Other Sunday notes

Freckles (3 mo old) and Lissen (about 2 yo) came to the field to watch the practice.  Freckles is growing into a dog, but is still a wobbly puppy.  Lissen is the dog who visited as a little pup and to whom Larsen provided big-brother protection when she was lonely and whimpering.  Both are Statesman dogs, and Susan R. was along for the ride.  I was roundly criticized for taking no photos of these sweet little dogs.

Shoni's Sunny took to the field for the first time since her return from training in Michigan.  What a fine little dog!  Sunny hunted with vigor.  She returned readily to the whistle on fly-offs.  Sunny fetched the downed pigeon and retrieved to hand.  Sunny has always been a fine hunter, and now the training has channeled that talent to form a good little hunting dog.

Cathy's Humphrey and Zelda got tune-ups in the field.  Zelda ran about and earned some words from Cathy.  Zelda knows better and after a little chastisement became the good hunter she is, although to watch her mosey back from the Hunt Dead was so puzzling that we could only scratch our own heads.

Zelda's nose has really developed in the past year and she is finding birds otherwise passed.

Humphrey was out briefly for a flush, sit, shoot, and fetch.  He handled it like the Master he will soon become.

The day was not terribly hot, considering the practice was in Alabama in July, but it is still plenty hot for the dogs.  Our water work was limited to a couple of retrieves.  None of us were willing to troop to the snaky end of the pond to practice water blinds.