Yes he is. About a year and a half old. And a rescue dog at that. He came into our lives in August, needing a home & family. Apparently we needed a dog too.
Our last GWP died in the spring, and we'd just about gotten used to not having a dog around for the first time in over 20 years... Then friends told us about young Maverick, needing a home. He's been good for me, and I think we've done well by him too. Obedience training took a couple of months. Then we set to hunting, though he'd had very little training for that. He did passably well, helping me bring home nine pheasants last fall. I think he'll do better this year.
Meanwhile, he gives me something to do a couple of hours every day, and I like that.
I’m on my 2nd Drahthaar, I owned 2 GWPs before them. Mine is almost six and just settling down. Those dogs have a ton of energy and endurance! They will keep you moving.
Ya, the earlier one was "Clark" a mostly retired show dog & stud dog when he came to me at about four years old. I didn't own him, was just his retirement home. Earlier in life he'd been trained to hunt upland game, but hadn't done that in a couple of years.
First time we went out hunting pheasant... And he caught the scent of one, he looked startled - then looked at me as if to ask "Is this what we're doing? Really? COOL!" and dang - that boy turned into a hunting machine! I honestly think that he hunted better as he aged and slowed down. Pretty sure he ran past some birds when he was younger, but by about 6, 7, or 8, he was hunting slower and more methodically and making very few errors. I sure do miss him. He became a big part of our iives.
In contrast, Maverick the young, brown dog... Is enthusiastic, but not yet well trained. It's a hoot hunting with him, and I don't get upset with his mistakes. He just doesn't know yet. He got his first pheasants last fall, but we didn't do as well on chukar or quail:
Am working with Maverick, and believe that he will be a much better hunter this fall.
Nice shots of Maverick and the outdoors! Good action shot of him coming out of the water. Beautiful. Glad he’s working out for you. It took our German Shepherd nearly 3 years to “mature” and settle down but it was worth the wait. She’s a lot of fun to be with in the woods and a great watch dog.
Just gotta love good bird dogs, no matter what the breed. If the average American worker had the work ethic of a bird dog, production would be through the roof.
Here's Jasta, my 12 year old Brittany. I couldn't even begin to count the number of roosters that we've bagged together.
Every walk is a chance to slip in a little bit of training, does not have to be much just a few whistle recalls as an example. Over a week then a month it can be surprising at how far you can come, Well from the dogs perspective he's out for a walk and when he does what he's asked he get praised ain't walks fun. Gar.
Yes he is. About a year and a half old. And a rescue dog at that. He came into our lives in August, needing a home & family. Apparently we needed a dog too.
Our last GWP died in the spring, and we'd just about gotten used to not having a dog around for the first time in over 20 years... Then friends told us about young Maverick, needing a home. He's been good for me, and I think we've done well by him too. Obedience training took a couple of months. Then we set to hunting, though he'd had very little training for that. He did passably well, helping me bring home nine pheasants last fall. I think he'll do better this year.
Meanwhile, he gives me something to do a couple of hours every day, and I like that.
They used to like older dogs for pointing Ruffed Grouse for the reasons you mentioned. I always liked to have the dogs fairly close when hunting, not using a flag or some indicator so I could see them off in the distance. Some have electronic finders especially around here in the brush for grouse.. Pheasant were a lot of fun with a pointer but as the season wore on the Shorthairs I had learned to "road" or point then repoint until they could maybe in one down. Some just liked to run till they could flush out of range. Still a lot of fun.
He must have run about 6 miles today while I walked a bit over 2 miles. He took a few dips in the Columbia as well, but... Since the temp was in the mid 30's with a brisk breeze blowing, I declined to swim with the dog today:
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