first grouse point, which was preceded by a point on a woodcock. The "lightbulb" is flickering for her ...
