The Trials and Tribulations of Chukar (a Brittany)

[10Key]

I love the jacket, it's cabelas I got it as a gift a bit ago. It works out perfect as I have a Camelback vest that I wear over it. Along with a hat and I am covered.

[CountryslickR]

Nice! I have the Cabela's Lite'N-Load Strap Vest/Pack and love it as well!! Thanks!

[10Key]

September 30th, 2011:

The area I bought firewood removal permits for opened back up through 10/2, so we made a run over the mountains at 4:15am in hopes of being back middle afternoon with a trailer full of wood...We made it to the area at 7:00 and began "hunting" for dead-fall and blow-downs. I had been to the area many times, but never for wood, we found a nice blow-down  by 7:30 and I started cutting, Chukar started "hunting". While I was doing my thing, Chukar would range off to who knows where, every 20 minutes or so I would call him back to check in. Man, did he ever work that day. 4 hours straight of running up and down hillsides and through the underbrush. He drank almost a gallon of water that I brought (who knows how much pond water he drank). I can already tell the difference in his conditioning today versus just two weeks ago...He is getting there and he is really getting lean and toned. Here is a shot of him next to my bounty:



I was hoping to get in some grouse hunting, but cutting 3/4 of a cord of wood by yourself, hauling it to the truck and splitting the big stuff takes a ton of time! Fours hours to be exact

We are going to get out for quail this week and hopefully we can get into some huns when I am deer hunting the Palouse on the rifle opener.

[10Key]

October 8th, 2011:

We planned on waking up at o'dark thirty and heading east to one of our quail spots. Instead, we thought that driving a total of 6.5 hours to hunt 4 or 5 hours just wasn't in our plans this day (snakes entered into the decision as well...our experience in September has me spooked). We stayed on the wet side and went to check out a spot that I know holds grouse, we've just never came across them previously.

We turned off the pavement and started our accent up the mountain to chase grouse. Within 20 minutes, we turned a corner and I saw two birds right off the side of the road. I immediately slowed and backed up. I parked around a turn so that the birds couldn't see me getting ready or the dog being released from his kennel. I released the beast and off he went. We rounded the corner and both birds immediately flushed (we were within 35 yards) and I was like Dang! Then, there to the left was a third bird, a huge ruffed that I didn't see originally. I directed Chukar towards the bird and off he went, trying to pick up his scent. Chukar got within 7 or 8 yards and he seemed to pick up its scent and see the bird simultaneously...Off went the big bird, into the THICK rainforest-like terrain. Chukar went up the birm and tried to pick up the scent-trail of the grouse to no avail and it was just too thick to chase them for any distance. Looking back, I think I could have at least got a shot at one of the birds if I went in solo, but I wanted Chukar to encounter these birds, as I don't think he has ever been on a live grouse (he tends to range, so he may have bumped some birds that I never saw).

We continued up the mountain and didn't see anything, nor were there any spur or skid roads that we could get out and walk. We ended up heading down and took a different road, that lead us to a nice gated (was open) and seldom used road. Off we went to close out the day. We didn't see a lick on this road, save for two snakes, i think they were garters, one was almost 4 feet long. On our way back, I had the pooch pose for a photo, what a great day to be out.



We got back to the truck and started for home, Cougs were on at 7:30 and we don't miss a snap of course, as we continued on our descent, there is a nice grouse hiding in the vegetation on the side of the road...No dog this time, I tried to stock it and the thing flushed at 30+ yards, they were skittish this day I guess.

No birds down, not even a shot, but a wonderful day to get out and exercise the pup and myself. The next trip is to the Palouse for the deer opener and hopefully (finger-crossed) some hun action.

[10Key]

October 14-16th, 2011:

We headed to the Palouse for some deer hunting and a bit of bird hunting. Chukar spent most of the weekend in an outdoor kennel, but he had a chance Friday afternoon to hit the hills to chase huns for the first time. The place we were staying at is a farm and they have 3 short hairs, two that really love to hunt any chance they get. I was reluctant as Chukar had never hunted with another dog before...We headed off up into the hills on foot as there had been a couple coveys spotted over the past couple of weeks. Right behind us came Birdy, a 4 or 5 year old female short hair. I commanded here back to her kennel, but that wasn't happening, she was going to hunt with us off we went working our way through some CRP along the edge of a freshly plowed field. Both dogs were doing their thing, working a pretty large area, each taking a side. The first 20 minutes was pretty lack luster, with a couple points that didn't materialize...then I see Chukar on a rampage headed right into a wheat stubble field. No sooner did he lock up about 50 yards ahead of me, I swung around to make my way up the hill, I took a couple of steps and those birds were out of there! No chance for a shot, but there were almost 20 birds that we broke up, off we went to chase them down. Most of the birds went over a plowed field into a small canyon. I made it up to the dogs and the huns were busting all over the place. I launched a couple of prayers, but they were way out and I could just make out their outline with a plowed field in the evening for a back-drop. This was the theme for the next little bit, the dogs had a blast and I was frustrated because the dogs did their thing, but the birds were just too jumpy for me to get a decent shot of less than 35-40 yards. Here's Chukar working one of the CRP flats early in the hunt:



After we had enough chasing their old scent, we headed down hill and followed an old railroad bed back to the house. We didn't come across anymore birds, but we did see something 100 yards in front of us along the trail...I couldn't quite make it out, but Birdy was locked up. As we got a bit closer, I knew it was a porcupine, something Chukar has never encountered and I didn't want this to be our first "experience" with the deer opener the next morning. I kept the dogs back as best I could as we approached on the trail, the porcupine slinked off to the side a bit and of course Chukar had to get a sniff...He got within 2 or 3 feet as I was yelling at him to come...I lit him up with the stim collar and that was that, back to the house safely.

[10Key]

October 18th, 2011:

Chukar's second birthday is today, what a ride it has been...There have been many great memories so far and many not so great with trips to the vet, encounters with rattle snakes and me missing birds We look forward to the rest of this hunting season and beyond!

[SkookumJeff]

October 14-16th, 2011:

~ As we got a bit closer, I knew it was a porcupine, something Chukar has never encountered and I didn't want this to be our first "experience" with the deer opener the next morning. I kept the dogs back as best I could as we approached on the trail, the porcupine slinked off to the side a bit and of course Chukar had to get a sniff...He got within 2 or 3 feet as I was yelling at him to come...I lit him up with the stim collar and that was that, back to the house safely.

Really enjoying reading about Chucker's progress.  You've really got a good looking dog.  I've had two buddies over the years that had bad problems with their dogs and porky's.  In every case, it eventually was fatal for the porky's, but not before there was lots of trouble, injuries and significant vet bills.  I don't know how common this is with this breed, but in both cases these were Lab's and they had some sort of 'thing' about porky's.  It didn't matter how many times they suffered quills down their throats, in their faces and chest area, they went back for more.  Not good.  Both of my buddies lived in the country and these porky's had set up shop near their property.  Eventually the problem porky had to be 'removed'.  Knock on wood, I've been lucky.  No porky's, no skunks, no snake bites.  So far.

Have you done any training with a 'leave it' command?  My Brittany Jack, when he was a pup, loved to eat horse manure.  The fresher the better.  I used to run him on a trail that was popular with horse riders, so there was plenty of opportunity for him to feast.  I didn't want him eating horse crap, so that was my opportunity to train Jack with a LEAVE IT command.  When I use this command I say it harshly and I kind of growl and yell leave it.  It didn't take him long to learn what LEAVE IT meant, especially after a couple of episodes of my physically catching Jack after he grabbed a mouthful of crap and wrestling him down and grabbing the crap out of his mouth when he ignored my leave it command.  Jack learned what leave it meant and I learned the wisdom of wearing gloves while running Jack.  Fresh horse crap stains hands....   The leave it command has really been used a lot over the years.  I use it often when Jack decides to roust a squirrel instead of focusing on birds.  I also use it a lot to prevent dog conflicts when I'm hunting areas with other hunters nearby.  Jack still loves horse crap.  and elk crap, other dogs crap, pretty much any kind of crap.  But he also knows better than to eat any if I'm in sight....

Let us know what happens with Chucker's medical issues...Skook

[10Key]

We have done some leave-it training, but we don't have it nailed down. It is hard to train this as it is a negative command, but we have messed around with setting him up with a garbage can full of scraps and then stimulating while simultaneously commanding leave-it. Any tips for taking our training to the next level?

As for his medical issues, his weeping prepuce has all but cleared up since we switched him to the all natural + raw diet. It really has be quiet on the medical/vet side of things which is great We will be heading out into the field quite a bit over the next couple of months, this seems to increase the medical "stuff", so we'll see

[GoPlayOutside]

Hey R,
You're doing a great job!  I think you treat your dog better than I treat my kids.  Man, I need to get a blog going about my kids or something.

Here is a pic of my 2 dogs...they have very little training, very little manners, and don't listen to me.  In the past 6 months, they have eatin' one of my goats, killed many raccoons and possums, been kicked by my horses because they pester them.......They are a disaster.  Please come train them

[10Key]

Oh boy, it has been a while...the season was abbreviated and home life busy. That being said, Chukar is getting some formal training starting tomorrow, I just don't have the time or expertise. First on the agenda is WHOA training. It became apparent towards the end of last season Chukar needs more training. Chukar was pushing birds, not holding his point. Well, schedule worked out since my wife and I will be traveling over the next couple of weeks, so we set it up.

We are both reluctant as we haven't been apart from our bud for more than a few days, buts all for the better!

[KFhunter]

who did you send him too?
 
PM if you like

[10Key]

Jim Cochran in Fall City

[10Key]

Summer is finally here and what happens??? Dog strains a front leg and is basically out of commission, so much for making head-way with training. We took him to the vet and they were unable to isolate the issue, but they virtually eliminated a bone break which is good I guess. At least with a fracture, you know what it is. It doesn't help that Chukar's pain tolerance is through the roof. He has a pretty bad limp, that is worse when he isn't warmed up. Anyways, it has been 9 days and were told to give it two weeks to wee where it ends up. If the limp isn't any better by Friday, x-rays it is

[10Key]

July 26th, 2012:
Well, we had xrays done last week and the radiologist report stated that he has narrowing of disk space in C5-6 which is causing the limp. Of course, not the diagnosis we were hoping for, but we now have a course of action. Since he has not responded to anti-inflamatories, the radiologist recommended we see a neurologist, well there are only 6 in the state of Washington, two of which are at WSU. We were able to schedule an initial consult with one in Kirkland (has great reviews) and we have a back-up appointment scheduled at WSU if need be for a second opinion. We are crossing our fingers that the condition isn't degenerative and that there will be a solution to get him back to near 100%. Our first appointment is Monday, I will update as soon as we find something out.

[10Key]

July 31, 2012:

Chukar was examined by a neurologist yesterday, the exam did not yield concrete results (of course), so an MRI was the next step. He had the MRI today. The MRI allowed them to analyze the spine and disks as well as see any soft-tissue issues in his shoulder. As it turns out, the spine and disks looked normal (thankfully) and he has some inflammation in his shoulder in a tendon or two, indications of a sprain. The normal course of action per the specialist is physical therapy or surgery...They recommended PT (we would go that route first anyways) with potential for ultrasound to speed up healing, something we need to schedule soon. I am curious as to what PT for a pooch will be, hopefully I will get some action shots as we are going through the process. He is home now, groggy of course.

We are stoked that it isn't anything major, shoulders do suck just like in humans, but I think we will get that thing healed up in time for the season. We went on a tour of north central Washington this past weekend and ran into some quail, got us pumped for sure!