Looking back and forth

There remains an afterglow of Larsen's accomplishment earlier this month.  The backdrop for this accomplishment is the months of healing from Larsen's iliopsoas strain, and the consequential, but in hindsight mistaken, exploratory surgery.  The veterinary claim is that after 6 weeks, the healing is done with.  However, as with  humans, it seems that age reveals again all manner of injuries that in youth were healed and done with.  So I keep an eye on him and coddle him a bit by lifting him in and out of the car, for example.

I've had some successful outings with quail.  I'll try him on chukar, with the e-collar as a reminder that sitting is an absolute precondition to being released for a fetch.  

February provides for the ESS and Bokin tests.   Joe has said that it's not until the 2nd master leg that the dog can be said to be hunting at the master level.  Let's see if we can move in that direction.     

Why this picture is worth looking at again

This photo is beautiful in its own right, reminiscent of an oil painting.  Aki took the picture in early December in middle Georgia during the waning afternoon hours of a hunt test.

Larsen has come ashore after a water retrieve, the last event of the day.  The broom straw and pine provide a soft, abstract background.  Water from the wet dog glitters in the afternoon's light.  A catchlight in Larsen's eye brings him to life and attracts you to the warm, loving look on face, despite being partly obscured by the bird.  It's not unusual for a spaniel to let the bird's wing cover his nose.   He gets bird scent with every breath.  Larsen's eyes and tilt of his head show that he is retrieving because he loves me.  The wing over his nose tells him that the bird is his.  Larsen's face has a touch of grey.  He will be 8 in March.  This is a dog that knows what he is doing.  There is a confident set in his body that belies the soft look in his face.  Larsen's tail is up and cocked slightly to his right, in keeping with his trot, like a metronome.  The confident gait is shown in the backward sweep of his left forefoot. His eyes may be loving, but that tail and stride displays his feeling of pride in his work.

In the upland dog world, a hunt test is a singular activity.  The finding and capture of game calls forth centuries of breed characteristics.  You can look at this picture and go back a 100 or more years and see another Welsh Springer in another place and time bringing a perfect end to a perfect day.

Master Hunter leg

On Sunday, Larsen and I earned our first Master Hunter leg.  I've seen some photos that prove that our land work wasn't pretty, but in the end, Larsen sat for the birds - - a fly-off, and a retrieve - - and I stayed out of the way, and that was that.

Larsen had some trouble finding the bird on the hunt dead.  It may have been in a hole, since he seemed to pass over it a few times.  On the water blind, it took some coaxing to get him focused on the far shore, but once he made up his mind, he found the bird and brought it back.  On the water retrieve, he swam right to the bird, but decided to take the land route back.  Aki's photo shows him rounding third and heading for home, bird in mouth, and a soft look in his eyes.  He knew he was at work and loved every minute.

Three important takeaways from Joe's seminar, and one important pointer from Susan:

1. I healed Larsen to the line with the english lead up high on his head.  I noticed that he did not tug or fool around;
2. On his fly-away, Larsen challenged me twice (as Joe said he would) to break off the hunt and dash for the bird.  I was ready, and pipped him back to the task at hand just as those wayward thoughts formed in his head;
3. I forced myself to focus and not daydream.  When Larsen got birdy, I moved right up on him and was positioned to give him a pip.
4. On the water, I did not let Larsen veer even a degree from straight to the opposite shore.  Susan had warned me that Larsen, like his mom Mazie, would start to circle or swim somewhere pointless if given even a slight deviation.