Monday, September 28, 2009

Training Day [1]

September 26, 2009
Jersey, GA

We arrived at 7 a.m. and I took Tessa for a warm-up run through corn and sorghum fields followed by 3 planted quail and one fly-away, followed by a walk through the woods to hunt up the fly-away and some of its friends. Her first few points were not very impressive, but they were there, and they got a little better with each bird. I kept her on the check cord to stop the bird chasing.

I don't take the camera into the field with me needing to concentrate on what the dog is doing, and it was no different today. My heart stopped when she slammed into a beautiful point in the woods, and no witnesses or way to record it. Well, it made me very happy nonetheless until I flushed the bird and held Tessa in place with the check cord.

Upon returning to the car I decided to grab the camera and walk back to the woods to see if she can reproduce, and she sure did! This time I was ready. She held the point for at least one minute, plenty of time for me to grab some shots before I stepped on the check cord and flushed the bird. These points made my day...

As folks started to proceed to the ponds, I let her run all the fields again, looking for leftovers and flyaways, and we practiced whoa, recalls, whistle commands, turning, etc. which all went very well.

We ended up spending 7 hours out here today. We watched a very impressive albeit unsuccessful live duck search, then Tessa bungled the dead duck retrieve which was mostly my bad. She did make up though by retrieving a sinking quail out of the water by diving for it. She never saw it but smelled it while swimming by. I had no idea they can do that although I had my suspicions, because Tessa tends to get sidetracked on the water sometimes, sniffing the water surface and searching under the surface.

Overall this was a productive training day - much better than last month's.

Training Day [2]

September 26, 2009
Jersey, GA

About 5 hours into the training day, we proceeded to the wayback pond and did a few duck launches. Tessa's went wrong, I don't think she was ready for it. We positioned ourselves at the other side of the pond across from the dock where I put Tessa in a sit-say. We fired some shots in the air from both sides, then they launched a dead duck into the water, whereupon I was to fire the starter pistol then release Tessa to fetch the duck. The starter pistol jammed and I got a little flustered, and then Tessa didn't know what to do. She knows what fetch means, and she loves the water, but I don't think she put one and one together, maybe never noticed the duck. She just looked at me as if to say "What? Fetch WHAT?" A rock was launched near the duck, and Tessa went in. At that point the duck was closer to the dock than to me at the far side, but Tessa grabbed it and swam it all the way back to me - well sort of. She dropped it at the shore and wouldn't pick it up again. I think I should have done a live duck search first.

Tessa, Greta and Ada are inspecting the dead duck. Yup, it's dead alright :(

Little Ada, a 4 months old German Shorthair, retrieves the duck in team work with Greta. Ada was also the one who retrieved the bumper that Tessa left floating in the pond. Ada was awesome. This is Ada:

***

Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Dock Jumpers

September 26, 2009
Jersey, GA

Gun dogs ARE fun dogs! Although they like to look all business in the field.

After another successful and very long training day the pups relax at the wayback pond. John started it all when he wouldn't let Smoke off the dock to get the duck, leaving it to him to either jump from the dock or forget about the duck. He jumped.

While Tessa is an enthusiastic swimmer, she has never jumped from a dock. This one was about 5 feet high, and I wasn't going to start her here, it seemed a little too high for a first-timer. I turned and walked towards the car to grab my camera when I heard a splash and by golly it was my Tessa who had just leaped into the water all on her own! Unfortunately I missed her first dock jump. I was ready for the second one though:


Dock jumping is now on our list of things to do. I believe there are some clubs with the proper setup in the Atlanta area.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

First Days Of Fall

September 23, 2009
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Summer ended with over a week of rain and epic flood conditions in and around Atlanta; then fall arrived and brought some much welcomed sun. I took Tessa for a little run after work, and while she was busy chasing rabbits I was busy taking some photos during the Golden Hour. Until the sun set.


Monday, September 21, 2009

Happy Anniversary!

September 20, 2009
[at home]

I picked up Tessa in Columbus, GA one year ago today. What a lively year it's been!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Georgia Classic

September 19, 2009
Atlanta, GA

We got up early today to drive to the Georgia Classic dog show in Atlanta to watch half-brother Porter and grandsire Ace compete with 30 other GSPs starting at 8:30 in the a.m. Always that early!

Porter finished today and is now Ch. Jubilees Dream Brewed Perfection, and Ace took Best of Breed for the third day in a row.

We also watched an escapee Poodle run through the GSP ring and a pug urinating on its handler's leg. Dog shows are such fun!

Sir Porter

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

September 18, 2009
Sandy Creek Park, GA

It's been raining for 5 straight days now, and the forecast calls for 7 more days of it. No matter, Tessa needs to move, so off we went to Sandy Creek Park...in the rain, and the mud. The upside is, the world smells better after a rain. Tessa loves it.

Ablegen

September 14, 2009
[at home]

Practicing the long down-stay. We've come a long, long, LONG way. As a puppy, she was unable to stay in a down for longer than 1 second - unlike all my other dogs that had solid down-stays from the very beginning. But then one day, I think she was about 7 or 8 months old, there it was. It's not very enthusiastic, but it's there. The ants must have left her butt...

Honor Guard

September 13, 2009
Madison, GA

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fishing For Socks

September 8, 2009
[at home]



Monday, September 7, 2009

Tessa Goes To Church

September 7, 2009
New Harmony Church
Hart County, GA


X

September 5, 2009
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Labor Day Weekend

September 5, 2009
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Labor Day weekend means a 3-day weekend and that means Tessa is getting two hours of running and jumping time at the park each day. Fall is in the air, and she is quite frisky, definitely keen for the hunt, and just won't tire of the fetch.


Miss Pretty

August 15, 2009
Jersey, GA

Sunday, September 6, 2009

The Egyptian

August 4, 2009
Athens, GA (Clarke County)

Summer evening walk around campus - we are cutting through the Carlton Street Parking Deck as the sun is setting. Tessa and her long legs throw amazing shadows!