Post by: 10Key on January 10, 2010, 09:22:41 AM
We picked Chukar up from the breeder December 5th, his 49th day. From there, I am going to skip ahead to when I started obedience training.
...to be continued
Post by: Machias on January 10, 2010, 10:43:37 AM
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2010, 08:07:38 AM
After a week of Chukar getting used to my wife and I, I decided it was time for Chukar's first day of school. The goal for training today was to expose Chukar to the collar, leash and whistle...If he responded, that would be a bonus.
I started with 10 minutes of sit, stay, come on a leash...I used treats intermittently. To start, he didn't like the collar and leash, it was really distracting for him. He was able grasp the sit command the best and he was even able to nail the sit, stay, come trio one time...most likely a fluke as stay and come never seemed to resonate again.
For the afternoon session, I tried to reinforce the commands we worked on on the morning. He was more distracted this time, whether it was the collar, leash or the backyard that he was still exploring, I don't know.
On a side note, we really are trying to get him to recognize his name, using it as much as possible. Of course, MUTHER CHUKAR is used here and there.
Post by: TEX-X on January 11, 2010, 08:31:32 AM
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2010, 09:17:37 AM
I have Wolter's Gun Dog, Weaver's Training Your Pointing Dog for Hunting and Home and Tarrant's Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog: The Delmar Smith Method. Of the three, I reference Wolter's 75% of the time and Weaver the remainder...I haven't found anything in Tarrant's book that I like. The DVD I got for an Xmas present is Gun Dog's "Training Your Spaniel"...It is based on flushing dogs, but there are a few snip-its that I like so far.
Post by: TEX-X on January 11, 2010, 09:22:03 AM
Post by: Rowdy on January 11, 2010, 09:36:57 AM
I sent my pup away for his initial training but I made several trips to the trainers staying weekends and helping work alot of dogs. It was great for the pup but even better for me, I was able to experience tons of different situations that became very handy later.
Enjoy the pup and form a strong bond. Remember to be patient.
Good Luck pups are a blast,
Jake
Post by: Shootmoore on January 11, 2010, 09:47:16 AM
A couple of general tips.
Consistancy!
Use the training in the books but don't become frustrated with the timelines (just like people, each dog is different)
Consistancy!
Have FUN!
Shootmoore
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2010, 01:24:40 PM
Chukar started out his day meeting kids for the first time, he met boy/girl twins that are 5 years old. Overall, he did quite well with them. As can be expected, the kids were pretty rough with him, he played along and didn't get too excited or bite them.
After the kids took off and Chukar calmed down a bit, I took him outside for school day number 2. The goal for this session was to continue to reinforce the work we had done the previous day...nothing new was to be added. This session of sit, stay, come was as expected. When I had is undivided attention, sit was no problem, stay was an issue and come worked only after a tug on the lead (I am using the say "come", drop hand and blow whistle one time method).
Overall, the session was very short, probably 5 minutes max as I lost him fairly quick. Thinking back, I recall that I was quite frustrated when I came inside. I told my wife about it and she said, "you've got to be patient, how are going to be when we have kids?" She went on to say, "I don't want you bummed when our 2 month old baby can't walk or talk"...I smiled, and said you are probably right...As I thought to myself, don't all 2 month old babies walk and talk?
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2010, 02:30:58 PM
This was a Monday and by the time I get home from work, the sun has long set. I decided I would take this third session to the spare bedroom and see where I could get. Right off the bat, I knew it wasn't the best choice. First of all, Chukar had yet to explore this room adding to his "short" attention span and secondly, I didn't have the proper tools set and ready to go when I saw the window Chukar was giving me. I did my best to recover and salvage something out of the session, he nailed the sit command with the leash and come was ok...I was struggling with the stay command (and still am to this day to be honest).
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2010, 05:19:13 PM
Another inside session, Chukar had a very short attention span. I tried to make it at least 5 minutes, sit, stay, come. Sat ok, would only come with coaxing of lead or treats.
Post by: gasman on January 11, 2010, 07:03:22 PM
I knw exactly how you feel, I am training my dog number 2 and 3 right now. Trained number one last year but never was able to coplete training due to his untimly death. So I do understand your frustration :bash:
The one thing I was told by a profesional trainer and is the key to success is, "It's A Dog".
Every time i get to the pint where i want to pull out my hair, I have to stop and remember, "It's A Dog".
If you keep these 3 words in mind durring yu training it will releave much stess.
Good luck and have fun cause, he will do all he can to please you, I would be on it :tup:
"It's A Dog"......
(words to live by)
Post by: 10Key on January 12, 2010, 09:08:57 AM
No formal training on these evenings (my notes were blank)...I was worn out from the week (work and Chukar). We did take him on a couple of car rides, he has been a trooper so far. We are prepping him for the long drive to eastern Washington for Christmas.
Post by: TEX-X on January 12, 2010, 10:02:31 AM
Post by: 10Key on January 12, 2010, 10:06:11 AM
Post by: TEX-X on January 12, 2010, 10:08:04 AM
Post by: bonneylakebowman on January 12, 2010, 10:55:26 AM
Post by: TEX-X on January 12, 2010, 11:09:43 AM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on January 12, 2010, 11:20:22 AM
Post by: 10Key on January 12, 2010, 03:07:52 PM
We did a session outside, concentrating on sit, stay, come...for the first time he responded to the come command, without me yanking on his lead. His attention span is noticeably longer, measured in seconds I might add.
Now at 9 weeks, I can really see his personality coming through. He is getting more and more comfortable with us and his new surroundings.
Post by: 10Key on January 12, 2010, 03:16:45 PM
Over the next two weeks, I did not keep any notes, I will be pulling from memory and my wife's blog...
We ventured over to my wife's parent's house to introduce him to a dog for the first time. He was very inquisitive and super excited to play with the other dog, a Maltese poodle that is 12 or 13 years old. Chukar would chase after Max, slide into him and then roll over, playing the submissive one the entire time. Our goal is introduce Chukar to as many dogs as possible in the coming months (Look for a future post on our Norm's experience in Fremont)...of course after his shots are handled. The initial experiment went well.
Here's a shot of him on the ride over:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FSy7pj9l3InI%2FAAAAAAAADos%2FdEiEBnpMo5o%2Fs320%2F2009-12-20%2BDad%2527s%2BB-day%2B001.jpg&hash=ae63c159bd08c64dc1b0b142ede929e81d066e15)
Post by: 10Key on January 17, 2010, 05:47:06 PM
More of the same...Sit, stay and come. During this time frame, in addition to obedience training we wanted Chukar to start meeting people and other dogs as frequently as possible. After another round of shots, it was off to my parents' house for Christmas. The four hour trip went awesome! Chukar is a great traveler and did a great job when we would stop for breaks...Save for the time we stopped at Indian John Hill, too many smells to get any business done.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FSzeexXIc1WI%2FAAAAAAAADv8%2FM0WhtvAP5Cg%2Fs320%2F2009-12-25.26%2B003.jpg&hash=1175afbd71900630ca1b8bccafd222697122d7a2)
We made it all the way to Kennewick and Chukar got to meet my folks' miniature dachshunds...They wanted nothing to do with Chukar, but it added to Chukar's experience with other dogs.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FSzecLPuFFAI%2FAAAAAAAADt8%2FW701P9f_RmQ%2Fs320%2F2009-12-25.26%2B029.jpg&hash=57896470b91b32320c1c2aaff9e02b1bab55299d)
On the 27th, we were back home and it was a great day to get Chukar outside for some "school" work...Here is a shot of him and I working away. By this time, he realized what it means to put on the collar and don the lead.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FSzf_dPUFVvI%2FAAAAAAAADwU%2FJcLDSDnV8zs%2Fs320%2F2009-12-27%2B009.jpg&hash=cf7331dcb3bf17b368901e594f2229be52374bf4)
Post by: 10Key on January 17, 2010, 06:09:06 PM
We were off to Lake Wenatchee for New Year's festivities, it turned out to be a great opportunity for Chukar to travel some more, meet even more people and experience snow for the first time. There wasn't much formal training over the long weekend, but looking back, I really think exposing him to many different places and people has helped with his temperament and attention span. Here is a video of Chukar playing in the snow one of his first times.
Here is Chukar and I strolling the streets of Leavenworth.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FS0EYVjmXUoI%2FAAAAAAAADyU%2FmwfMjzYqvH0%2Fs320%2F2009-12-27%2B041.jpg&hash=1b698b0ead3bd92833bce101093777c04a74c88d)
Post by: 10Key on January 17, 2010, 06:14:09 PM
We decided that it was a good idea to take Chukar to Norm's (a bar that encourages you to bring your dog) in Fremont for some trivia and to watch the national championship...Within minutes, I was doubting our decision. Chukar was going hog-wild between the masses of people and dogs, it was quite a site. Low and behold, within fifteen minutes or so, Chukar came into his own and was being very polite to the "others" and sat below our table, taking in the sights. He did however have an accident, which pissed me off, but it was my fault, not his. Overall, we were there for two hours, he met at least a dozen dogs, we couldn't have been more proud of him.
Post by: 10Key on January 17, 2010, 06:22:59 PM
Even though Chukar and I hadn't nailed sit, stay, come quite yet (we're still having fits with stay), I decided it was time to introduce the game of fetch. I set up the check-cord, strapped on Chukar's collar and we were off to the backyard. I was using a small fetch dummy. We set up for the first attempt and I was having issues with the cord...I finally got those issues worked out, I got Chukar really excited about the dummy and I made a toss of about twenty-five feet and yelled "fetch!". Chukar ran out there as fast as he could with a stiff cord attached to his collar and he grabbed the dummy. I gave the whistle one loud blow and yelled, "Chukar come!". By golly, during all of that commotion, I forgot to tug the cord...turns out I didn't need to. He came right to me and I ordered Chukar to drop the dummy. It took some coaxing, but he eventually dropped the dummy.
This went on for a dozen or so rounds, each time he was getting better and better...After the tenth try or so, he was losing interest, I unhooked the cord and we ended with some sit, stay, come work...In all, a very good day for Chukar and I.
Post by: jetjockey on January 19, 2010, 04:14:48 PM
While I appreciate your zest, you really do need to take a step back and let your puppy be a puppy. Real "formal" training shouldn't start until the dog is at least 6 months old, but closer to a year is even better. Potty training and crate training are fine, but leave the other stuff alone for a while. Take the puppy for lots of walks, introduce it to as many dogs as possible, and let it have fun with people. Let it play with some pheasant/quail wings to build its prey drive, but don't expect him to point at this age (even though he might) That is all you need to be doing right now. If you want to start a "TINY" bit of training, start with the come command when hes on a check cord and your out for a walk. Once or twice while on the walk give the "come" command and reel the dog in until it gets right to you. Then let it run off again and have fun. Do that 2 or 3 times is all...... You have to understand that right now your pup only knows one thing. Eat, sleep, and have fun. He doesn't understand why your trying to get him to do these things that he doesn't really want to do. Play with him, have fun with him, and pick out a training method that you want to use. I would suggest the "Perfect Start/Perfect finish" DVD set from Perfection Kennels. IMO this is by far the easiest and best way to train a dog for a beginner/amateur trainer. Let your pup grow up some, trust me, when he gets older you will be suprised how fast he will learn. You aren't really helping him by trying to train him this early.
Post by: jetjockey on January 19, 2010, 04:38:06 PM
Post by: 10Key on January 19, 2010, 05:04:27 PM
As for timing of getting started with training, I am only adapting some of the things that I've read by Wolters and Weaver...maybe I am off with the time line a bit?
Post by: TEX-X on January 19, 2010, 05:13:00 PM
i'm just poking fun at you.... stick to your book... they should have a time line.... all in all until7 or 8 months have fun and try to develop your dogs natural ability through play and fun... don't try to make things to formal....I for one think that basic obedience starts the day you bring him home.... kenneling, going to the bathroom outside, and yes sitting and come.... I mean i don't beat on him if he don't comply but i make the training fun... they have a very little attention span at the moment.... but training him to come by enthusiastically calling his name and clapping your hands and using the come command won't hurt him. don't strap on a Ecollar and start using it (i'm sure your not) but fun games to get him to learn won't hurt at all in MY PERSONAL OPINION :twocents: hey jet jockey where do you live?
Post by: 10Key on January 19, 2010, 05:24:07 PM
Post by: TEX-X on January 19, 2010, 06:01:23 PM
Post by: jetjockey on January 19, 2010, 06:05:48 PM
A broke dog is a dog that is steady. If you watch the second video, my dog doesn't move after the flush, or the shot. My dog is fully broke and won't move until I walk up and release hear by tapping her on the head. The other dog is supposed to be fully broke, but he isn't. He is broke to wing, because he broke after the bird when the gun was fired. You may hear different people describe different levels of "broke", but a dog will be broke to wing, broke to shot, or fully broke and won't move until released. Its just a level of how "steady" the dog is. You will also hear people refer to dogs being broke to flush. What that means is the dog will stop and watch a bird fly away if it accidently flushes one. Again, a true broke dog will not move until after its released if it accidently flushes a bird. It all depends on what you want from a dog. Field trail guys have to have a dog that is fully broke. But for a hunting dog a dog that is broke to the shot is just fine IMO.
TEX. I grew up in Maple Valley and went to college at CWU. But I live in Georgia south of Atlanta due to my job and wife. However, I get back home a lot to hunt and fish. The south is pretty much the heart of bird dog country. Its pretty crazy how many trials, quail plantations, and hunting dogs there are down her. Id still move home in a second though.
Post by: jetjockey on January 19, 2010, 06:10:57 PM
Post by: TEX-X on January 19, 2010, 06:45:13 PM
Post by: Machias on January 19, 2010, 06:55:51 PM
Post by: 10Key on January 20, 2010, 07:48:04 AM
So in other words, broke means that the dog is fully obedient/subservient and pretty much "asks" before acting?
Post by: Machias on January 20, 2010, 08:51:21 AM
Thanks, your explanations of broke make sense...
So in other words, broke means that the dog is fully obedient/subservient and pretty much "asks" before acting?
10Key I have an observation, could be wrong but this is the sense I get from your post. You want a dog that acts like a robot. Only does anything when you tell him and not before and he needs to do it correctly every time. Your basically trying to make this pup be a push button robot. Do yourself a favor and check this book out at the library, "How To Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves" by Joan Bailey. A broke dog is nothing like you described above. You will kill any Independence the dog has. You want the dog to have some Independence, to hunt for you for sure, but he has to be able to go out and find birds for you. Check this book out. You won't regret it. Then keep in mind your pup is the equivalent of a toddler and your already trying to teach him to drive the car. Good luck with your pup and keep it fun.
Post by: Rowdy on January 20, 2010, 09:09:54 AM
Thanks, your explanations of broke make sense...
So in other words, broke means that the dog is fully obedient/subservient and pretty much "asks" before acting?
10Key I have an observation, could be wrong but this is the sense I get from your post. You want a dog that acts like a robot. Only does anything when you tell him and not before and he needs to do it correctly every time. Your basically trying to make this pup be a push button robot. Do yourself a favor and check this book out at the library, "How To Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves" by Joan Bailey. A broke dog is nothing like you described above. You will kill any Independence the dog has. You want the dog to have some Independence, to hunt for you for sure, but he has to be able to go out and find birds for you. Check this book out. You won't regret it. Then keep in mind your pup is the equivalent of a toddler and your already trying to teach him to drive the car. Good luck with your pup and keep it fun.
:yeah:
I'm not going to tell you how to train your dog but I absolutely agree with the others who said to slow down. I followed the Joan Bailey book for my pup's first year and I will do it again. It's a very easy read. Pointing dogs need some independence, you want them to seek game and point it for you and it's hard to do that if they're right next to you waiting for a command. Enjoy the pup, be patient and have fun.
All I was worried about the first few months was house training, kennel (command), and exploring (taking him to many places so he could chase butterflies, meet people and dogs, go in the water if he wanted, and just be a puppy).
Sounds like you're having fun and that is good. Enjoy, pointing dogs are a blast.
Jake
Post by: 10Key on January 20, 2010, 10:37:14 AM
I will slow it down some (I already have) and look into the Joan Bailey book.
I'll keep the posts going.
Post by: jetjockey on January 20, 2010, 02:19:35 PM
Being broke refers to how the dog handles the birds once they are found. It has nothing to do with how the dog hunts for the birds. A lot of guys (including myself) want big running pointing dogs that range out 200+ yards when hunting. A big running dog will almost always find more birds then a close working dog simply because they cover so much ground. A dog MUST handle the birds well when they are that far infront of you, otherwise you will never get a shot at one. If a dog points a bird out of gun range, the bird decides to flush, and the dog chases, you will never get a shot. Same thing goes for a dog that accidently flushes a bird it didn't smell. A broke dog will wait for you to get there before being released to either relocate to find the bird again, or retrieve the bird you just shot.
A broke dog might not always do what you want them to do. They have good days and bad days just like everyone. But they will handle their birds very well and will wait for you to release them before they chase, retrieve, or start hunting again. Heres an example for you of why you want a dog that is at least broke to the shot. I was hunting quail 2 weeks ago down here in Georgia. I saw on the GPS that my pup was on point 150 yards away. As I walked over the ridge I watched a bird flush about 10 yards infront of her. She didn't budge. I walked down to her and as I got close, 3 more birds flushed between 5 and 10 yards infront of her... Killed 2 of them and she still didn't move. If she had broke on the first flush she would have spooked the other 3 birds and I would have never got a shot. Hopefully that makes sense. Let us know how training goes.
Post by: 10Key on January 20, 2010, 02:22:54 PM
Quote
Being broke refers to how the dog handles the birds once they are found. It has nothing to do with how the dog hunts for the birds. A lot of guys (including myself) want big running pointing dogs that range out 200+ yards when hunting. A big running dog will almost always find more birds then a close working dog simply because they cover so much ground. A dog MUST handle the birds well when they are that far infront of you, otherwise you will never get a shot at one. If a dog points a bird out of gun range, the bird decides to flush, and the dog chases, you will never get a shot. Same thing goes for a dog that accidently flushes a bird it didn't smell. A broke dog will wait for you to get there before being released to either relocate to find the bird again, or retrieve the bird you just shot.
A broke dog might not always do what you want them to do. They have good days and bad days just like everyone. But they will handle their birds very well and will wait for you to release them before they chase, retrieve, or start hunting again. Heres an example for you of why you want a dog that is at least broke to the shot. I was hunting quail 2 weeks ago down here in Georgia. I saw on the GPS that my pup was on point 150 yards away. As I walked over the ridge I watched a bird flush about 10 yards infront of her. She didn't budge. I walked down to her and as I got close, 3 more birds flushed between 5 and 10 yards infront of her... Killed 2 of them and she still didn't move. If she had broke on the first flush she would have spooked the other 3 birds and I would have never got a shot. Hopefully that makes sense. Let us know how training goes.
That makes perfect sense to me...thanks for the clarification.
Post by: 10Key on January 25, 2010, 02:45:56 PM
We worked on some check-cord assisted fetching...He did okay, but not nearly as well as the first time we attempted it.
It was a great day weather-wise, so I decided to take Chukar on a walk at Log-Boom Park. He was able to meet a couple of dogs and people and experience dock-walking for the first time. I had a rod in the car, but I decided it was best to give Chukar my 100% attention, so I left it behind. He is doing really well on a leash...of course he still wants to chase down any human and or dog that comes by, but he is figuring our pace and such.
Post by: 10Key on January 25, 2010, 03:01:22 PM
On the 11th, we were outside for a bit, no formal training. He has made a noticable transition when we are outside. When he roams to explore, he is always looking/listening for me. When I see him in the zone, I go and hide from him. It doesn't take long for him to make contact and go back to his thing. the first several weeks outside, this did not happen.
On the 12th, we stayed inside after work and didn't do much, but I have to tell this one. I came through the front door and released Chuk from his pen and as per usual, he was going hog-wild. This went on for a bit, then he started to get into "devil-dog" mode. For those of you that don't know, this is when Chukar has one thing and one thing only on his mind, biting, biting everything in sight! I leaned over to give him a down sign/tap and he jumped up and grabbed onto my lip. It all happened so fast, it felt like my lower lip had been split in two, I could taste blood immediately. After grabbing my mouth and mumbling, "Mother-Chukar" under my breath, I went to the bathroom mirror to see the horror. It turns out that it was a surface tear of the lip, but it sure bleed like a stuck pig. I am a wussy when it comes to blood, so I was fearing the worst. After a few minutes the lip quit bleeding and Chukar came over to console me...no more leaning over to Chukar when devil-dog is out.
Post by: 10Key on January 25, 2010, 03:10:06 PM
We worked on fetch in the yard without a check-cord...See the pics and video below.
Chukar doing an awesome job, "SIT!"
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Chukar hallin' tail after a "come" command
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Chukar catching some air before I toss the ball
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Here's a video clip of us playing "fetch"
Post by: TEX-X on January 25, 2010, 06:59:25 PM
Post by: 10Key on February 11, 2010, 03:43:48 PM
He made his first trip to the dog park on January 31st...He did great. He is super friendly with dogs, especially bigger, older dogs. The only dog he really had "trouble" with was a lab puppy. The lab was playing rough and biting, Chukar didn't like that.
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Later that day we went down to the water for some more socialization.
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More of the same over the next week or so, here's a shot of Chuk nailing the sit command as some strangers approach.
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Other than that, we have been working on fetch indoors and he has been doing awesome! I am particularly surprised at how he has been "dropping" after the retrieve. Initially, I would reach out and grab for the item that he fetched, that really didn't work. I would end up having to force the item out of his mouth. Now, after his retrieve, I praise him and command "drop it", he usually drops it right in front of meafter a couple of "drop its".
Post by: 10Key on February 22, 2010, 12:59:58 PM
We haven't been doing much with the formal training lately, but with the weather we've been having, Chukar has been out and about more than ever. That being said, he has "unlearned" a few things that we had nailed in previous sessions, I attribute this to me slacking on the training...We hit the back yard for some basics. I threw on his collar and grabbed a short lead and off we went. Went through about a dozen iterations of sit/stay/come (vocal, hand signal and whistle for come). He really is picking up the stay command for the first time, I think it has something to do with his maturation, he's 4 months now.
After that, I took off the lead and we played some fetch, which has turned into Chuk's favorite game. Of course, he isn't perfect, but I was really surprised at how he is using his nose and eyes to find the object after I throw it, he used to be all eyes. There were a couple of times I threw the dummy out of site and Chukar got really confused, but he would head out with his nose to the ground searching, come back to me and I would point him toward the dummy and he would run back out in that direction. He stuck with it and each time was able to locate the dummy without me walking up to it. The funny part is, we have never really gone through directional commands, but I think both of us are "learning" together and figuring it out.
I am going to be heading to Pullman this weekend and we are going to stop off at Squaw Canyon Shooters and have him socialize with Allen's short-hairs and run the farm, it shall be fun. And by the way, Chukar is now 24 pounds, dude is a tank!
Post by: 10Key on March 01, 2010, 04:48:30 PM
We headed over to EWa on the afternoon of February 25th for some Cougar BBall on the 27th. We had some extra time heading over, so we stopped as often as possible to run Chukar. It was so nice to be able to pull over and let Chukar be off leash, it doesn't seem like there are many places to do that on the west side. First stop for us was near Vantage, here is a shot of Chukar sniffing around during his first, non-backyard off-leash experience.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FS4sxYfChXqI%2FAAAAAAAAECM%2FwPgQGdGuGk4%2Fs320%2F2010-02-26-28%2B016.jpg&hash=b119b4610b5840043a3f2cea2e2cff7385535699)
February 26th:
After a stop in Kennewick for the evening, we headed north to Pullman on Friday the 26th for Chukar's first WSU experience. Here is a shot of Chuk and I strolling campus and him showing off to a co-ed his "sit" skills.
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We try and let him meet as many people as will allow, he sure does love that.
February 27th:
Saturday morning we headed down to Lower Granite dam so Chukar could stretch his legs in the BIG open country by the river, boy did he enjoy it, here's proof! Again, this weekend was really the first time that we have been in open areas with him off the leash/checkcord.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FS4swmRvNLXI%2FAAAAAAAAEA0%2FTogLhpveyrQ%2Fs320%2F2010-02-26-28%2B030.jpg&hash=fddbcb2860b695471f1228c4360f697aa35d00e0)
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February 28th:
On our way back west, we decided to stop off at the Potholes and let Chuk run around there...He was definitely more skiddish and "shy" of this county compared to the open country down along the Snake. The sage brush and other vegetation threw him off as he couldn't see too far ahead of him.
In all, I think Chukar had a great experience over the weekend, he experienced big country for the first time and met a ton of people and dogs.
Post by: jetjockey on March 02, 2010, 07:52:42 AM
Post by: 10Key on March 03, 2010, 08:48:44 PM
In the mean time, the blood has slowed and the bathroom looks like a murder scene. I sat on the toilet trying to console Chukar as he walked around the bathroom wondering what was going on. My wife arrived and the we attempted to apply the pencil, but it didn't seem to work...Eventually the wound closed up and we were able to clean up the bathroom. As it turned out, the wound opened up two more times as we monitored him the remainder of the day. The wound has been closed since 5pm this afternoon, hopefully it doesn't re-open.
The incident has definitely made me more "gun-shy" when clipping nails...Next time I will attempt to be even more careful, I do not want to recreate today's experience ever again.
Post by: Happy Gilmore on March 04, 2010, 08:11:39 AM
Maybe someone here can help me remember....household remedy.....cornstarch? I think will clot the wound on a nail.
Post by: 10Key on March 18, 2010, 12:28:27 PM
We went off to Packwood for some R&R over the weekend and Chukar of course tagged along. We spent Saturday wandering along the river, allowing Chukar and his girlfriend Sadie stretch their legs. You can see Chukar chasing her out of the framer here:
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Here is an action shot of Chukar bounding along:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FS57flGIztoI%2FAAAAAAAAEGk%2FXlBna9D5eak%2Fs320%2F2010-03-12%2B001%2B%252818%2529.jpg&hash=fa6f575ceb3053e1c0ef514fdd938e159e4fa422)
He is doing really well around strangers and new dogs, I have yet to see him be confrontational with either, which is awesome. He is in his element when he can get out in front of us 40 or 50 yards, he always seems to peak back to make sure we are still there.
March 14th:
We went out into the woods and shot some clay pigeons. Chukar stayed in the car, I don't think I am ready to intro gunshots, as I have no clue how to do it as of yet. When we returned to the cabin, we had guests. Here is a shot of me holding Chukar back from chasing after 4 or 5 elk about 40 yards out. There was a spike in the group that hadn't dropped his '09 antlers.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FS57RngKKacI%2FAAAAAAAAEEs%2FFioCcHFv4v0%2Fs320%2F2010-03-12%2B001%2B%252840%2529.jpg&hash=7549b5d3bf4bea51f99c5485751119210922e8c5)
Post by: Bandit on March 18, 2010, 05:44:46 PM
Post by: Happy Gilmore on March 19, 2010, 01:04:01 PM
Since your pup is young, I would start to use a dremel with a sand pad to trim his nails or file them down. You can control the dremel a lot better than clippers. I use it on my three dogs.
will you come over and do my two dogs? They don't like my vacuum, I'd love to see them getting dremel'd while holding their paws..... :o
Post by: 10Key on April 14, 2010, 08:28:32 AM
I haven't been doing any "new" training lately, just sticking to the basics for now. I am currently still game-planning heel and that whole methodology. Anyways, I did make it down to Cabela's on 4/13/2010 as I was in the area on business. Chukar tagged along and I kenneled him up inside, it is great that Cabela's has kennels inside for your dog/pup.
I am getting very excited for spring and summer to get here, it will be nice to let Chukar be outside for most of the day and the training opportunities will be much greater. At any rate, Chukar is now pushing 35 pounds, he has slowed down on growth. We had originally thought he may push 50 pounds he was growing so dang fast, but we are now thinking he will be more inline with a Brittany male, in the 40 - 45 pound range.
Post by: 10Key on May 19, 2010, 05:52:11 PM
As for training, I bought a pinch collar recently (leather with brass pins) and I have yet yo use it. Chukar's "incision" is healing up nice and I figure that I can throw it on him next week and get him to correctly walk on a leash/lead. The dude is seriously a TANK now, tipping the scales at 45 pounds at 7 months, his size and strength make tug-of-war not so fun.
Post by: adam.WI on May 20, 2010, 02:23:47 PM
The dude is seriously a TANK now, tipping the scales at 45 pounds at 7 months, his size and strength make tug-of-war not so fun.are you sure that's a brittany :chuckle: :chuckle:
Post by: 10Key on May 24, 2010, 04:08:32 PM
Post by: 10Key on June 01, 2010, 10:04:21 AM
We headed east early Friday morning in hopes of finding good weather and good times...The good times were much easier to come by. We fished, we hiked and we drove a ton, with Chukar in-tow the entire time. Chukar swam for the first time without me throwing him in the water. We were able to coax him into my buddy's pool that contained a single duck decoy...boy he wanted that decoy. We played that game several times, which paid off later in the weekend when we were fishing. He got into the lake we were fishing all on his own, he had never done that before.
Here is Chukar getting a drink (too cute not to post):
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Here is Chukar wading around:
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Chukar kissing a largemouth goodbye:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTARbUKAdu3I%2FAAAAAAAAEiU%2FDbn6gK_oiHI%2Fs320%2F2010-05-29%2B002.jpg&hash=800e2beff882f773ee3f0c480c3d1958bc75da06)
We then went up out of Naches to hike around and search for a group that was camping up there. We didn't find the group, but we did find this huge pine:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTARRTQO6hSI%2FAAAAAAAAEh8%2FOFZWnXTj1Ss%2Fs320%2F2010-05-29%2B007.jpg&hash=3ad05218adb24944be58e78cad2757dc2c388548)
We let Chukar run free on his 50 ft check cord (he's done plenty of this, never in a heavily wooded area) and he did great. He really is coming into his own. Both he and I are becoming more comfortable with him running free or on a check cord.
Post by: 10Key on June 14, 2010, 09:00:37 AM
We spent the weekend outside and enjoyed the weather. We hit up Marymore on Saturday and Magnuson and The Cut on Sunday. At Marymore, Chukar had enough of standing on the sidelines and finally decided to get out and swim by himself. The wife and I were freaking out as he swam in circles out in the Sammamish "River", but he did great and made it back to shore. If it weren't for the other dogs around, I am confident that I would have had to throw him in again to get him wet.
On Sunday we hit up Magnuson for the first time. Overall it is a pretty cool park, but the people and dogs are bit different over there ;) Chukar swam again and enjoyed going crazy with the other dogs.
After Magnuson, we hit up The Cut so I could cast a line, we brought Chukar along on his check cord. My wife was watching him when all of a sudden, he decided to jump in the water. This lead us to grab a stick and next thing you know, not only is Chukar swimming, but he is also fetching! Here is a quick iPhone video of Chukar in action. You'll notice that Chukar lost sight of the stick so I had to redirect him with a tug on the cord and a hand signal.
Chuk swimming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPtIE_0Ld1U&feature=player_embedded#)
Post by: adam.WI on June 14, 2010, 10:34:11 AM
Post by: Moses on July 22, 2010, 10:20:33 PM
Superglue will close the wound on a clipped quick.
Post by: 10Key on July 25, 2010, 09:17:37 AM
We went out to the Fun Day that was put on by the Whid Island Brittany Club
yesterday, the 24th. We met a ton of great people and cool dogs.
We showed up in time for the lunch and the bird exposure portion of the meet. We chatted with several of the members and met thinkingman and his son. The day started off for Chukar by getting "staked" for the first time. We didn't have a stake set up, but one of the members was kind enough to lend one. At first, Chukar was freaked being staked to a 4' chain next to three dogs he had never met, he eventually figured it out.
Later on, Chukar was able to run with another Brit, in search of a couple of pigeons trapped in launchers. It was interesting to see the other dog work, as it was 4.5 years old and had worked birds many a time. Chukar was more interested in that dog than hunting anything up, hopefully in time and with more exposure, he will figure it out. This being Chukars first real exposure to birds, I was able to see how important it is to expose your dog to the scent and movement of birds and get the dog excited about it. I was super reluctant to expose Chukar at home (for fear of screwing something up) but I now understand how and why it needs to be done.
All in all it was a great day, we met a ton of great people and dogs and discovered a club that we are seriously considering joining and becoming active with.
Post by: 10Key on August 11, 2010, 02:19:46 PM
We just got back from a road trip down to central California, Chukar was a saint on the drive there and back. He is so well behaved in his kennel. There were times when he was "cooped" up for 5 hours. Anyways, he had a blast swimming, playing with my nephew and nieces as well as my sister and bro-in-law.
The plan was to start "bird" training when we returned, today was the first day. I do not have a strict plan, my idea is to take it easy, make "birds" fun and see where it goes.
Today we started with some old pheasant wings that I had laying around...I might add, that Chukar has been around pigeons (read above), but he didn't exactly have the "drive" to seek them out.
I whipped out the first pheasant wing and Chukar instantly knew something was up. He jumped, snarled and whimpered to get a hold of it. I let him get a taste and then I hooked him up to his leash, so I could go hide the wing. Without being too sneaky, I placed the wing in one of our holly bushes. I went back to Chukar and released him...He of course went right to the area he saw me go and picked up the sent rather quickly, he flash pointed and went in for the "kill". It was pretty cool to see him really "want" the wing. We repeated this a couple of times with me hiding a wing and him locating it. We ended on a good note with Chukar locating a pretty tough one.
I am going to keep doing this, progressing to Chukar being totally hidden, so he cannot see where I am locating wings. I will post up on his progress.
And by the way, it seems like Chukar has picked up on me using my hands to have him go in a certain direction, something we haven't formally worked on, pretty cool though.
Here is a shot of Chukar swimming in a small creek in Cali:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTF2AW0JJY4I%2FAAAAAAAAE2w%2FaPVRo22H2QY%2Fs1600%2FRich%2B%2526%2BStacie%2B043.jpg&hash=be1192b6a9d36dcfcf4ffeb2710293a2e146dabd)
Post by: arintime on August 13, 2010, 12:03:22 AM
Post by: 10Key on September 03, 2010, 03:00:20 PM
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Post by: 10Key on September 11, 2010, 11:56:21 PM
Well, it was finally time to take Chukar out on an actual "hunting" excursion. The idea was to get him in the field, expose him to shotgun fire and maybe stumble upon a grouse or two...We met part of our goal :)
To give some additional background as I haven't posted many details lately, we have virtually done zero training with or around live birds (and it shows). We've spent time in the back yard with wings and scented dummies, but that is the extent of it. We have worked very little on "whoa" training and directional/range commands have been something Chukar and I have developed while spending time on hikes, etc. Well, here is how it went:
We started of Friday morning heading out to the grouse woods, we made it to our initial destination at about 7am. I popped the hatch on my car and left Chukar in his crate. I grabbed the 20 gauge and some shells and I headed out to 100 paces...I fired off two quick shots. I could see Chukar peering though the grates of his crate, not much movement. I walked about 20 paces closer and fired off a couple more rounds, same thing. Finally, I walked to within about 20 yards and fired off the last 2 rounds. All I saw was Chukar sitting there in his crate waiting to be "released". I went over to him and praised him and got him excited to hit the trail.
We started off up a pretty steep grade and right off the bat he was smelling a ton of stuff that he was interested in, including some TP and associated mess that someone left 4 feet off the trail. A couple "leave-its" got us going again...He was going crazy, covering areas to both sides, up and downhill and up ahead. He is pretty good at staying in front of me, but there are times when he gets onto a scent trail and ends up behind me. Anyways, we continued on up the grade, seeing a ton a different berry patches, for sure I thought we would see something sooner, rather than later...Nothing. Chukar kept working the trail and surrounding area and I was trying to keep up with him. Here is a shot of him looking back down the trail, hoping we never turn back!
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We kept on up the hill, with me reeling Chukar in and sending him back out. I truly thought we were going to bust a grouse...or a bear at any time! Here is Chukar working a steep, rocky hillside about 2/3 up the trail, doesn't he look like a bird dog?!
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We approached the end of the trail...or the part of the trail that I wasn't willing to tackle on this day and decided to head back down. No sign of a grouse, bear, deer or any other living creature besides a squirrel and a crow or two. Before we headed back down the trail, I decided I would "surprise" Chukar with a couple quick shots to see how he would react. Bam, bam, he came running toward me to see what was going on, but he didn't jerk, cower or show any other sign of being spooked. I was pleased to say the least.
We went on another hunt, with similar results. There were no birds to be had on this day.
With the first hunt completed, I was feeling pretty good about exposing Chukar to the gun and his reaction or lack there of...At the same time, I realized that we both have a TON of work to do. Here the three things that became evident before we left the woods:
1. Bird work is super important and is something we are going have to do in the near future. I could tell that Chukar was on scents numerous times, but those scents could have been squirrel, rabbit or grasshopper...I am hoping the bird work will focus his attention to bird scents and keep him from or limit his chasing of the other scents in the field.
2. Whoa. There were a couple of instances that Chukar looked birdy, but nothing materialized. I am thinking that his lack of training in this area could have potentially lead to at least an instance in which there may have been a bird nearby, but he chased it away without me noticing. How is he supposed to know what to do if he has never been trained :)
3. Directional commands/Ranging. I have to figure out how to keep him within range and in front of me. There were times when he was well out of site and there were other times that he started off ahead of me and popped out behind me on the trail. I have a couple ideas here, but I haven't figured out exactly how I want to approach this.
Overall, it really was a great day. The weather was awesome, watching Chukar work the woods was a joy and learning the things that we need to hone was enlightening. Dead birds will come in time.
Post by: jetjockey on September 14, 2010, 01:05:53 PM
When you want to train patterning, just plant birds in a field at different 11 and 2 oclock, or 10-3 positions down the field. Work you way to the left until you find the first one, then to the right until you find the next, then back and fourth working your way down the field. It won't take many times for him to learn to pattern back and fourth. If you want your pup to run edges, just plant the birds in the hedge rows, or edges of the fields. Dogs seem to pick up patterning pretty quick. Good luck, hes looking good.
Post by: 10Key on September 14, 2010, 04:53:05 PM
I did forget to mention how much fun it was to watch Chukar work during our first excursion, the hunting aspect became secondary.
Post by: 10Key on September 19, 2010, 03:45:40 PM
Thanks again to SnowDog for hooking me up with some chukar, I got 5 from him for training.
I decided we would start in the backyard on a check-cord (thanks jetjockey). I put one of the chukar into a very small cat crate and hid the crate in the bushes. We entered the backyard, with me releasing Chukar with the good 'ole "hunt 'em up" signal. He put his nose into the ground and started tracking...he had some trouble on the first one, but he eventually figured out that using the breeze and his nose really helps. He found the crate and went crazy, not much of a point, but he definitely used his nose to find the bird. We repeated this a couple of times, eventually having my wife hide the crate so both Chukar and I were "blind" entering the yard. By the fifth time, he really picked up the sent and found the crate. We ended this session by releasing the chukar into the "wild" while Chukar went ballistic trying to catch it.
Wow, what a difference a live bird makes. I have seen Chukar excited before, but nothing compared to this. When he was on a scent and tracking that bird, he was having a ball. Then for him to see the bird "get away" made him super excited! the funny part is, his best points were when he approached an area that the crate was on a previous stash...He never really pointed on the crated bird, something we will work on. Here is a rough shot of us entering the "field":
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTJZdcFVsArI%2FAAAAAAAAFKs%2FTXV-Yo6IIGM%2Fs1600%2F2010-09-19%2BChukar%2Btest%2B005.jpg&hash=dd6ae2cd07d7b4f992653e0da3c9363b1a5ec6be)
We held another round of training in the afternoon, with the weather being much nicer. Basically, we did the same drill. Put a chukar inside the crate, hide the crate and then Chukar and I enter the yard blind and try and find the crate. There was a stark difference in how Chukar approached this round. He seemed to know that using his nose and the wind would get him on the bird much faster and boy did it! We did this three or four times, which didn't take long now that Chukar had it figured out. The session adjourned with the crate door being opened, Chukar being "whoa'ed" and the chukar flying off into the Himalayas. Overall a good day, I can't wait to do it some more! Thanks to everyone for the tips.
The next round I plan to hit the field and really concentrate on pointing/whoa...Until then
Post by: SnowDog on September 19, 2010, 04:45:57 PM
I took the rest of the live Chukar out to Peppers today and worked on steady to flush and recall on a running bird. Coho is starting to get it, but you can still tell it is almost more than he can handle watching a running bird get away when I recall him. Progress ;)
Cheers!
SD
Post by: 10Key on September 21, 2010, 05:19:14 PM
With the great weather, we just had to get out today and use the last few chukar that we had from the original five we picked up Sunday. I was out marketing all day, but I made sure to get home in time to capitalize on the sunshine.
The session started off a bit rocky, with the first bird escaping my grasp and flying around the garage for a bit, that was fun. Meanwhile, Chukar was tied up in the front yard and he could hear me rustling around in the garage (door closed) trying to catch the dang bird! Anyways, I pinned the bird and got him into the crate. Off to the backyard I went, I hid the bird in what I thought was a tough spot...To the front yard to get Chukar. As soon as I came around, he saw my leather gloves, smelled them and pointed, boy was he excited! I shortened the check-cord and reeled him in, calming him before all hell broke lose. We went through the side gate, I commanded, "stay", Chukar stood there, waiting for the next command..."Hunt 'em up Chukar!". Off he went, ripping the cord through my gloved fingers, thank the lord for the knot at the end!
He put his nose to the ground, picking up the scent from where I drug the crate on the ground, leaving a "false" trail. It sure is amazing how well these dogs can smell. Anyways, he worked into the wind and picked up another scent, this time it was for real. He rounded the holly bush, flash pointed and started whining and yelping, he wanted that bird. I commanded, "whoa" and pulled back on the check cord. I tied it off to the nearest tree and proceeded to grab the crate with the bird in it. I placed the bird just out of reach of Chukar and commanded, "whoa" again, Chukar obliged.
Next round, I moved the crate and focused on the point/whoa portion of the training, as Chukar nose was finding everything fast. This time, he found the bird, I pulled back on the cord and commanded whoa. I shortened the cord and got close to Chukar, stroking his tail upward, commanding whoa at the same time, holding him back. He eventually relaxed and stood there...Nice job! Eventually, he laid down and I had to stand him up, but overall, pretty good work.
We repeated this a couple of more times, with the fourth round ending with me tying off Chukar, releasing the bird just out of his reach, commanding whoa until the bird flew off...Check
I went and grabbed the next bird, this time, Chukar found the bird fast, I whoa'd him and tied him off. As I was releasing the bird, I could tell something was up with the bird...He didn't fly, oh crap! The last thing I need is for Chukar to get lose and chomp this bird. I untied Chukar, held on tight and commanded, "Hunt'em up!". He went ballistic running after this bird, he lost sight of it and went back to using his nose, he approached, pointed and I commanded whoa...This was our first experience putting the point/whoa together, it was an awesome feeling...Somehow the bird "escaped" over the fence, hmmm.
We had one more bird to go, we basically performed the same as above, with emphasis on point/whoa when Chukar located the crate.
Overall, training with live birds has been a blast and has REALLY brought out the bird-drive in little Chukar. I can't wait to get some more birds and move the training into the field.
Post by: SnowDog on September 21, 2010, 05:41:39 PM
Cheers!
SD
Post by: 10Key on October 01, 2010, 10:31:47 AM
We went back to basics today, time for some check-cord work! The plan was to go through several rounds of sit/stay/come and then move on to several rounds of fetch with a scented dummy.
It is funny how quickly Chukar get's in training mode as soon as he sees me don the leather gloves and pull out the check cord. So anyways, I hooked him in and got going.
Sit...Stay...Walk away with my hand up...Come! We ran through that series several times until both Chukar and I got bored (only about 5 times).
Next up was for me to go grab the grouse scented dummy from the garage. As soon as I stepped out of the backdoor, Chukar caught a whiff of the scent and was going ballistic! By the way, I had him hooked to a tree, so you can imagine the scene with him jumping against the check cord/tree :)
I unhooked him, with one hand as I had the dummy in the other, what a sight. Eventually I get Chukar to heed my command of sit, I then tightened down the check cord with my foot so he couldn't run when I threw the dummy. I then tossed the dummy about 20-25 feet and I commanded Chukar to stay as I stroked the underside of his chin and chest...good boy, good boy.
From there, when I want him to fetch, I give the command "Fetch" and tap him at the same time. That seems to work well for the two of us. Anyways, he ran out like a bat out of hell, clamped down on the dummy and started my way with a little guidance from the check cord. I commanded "drop-it" and he released...kind of ;) We did this two more times with similar results.
It wasn't until about the fourth time that I didn't need to guide him back with the check cord, he figured it out by then. Several more rounds of this with decent results and we both were ready to pack it in, Chukar was losing interest and I had to get back to work.
Overall, a good day in the "field". It was nice to review some of the older commands, reinforcing them and keeping at "fetch", which is still a work in progress.
The plan is to pick up some chukar tomorrow and do some more bird work, locating, pointing and whoa. I might even be able to shoot over Chukar too, we'll see. We are prepping for a trip to a game preserve next week, so I hope to get him "polished" up before then...We have a long ways to go, the journey has been fun thus far!
Post by: 10Key on October 09, 2010, 07:53:57 AM
We made it over to my friend's farm on the Palouse mid-afternoon...Just enough time for a hunt. We jumped in the Mule and headed out. The first place we stepped out, within 100 yards, Chukar had scented and flushed two hen roosters, this got him in the game fast! We hiked for another mile or two and only had some tweetie birds here and there.
We made it back to the house and we could see some roosters out in the field about 200 yards out. We loaded up and off we went, this would be Chukar's first "gimme" hunt, we were excited to see how he would react.
We made it to within 40 yards of where we last spotted the birds and released Chukar, within seconds he had their wind. He was slinking along and all of a sudden he locked up, it was quite the sight! We approached cautiously, we made it to within 5 yards of Chukar who was still holding by the way and the bird flushed. BAM BAM, I hit the rooster with the follow up at about 35 yards, he landed in a creek. What a moment! I went down the water, called Chukar over and he jumped in and mouthed the bird, swam with it a bit and left it near the bank, I was able to reach down, fall in the water and grab the bird, success. By the way, remember that we were hunting a shooting preserve.
In the few hours we hunted, it was quite obvious that we need to work around and in birds more often, his instinct seemed to come out more and more and his exposure increased throughout the afternoon. We are going to head out again today and see if we can get into some quail.
Post by: 10Key on October 14, 2010, 06:16:51 PM
Off we went to a large piece of public land in central Washington. The goal was to find some quail and get Chukar more exposure to wild birds. We arrived in the parking lot, I loaded up my gear and released Chukar.
We were hunting a creek bottom, which looked promising by the way, as well as some shrub/steppe land a bit higher on the trail.
We worked the creek bottom for a mile or two and did not encounter a single "game" bird. This was discouraging, but the weather was amazing and the scenery wasn't bad either. Chukar was covering a ton of ground and having a blast, not much more I could ask for.
Here is a short video of Chukar working the grass along the creek:
Chukar bouncing for birds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csnuBVD0l4c#)
We continued along the creek and came to some very brushy areas that looked very birdy...I call Chukar back into range and he starts getting birdy, he's onto something. I was rejuvenated then, I quickly got in position as I knew there was something in there. Chukar pointed and held, what beautiful sight. As I approached to try and flush whatever was in there, I heard a loud, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...As it turns out, Chukar had pointed a large red-tail hawk. Even though it wasn't a huge covey of quail, I was stoked as Chukar had held his point!
Here is a shot of Chukar working the deep grass:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9892)
We continued up the trail, which gained some elevation and turned away from the creek. In all honesty, the ground we were moving into didn't look too birdy, but it was good because it was so open. It gave Chukar and I a chance to work a large area and see how we reacted to each other...As soon as I was about to write off this spot, I see a large hen pheasant flush out in front of us. As it turns out, Chukar had winded this bird, but the bird ran until I got close enough to it that it decided to flush...cool I thought.
Here is Chukar in his most stoic pose:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9893)
We kept working the area as we headed back down the trail...Chukar was going nuts in some three-feet tall grass, he looked birdy to me. I caught up to him and all of a sudden, three hens flushed up the hillside, about 50 yards away from us. I think Chukar picked up the scent of the birds, but they were too wily for my pup and ran before flushing way out of range.
By this time, I had hiked about 6 miles, 4 in and two back and we were both getting hot and tired. I could see it Chukar's demeanor, I had underestimated our water needs which contributed to the stress. We hightailed it to the creek so Chukar could take a dip...Well, I lost track of Chukar. I called and called and he didn't respond. We were out of touch for about 10 to 15 minutes. I just happened to look back and Chukar had doubled back, I assume following my scent, back up the hill. Luckily he is so white, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was at least a quarter mile away on high ground, I gave out a loud Chukar call and he stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and started back my way...Few, that wasn't fun...Time for an e-collar :)
We reunited and made a bee-line to the creek:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9894)
The hike back was fairly uneventful until I stopped to take a picture and almost stepped on a rattler! I turned and there he was, buzzing away staring at me...I was going to leave him be, but he was close to the main trail and Chukar was showing too much interest, I shot it a few times and made Chukar realize that these things aren't to be messed with.
Overall, it was a fun hunt and I learned a ton about the area and Chukar. I have said it before, but WHOA is a must and an e-collar is in our very near future...I am in the process of tracking down a barrel to assist is whoa training, as I type.
Post by: 10Key on October 15, 2010, 11:58:30 AM
We were back at the shooting preserve (Squaw Canyon Shooters in Rosalia BTW) and we had to get out of town by noon or so. We woke after sleeping like loggers and decided to head out early to see if there were any roosters ranging the property. We took of and hunted for about 45 minutes. When we got back I decided we would wrangle up some chukar and plant them in the hunting area, one last chance for Chukar to get around birds and for me to get some shooting in.
I planted 6 chukar and headed back to the house to grab Chukar and load up my other gear. We arrived at where I wanted to start the hunt and I released Chukar, knowing that there were planted birds within 100 yards of our starting point. Off we went, working with the wind (which wasn't smart on my part) that was blowing 20+, this made it tough on us, Chukar to get wind and for me shooting :)
We got close to a thick brush patch that I knew held a dizzied chukar and I directed Chukar to the area, it seemed that the wind really was affecting Chukar's ability to scent birds...Anyways, he eventually located the bird, flash pointed and proceeded to try and catch the bird. The bird flushed and caught the wind...LATER! I shot at the bird twice (yeah, I know I shouldn't shoot at a bird flushed by Chukar, but I couldn't resist) and I missed both. Not a great experience, but better then sitting at home.
We kept on towards the next plant spot that I had dropped two birds in. This spot was two large trees that were THICK...Chukar caught scent of a bird, I was on one side, he was on the other. The bird flushed and I could not see what exactly happened, all well. Off to the next spot.
On the way over, Chukar flushed a hen pheasant that was HOT! Chukar pursued for about a 150 yards before he realized that he wasn't going to catch the bird.
A couple more plants were out there and we continued on, the next planted bird we came across, Chukar actually was able to mouth the bid before it flew...Great, I had to give him a nudge with my boot to get him to release it and allow the bird to fly. I let that bird fly back to Pullman. We worked towards the spot that I knew the first bird we worked had landed. Again, I knew exactly where the bird was, but Chukar was having a tough time with the wind. We stayed at it and Chukar was able to located it and point it! He held point for a few seconds and moved in for a bite...before he could do that, the bird flushed, I shot and dropped the chukar with my follow up at 20 yards. We went over to the bird, Chukar laid down and played with the bird a bit and I picked it up...We need to work on that retriever stuff!
So the plant hunt didn't go so well, but I was able to get some shooting in and Chukar was exposed ti hunting in the stiff wind, which was good. That ended the weekend, quail is next weekend!
Post by: Skyvalhunter on October 15, 2010, 12:04:24 PM
Post by: 10Key on October 15, 2010, 12:19:13 PM
I was able to track down a barrel to start some of the training techniques that jetjockey and others have described. Here is a shot of Chukar being introduced to his new buddy:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9896)
He wasn't too impressed initially, that might be at least partly attributable to the fact that the barrel was used for vinegar...I think I need to rinse it out...maybe.
I moved it from the middle of the yard to up against the deck and I wedged a piece of wood on the other side to make the barrel as stable as possible. I then called Chukar over, picked him up and plopped him on top of the barrel, boy was he not digging this. I tried my best to encourage him and pose him the best I could before I released him. We did this again and he did a bit better, but he was still nervous around the barrel. I got the introduction done, that was my goal. I will get some shots of us with the barrel as we progress.
Post by: thinkingman on October 15, 2010, 01:38:35 PM
Way to go!
Keep us updated.
Post by: 10Key on November 03, 2010, 10:59:19 AM
The stars aligned and we were able to get away on Monday for a hunt out east. We left Bothell around 6:30 to torrential downpour, oh great I thought. We were headed to the Yakima Valley for a go at quail, hopefully the weather would clear after we crested the pass...Thank goodness it did.
We made it to a spot that I had brush-kicked in the past, we had always got into quail, but we rarely, if ever dropped any. It is super thick and the birds either hold tight in the thick stuff or flush out of reach. Anyways, I let Chukar out of his kennel and he hit the ground running. Recall that it has been several weeks since we have been out and it showed. Chukar was super excited, but I could tell he wasn't in tip-top shape and he may have "forgot" exactly what he was smelling for :)
We worked a large area by the river and I heard commotion over a berm...darn single flushed behind both Chukar and I. I don't even think he smelled it. This was pretty much how the hunt went at this location, we encountered a few more birds, no covies. They all flushed out of range and Chukar never pointed any of them. Chukar did have fun with some tweety-birds, he ran through some bushes that left him with some gifts. Here are the remnants of the gifts:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9934)
We loaded up and headed west to the next spot. Chukar passed out on the drive, he was beat! We made it and off we went up a creek canyon in search of some chukar or any other gamebird for that matter. Here is a pick of Chukar taking a rest on our hike up:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9933)
We continued our journey, zig-zagging the creek bottom, working up draws here and there. Chukar was birdy a couple of times, flash pointed, but nothing ever flew at this location. After about an hour and a half, the rain moved in and flushed us out of the canyon. It wasn't a tremendous day, but it was nice to see some birds and get out on a week day. Hopefully we will get into some more birds this coming weekend.
...to be continued
Post by: WABONEHNTR on November 08, 2010, 06:48:18 PM
Post by: 10Key on November 11, 2010, 11:36:56 AM
We headed out early Saturday morning in hopes of tracking down some birds, quail and Chukar to be exact. Ideally, I wanted Chukar to gain more exposure to birds of any kind. The area we went holds upland game of all varieties as well as grouse. Right before we parked, we ran into a small covey of quail, things looked promising.
We hit the trail about 8:30 and started our assent up the trail along a creek. We walked and walked, with Chukar blazing the trail ahead of me. About a mile into it, I just wasn't getting a great feeling of the area. It was heavily wooded and thick with brush, not exactly upland terrain. Up the west side of the canyon was steep and I mean STEEP! it looked very birdy, the kind of place chukar would love to hang out...Up we went. Within the first 50 yards I was struggling and Chukar kept looking back as if to say, "Are we really going to the top?!". We pushed on, after 30 minutes of trudging up and over screed and boulders, following a deer trail we made it to the top, without jumping any birds of course. Here is Chukar catching a breather:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9967)
We pushed on, hunting the top of the canyon which was a large plateau with scattered rock and isolated brush piles. We followed the canyon up-creek, but stayed on top. We did this for about 2 miles, without seeing any sign of birds. The weather was perfect and the area looked great, but it just wasn't happening. I decided to drop back down to the canyon and head back. After taking it easy down the steep canyon wall, we were back to the trail along the creek. I was getting discouraged and my mind was wondering...of course, that is when a pair of grouse flushed from a tree in front of me and behind Chukar. The first bird made it out of sight before my gun was to my shoulder, the second one was about to turn a corner when I fired of a shot...No dice. it was good to see birds, but I wish I wasn't asleep at the wheel. We made it back to the car, ate and loaded up.
We headed west to the other end of this property and drove up a major canyon, which looked good. We were winding up the switch-backed road as I "scouted" from the driver's seat...We made it to a spot that gave me a great vantage point of this canyon and I thought to myself, if there are any quail within 10 miles of here, they will be in this canyon. I woke up Chukar and we headed downhill.
We were hugging the brushy creek bottom, in hopes of Chukar picking up the scent of a bird, the wind was in our face, perfect set up I thought. We kept working downhill and I saw movement to my right, two muley does busted out ahead of us, we were being pretty noisy. Luckily, Chuakr did not pay any attention.
Eventually we crossed the creek, continuing to work downhill. We came to a spot that the brush butted up against the canyon...Chukar got birdy! he was sniffing like a madman, running around through this really thick stuff, he couldn't quite figure out what was going on. I approached and as I did, about 20 quail flushed! About half went uphill and the other half went downhill. I concentrated on the downhill group, popped off two shots and missed, of course.
We were both excited as we chased the downhill group, in hopes of jumping them again. We crossed back over the creek and within minutes, flushed a couple of the quail. I concentrated on a bird that was crossing the creek downhill and fired. I dropped in with my second shot of 20 gauge 2 3/4" 6 shot. The bird fell into some really thick stuff and I thought, oh crap. Chukar doesn't quite have the whole fetch thing down on real birds and I didn't feel like bushwhacking...We made our way over there and I tried to get Chukar excited and make him aware that there was a downed bird in the area, within a couple of minutes, he was freaking out and flash-pointing, repositioning and going ape-nuts. I knew the downed bird was near. I made my way though the thick stuff and was able to see the downed bird as Chukar grabbed it in an attempt to claim it as his own. I commanded "Drop-it" and he did. So it was, our first wild bird together! What a great moment, one i will not soon forget. Here is Chukar in all his glory:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=9966)
After that, I didn't care if we saw another bird, I was getting tired anyways and I knew he was too. We made our way back up the canyon towards the car. We ended up jumping a bird or two more, but they all held tight to the thick stuff and I didn't get off another shot.
It ended up being a fun trip, to an area we had never been. I can't wait to get out again.
Post by: 10Key on November 17, 2010, 08:38:08 PM
No pics from today's hunt, save for the memories ingrained into Chukar's and my mind. On a tip from wabonehntr, we headed out to a spot that is large from an acreage perspective and holds quail and pheasant. We had this trip planned for today since last week. I made sure to clear my work schedule well in advance :) Last night I was up in the air due to the storm that was supposed to move though today. We played it by ear, woke up, checked the pass and went for it, I am glad we did.
Going into this trip, as with every hunt Chukar and I go on, I really was hoping for him to get into some quail, to improve on his pointing skills as well as his steadiness. Well, it all worked out!
We exited the car and I made a plan to use the wind on the way into this spot and try to zig-zag on the way back. The wind picked up over the day, which ended up making it tough in the afternoon, on Chukar and me :)
Within 20 minutes of exiting the car, we found a promising looking stand of trees, that was surrounded by large sage. Chukar was circling into the wind and I whistled him over, as he came towards me, I closed the distance as well. Right in between us, 6 or 7 quail flushed! As per my usual M.O., I was caught sleeping/watching Chukar's reaction, bam-bam, no dead birds! Well that sucked, right? Not so fast, while I was blowing the opportunity at dropping a bird or two, Chukar was absolutely frozen! He didn't even break until my second shot, dude is seriously figuring this out! A major improvement over previous experiences. There wasn't a point in this case, but he didn't flush the birds, so it was all good for me.
On we went, me now awake and Chukar now in hyper-drive. We made our way to the next good looking spot. As we did, Chukar came back to check-in and got super-birdy, held a point for 3 or 4 seconds, into the wind. I approached and he repositioned, circling several large sage bushes, I thought for sure there was going to be a big rooster in one of those shrubs, not so much. He kept slinking around, trying to pin-point the scent, but he never did...The darn wind that I mentioned earlier was seriously playing tricks, that and I know there were at least a couple of wiley roosters in the area that were probably running all over the place, just out of his reach.
I ended up flushing another covey of quail that Chukar seemed to have overscented (I didn't think overlooked applied here) and I missed again, all well. We kept at it, on a hunt that ended up being 4.5 hours long and covered 7-8 miles (judging by feet). We didn't have any other close encounters with birds, but we did push a doe early in the day and a small buck later in the day.
I can really see the difference between Chukar two months ago and today and I attribute the change to exposing him to birds and wild birds here lately. It amazes me the skill and instinct that this dog has and I truly look forward to each and every day that we can get into the field. Oh yeah, one more thing, the place we went was a huge, relatively flat area, prior to today we had only hunted "mountainous" type places. It was nice to see this dog range and cover ground, especially with the wind playing tricks on him.
Post by: ribka on November 17, 2010, 08:44:06 PM
That is why I love hunting with a good dog
Post by: 10Key on November 21, 2010, 07:45:13 PM
Wow, what a day! I coaxed my wife to come out today to see Chukar huntin' 'em up, boy, did that work out! Not only did Chukar have his best day ever and she witnessed it, a ton of the action was captured on film. This will be a heavy pic post, so bear with me.
A quick overview, there wasn't a ton of dropped birds (I suck), but it seems that the switch has flipped for Chukar. From the 17th to today, he made strides that I cannot believe, read on.
We made it to the spot at about 10am, we locked, loaded, bundled up and off we went. It didn't take long for Chukar to get in the groove. Here we are on our way to the promise land!
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTOnQPKelg5I%2FAAAAAAAAFf0%2FFjFLoC6TVgA%2Fs1600%2F2010-11-21%252BHunting%252B003.jpg&hash=6827d54d2f8e9f34ab4d57c06c78f740bfb25715)
The first 30 to 45 minutes were super slow and cold by the way, we didn't see anything moving save for a couple of other hunters and some waterfowl. We kept at it...when out of nowhere a quail flushed right at the feet of my wife, I think she left a treat on the trail after that experience. That got the fire burning again...No sooner did I turn back from that quail flushing, to see Chukar out front locked up! I made sure my wife saw what was happening and I scurried up to Chukar, here he is, pointing what turned out to be a covey of ~10 quail:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=10028)
I got there and flushed them, most of the group flushed out of sight, but there was a single I blasted off two late rounds at...nada. But back to Chukar! The dude performed exactly as planned...He located the birds with his sniffer, locked up and waited for me to come over and flush. He doesn't even go ape nuts when they fly, he tends to release when I shoot. We were so proud of him, that we were at the point that it didn't matter what happened next. We could have packed up and left right then and it would have been a success...But it gets better.
We kept working the same area that the covey flushed towards, we knew they didn't go far. Not 50 yards down the trail, Chukar was on point again! My wife exclaimed, get over there and take care of business! I put some pep into my step and made it over to Chukar. He was frozen solid on point, I kicked the sage and out popped a single, I dropped it with one shot. We have yet to work too much on the "retrieve", so I located the bird and invited Chukar over to join me. Here are a few shots of us in our glory:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTOnOkA5k-aI%2FAAAAAAAAFdU%2FxqVqTVu8-Yc%2Fs320%2F2010-11-21%252BHunting%252B035.jpg&hash=46fb90267cb16f841c753a1355dca6145580e1ef)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTOnO4EKzYOI%2FAAAAAAAAFdk%2F-dbeMKjDHe0%2Fs320%2F2010-11-21%252BHunting%252B029.jpg&hash=7f6ed6c48ae7316f202bc93e53df9b889846f465)
Chukar ended up pointing two more of the original covey and I blew the shots. I will say that they were tough shots, into the sun and stiff breeze :) Here are a couple more cool shots from today:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTOnO57ucuSI%2FAAAAAAAAFeE%2F18AUaj4ft-Q%2Fs320%2F2010-11-21%252BHunting%252B020.jpg&hash=ef26bddcc785b62dddcb078f5c58f0c2e5f96006)
Chukar sniffing a buck skull that I found. It had "shed" it's antlers already
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_QADG8M9IJ4k%2FTOnOi05hfFI%2FAAAAAAAAFdE%2FzHjLtHqsG9E%2Fs320%2F2010-11-21%252BHunting%252B041.jpg&hash=5dbf0c3ca678a4f8fac66614c89abd08c1c1a57e)
So, by this time, we are about 90 minutes into the hunt, Chukar has transformed into a legit pointer. He had 4 legit points under his belt, mom was proud and dad was elated! We kept working the ground and we didn't see much after that original covey. Chukar got birdy a couple of times, but no birds. There were several other hunters working the area, so we decided to give them a wide berth and start the ~2 mile hike back to the rig.
On the way back, we were getting tired from the early start, we began to reminisce over the moments of the day...Low and behold, we were crossing a nondescript gully between two sand dunes and Chukar locks up! We were literally 500 yards from the rig, I re-awake and head over to him. He is frozen solid on a piece of sage brush. I kick around and look, nothing. Chukar moves a couple yards and starts going in circles, from behind us, an explosion! A beautiful hen pheasant flushes from the underbrush, I yell "Hen" and my wife yells "why didn't you shoot?!" :)What a great way to end the day, a perfect point on a tough, wild hen pheasant.
Not too long ago, I inquired about a bird launcher as Chukar was not pointing, let alone holding on birds...Two trips to quail country and Chukar has shifted gears! Not only is he pointing, but he is holding steady! It truly was a great site and I am so glad my wife was there to experience it. It still amazes me that so much of what he did today was innate.
Also, thanks to all for the great tips along the way, this has been a great ride and I can't wait to continue it.
Post by: 10Key on December 16, 2010, 09:03:46 AM
We headed to central Washington for a Friday afternoon/Saturday morning hunt, things started off great...save for the snow! We hit the sandy road that we drive to enter some public ground and it had 6-8" of snow on it, dang I thought. We downshifted my car into first, switched off the traction control and went for it. We made it to the "parking lot" and I proceeded to swap boots and prep my other paraphernalia for the day's hunt. I was ready to release Chukar and I caught a covey of about 40 quail flush 250 yards from the car. Sweet I thought, we headed into the direction I saw them head. Within 15 minutes a single flushed behind me. 5 minutes later, Chukar got birdy and another single flushed about 50 yards from us. Getting into action right out of the rig is great, even if the terrain you are working is covered with 3-5" of crusted snow. This made it difficult for me to walk, but even more difficult for my Brit. It took him quite a while to get the hang of navigating the crusty snow that he would break through most of the time.
We kept working the area that I knew held dozens of birds, then it happened, the first point of the day! I approached, kicked the piece of sage that the bird was in and it flushed...I mean, they flushed, there was a pair of birds in there. I swung the 20 gauge in their direction and fired off two quick shots. As you know if you have followed this narrative from the beginning, I suck at shooting, especially the first opportunity of the day, so you know what happened. Both Chukar and I were excited now, despite the tough conditions and out sense of awareness was at its peak. We kept on working.
The next point came a few minutes later with Chukar locked up on a small sage bush. I walked up, kicked the bush and out flew a single female quail. I was a bit more patient this time, taking time to shoulder, get a decent sight picture and squeeze off two rounds. The first shot missed, the second shot winger the bird...as it fluttered int he air and took a nose dive into the crusty snow. I thought for sure that the bird would be down, right where I saw it land, not so much.
We searched the area that I thought the bird went down and we couldn't find it. I could tell Chukar was smelling something, but he just couldn't nail down its location. We circled and circled and finally Chukar located the bird, he pointed. I trudged my way over and took a peak, there was the bird I hit, sitting there. I gaave it a kick and off she flew! I peeled off another shot and she went down solid across a small depression back towards where we started. Again, this damn bird hit the ground, ran and hunkered down int he base a a sage bush. We finally found it and sealed the deal.
We never got into anymore of that covey, which was disappointing, but it was great to start the day off with that action. We headed into another direction where we've had luck in the past...We hunted for another 3 hours and didn't see another bird.
The weekend trip was cut short by Chukar's episode with myoglobinuria (see here: http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,63888.0.html (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,63888.0.html) )
Post by: Ellensburg on December 16, 2010, 01:23:13 PM
Post by: 10Key on December 16, 2010, 02:21:13 PM
Post by: 10Key on December 29, 2010, 01:30:03 PM
We headed east for Christmas, just after doing our thing on the westside Christmas morning. I despise dogs in any type of clothing or props, but I had to relax a bit as my mom had a Santa outfit ready for Chukar when we arrived the afternoon of Christmas:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=10203)
We went to bed looking forward to the morning as we planned to hit the field to see if we could find any quail or pheasant in some spots that has held birds int he past. The wife decided to head out with us and I am glad she did, it was a great time.
We parked the car about a quarter mile from the end of a dirt road that ended right where the river swept abruptly to the south. Right at the corner, I have spooked up so many pheasant back in my brush kicking days, I knew we were going to at least see something. We headed down and as soon as we went to drop down the small bank, about a dozen quail flushed and a pheasant or two (hens). We were excited and so was Chukar. We kept working our side of the river in hopes of finding the remnants of the covey. Not 50 yards heading the direction of the covey, two singles blasted out of the thick Russian olive and blackberry bushes. Chukar did not point these birds, but they weren't holding very well this day. I blasted off two shots and winged a bird on my second shot. We walked up to where the bird dropped...we couldn't find it. I knew the bird was still alive and was scurrying along the underbrush, burying itself ever-deeper and out of reach. We looked around and decided to continue to look for the rest of the covey and come back to this spot on our way back.
We kept hunting and we kicked out another pheasant, I didn't get a good look at it, not sure if it was a hen or a rooster. Those damn things love to play around with Chukar. Each and every time we have found a pheasant, they run and run and run...The only rooster he's pinned was a pen raised bird on one of his first hunts. The weather was turning for the worse, we decided to turn back towards the car, hunt a small patch of standing weeds and give one more look for that quail.
Well, we started off, with Chukar out ahead a bit. He disappeared off into the brush, opposite of the direction of the patch I wanted to hunt. We stopped and I gave him a holler...After a minute or so, he came barreling out of the bushes, with that bird in tow! It was quite a sight, he has never really retrieved on his own. It was so cool to see, especially for my wife! Here is a proud hunter and even more proud pup!:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=10204)
We rejoiced and headed over to the last patch I wanted to hunt, this patch has held birds in the past, but I have never been able to seal that deal as they usually bust way out. Right away, Chukar was getting birdy, he was on something. Judging by his demeanor, I suspected it was another hen...Then he locked up and I headed over to the pile of brush. I kicked around a bit and a bird flushed about 15 yards from us. It was a hen...DARN!
Back to the car we headed, with Chukar pretty far out front. Next thing we know, we hear the tell-tail sound of a flushing rooster. Dang it I thought, I wish Chukar was in tighter. In all honesty, I don't think it would have mattered if Chukar was in tighter, those darn things have been so spooky right now, flushing way out. We packed up and headed to the next spot.
...To be continued
Post by: 10Key on July 07, 2011, 06:44:42 PM
Goofy pic of Chukar with the top of a garbage can on his head
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-CylKLYodTSA%2FTXRnZHKfyfI%2FAAAAAAAAF7w%2FM6EZOkccV0k%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%25252812%252529.JPG&hash=eb1ab9345bf3e40324f7dd6e856291124d20a2e6)
Us working on staying before the retrieve over Memorial Day weekend
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-hDdP-SrFO7o%2FTePoJBcF8MI%2FAAAAAAAAGKk%2Fb43J0mSY8VU%2Fs1600%2FIMG_5886.jpg&hash=f982e16fd3da7791b63a753ccdb441d72af8ee79)
Chukar retrieving a duck decoy over Memorial Day weekend
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-xkxq5nXD7Ro%2FTePoI6HGZ7I%2FAAAAAAAAGKc%2FpWtDz4Imd98%2Fs1600%2FIMG_7559.jpg&hash=52185af8b2e3d562e88984217688787997e733e9)
Me Checking on Chukar while fishing
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9KeD63flA_s%2FTew56pmAdoI%2FAAAAAAAAGLo%2FN2bCwVXgBdo%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%25252855%252529.JPG&hash=18c7b5a4fc8721a639925ec3d5ae6b17801e7bf6)
Chukar and his buddy playing in the kennel...one of the funniest moments
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-2p1AMDkkBZ8%2FTfTR5_3ivNI%2FAAAAAAAAGNQ%2FYO8q_5a5FBI%2Fs1600%2F2011-06-11%252B020.jpg&hash=4bd232f4b506e9a63ce53ed722c3ca4e64773b86)
Post by: 10Key on August 27, 2011, 09:17:46 AM
Last night we did a little test to see what level of stimulation Chukar would react to. Made it to level 6 of 18 before he jumped into the air. I backed it off one notch and we are going to start there. Our first training with the collar will be this weekend, back to the basics with sit, stay, come.
Post by: BIGINNER on August 27, 2011, 09:37:36 AM
Post by: Bluemoon on August 27, 2011, 12:32:15 PM
Please excuse my bluntness but. " last night we did a little test made it to 6 of 18 before he jumped into the air" WTF!!! Put that collar on yourself at 18 and then put it away untill you know what you are doing or get some help...Most dog people will admit they messed up their first dog they trained you are well on your way to that.
Post by: 10Key on August 27, 2011, 02:48:49 PM
And I guess I should clarify, when I say 6, I mean high on #2, as there are three levels for each of the six settings.
Before you spout off rants on ruining a dog with a stim collar, maybe ask for clarification. The last thing I would ever want to do is ruin our dog with a collar. I make these posts anticipating feedback, thanks
Post by: SkookumJeff on August 28, 2011, 05:22:00 PM
Skook
Post by: 10Key on August 28, 2011, 05:26:41 PM
Post by: SkookumJeff on August 29, 2011, 11:51:58 AM
The ONLY reason I continue to use them these days is when I'm hunting during hunting season. Off season I don't use them anymore as my dogs are well trained and rarely get too far from me. During the season, I use the beeper feature on my collars. I can set the beeper to go off when the dog is motionless for a certain amount of time, so when they go on point...the beeper triggers. It's a great feature when I can't see my dogs which is much of the time when I'm hunting. They're in constant motion when they're not on point. My dogs are not trained to hold point after the flush, but they are ROCK SOLID until I kick the bird out, they don't even flinch when the beeper goes off. Sometimes it can take me a couple of minutes to get to them when they're on point and the beeper is beeping, no problem, they'll stay steady however long it takes me to get to them. Love it....They will also 'check in' when I manually trigger the beeper and they're NOT on point. If I've lost track of them and don't know where they've got to, and it's been awhile since I've last seen them, I'll manually trip the beeper to get a line on where they're working. I used to use cow bells for keeping track of my dogs, but birds get wise to the sound of a tinkling bell on a dog collar. Instead I just beep the beeper once. When I do they always come back to me to check in. I wish they wouldn't, but they do and that's OK. I don't know how you would correct this anyway. This is something they've learned on their own, coming back to check in at the sound of the beeper, I can't take credit for teaching them this. Maybe they learned to associate it with the 'come around' whistle command, I don't know. In the field I use whistle commands exclusively, so that may be how they made the association. So long as they don't break point, and they NEVER have, I'm OK with this as it is pretty useful...
Get me started and I ramble on....sorry. I really enjoy talking about bird dog training. I'll leave you with this anecdote....while I was working with pro trainers, I learned another valuable lesson on e-collar use. My Brittany occasionally gets aggressive with other dogs. I don't know why and I come down pretty harshly when he does this. It's particularly bad with large dogs, he'll take on all comers. Anyway, I was in this training class and it was time to let all the dogs run and socialize. My Brittany starts acting aggressive and I start to use the e-collar to stop this behavior. My trainer stops me before I can use the collar telling me to NEVER use an e-collar on a dog when it's in or about to get in a dog fight. He went on to explain that in that circumstance the dog most likely will believe the sensation (discomfort/pain) is being caused by the other dog and react accordingly, escalating the aggression. I took his advice as gospel and since have never used my collars in that circumstance, instead I just grab my dog, pick him up and carry him out of there, he usually goes right into the crate and is DUN for the day. That's the price for breaking that rule. I don't allow my dogs to be aggressive towards other dogs, it's about the worst rule for them to break. Most of the time he's pretty well behaved, but if I don't watch him...lookout!
All the best...Skook
Post by: 10Key on August 29, 2011, 12:00:38 PM
Post by: jetjockey on September 05, 2011, 11:24:06 PM
If I were you Id skip the beeper and just head straight to the Garmin GPS. It will tell you a heck of a lot more then a beeper will. Its really nice to be able to say "my dog is 50 yards across that creek standing on point". Its nice to know exactly where your dog is and what its doing. Never use the stimulation unless you can see your dog until you get a lot more experience with the collar.....
Post by: 10Key on September 07, 2011, 03:18:07 PM
Back to basics we went, as described in so many of the rags, sites, manuals and message boards. As I described previously, I introduced the collar itself to Chukar over the previous ~ two weeks, with no stimulation save for the "test".
I began introducing stimulation with a check-cord and the come command. I reinforced that command as I had taught him as a pup and I then started introducing stimulation. It only took Chukar a time or two to get the hang of it...We moved on to the other basic commands such as heal, sit/stay. We ended the session when I noticed him fatiguing, it seems that the first couple of sessions with the collar wore him out much faster than check-cord only work. We mimicked this one other time in the back yard and then we moved into a green belt for a session on the 5th and 6th...which he seems to enjoy MUCH more than straight backyard work and he seems to respond better as well.
Overall, he is making awesome progress and I couldn't be happier. As I stated previously, the point of this collar was really for one main reason, to reinforce the come command, everything else it will assist with is just gravy. It was really nice last night when I went to the yard and gave a come command and he came right in :)
We can't wait for quail season
Post by: 10Key on September 19, 2011, 11:17:35 AM
We headed out to some National Forest ground off of 97 in hopes of getting into some grouse and to shake the memories from last weekend. We exited the truck and off we went. The area looked good, an old secondary road that has good vegetation and I was seeing sign. Within 500 yards of the truck we saw a nice bull elk, a shooter in my book. We kept working up the road and we weren't seeing anything. Chukar was taking a while to get in the groove, this was his first trip out hunting since last January (I am not counting last weekend's debacle). He was staying close, within 50 or so yards and he would come back and he wasn't too enthused...until he figured out that if there aren't any gamebirds, might as play with the squirrels. he then was stretching his legs quite a bit, doing his thing. The nut-hoarders ended up messing with him all day long, which normally would annoy me, but he was literally hunting them and pointing when appropriate. It was good to see him slink, something he hasn't done until last December when we hunted several good areas for quail. All in all it was a good day, Chukar looked to back in form, I can't say the same for me. I was breathing hard after not much work, it was great to get out never the less. We are going to pick up some birds this week, I have a bead on some quail and we are going to train a bit over in EWa when I am in Tri-Cities.
Post by: 10Key on September 26, 2011, 12:56:48 PM
We headed over to Tri-Cities for the weekend and picked up some bobwhites from a new supplier on our way over. The plan was to go out and get Chukar on live birds and see if he "remembered" what to do :)
We found a spot south of town that was large enough and had some nice terrain with a small ditch and sage on the upper edges. We did our best to spread out the birds, we only had seven birds, so that wasn't too tough. After planting the birds, we went back to the truck and released the hound. He was excited as he road in the back of the truck in his kennel, right next to the box of quail. He jumped out of the truck and hit the ground running. We directed him to an area that one of the quail flew off to (I guess I didn't make that one dizzy enough) and he couldn't track it down, so we went back to find the others. As soon as he dropped over the edge of the ditch, you could tell he was onto the scent. We let him do his thing, he was working about 75 yards out and we could tell he was super birdy. He buried his head in some tall grass and locked up. We scurried over as quick as we could to flush the bird. We got to within 5 yards and the bird flushed, I winged it. We chased it down and Chukar had his first prize of the 2011 season. Back we went to find another, I swung him around to where to planted the first bird and he was right on it. We were closer this time and about the same time Chukar pointed the bird, it flushed as we were pretty close. Bang, bird down. We collected the bird and we noticed that Chukar was pretty hot, it was 90+ out this day. We went back to the truck and watered him. He was panting profusely and my wife didn't want him to go back out and Chukar didn't either, but there were 5 more birds out there. I wet down his neck and let him rest another 5 minutes. I got him excited again and off we went. Within 50 yards I could see that this just wasn't going to happen, it was just too damn hot out. We shut him down and decided to leave the area with some nice hawk food.
Overall, the session was short, but pretty good. I was stoked to see Chukar get back into the swing of things, considering he hasn't been around live game birds since last December. It was also a good learning experience about hunting in the heat, he just can't go too long in those temps. It wasn't simply him being out of shape as we grouse hunted the weekend before and he did fine running in some pretty hilly country and never really slowed down. Thankfully, most of the season the weather is much cooler. Also, the birds we bought were great, they were hardy and flew well.
Post by: 10Key on September 27, 2011, 09:12:28 AM
Since November of 2010 Chukar has been dealing with a weeping prepuce, sometimes the discharge is white sometimes it's green, indicating infection. We have been to our regular vet too many times to count and an internalist. He's been poked, prodded and put on short and long durations of anti-biotocs. He responds well to the anti-biotoce, but as soon as he is off of them, back comes the weeping. After he recently had a scope done to eliminate the possibility of tumors, a foreign body or any other abnormality, we decided it was time to go to a holistic, natural vet as the traditional route was not working. We found one that came highly recommended and they were willing to see Chukar. Their first recommendation was to eliminate the possibility that it is a simple food allergy...That's what led us to the store last night. We have our fingers crossed, the weeping is hell on us and we know Chukar can't be 100% while this is going on. We are going to give this diet a 6 week trial to see if he responds and go from there.
Post by: CountryslickR on October 02, 2011, 04:19:31 PM
Post by: 10Key on October 02, 2011, 10:32:22 PM
Post by: CountryslickR on October 02, 2011, 10:45:57 PM
Post by: 10Key on October 03, 2011, 05:07:57 PM
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:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-NA0Qth9i_Zw%2FToabRptwMLI%2FAAAAAAAAGos%2F0z7KAR9PirQ%2Fs1600%2FIMG_3094.jpg&hash=d6f73db6fc7b313dcb1116569f73579f0af96742)
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.
Post by: 10Key on October 10, 2011, 12:03:09 PM
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.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-tr2uBV4hWAU%2FTpG14jldkSI%2FAAAAAAAAGqg%2F2_2FLOunvQk%2Fs320%2Fphoto%2525285%252529.JPG&hash=b331ae3301af7cbca088da761c010798a5b54f68)
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.
Post by: 10Key on October 18, 2011, 04:55:02 PM
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:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-3IG7a93edso%2FTpmrZUufC8I%2FAAAAAAAAGrQ%2F_Z7DjGKcfNQ%2Fs320%2FIMG_2687.jpg&hash=a99a0ee59cd24116cbfa10afa0b1120c53a7e7a6)
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.
Post by: 10Key on October 18, 2011, 04:56:46 PM
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!
Post by: SkookumJeff on October 23, 2011, 11:37:16 PM
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.... :yike: :chuckle: 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
Post by: 10Key on October 25, 2011, 10:40:41 AM
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
Post by: GoPlayOutside on November 04, 2011, 10:34:19 PM
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 :chuckle:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi570.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss142%2FGoPlayOutside%2FCIMG2575.jpg&hash=589777dabda9171b3c9be0f41de1fe7ee7b114f5)
Post by: 10Key on May 24, 2012, 08:25:05 PM
We are both reluctant as we haven't been apart from our bud for more than a few days, buts all for the better!
Post by: KFhunter on May 26, 2012, 11:19:47 PM
PM if you like
Post by: 10Key on May 28, 2012, 08:38:01 PM
Post by: 10Key on July 09, 2012, 04:26:03 PM
Post by: 10Key on July 26, 2012, 10:27:02 AM
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.
Post by: 10Key on July 31, 2012, 07:02:34 PM
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!
Post by: thinkingman on July 31, 2012, 10:16:00 PM
I hope you bought doggie health insurance.
Post by: 10Key on August 01, 2012, 07:08:24 AM
Post by: Stilly bay on August 01, 2012, 12:48:54 PM
Thankfully, we've had insurance since he was a pup. The policy has paid for itself ten-fold in coverage not to mention the peace of mind.thank god for pet insurance! its saved me some bank over the years.
Post by: 10Key on August 09, 2012, 09:25:00 AM
We started PT yesterday, basically had a consult on what exercises to perform based on our timeline to full recovery. The goal is to get his shoulder (both front) super strong by mid-September and get his endurance back. The plan is to use home exercises and walking/hiking, supplemented with a weekly visit to have laser treatment on the sprained tendon.
We've kept him cooped up for the duration (almost for 5 weeks) that he is so out of shape all he does is sleep it seems...can't wait to get him running again. We will be hitting the field this weekend for some all-terrain hiking.
Hopefully we can resume "WHOA" training in the near future...Quail season will be here before we know it!
Post by: 10Key on August 13, 2012, 04:45:32 PM
We hit the road and were able to get to the field this past weekend. Here is Chukar beating the heat Friday afternoon:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-crve4aHeFy4%2FUChkG5S1ooI%2FAAAAAAAAHfg%2FeLDMC8T8Znw%2Fs320%2FDSCN4044.JPG&hash=20179e0320329a8b23c9bf9af6debb87e9101c17)
The plan was to keep Chukar reined in and for the most part, that is what we did. Saturday morning we headed to the hills for a hike, Chukar was leashed about half the way up our 2 mile hike and the entire time on the way down...Of course when water was near the leash came off and I got to fish:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-y5gfLCeZHKk%2FUChkOKKEOUI%2FAAAAAAAAHgY%2F6iKB3R0TQMY%2Fs320%2FDSCN4053.JPG&hash=a1e1f67af64a0322d012a6bbb076e393a28ff277)
I have mentioned and I will mention it again...dog goes APE SH*T CRAZY when the fishing gear comes out. As you see above, he is chasing my line in hopes of getting to a fish before me...No fish in this lake for us.
Sunday morning we hit a small creek in hopes of hooking a few cutties/rainbows. I landed one dink and lost two others that we 12"+. Here is the crazy mutt waiting to rob my catch:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-15OjIziiWg8%2FUChkQdYhJcI%2FAAAAAAAAHgo%2F9JovOr95wfY%2Fs320%2FDSCN4057.JPG&hash=300955f337aff663c03efa76a71d764243226793)
Overall Chukar did well, stretching his legs for the first time in 6 weeks, no griping at all from him...But his endurance is way down, as is mine :) We expected him to wake up today feeling it, but he is doing well. A bit tired, but no visible signs of being sore. PT exercises continue tonight.
Post by: 10Key on October 14, 2012, 12:50:56 PM
The wife, who is 38 weeks pregnant made Chukar and I get out for the first real hunting trip of the year. I wasn't too gung-ho as Chukar is still not in game shape, nor am I :) Well, we decided to hit up central WA to a large area we have yet to explore, judging by the sunrise on our way over, I thought we were in for a real treat.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11722)
We made it to the area and had to drive around for more than an hour to get the lay of the land. The first spot we decided to hunt was down by the river, the spot had a creek bottom and some nice looking vegetation that I thought would hold birds. By the time we stepped out of the truck, it was after 10:30 and in the upper 60s...A little warm for Chukar's liking. And of course, for the third year in a row, we encountered a rattler. this time right off the bat. I was looking down into the creek bottom and something caught my eye, it was a coiled up buzz-worm. Immediately I got Chukar's attention and we go the heck out of there. We got closer to the river and hunted the shoreline area for about 2 hours. Not a single rise, but we did scare up more than a few ducks off the big river. Thank goodness for the river, as the dog was heating up quickly and he was showing his lack of stamina right away...as was I. We loaded up and decided to get away from the river and back into the sage brush flats, near a creek bottom we scoped out earlier. It took us more than an hour to get there as it was slow going on the rough and tumble roads. We made it finally, time for a snack. I threw down some grub and I watered the dog and gave him a venison treat or two.
It was almost 2pm, hot and windy...Not ideal conditions, but we both needed to put some more miles on even if the chance of encountering birds was minimal. We got out gear and began hunting this creek bottom. We went up steam with me following the upper edge and Chukar buzzing the bottom and the sage flat up above. We didn't see any bird sign, but I did see plenty of fresh deer sign. Chukar's nose got excited a few times, but in all honesty, I think he was getting deer and 'yote scent. Luckily there was still some running water in the bottom, as Chukar heated up very quickly. I called it a day after a mile or so and we headed back to the truck, me beat down and Chukar on fire. It was good to get out and explore a new area, maybe we will find some birds next time. Here is a shot of Chukar, finding the only piece of shade in the truck bed before we loaded up and headed west.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11724)
Post by: thinkingman on October 17, 2012, 01:15:45 PM
Post by: Atroxus on October 17, 2012, 01:40:18 PM
Post by: 10Key on October 17, 2012, 04:54:53 PM
Post by: 10Key on October 21, 2012, 09:21:14 PM
HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY CHUKAR!!!
October 20, 2012:
We watched the weather this week to make sure we were going to see a drop in temps, which we hoped would lead to the buzz worms taking a long winter nap. Well, the weather cooperated and we had a window to hunt Saturday morning. We had to be back in town by 3pm for a bday, so that limited our options, but I pulled out an oldie from a couple years ago, we hadn't been back since 2010. It's the canyon that Chukar and I connected on our first wild bird together. I knew we could be at the canyon and hunting within in two hours, so that worked out great and would allow for 4 hours of hunting.
We arrived at the grounds and we began our decent into the creek bottom. The area is prime habitat with a year-around creek, wild apples and several berries as well as some great looking alders in fall color. We started on the east bank of the creek, it has a nice flat that spans about 100 yards and leads up to a steep hillside. Nothing doing in the first bit, so we crossed the creek and kept moving down the canyon/creek. Chukar was moving pretty good, using the wind ti his advantage as it swirled. Now on the west side of the creek, there were several basalt scree fields we had to navigate, which wasn't a lot of fun for either of us...Even thought it was in the 40s, I still had rattlers in the back of my mind. We were now a good half mile from where we crossed and the canyon was beginning to choke down, the vegetation was super thick as well. I made the call to cross back over and head back up towards the truck. It had been about an hour and fifteen minutes with no sign of life. Maybe we can go do a bit of exploring for some grouse up high is what I was thinking. We crossed through some thick stuff and finally began out accent.
Chukar was now working about 75 yards in front of me, a bit far in this tight of cover. As I am about to reel him in, I spotted a 5 gallon bucket and my first thought was a bait station...As I approached to take a peek, I heard the tell-tail sound of quail wings-flapping. A covey of quail had busted off the hillside, right across my face, between Chukar and I, towards the creek. From what I could see, there were at least 20 birds...I called Chukar back to me and allowed him to "hunt" them. As soon as he got close, they flushed. i was able to drop one and I located got an idea where the rest went. We left the one bird I downed and were in hot pursuit of the covey. We crossed the creek again, now on the west side again and Chukar locked up on a loan, dwarf apple tree. I threw up my gun, I am shooting left handed this year and it was a bit awkward...I approached and ziiing! I shot once, nothing, I lined it up for my final shot and slam! Dropped it at 35 yards with #7 steel. Chukar went nuts and was off. He tracked the bird as I stood where I shot. He found the downed bird and I yelled out "FETCH". He grabbed the bird and was on his way...dropped the nice looking female right at my feet. The sessions in the back yard playing fetch seemed to have paid off :) We then worked our way down creek to hunt the rest of the covey. We ended up flushing a few more and was able to connect on one more. The bird fell into some really thick stuff and off Chukar went...Here is returning with my prize:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11732)
We circled back around to find the first bird I dropped and Chukar came through again, like a champ.
After having several more encounters, we couldn't seal the deal on anymore, but we sure had fun. We left the creek and headed out exploring...As we did, the weather shifted and snow-flurries came in. I called in Chukar for our hike back to the truck. Chukar exploring a good looking bottom...I didn't head down...too lazy:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11734)
On our final ascent back to the truck, I was about 40 yards from the truck, so I emptied the chamber and started reminiscing. Of course, right then I heard some rustling in the bushes, it turns out Chukar had been on the trail of a grouse off to my to my left. The bird flushed within 20 yards, too bad I was empty handed.
Back at the truck for a glory shot:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11731)
Post by: 10Key on October 23, 2012, 12:48:57 PM
Bacon maple syrup quail...yummy
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11750)
Post by: 10Key on November 13, 2012, 05:53:41 PM
Chukar's little brother arrived on Halloween, he is stoked to take him out hunting!
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-HUTMMUHlNBI%2FUJydT0a9qII%2FAAAAAAAAH_Q%2Fzsuf2pWIV14%2Fs320%2FIMG_2108.JPG&hash=b6c6b8e01533ed2dffa4db3afa5033a2b18af5b1)
We couldn't be more pleased with Chukar's reaction to our first born. One of the reasons we selected a Brittany was for their reputation with kids, that reputation has rang true! Chukar has accepted Griffin as one of us and loves to give him kisses whenever possible. It won't be long before us four will be in the field hunting 'em up
Post by: 10Key on November 25, 2012, 10:29:05 AM
Met my brother over in the desert for some quail action. We started at a spot that I have had success finding birds in the past. The spot did not disappoint. I released Chukar from the truck and off he went. He hasn't even been to the dog park for weeks, to say he was excited is an understatement. He started working a dried up pond edge and got birdy. We caught up with him and five quail flushed. Three of them didn't offer a shot, the other two went straight out, my bro and I knocked a single down and Chukar retrieved it. It was great to get out to a fast start.
I am going to add that Chukar and I haven't hunted with another gun along for he ride for some time. I dont't think we ever got in a groove the entire day, but it is something that I am sure we will figure out.
We continued working, concentrating on the thick cover by the water's edge or the dried up pond edges. Chukar consistently was finding birds for the first two hours. Our shooting was sub par, but it seemed that the cover the birds were in today was tall and thick, which made shooting even more difficult (excuse). We circled back to the truck in hopes of finding some of the singles that broke away from the covies we encountered previously. We found a single that flushed wild and that was it. Off to get lunch and prepare for an afternoon hunt.
We switched locations, the new spot had more sporadic ponds and is in general more open than the first. We got out of the truck and headed towards a raspy rooster we heard off in the distance. We walked and we walked, Chukar got onto pheasant scent right away, but they were not holding on this day. We were about an hour and a half into it and a single busted out to our side, Chukar didn't even smell it. That quail lived to see another day. Shooting hours were drawing to a close, so we made a loop and started back for the truck. Just as we did, Chukar locked up on an isolated sage, we knew immediately there were quail in there. We were about 40 yards out, so we scurried over to make the flush. We got within 10 feet and tried to locate the birds, as one appeared deep within the sage, it busted out right at me. It narrowly missed my face and made a great flush into the Russian olives. Another flushed right after, we didn't connect on either (limited shooting window), but it was a great way to end the day. It never gets old watching your dog lock up and hold intently. The only pic I got on this day was of the sunset:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11813)
Post by: 10Key on January 09, 2013, 04:43:16 PM
We were in Plain for a New Year's celebration, I took advantage and hunted a couple hours up a canyon off the Columbia for the first time. We encountered snow 6-12" deep, the deepest we've ever hunted. The good part was there was no crust to tear up pads! Oh and did I mention it was steep?!?!?! Craziest hunt we have ever had for quail, tons of fun. Birds were buried in the snow in the thick brush. This made for tough shooting, but we had a blast in the two solid hours we slithered up and down the hillside:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=11911)
We are heading to the desert for a weekend hunt and will get out once more on closing weekend. See you all out there!!!
Post by: bracer40 on January 10, 2013, 04:19:37 PM
Post by: 10Key on January 11, 2013, 07:26:59 AM
Post by: bracer40 on January 11, 2013, 08:25:41 AM
Post by: 10Key on October 21, 2013, 11:23:35 AM
Happy birthday buddy! It has been a great ride so far, we look forward to many more days in the field and cuddles at home :)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/MGalleryItem.php?id=12185)
Post by: 10Key on October 18, 2014, 10:26:49 PM
Happy fifth little buddy!
We celebrated #5 with a trip to an area we have never been, south of Wenatchee. We were hoping to run into a quail or two...it was slow as heck and we nearly left early :) Then finally chukar ended up tracking down a covey of huns that we chased up an down the steep hills for a couple of hours. I was happy that he was able to fill his nasal passages with some scent...I didn't even shoulder my gun, birds were a bit spooky it seemed, typical for huns in my experience We still had a blast getting out and stretching out legs. Here are a couple of shots near the top of the hill:
Post by: 10Key on April 16, 2015, 09:06:57 PM
Been quite a ride the last couple of months. Chukar had an issue with his right eye, turned out he lost site in it. They are thinking it was some sort of trama, causing a detached retina. Ok, fine, eye was stable and he didn't seem to care. We had a regimen of eye drops to keep.pressure from building and causing problems. Well, that didn't work. Today we had his eye removed. I am sitting here with him as he moans in pain, hate seeing him like this. We are having the eye sent out to see if a they can determine the cause. In the meantime, 2 weeks with the cone of shame and limited activity.
Post by: wildweeds on April 17, 2015, 04:40:49 PM
Post by: 10Key on April 17, 2015, 05:09:25 PM
teams = trama
Post by: jetjockey on April 18, 2015, 05:34:58 AM
Post by: NW-GSP on April 18, 2015, 06:13:00 AM
Post by: Bwana Bob on April 21, 2015, 07:45:31 AM
Post by: 10Key on April 21, 2015, 11:27:20 AM
To update, Chukar woke up the next following surgery and looked like he was in a 12-round title fight...and lost! The swelling was incredible. Fast forward to today and if he didn't have the cone of shame on, you really wouldn't know he doesn't have his right eye. The swelling on he bottom half of the eye is virtually non-existent and the upper portion is almost completely gone. His attitude is back to normal and doesn't seem to care one iota that he only has one eye. The cone and stitches come off next week, so far, so good.
One thing I will add is that when people ask me how he's doing, they invariably assume his hunting days are over...as far as I am concerned it will business as usual, although I will be a bit more hesitant sending him into thick cover. Of course, we will see how he is doing once fully healed in a couple months and go from there. But maybe, just maybe, he will become even more dependent upon his nose when hunting...always a silver lining, right?
Post by: AspenBud on April 21, 2015, 11:47:11 AM
Thanks for all the thoughts, it was a rough couple of weeks.
To update, Chukar woke up the next following surgery and looked like he was in a 12-round title fight...and lost! The swelling was incredible. Fast forward to today and if he didn't have the cone of shame on, you really wouldn't know he doesn't have his right eye. The swelling on he bottom half of the eye is virtually non-existent and the upper portion is almost completely gone. His attitude is back to normal and doesn't seem to care one iota that he only has one eye. The cone and stitches come off next week, so far, so good.
One thing I will add is that when people ask me how he's doing, they invariably assume his hunting days are over...as far as I am concerned it will business as usual, although I will be a bit more hesitant sending him into thick cover. Of course, we will see how he is doing once fully healed in a couple months and go from there. But maybe, just maybe, he will become even more dependent upon his nose when hunting...always a silver lining, right?
If the other eye starts to go bad I know a good optho vet down in Oregon.
Post by: bracer40 on April 21, 2015, 12:00:00 PM
Post by: 10Key on April 30, 2015, 10:52:31 AM
He had his stitches and cone of shame removed yesterday and is doing very well. But for the trimmed hair around his eye, one would assume he is winking all the time with his right eye.
Post by: 10Key on May 01, 2015, 09:52:56 AM
Pathology Report .
Leandro Teixeira DVM MS, Dipl. ACVP
Dept. of Pathobiological Science, School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Wisconsin 2015 Linden Dr. Madison, WI 53706
Phone (608) 263-4958 FAX (866) 441-2154
Lab email: coplowfellow@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Leandro B. C. Teixeira DVM, MS, DACVP Richard R Dubielzig DVM, DACVP, DACVO (Hon)
Assistant Prof., COPLOW Director Emeritus Prof., COPLOW Founding Director
Email: lteixeira@wisc.edu Email: dubielzr@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Gillian C. Shaw, DVM, MS, PhD Kate Lieber
COPLOW Ocular Pathology Fellow Lab Manager Email: lieberk@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Research No.: 15RD1219 Date of Typed Report: April 29, 2015
Referring Veterinarian: Dr. Zirofsky
Owner: Meyer Animal: Chukar
The sample submitted consists of the formalin-fixed right globe from a 5.5-year-old
neutered male Brittany spaniel dog. Grossly, there is a large pigmented tumor within the
vitreous and the lens is luxated anteriorly. Histologically, an unencapsulated, poorly
demarcated and darkly pigmented neoplasm expands and infiltrates the posterior choroid
and extends as a mass into the vitreous and through the sclera multifocally. The mass is
made up of large numbers of heavily pigmented round cells and fewer more lightly
pigmented spindle-shaped cells arranged in interlaced solid sheets. The nuclei of the
heavily pigmented round cells are obscured. The lightly pigmented population of cells
has a moderate amount of cytoplasm and elongated to oval nuclei with finely stippled
chromatin and prominent eosinophilic nucleoli. There is moderate anisocytosis and
anisokaryosis. Mitotic figures are not observed. Approximately 85% of the mass is
necrotic. There are numerous macrophages containing dusty brown pigment scattered
throughout the episcleral connective tissue and dissecting between bundles of the
extraocular muscles. The axial corneal endothelium is attenuated. One iris leaflet is bent
backwards, indicating lens luxation. A pigmented fibrovascular membrane lines the
anterior iris. The posterior chamber and vitreous contain abundant hemorrhage admixed
with numerous individual pigmented cells. The retina is detached and diffusely atrophied.
The optic nerve head is not sampled histologically.
Diagnosis:
1. Choroidal melanocytoma, dirty scleral margins.
2. Lens luxation.
3. Pigmented preiridal fibrovascular membrane.
4. Intraocular hemorrhage.
5. Retinal detachment and atrophy.
6. Glaucoma as per history.
Comments: The dark muscles noted at surgery were likely due to the numerous pigmentladen
macrophages, which likely phagocytosed melanin pigment exfoliated from the
tumor where it extended through the sclera. Melanocytomas, even those incompletely
excised like this one, do not tend to metastasize. Local recurrence is possible. Please let
us know if there are any further developments in this case.
Post by: AspenBud on May 01, 2015, 10:09:38 AM
Post by: 10Key on May 01, 2015, 10:13:11 AM
Post by: 10Key on October 12, 2015, 11:25:54 AM
We arrived at the spot ~7:30 and started hunting into the sunrise, boy, it was gorgeous that morning! It was nice to see Chukar not miss a beat, as we hadn't been in the field but once or twice since we closed out last year on the last days of the season. We've been walking in the evenings as the kids have allowed :) It would have been nice to have a bit more wind, it was dead calm and the mosquitoes were thick! This was my first experience being attached by those little buggers on a bird hunt. At any rate, we worked the Russian Olive trees on the north bank of a lake and I saw Chukar get birdy about 75 yards in front of me. Before I could get into position, the birds flushed. This happened two more times. In total, we saw 25-30 birds in the same spot we located them the year previous. I popped off two hail-marys to no avail. When quail are in the thick stuff, we have always had trouble connecting. The lack of wind seemed to make it even tougher as Chukar would pick up their scent when were tight on top og them. We turned and hunted back towards the rig and we flushed a huge hen, that was fun.
At any rate, looks like Chukar will do just fine, we may have to try some hun/chukar ground in a couple of weeks.
Post by: 10Key on July 19, 2022, 04:05:52 PM
Post by: 10Key on July 19, 2022, 04:07:36 PM
Post by: full choke on July 19, 2022, 04:46:50 PM
Thank you for sharing your story.
Post by: huntnfmly on July 19, 2022, 05:10:11 PM
Post by: follow maggie on July 19, 2022, 07:26:51 PM
Post by: mburrows on July 19, 2022, 09:14:53 PM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 20, 2022, 06:20:37 AM
Post by: RobinHoodlum on July 20, 2022, 06:26:39 AM
Post by: jetjockey on August 20, 2022, 08:27:37 PM
Post by: bracer40 on August 21, 2022, 08:46:32 AM
Post by: 10Key on May 19, 2023, 09:45:44 AM
It has almost been a year and we are ready for Brittany round #2. We have a bead on some pups that should be ready in July. I will update once we know for sure.
Post by: UplandSetter on June 23, 2023, 01:35:10 PM
Post by: 10Key on June 30, 2023, 09:17:45 AM
Post by: huntnfmly on June 30, 2023, 10:43:14 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on June 30, 2023, 11:15:44 AM
Post by: 10Key on June 30, 2023, 11:24:12 AM
Post by: 10Key on July 01, 2023, 04:24:07 PM
Post by: 10Key on July 01, 2023, 04:24:56 PM
Post by: follow maggie on July 01, 2023, 04:35:47 PM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 03, 2023, 04:35:40 AM
Post by: nwwanderer on July 03, 2023, 05:29:15 AM
Post by: huntnfmly on July 03, 2023, 10:50:20 AM
Post by: UplandSetter on July 03, 2023, 12:03:06 PM
Post by: 10Key on July 03, 2023, 12:10:19 PM
I will start another thread once we get him home.
Post by: 10Key on July 22, 2023, 09:37:59 PM
Post by: follow maggie on July 23, 2023, 08:55:27 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on July 23, 2023, 03:38:49 PM
Post by: bracer40 on July 23, 2023, 05:26:24 PM