Danny took us to a field that was new to us. It was right under the Heflin radio tower. The field was just under a mile long and ran along the Talapoosa river. There were several knarled old walnut trees, but otherwise, just a lot of broomstraw. The morning was overcast, with spitting rain that eventually cleared.
Danny's layout was relatively easy. The birds were not too deep into the cover. The setup guaranteed successes, which kept Larsen in birds. This was the way I'd have it on this fall Sunday. This was, in many ways, a celebration of his fine performance in the WSSCA Hunting Test. Just a day outside together.
I chewed on my whistle a little, but didn't pip it much. I pipped only when he went obviously far afield, which was not often. With each step, and each bird, I got more confident that the little dog would find the birds. Larsen's flushes were efficient, and the only shots he didn't give me were when the birds stayed low. If I missed the bird, or just tipped it, we marked it and marched after it.
I tried to keep quiet on Larsen's retrieves. I didn't didn't say "here boy" or "hold it" or pat my leg. I kept quiet, and just turned a bit away from him. Once or twice, I told him to "heel" and let him walk with me while he carried the bird. We weren't in a hurry, and this wasn't a test, so I let him hang onto the bird while he panted with his nose buried in the soft feathers. His deliveries were very nice.
In all, we bagged 8 of 11 or 12. We found 11 (Danny said one of our 12 flew to the tree line when he was planting. This is a free day pass for a quail; at least until the hawks circle.)
We finished the day by doing several "hunt deads" and water retrieves, just for fun. The hunt deads were 70-80 yards long, but Larsen watched me place the bird, so there was no mystery. It was simply taking a line a long way out and bringing the bird back. His water work was a little ragged with the delivery, and I will work on a strategy like the land strategy that results in a cleaner presentation.
We went home with our game bag full and a tired happy dog.
This is a bird dog.
Danny has a few secret fields.
Larsen clowns with a feather on his nose.
Let's do it again!
Mid-50s and cloudy is still hot for an active spaniel, and there was nowhere we needed to be, so we took a break.
Larsen takes a breather.
That's Larsen waiting for me to return from placing the bird at the far end of a 70-yard hunt dead.
Home for a bath and some chow.
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