November 21, 2012

Cooper is birdy!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I've just been too busy. I took Riley and Cooper out to our new favorite spot to meet a friend who was bringing us some quail for Riley's training. We did a few (unsuccessful) plants and then he finally got a bird planted just right. I kept Riley on a check cord and when she found the quail scent she froze in a beautiful point. If it wasn't raining, I would have taken a picture. There is something magical about a Vizsla point. Tail up and quivering, cheeks puffing in and out with quick bursts of air to capture the quail's scent. I was very happy with how well she performed. Even with the poor weather conditions, she was able to locate every single quail. Of course, most of them were running away because the darn things refused to plant correctly! Haha!

When we were done with Riley's training, I asked my friend if we could just let Cooper see the quail and play with them if he was even interested. At first, I held the quail in my hands to let him come see it, but he would not approach me! He barked and play bowed, but wouldn't come see it. I was pretty upset and thought that maybe this meant he really was afraid of birds. I decided to set the quail down on the ground and let it wander around to see how Cooper would react. The minute that little bird hit the ground he was on it! I was so surprised! He chased it down and then when the bird froze he promptly picked it up in his mouth and proudly pranced around with it. I let him just play with it and have fun. The 2nd bird I actually planted in the grass for him to see if he could find it. It took him a while, but he did end up locating it and then proudly carried it around as well. I have yet to see him actually point a bird, but he does have the hunting instinct! :)

I'm also happy to see how Riley's range has started developing more and more. Now that she's been finding quail on a regular basis, she ranges MUCH further out from me. Some walks she even spends part of the time so far off I can't see her. I think it might be time to invest in a GPS tracking collar. 

November 19, 2012

A "Close Shave"

Cooper tried to commit suicide yesterday morning. Thank God he didn't swallow any of the blades. I also couldn't find any cuts in his mouth. This dog is going to give me a heart attack!

November 10, 2012

2nd Heat

Riley's 2nd heat came just in time for hunting season. *sigh* I guess we'll have to do quite a few private trips to wildlife areas for the next 30 days. I'm also going to be training her using planted quail. Anyone want to hunt wild birds with us?