Home Is Where The Hearth Is

July 4, 2016

[at home]

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 14, 2014

Athens, GA

It was back to work for me today, catching up on everything that got messed up by the storm that is now but a distant memory. At 10:20 p.m. though, nature had another surprise in store for us: a 4.1 earthquake struck Edgefield, SC, and we could feel it rumble here in Athens. A little bit unsettling, even though earthquakes in the southeast so far have been pretty benign.

Tessa Goes To Town

 February 13, 2014

Athens, GA

Finally, this morning, we woke up to a little bit of snow. Overnight, one inch of fine snow had fallen on the frozen sleet, and things were walkable. I tried on my own at first, then went back to get Tessa, and we went for a 3-hour walk all across campus and downtown Athens.

There was minimal traffic, we just spotted the occasional Jeep. Those Jeeps sure love to come out to play in the snow. On Washington Street, there was no traffic at all - usually such a busy street, it was a bit surreal to see this. 

By the end of our walk, the snow was melting fast, so anyone who slept in didn't get too enjoy it as much. I am so glad we got up early!

 High foot traffic.

Yes, we went wild! 

Warm Winter Hunt

February 8, 2014

Jersey, GA

Great day at the plantation today. Weather, grounds and birds were perfect. There was a twist though: this time, we let the Setters hunt, with Tessa coming in late. Very late. There was only one bird unaccounted for, and she found it in those 30 acres. How do these dogs do that? #thenoseknows

With temperatures around 60 F, we were able to make up for the lack of birds with a couple of swims. I think she was pleased with the outing.

 She marked these feathers, twice.

The Sharpshooter

January 19, 2014

Jersey, GA

Thanks to my generous friends, there has been yet another hunt, and today, all three dogs pulled their weight and did well from beginning to end. As always, it was a joy to watch them work the fields together and honor each other's points. No struggles whatsoever. Happy.

Tunnelvision

April 7, 2012

Columbia, SC

One of THOSE Mornings ...

January 11, 2012

[at home]

The Hunter

January 8, 2012

Athens, GA

Dock Diving!

May 21, 2011
Jersey, GA

That was some training day today. The bird work didn't go all that well. First off, I helped my friend train his puppy, and the plan was to then take Tessa and follow the advanced teams to work on backing/steadiness. That was cut short when a friend's dog suffered a snake bite and I rushed them off to a nearby vet. Back at the plantation, we caught the tail end of field work before everyone proceeded to the water, as it was getting hot.

There was too much serious duck work going on at the duck search pond, so I took Tessa to the puppy pond where she had a blast jumping off the dock on the far end. She's done it before, but not as much as that day - she absolutely loved it. Once she got to shore, she raced up to the dock, ready to jump again, just like a kid at a pool.

We are planning on entering in a dock diving competition in July but there are two things we need to work on: jumping into a pool (blue water instead of muddy lake water) and running into the jump, rather than stopping at the edge of the dock for push-off. Access to blue water is a problem for us - the Canine Ranch, a training facility near Canton, GA, is a 2-hour drive away.

Walking on water? No problem!

Soon, Tessa was joined by a bunch of Vizslas that got all excited about watching Tessa jump, and Tessa actually managed to talk some of them into following suit!

Bird Dog Cemetery

April 19, 2011

Waynesboro, GA

On our way back home, we stopped near Waynesboro to check out this bird dog cemetery. The cemetery is located on the 8,100 acre Di-Lane Plantation created by New York industrialist and Eagle Pencil Co. heir Henry Berol, who had as many as 60 bird dogs at one time, and bought land mainly to be used during hunting season. With Berol's backing the Georgia Field Trials - which have been held at Di-Lane for decades - rose to its national level of prominence and gave Burke County its reputation as the ''Bird Dog Capital of the World" which is proudly displayed on signs and water towers around town.

The cemetery was established soon after the Berols created the plantation, and some of the stones were relocated from the family's home in New York. It now contains approximately 70 graves, mostly of Berol's bird dogs but also of Tootsie the cat and two field trial horses.

1976

April 17, 2011

Plains, GA

Next stop was Plains, GA, home of former President Jimmy Carter. Here is Tessa in front of the old depot, which was used as a campaign headquarters in 1976. During the campaign, a stray dog showed up here and hung around. He became known as J-Who the depot dog. When J-Who died in 1986, he was buried across the depot on the town green.

Training With Mo

April 9, 2011

Piedmont, SC

Today we drove 90 miles to Piedmont, SC to train with Maurice "Mo" Lindley and watch him train other dogs. It was a long 89 F day but it was wonderful. Mo worked quite a few dogs and while we visitors/handlers chatted between runs, he was busy catching pigeons and planting them for the next team. Mo is incredibly generous with his time, land, birds and advice, sharing it with anyone who makes the drive (or flight in one case) to his place on Saturdays.

Here is Mo working with Tessa, practicing the Stand Still command - non-verbally - while another client of his works a Brittany out in the field. This way we can teach Tessa to stand still when another dog goes on point (called backing or honoring) and to stand still through flush and shot (we were using blank pistols and homing pigeons).

I also followed Mo when he was working with other dogs, and there is much to be learned from watching him, like timing of corrections and praise.

To read more about Maurice Lindley and the West/Gibbons method, click here.

With Love, Tessa

March 5, 2010
[at home]

The Whoa

March 4, 2010
Sandy Creek Park, GA

It's spring, and the birds are back...Tessa watches them settle on the field in dog park no. 3. I use the opportunity to practice the "whoa". We are slowly working our way up to 15 minutes using a variety of distractions. Instead of releasing her, I sometimes simply heel her away in the other direction. The off-leash heel is going well.

Not having access to birds much, we do what we can in the park. Our new sequence is a 5-minute whoa with distractions; I then toss her tennis ball into the woods, but keep her in the "whoa" for another minute or so. If I have a plastic bag with me, I blow it up and pop it after tossing the ball so as to simulate a gun shot (starter pistols are not allowed in the park) - works well enough. I then release her and ask her to fetch the ball. Hopefully this will teach her the sequence of whoa - bird flying - gunshot - her marking where the bird falls - waiting for the release - locating and fetching the bird. Of course we will need to see how this translates into the bird field.

Then There Was Light ...

February 13, 2010
Athens, GA (Clarke County)

The next morning we woke up to our 6 inches of snow and a brilliant blue sky. We walked back over to Lake Herrick and I could not believe that we were the only ones out - do people really not care? Well, their loss!

Winter Wonderland:

A Visit To The Iron Horse

February 7, 2010
Greene County, GA

I took Tessa to see the Iron Horse today, for a little lesson in art and UGA trivia.

The infamous 12-foot-tall Iron Horse is an abstract sculpture that was created by Abbott Pattison at UGA's Lamar Dodd School of Art and placed in front of Reed Hall in 1954. Back then, art, and metal sculpture in particular, was new to southern universities and the horse was not well received. Just hours after its placement, students gathered around the iron creature, placed straw in its mouth and in front of it, manure at its back, and painted the word "front" on its neck. Balloons were tied underneath the rear legs, and attempts were made to set the horse on fire. When the fire department arrived, the students refused to back away until eventually the fire hoses were turned on the students.

The day after the incident, the university moved the sculpture to a secret hiding place; R.I. Brittain, a university official. said it was unfortunate that students ''on the college level'' had minds on the level of ''grammar school or nursery children'' and ''react violently to anything new, with which they have not had previous experience.'' In 1959, the Iron Horse was moved to its current location on a farm in Greene County, where it now sits in the middle of a corn field, facing south and away from UGA, visible from GA 15 only in the winter. Jack Curtis, owner of the farm, says they are now judging the corn crops on whether or not they can see the horse.

There have been several attempts to bring the Iron Horse back to campus but they all failed.

Jubilee's Absolute Autumn Punch, JH!

December 6, 2009
Walhalla, SC

We're done - Tessa earned her Junior Hunter today!

Her scores were 8 in hunting ability, bird finding and pointing, and 7 in trainability.

After losing her in the field for about five minutes yesterday, I attached a bell to her collar for the Sunday run and that was a tremendous help - I couldn't hear her when she was at the far end, but at closer range I was able to tell which direction she was running and was able to keep pretty good tabs on her. Other than that, I thought we were somewhat of a mess today , with no excuse at that. The conditions were perfect but it seemed to me that Tessa didn't settle in just quite right - she hunted wide and very fast and I feared she would overrun all the birds. She finally stopped to point but when I got there I couldn't find a bird, nor feathers (Tessa later returned to the spot, pointed again and that time I was able to flush the bird).

As I mentioned in yesterday's account, the bird field was a long field with high grass and two "hazards" on each side - on the right there was a wire fence along a busy road, and on the left was the Enchanted Forest, full of (flyaway) birds (but sadly off limits). We were advised to be careful not to let the dogs enter the woods or they just may never reappear.

We were able to avoid the woods on Saturday but on Sunday, after quite an unproductive while, in the field, one judge hollered that Tessa had been sucked in! By the Enchanted Forest, that is! I ran over, and was advised by my judge to get her out of there very quickly. That's when she went on her first point, right by the edge, and although I wasn't sure if this counted or not (the woods were considered out of bounds), I fired my pistol when the bird flushed, and she chased it deeper into the woods - of course! I was like a deer in the headlight and obviously unable to think clearly. The judge came to the rescue by telling me to pick up my dog (meaning, to lead her out of there). I whistled, and by the grace of God she came back around, pointed again and that's when I - literally - picked her up and carried her out of the woods as I didn't want to pull her off a point, then sat her down and led her by the collar into the field where she was supposed to be.

At that point I thought there was a good chance that we failed today and that my NC friends that didn't make it to the event will be able to watch her perform some other time after all - she was all over the place! But at least she did find a few birds and pointed every time before time was called. "Pick up your dogs!"

Easier said than done. Ideally, you call the dog, she comes, you leash, and walk out of the field. The judges stopped to write out the score cards, and the ATV arrived to plant more birds for the next brace which was to start in a few minutes but my Tessa would not come back! In fact, she ran further out, all the way to the far, far end of the field! And every time I sort of caught up with her, she ran off again - always 100 feet ahead of me. I would have thrown myself on the dog had she been close enough. The bird planter stopped to help, and I was able to grab her when she went on another point, and off the field we rushed. That just had to be a low trainability score; thankfully; it had happened after the test (still, not a good last impression).

Needless to say, I was delighted to see she passed (obviously, the junior level is judged with much more leniency than the senior level, and personally, I can't really fault the dogs for wanting to hunt 100 birds in the woods rather than find the few in the field). Her scores were 8 out of 10 in bird finding, pointing and hunting ability, and 7 in trainability.

So she ran 5 JH tests and her average scores were 6.25, 8.25, 7.25, 8 and 7.75 out of 10. Nothing stellar, but I think it truly reflects as to where we stand given the training and exposure (or lack thereof) she had. At any rate, it's always fun to watch her hunt. 

JH - Third Leg

December 5, 2009
Walhalla, SC

We drove to South Carolina today to enter in another hunt test, and Tessa got her third leg towards the Junior Hunter title.

I dreaded the weather, per forecast cold with an 80% chance of rain and even a possibility of light snow in the morning. However, when we arrived at 11 a.m., the sky cleared and gave way to the most beautiful day - no misery at all!

I had taken Tessa to the dog park prior to wear her out and she arrived in a calm state. We walked around some but she didn't quite appreciate the mowed field with its stubbles which bothered her. Fortunately, as soon as we walked past the bird field, she realized what this was going to be all about and forgot about her feet.

We were called to the line at 2 p.m. By then the wind had really kicked up with gusts all over the place. Amazing how the conditions can be so different each time, from no wind to too hot to too much wind (conditions would be perfect the next day). Too much wind that is shifting around means that the bird scents are blown all over and it's difficult for the dog to pinpoint the bird, so that was my main concern as we released the dogs.

Again, she was gone so fast I had to run after her and it took me a while to catch up. I saw her from afar and to my dismay it looked like she carried a bird in her mouth - something I did NOT want to happen! She disappeared and reappeared without bird. It turned out that what I saw was the German Wirehaired Pointer that ran with her - mistaking his beard for a bird from afar. Gee!

The grass was so high that she was hidden from sight most of the time. The field was separated from a road by a wire fence running along the right side. On the left side of the field were woods. I had been warned that most flyaway birds head for the woods, and knew it would be tough to get a dog back out of the woods (where they are not supposed to hunt) once he/she realizes just how many birds there are compared to the field. So I immediately headed for the right side of the area, with my dog. It took Tessa a while but she finally found and pointed two quail huddled together; I flushed them and they flew towards the fence, Tessa in hot pursuit. I called Tessa back but she wouldn't listen so I walk up there to grab her, only to see that one of the quail had settled by the fence and she was pointing it. I flushed it again, it flew through the fence, and for a moment I thought Tessa might jump after it, but I was able to redirect her.

I vaguely remember her being under the judge's horse at some point, touching noses, but thankfully that moment passed without incident.

Then it became somewhat unsettling. She pointed some feathers, but resumed her hunt, back up towards the fence, remembering where the quail flew earlier, me running after her, and all of a sudden, she was gone. Out of sight, no sound, gone. I called. I whistled. Nothing. For five long minutes (a third of our judged time), I had no idea where my dog was; knowing that the handlers should always know where their dogs are, it occurred to me that we might have just failed the test. I didn't care - I wanted my dog back. I searched up and down that fence convinced she had jumped it and had by now left Oconee County, or possibly, South Carolina. The judge rode up to tell me that she couldn't see her either - bad news. Thankfully, by then the spectators had picked up on what was going on and pointed out that she was on the other side of the field - by the woods; how the hell she got there I don't know! Beam me up, Scottie! And then she came running, as if to say "Mom, check it out, I just found a goldmine!". At that point we were told to pick up our dogs - time up.

Her qualifying score: 8 out of 10 across the board - hunting ability, trainability, bird finding, and pointing.

JH: 0-1

October 18, 2009
ZZ Farm, Baldwin County (GA)

Tessa ran her first Junior Hunter today. The Junior Hunter (JH) is the first of three AKC hunting test, and a most basic one. Pointing breeds are judged in four categories:

Hunting Ability: Dog is scored from '0' to'10' on the basis of whether or not it evidences a keen desire to hunt, boldness and independence, and a fast, yet useful pattern of running.

Bird Finding Ability: Dogs are scored from '0' to '10' based upon demonstration of intelligence in seeking objectives, use of the wind, and the ability to find birds. To pass the test, the dog must find and point birds.

Pointing: Dog is scored from '0' to'10' in this category on the basis of the intensity of its point, as well as its ability to locate (pinpoint) birds under difficult scenting conditions and/or confusing scent patterns.

Trainability: Dog is scored from '0' to '10' in this category on the basis of its willingness to be handled, its reasonable obedience to commands and its gun response. If the handler is within reasonable gun range of a bird which has been flushed after a point, a blank pistol must be fired.

To pass the test and earn a leg towards the title, the scores must average out to 7, with a minimum of a score of 5 in each category. To obtain the JH title, the dog must pass the test four times. Tessa received a score of 8-6-4-7 respectively - not enough to qualify for her first leg. But while I was disappointed that she didn't show one of her nice points, I was very pleased with her performance, especially her nice cooperation.

Being new to all this, I was quite nervous. I decided to walk along with the first brace (dogs are run in twos) to see how things worked and wow, those dogs were mighty, mighty close to the horses. The field was very overgrown, making it difficult to see the dogs and what they are doing. So I was getting a little more nervous. It didn't help that the little Vizsla didn't find a single bird. Apparently, they had been very stingy with the birds, planting about two per brace.

Tessa was braced with Dexter, a 2-year old GSP who is really already at the SH level but was run through the JH anyway. He passed both Saturday and Sunday with pretty good scores. Dexter is an all-business dog that I had met before and I was very relieved to learn that they would run together, as I thought they have a similar work ethic and I was pretty sure they would not run out there trying to play with each other, which will result in a fail if it carries on for too long.

Dangerous Poindexter "Dexter"

We were brace No. 3 and started our 5-minute walk down the trail to the bird field; when we asked to release the dogs they were off like two rockets - what a sight! Both Tessa and Dexter hunt wide, and they covered quite a bit of ground in no time. Now the trick is not to over-handle your dog, because each time you ask it to do something, non-compliance will affect the trainability score. So my plan was to just let Tessa do the hunting and keep quiet. My luck had it that within two minutes Tessa was sidetracked on the wrong trail and the judge asked me to call her back. Uh-oh! Will she come back to me? Please come back to me! And please don't mess with the horses (Dexter's bracemate from the previous day was disqualified because he wouldn't stop bothering the horses; and this was Tessa's first real exposure to horses in the field). I whistled and to my delight she came running at 100 mph, skirted right between the two horses without so much as a glance at them, straight as an arrow, completely unfazed. I started to relax.

When we arrived at the bird field and the clock started ticking (15 minutes to find an point a bird), the first thing she did was stop to eat some horse manure. Then she took a dump herself; we were losing time while Dexter was out there hunting. I started watching her closely for a point. I walked, she ran, and sometimes I ran too to keep up with what she was doing; she figured out immediately where birds had been, and the judge suggested I take her somewhere fresh, these were old bird sites, so I did, and Tessa came along without any fuss. Close to the end she stopped, I could hear the birds chirping in the briars, and she worked all around them, but never went on a convincing point. I thought she may have pointed just enough, and when the birds flushed, I fired my pistol (blank). Hey, at least I got to fire! Then the judge said "15 more seconds". "Oh my" I thought, and "hunt 'em up Tessa", taking her the direction the quail had flown but nope - time up. With a score of 4 out of 10 for pointing, we failed the test but an 8 on hunting ability wasn't too bad, especially since hunting ability cannot be trained for.

The bird field

That was at 2 p.m. At 5 p.m. after the last brace, there was the free for all, and whoever was still there headed for the bird field. Not two minutes into it she pointed, and pointed, and pointed. Oh well!

I would have loved to bring some orange home tonight but I am actually okay with how it went, she was so much fun to watch. I don't know all the scores from today but I overheard a few other fails. One of the dogs in the first brace scored 0-0 on bird finding and pointing. It happens.

Horses 101

October 11, 2009

Clarke, Greene & Oconee Counties, GA

Tessa is going to run in her first JH next weekend and there are a few aspects of it that still make me nervous - the fact that she will be braced with another dog and that the judges will be following us on horseback. Tessa has not had much exposure to horses (my bad).

So today she got a crash course in horses. We drove around three counties stopping at various horse pastures. Overall, it went well. She no longer barks at them. Instead, she watches them, and if they come close enough, she is trying to get them to play. Does she really think these are supersized dogs that smell funny? Who knows.

The horse thing is still a little bit of a wild card but I feel better about it now.