Just got back from out annual "Bob's birthday" hunt in Oregon. Three days of hunting, two hunts per day-and Churchill was a star. Hunted him alone for the first day-chukkars and huns up in the hills in the morning, pheasants in the milo and corn in the afternoon.
Lots of ground to cover, lots of birds pointed, shot and retrieved-two hours straight for each hunt. It was a little warm, blue sky and lovely.
Second day we hunted in the morning (3 1/2 hours) in a creek bed, and brought one of our guide's shorthairs along. She and Churchill hunted well together, and he was very respectful of "her" birds-honored her points, and let her make her retrieves (well, mostly!). She was good with him, too. That afternoon we were in some tall grass/milo, and it was tough going-Churchill was getting tired, so we put him up after about 1 1/2 hours. A bit cooler, and cloudy.
Third day it was WINDY-we seem to get a day with 60 mph gusts every time we are there. Went back up in the hills to look for chukkars-tough scenting for the dogs. Churchill would head into the wind, catch a scent-and then we'd have to keep relocating him, sometimes for a LONG way, to find where the birds were holed up-or to finally see them running ahead of us! He was a trooper, though, and we got it done. After 1 1/2 hours, I had enough of the wind, and he was already tired from the first two days, so he and I waited at the truck, and Bob finished up with the guide's dogs. That afternoon we took the tired yellow dog along, but started the hunt with the guide's dogs-and brought Churchill out about 1/2 hour before shooting time to let him try and find one last bird. He did, and had a smile on his tired face that night.
I was really happy with the increase in maturity he showed from last year. This trip was our first real hunt this year-but he acted like it was something he does every day. He pointed birds, tracked running birds down relentlessly, flushed birds when asked, retrieved everything (even a couple of doubles without handling) and, with only one other experience of hunting with another dog, he took that in stride, too. Couldn't ask for a better dog!
A thanks to Doc E, too. I took along his PRO PCA formula-and it seemed to help with stamina during the hunt, and faster recovery during and after. Churchill works hard when we go there, so he still got tired-but not as fast. I will continue to use it on all our trips. Thanks for a good product, Doc! |