Garden mister has a new app

Temperatures at the Wisconsin Hunt Test hit the mid-90's, which was more than uncomfortable, it was potentially dangerous to the dogs.

Judges and handlers kept an eye on the dogs in the field, breaking off a turn after a dog had completed a hard run. The handler was instructed to cool his or her dog down and return later for a second run.

We went through a lot of ice and water, of course. One thoughtful handler pulled out a garden mister of the sort used to spray plants with water-based fertilizers or insecticides. Filled with plain water, the mister was used to wet down the hot dogs. The mister works better than a garden hose, which even if had been available in the field, usually results in a dog that squirms away, with water running off the coat like the back of a duck.

If you decide you'd like one, buy a new one. Don't recycle one that's had its share of Roundup or Miracle Gro. This compact version works fine, as does the version with the flexible tube and wand, which helps you get to the dog's undercarriage.

Der Bingle

Cathy V's third clumber, Bing, has been doing the show circuit since last spring. There are not many clumber spaniels in the country, and getting a sufficient number together to gain points is not easy. Cathy took some time away from Mazomanie to venture to Burlington, Wisconsin, near the Illinois-Wisconsin boarder, to watch Bing and his handler pick up two more points on the quest to 15 (15 points & two "majors" are needed to get a CH).

Celebration

A day deserving of a fine bubbly.


Adara celebrates her Junior Hunter title.

Caden's romp

Caden is Mary's 10-month-old puppy. Or dog, since he's a good size beast. He's still a puppy at heart, though, and though you can see flashes of a focused and lively hunting dog, Caden will, on occasion, become distracted by a grasshopper or butterfly and forget exactly why he is out in the field, except to experience with you the joys of the day.

(Click on the photos to see entire picture.)

Caden is a strong 10-month old male Welsh Springer Spaniel.

Caden shows enthusiasm and energy for the hunt on a hot July day in Wisconsin.

Birds or butterflies?


This is a beautiful hunting dog with a huge future.

Baker: Therapy dog

You can teach an old dog new tricks.

Baker was the five-year old Welsh Springer Spaniel that we helped rehome from Indianapolis to Asheville, North Carolina. We picked up the little dog in Cincinnati and brought him to Knoxville, Tennessee, where Laurel picked him up.

As Laurel herself commented that day, he was a little unused to the six-foot lead, and that was being charitable.

It looks like Baker is a willing learner, though, and he has passed his Therapy Dog test.

Thoroughly wonderful Millie

Jeanne's American Cocker, Millie, is 8-years old and proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Millie completed her Junior Hunter title with a nice run on Saturday, and then turned around on Sunday to nail her first leg of a Senior Hunter title.

Millie is a willing and biddable little spaniel who has a passel of obedience and agility titles and now is turning her attention to hunting. Millie is a fearless little dog who goes right after those great big chukars even when they are flapping right in her face. She has a very nice retrieve-to-hand.


Millie looks ready for business.


This bird puts up a fight.


On to the water.


Straight to hand.


A weekend of good dog-work as Jeanne and Millie show off their orange ribbons.

Adara's Junior Hunter title

On Saturday, July 30, the first day of the Mazomanie Hunt Test, Mary successfully ran her Welsh Springer Spaniel, Adara, in her fourth Junior Hunter leg, earning the title.

Adara has the swift, slashing hunting style that is sometimes seen in female Welshies (males are somewhat more relaxed or deliberate, it seems). Adara is great fun to watch and has a beautiful to-hand retrieve that will pay extra dividends in the steps toward her Senior Hunter title.

(Click photo to see entire picture.)

Adara's energetic hunting style.


Adara catches the scent cone.


Adara flushes a chukar.

A beautiful retrieve in the making.

Adara checks for directions.

Here she comes.

Nicely done!

Mary accepts an orange ribbon on Adara's behalf.

Mary and Adara.

Master hunters

Training partner Cathy V. brought her white & lemon clumber spaniels, Humphrey and Zelda to the Wisconsin Hunt Test in Mezomanie and ran the table.

Humphrey earned his first MH leg, and Zelda completed her fifth, for her Master Hunter title.

Cathy said that Humphrey, who is sort of an idea dog, set his opinions aside and followed her directions and signals. On the hunt dead, Humphrey found the bird and was starting back when he inadvertently flushed a stray bird. Humphrey sat on the flush, holding the dead bird. He came in, provided the bird to hand to Cathy and went on to the water where he finished in fine style.

The ever-biddable Zelda simply went about her business of finding, flushing, and retrieving birds in the fine style of a Master Hunter.

Unhappily due to the split field, our eye-witness news team has no photos of the pair in action.

Click on photos to see whole thing.


Orange ribbons are flying everywhere as Zelda completes her MH and Humphrey earns his first MH leg.




The Alabama Training Team shows its colors.



Cathy gets a ribbon for Humphrey.




And a big ribbon for Zelda.

Some hunt test memories

Let's take a look at some of the fun from Mezomanie. First up are Susan and Tatum. Susan ran little Tater on Saturday and the scamp earned her first Junior Hunter leg. Susan judged the Juniors and Seniors on Sunday and so was not able to run her dog. Susan and Tatum made the long trip from the South with Cathy V. and her clumbers, Humphrey and Zelda, in a great big white Econoline van.

Now that's something to think about next time you happen to be passing a non-descript Econoline.

Click the photos to see the whole thing.

Susan tells Tatum to get on.

Tatum checks out a promising patch of green.

Spaniel afield.

Tatum starts a nice to-hand retrieve.

On to the water work.

A beautiful working dog.

Tatum trudges ashore, her JH leg but a hands-length away.

Susan and Tatum share the spotlight.

Tatum thanks Susan for the awesome day.

Improving

Larsen seems like the same old dog. He is on an eating regimen: 3 meatballs every 3 hours. The goal is to stabilize his GI.

The report is that he is holding down food and his diarrhea is abating. My hope is that he will come home tonight.

Larsen is ok with the Vet's office, but prefers to be home.

An unexpected turn

The drive from Chicago to Atlanta is a long one, and it's no fun when you are sick.

Somewhere between Kentucky and Tennessee, Larsen started feeling out of sorts. His bowels simply squirted, which was in itself bad, but then he started vomiting. I reset Jill, the GPS, to the all-night emergency vet on Abernathy road and upped the speed as much as I dared. I stopped only when Larsen began panting heavily, which I knew meant either A or B. We arrived at the vet at about 8:00. I didn't leave until about 10:30, and without my dog in tow. The vet did blood (vitals were ok, but his weight was down 5 lbs or 10% of his normal body weight) and an x-ray to look for obstructions or a twisted gut.

After ruling those out, Larsen was put on an IV and catheter. They found some blood in his stool, which is always a concern, but the nature of it suggests that it was the result of straining rather than internal bleeding. They pumped into his veins water (hydration), antibiotics, and something to soothe and coat his stomach lining.

About 12 hours later, at around 10:00am, the vet called to report on Larsen's progress. She said she'd like to hold him another day at least to make sure that he is stabilized and on the upswing. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong other than a GI upset. Possibly some mild dehydration, as might be expected.

I stopped by to see him this afternoon, and he seemed like his same old self.

Larsen relaxes in the exam room during an afternoon visit. (Note IV insert in right-front fore leg.)

Time out

It wasn't all field work in Mazomanie, Wisconsin. We had a chance to do the town. Some members of the contingent found their way to the Duluth Trading Company retail store in downtown Mazomanie. Vickie D., the Hunt Test Secretary, is a buyer for the DTC, which is famous for its indestructible work clothing. If you need long-johns made out of fire hose, this is the place to come. I picked up a fire-hose fabric seat cover for the shotgun seat of the Muttmobile, which has taken some real wear from its primary occupant.

Susan and Cathy take some time away from the field to explore the Duluth Trading Company

Southern style

The team from the south came home from the Mazomanie Hunt Test with orange ribbons flying:

• Larsen earned his first Senior Hunter leg on Sunday.
• Tatum earned a Junior Hunter leg on Saturday. (Tatum didn't run on Sunday because Susan W., her owner and handler, was judging)
• Adaira finished her Junior Hunter title on Saturday.

That's just for the Welshies. In addition:

• Zelda (clumber) earned her Master Hunter.
• Humphrey (clumber) got his first MH leg.
• Rags (ESS) got a Junior leg, or possibly two.
• Millie (Am Cocker) earned her Junior Hunter title on Saturday and got a Senior Hunter leg on Sunday.
• Natasha (clumber) earned a JH leg and possibly a title.
  

(Click on photo to see entire picture)
Tatum is nonplussed, but Susan beams.

Mary and Adaira make quite a team.

Larsen retrieves his bird.


More photos will be posted in the near future.

Larsen earns his first Senior Hunter leg

Larsen earned his first Senior Hunter leg at the Hunt Test of the Cocker Spaniel Hunting Enthusiasts of Southeastern Wisconsin in Mazomanie, Wisconsin. It was an oven-hot 90+ degree weekend, and we went through about 40 lbs of ice keeping Larsen (and other dogs) and people cool.

Larsen NQ'd on Saturday in the Hunt Dead, one of his favorite exercises. Instead of taking a line to the downed bird, Larsen got confused and started hunting (quartering) and never made it back to the bird.

On Sunday, I did not let him dawdle on the Hunt Dead, but instead pushed him up the line as far as I was allowed to go within the rules. He got lost, but I pipped him to a sit to let him collect his wits. Then I sent him on to a successful find.

Larsen's land work on both Saturday and Sunday was very good. He was very responsive to the whistle. He hunted efficiently and enthusiastically. On both days, he returned promptly on fly-away birds. Larsen looked like a trusty field companion.

At the water on Sunday, I sat him and told him in no uncertain terms not to move until I said ok. The bird got tossed, and the judge gave me permission to send him. I waited, though, until Larsen looked away from the bird and into my eyes. Then I let him go. He came in, and put the bird down, which is not desirable, but he picked it back up, brought it to me, and we were in the books. I don't know who was more pleased, me, or Susan W., Larsen's breeder and one of the Sunday judges.

Photos to follow.

Let the dog hunt

We're heading to Wisconsin to have fun and hunt some birds. Let the dog have his nose. Welcome him home. Stand up straight. You expect great performance. He'll give you his great performance. Great day.

On our way

The show is on the road, and heading to Mazomanie for the weekend's Hunt Test.

Good heel, good boy

Larsen and I were walking Allatoona Pass last Sunday, and down the old railbed came the lady with her three black labs. Two labs are adolescents, and the third, the white-muzzled matriarch, is 13 years and 8 months. She rides in a wagon because her gait can be unsteady when she is tired.

Larsen was off-lead when we saw the group. I sat him. Then I heeled him and walked with him toward the two happy young dogs who were headed our way. Larsen stuck right with me. I halted him, and then dismissed him ("ok") and let him run to the rapidly-closing dogs.

That discipline and good behavior is like gold gleaming from a nugget.

Why it is hotter in Atlanta than in Mazomanie

It's hotter in Atlanta than it is in Wisconsin even when the daily high temperatures are the same.

The reason is simple: it never cools off in Atlanta. Sunset is a mere formality, with heat lingering through the night. Even excluding the effect of higher humidity, it is hotter in Atlanta because it does not cool off. On the other hand, Mazomanie, like the rest of Wisconsin, is always looking for an excuse to cool down.

Chart 1 shows in blue the hour-by-hour temperature in Mazonmanie (plus part of a forecast). The temperature tops out at 83 degrees. The hour-by-hour temperature for Atlanta is in red, and it tops out at 89 degrees. That's a 7% premium. An 89 degree day is pretty hot and an 83 degree day is tolerable, but that's not the half of it. Look at how the Atlanta nighttime temperatures stay in the mid-70s. That's real heat buildup.

To get an appreciation of how the buildup works, you can use the idea of a "degree day" that is used by the power industries to determine heating and cooling loads. The degree day is the difference between the temperature and a constant (60 degrees in the winter, and 65 degrees in the summer).

We apply the degree day idea to each of 24 hours in Chart 2. This chart shows how temperatures deviate from 65 degrees (a nice dog-like temperature) by the hour. These deviations can be thought of as "dog degrees," with a positive dog degree being part of a dog day.

Visually, you can see the distinction between Atlanta and Mazomanie over the course of the day. There are 263 degree-hours (number of hours x number of degrees in excess of 65) in the Mazomanie day but there are 352 degree-hours in the Atlanta day. This is a 34% difference.

This is why a high of 89 degrees in Mazomanie is cooler than a high of 89 degrees in Atlanta.

Click on charts to embiggen.

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Thoughts for the HT

I had some success with Larsen's retrieves by staying upright and whistling him in. This contrasts with my previous method of turning somewhat and getting into a crouch to welcome him home.

Basement fetch drills. I saw in our basement fetch drills that when I went into a crouch, Larsen got a little wary of something and hesitated until I coaxed him in. In contrast, when I stood and just called him in, he came right to me and sat with the dummy or the buck. He responds better when I am upright. I tried in the field, and it showed some improvement with his performance.

In the field. At Sunday's practice, Larsen came in to within a step and then put the bird down. I told him to fetch it up and he did. I may recall a time or two when Larsen delivered the bird to hand. Once on a drive-by, more or less. He is very, very close to a senior pass.

At the water. Larsen's water retrieves to hand were very good. On his first, he set the bird down, shook, and then brought it in. On his second, he came straight to hand.

As for his performance at start of the water retrieve itself, Larsen lurched forward on the first retrieve, but I harumphed and he sat right back down, clearly recollecting the day I went in after him. I corrected him and then sent him for the water retrieve. This time, he waited beautifully. His eyes were stuck on the bird, but he waited. When he finally lifted his eyes from the bird and looked at me, I sent him.

Hunt dead. His hunt dead was perfect and to hand. I then let him walk with me while holding the bird. We played a bit, with me taking, then giving him the bird.

Overall. Larsen is quite close to getting a pass on all of his stages. My own performance as a handler will help him over any bumps, if I can keep my composure.