Thank you, folks.
Very gracious welcomes. I'll try not to have you regret them.
I have these "stories," see... and as old men are inclined to, I wander from reporting to embellishing.
A packer fan, sure...but not to the extent I paint my car, house, lawn mower, or dog green and gold. (Yes, some folks do so.) I like football, and watch as I come to recognize the players and their various skill levels.
Mick, the new, used, dog, was rescued from a great group of folks... at the American Brittany Rescue site. I was looking for a pointing breed as Young Bert, the not-right dog, (GWP) aged. Mick was of the age, seemed to be congenial, and not aggressive. He'd been shaved by the fosters, and they thought he was an un-docked Brittany.
He is a field-bred springer. He was picked up as a stray in Southern Illinois and sent up to Wisconsin as the nearest foster home. By his behaviors, I'd say he was someone's yard dog, had never hunted, had never seen moving water (like a creek), and really never had a job before.
We have been adjusting our respective expectations together. The GWPs I had were characters, full of ... let's call it "enthusiasm." Young Bert was a hoot for all the the nine years I had him. He too, was sort of a rescue. A person had bought him from the breeders as a pup, neutered him, tied him to a tree in the backyard, and then gave him sporadic attention. The wife did not like dogs, so with surprising frequency, Young Bert was a runaway, wandering the streets of a Chicago suburb, once going through the electric eye doors at a Walgreens to make new friends. He was brought back to the breeder at their insistence, rather being put down by the purchaser...two and one half years after purchase. They still refunded half the purchase price.
Good people, who breed dogs as a pleasure, not a business. Mother and daughter combo, who have bred and shown wirehairs with their spare monies, of which there was not much. Folks with big hearts.
Mick is...different. He's a spaniel, a congenial, laid-back, non-mischief seeking companion. I've turned on his prey drive, FINALLY taught him to retrieve (he may have been the only spaniel on earth who was never played with) and we're working on "hup."
From his behavior, I'd say someone who shouldn't have been allowed to used an e-collar on him. Again, we're working on it. As with most rescues, I'd love to have gotten him as a puppy, before some behaviors were locked in.
Young Bert left me last Fall. Mick and I had been working together, but the frequency increased substantially as he became the only hunting partner.
I am getting used to the innate differences between a versatile hunting dog and a field spaniel. We hunt wild pheasants around the farm house and on neighbors' properties, and have gone to the State Hunting Grounds a few times. There is a reduced population of wild birds the last three years or so. The pen-raised birds put out at the State area probably don't last more than three days, with various predators, especially raptors and coyotes around. The drop-off changes from week-to-week, so I need to try and get him on more birds. In my opinion, the dog teaches himself how to hunt, the hunter just works on partnership commands.
My apologies. As I said, old men tend to tell stories instead of just reports.
