My buddy Jake

It's a rainy day today and Jake and I have decided to stay home and guard the fire. I don't mean to diminish my feelings for my family, but I realize especially now that I am retired I spend more time with Jake than any one person in my life. That includes my wife who still wants to work. Probably for relief away from me. Jake and I are almost 24/7.

This may not be fair to the service men, but my feelings for Jake must be a lot like their feelings for their comrades who they spend night and day with in the battle fields and during their training. They must know each other almost as well as they know themselves. Never having been in the service, I am just assuming how they must feel.  The trust they must feel in knowing that they can always count on each other and that they work as one accomplishing their goal. They have become a team that works together in every aspect.

It's a relationship I have had with all of my canine partners and those relationships have not been forgotten even though they are not with me anymore. They never let me down and I tried to never let them down. There is not a price you can put on the relationships we have had and I continue to have with Jake. He pretty much knows my next move and helps me be excited about making it.

So with that, I hope every dog owner feels the same as I do, especially you chukar hunters. Quite often it is just you and him on the hill trying to accomplish the same goal and relying on each other. Pretty much the same as you and a good friend or family member accomplished goals together. They are usually something you come away with holding your head up high because of what you have accomplished.

With that being said, I hope some of these videos keep you excited for the upcoming season with your canine partner. Yes, Jake is the star here but put your dog in his place and you in mine and envision the greatness of your team work. It's almost as good as being there.

I've got a lot of February videos and most of them are discarded because of falls, jerky motions, heavy breathing, etc. but I'm working at getting better at this video stuff. No cockiness here, just showing my love for being on the mountain with Jake.
                                                                     

                                                                           
This next one doesn't show Jake on point behind these boulders but shows how this clever little chukar snuck through the rocks and scampered up the hill without Jake ever knowing.

                                                                                 
   The next video shows Jake on this weird point after I had been searching for him around the brush. The bird must have been moving and Jake finally broke point and helped me flush it.

                                                                                                                                         
                                                                 
Conner and I are heading to the spot's show now, hoping to find someone to talk chukar to and we'll finish the video's tomorrow if Jake and I get off the mountain on time.