chukar challenge

[dougell]

I put Jordan and his pup in their first ever chukar challenge this past weekend.I wasn't sure what to expect as he was the only kid and his dog missed the puppy division by less than a month at 19 mo old.We did it just for fun but I was curious to see how the dog would stack up against the others.Mom wanted to tag along and it was good for her to see what this bird dog nonsense is all about.They put three birds out and you had 15 minutes to find shoot and have the dog retrieve them back to you.Within minutes Bailey caught the scent of the first bird,stalked in and locked up on the most beautiful point she's ever done.We flushed the bird and Jordan put it down with the second shot.Retrieves are hit and miss with her because sometimes she only brings it halfway back because she's too eager to go find another bird.No big deal when your hunting but the dog has to bring it to within 2 feet and you can't walk towards the dog.With some coaxing we got her to bring it all the way back and within a minute,she was locked on another bird that Jordan dropped and she brought strait back to us.In under 10 minutes,she had bird number three locked down and Jordan proceeded to fold like a deck of cards and put 3.5 ounces of shot in the air.Mom was so impressed with the dog that she had me sign them up for another round so she could watch it again.This time the dog was really on point,found the first bird within a minute or two,was right on the dead bird and dropped it at out feet before looking for more.The dog was just as impressive with the next two birds finding the last bird in well under 10 minutes but Jordan insulted her by letting them fly away.As we were leaving the field,she wasn't ready to quit and came running back with a one that someone else had failed to recover.It was a great day for the pup and Jordan went 3 for 6.It was an even better day for Mom.She's never been into hunting but now has a small addiction to watching the dog do what it was bred to do.Quite a few dogs failed to find all three birds so I'm pretty sure the kid and his pup landed in the top third of the pack for their first run.

[Deleted]

Good on Jordan and double good on the pup.  It was smart to tak Mom along.  Now she is hooked, maybe?  Ms. Doris does not hunt, but she loves to watch Mugs work. She and your W 1 FE unit would understand each other on that.

[dougell]

Jordan begged me for a GSP for about 2 years.I was all for it but his mom wanted no part of it to the point where it was causing some domestic disputes.She finally caved and let him get one but it was supposed to be kenneled.Jordan couldn't handle the dog being outside so from day one,she slept in his bed.If you know anything about GSP's,they're pretty enthusiastic.This one was on a cocaine high most of the time and mom was the one who had to deal with her during the day.I have to give her credit because she didn't want the dog and this one is a lot of dog to deal with.Last spring the dog actually jumped through a window in the house because she saw robins in the yard.Once she turned a year old,she really settled down,started to listen good and wrapped mom around her huge man paw.At this point,she's probably the best house dog I've ever had.I was glad she tagged along because she really got a taste of how special a good dog can be.

[dougell]

I don't know much about bird dogs,let alone training one.We basically just taught the dog basic commands like come,stay and whoa.Other than that,we just put her on live birds and let her figure out how to hunt.After a few times out this past year,I noticed that she'd run up the edge of the field we were hunting,maybe 50-60 yards and work back to us in a circular motion,covering everything.When she'd hit a scent cone,she'd just lock right on it.She's find quite a few birds after guys just went through the same field with some times as many as 4 dogs.One saturday,some guys were asking me how I trained her to run those circles.I just laughed because the dog has taught me way more than I taught her.The natural instinct of a well bred hunting god is amazing.

[Dutch]

Not much is better than watching a good bird dog do it's thang.

[Deleted]

Dogs are great just expensive. I used to be able to call my beagle off of a rabbit if I wanted.

[dougell]

Not the best pictures but Mom got a couple points and retrievesAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted