Happy New Year

Happy new year to all. Riley and I just hunted five days in a row and he told me it was time to take a day off before we finished the final month of the 2011-2012 chukar season. This is how he told me he was tired and needed a day off. As we got back to the truck Riley found a warm spot and assumed this position.

Since I started this blog I have met a lot of good people and learned a lot from some. Hopefully I have been able to save some a step or two along the way. I had one of our follower's ask a question yesterday and felt I might offer my opinion on it. Especially since I've been asked this question more than once before. He asked, "what do you do when your dog is on point way up the hill and you don't want to go up there or can't get there?"

This is my opinion and maybe there are circumstances that vary, but my answer is simple. You suck it up and get to the dog. You owe it to him/her. Your dog's job is to find birds for you and hold them, now it's time for you to do yours.

The long answer is, know yourself before getting your hunting companion. There are certain breeds that work closer and slower than others. They may not cover as much of the country, but they make it a lot easier on the lungs and legs. Each one of us is built differently and have different feelings about what is fun or not and we should get a dog that fits our individual style. If you are sold on a particular dog, as I am on the gsp, then at least let the dog know what you expect as a pup so you have some control on the range later on in the hunting days.

Sometimes I see Riley heading for an area that I don't care to hunt. Rock cliffs, rock slides, and thickets I wouldn't be able to shoot out  of are a few examples. In those cases I recall Riley and get him headed in a direction I prefer. But I never try and recall him if I know he's hot on scent. Once you've hunted with your dog enough, you can tell when he is just sniffing the air looking for scent or he's sniffing the scent looking for a bird to point.

To put it in dog words. Look again at the picture of Riley. If he can put the amount of energy it took to wear him out to this point finding and retrieving birds, the least I can do for him is to honor him by getting to him no matter where he is.