Champ training day

bauerline

bauerline

Well-known member
I picked up some quail today to do some training with Champ who is almost 4 months old. It was a family affair and here some of my helpers:

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Good help is hard to find.

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He likes his animals.

I put some quail out and just let Champ go to see how he would do. It was very windy and he ran past some of the birds but he did a good job when he was working his way back and had some good points.

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At one point he was running up towards one of the quail and I could see when he hit the scent and just stopped. I was very pleased with him today.
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After we were done, I went home and had to get some things done. After a few hours I took all three dogs down so Nittany and Blitz could get some running in. I was hoping we could find some of the quail from earlier in the day. The wind was still blowing pretty good and when we finally worked around to an area I saw one of the quail land I saw Nittany and Blitz.
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I decided I would just let Champ run around and see what he did. He didn't react to Nittany and Blitz on point and at first he just walked around like nothing was going on. Then he hit some scent.
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They all held well and allowed me to get some good pictures.
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The temptation was a little too much for Champ and he moved in closer.
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I moved in to flush the bird and it was a good experience for Champ and I was happy with his work. We moved on and Nittany ended up with another point. This time Champ didn't mess around and when he got to the area he went on point.
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Now I'm really happy with Champ!
 
I even got a good picture of the quail.
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When we were leaving, Champ thought he could walk on the grass at the edge of the thawing pond. The cold water proved he was wrong.
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I could only get a picture of him coming out but he didn't seem to mind too much. Next thing is to do the cap gun and birds together. Champ is progressing well.
 
Well sir it looks like your well on your way of having a very good bird dog, that was an awesome report! Your going to have to save some of those photos with all three dogs on point. :cheers:
 
Baseball practice was cancelled for the oldest boy, so we all went down to the fields on this nice evening. There was one quail running along the switchgrass that all 3 dogs worked. Nittany and Blitz went on point and then so did Champ. It was another good day for him. The quail ended up running to the neighbors horse barn and I couldn't go in for the flush.

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Four months old, eh?

Amazing.

Congratulations.

Start saving money now, you are going campaigning. That pup needs to go national. :thumbsup:
 
Kismet said:
Four months old, eh?

Amazing.

Congratulations.

Start saving money now, you are going campaigning. That pup needs to go national. :thumbsup:
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Yes, it's hard to say where he will lead me. I'll be testing him in NAVHDA, which is a first for me. I'll also have to work around my two boys' activities which are increasing. Time will tell.
 
Sunday was another day to work Champ on some birds. Today I added the cap gun to the quail and shot one chukar from a point. I think Champ is coming along nicely. He wasn't too sure about the retrieve of the chukar at first but he did pick it up and carry it around. Here are some pictures:
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Wow were is the time going, that boy sure is growing!

Hey...I'm NOT joking about this, that pup has that special look in his eye!
 
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FLDBRED said:
Wow were is the time going, that boy sure is growing!

Hey...I'm joking about this, that pup has that special look in his eye!
Click to expand...

He's got me pretty excited about his field work. He's pointing birds from a pretty good distance and is stopping as soon as he hits scent. He's pretty steady on the flush and watches the birds fly off. I just need to wait and see how his retrieving improves. I'll soon start to work on backing a little bit and doing whoa training at home. I think little Champ has some good potential.
 
I meant to say not joking, I changed it.:) Where is he at compared to Nittany and Blitz at the same age?
 
It's not even close when compared to Nittany but that's more of a reflection on me. He was the first bird dog I ever had and I didn't start working him on birds until August or so. We got him in late January. I kind of learned what I could and read books among other things. Blitz was pretty good from the start but I brought him home in late August. He spent the fall following Nittany around at the local hunting spot. But Blitz picked things up fast and is a natural retriever. I still remember when I shot at two birds in the woods. I hit one pretty good and the retrieve was made without issue. Nittany couldn't find the other bird and I can still see Nittany running through the woods with Blitz behind him. Nittany ran past a fallen log and doesn't notice anything. Blitz locks up and there is a wing tipped bird hiding under the log. He was about 5 months old then. The biggest difference with Champ is that I'm more experienced. I think Champ will be a very good hunting dog and has the potential to do well with testing events (AKC, NAVHDA).
 
The entire family had off school/work today, so I got some birds and did some work with Champ. He did a good job but I think he got hot at the end. I did have one chukar walk off which turned out nice since it gave Champ a chance to track a bird. He did a good job of tracking the scent right to the bird but because the wind was at his back he never had a point on this bird. He did have some nice points on the other birds and seems to have a good nose as he's picking up the birds from a good distance. I've been doing some whoa work with him in the backyard over the last 10 days and he seems to be putting things together. Enjoy the pictures.

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This evening will be Nittany and Blitz's chance to find some woodcock for the last time this spring. Hopefully things work out.
 
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