Do Brits Point?

This question can be answered with the photo. This is Manny at work bringing out the instincts with the 'wing on the string' technique. He loves to play this game and when it triggers his pointing instinct, he locks up. I did not do anything to position his legs. He did that on his own. The 'wing' on the end of the string has pheasant scent drops on it from a few days ago. During this session, the grass was wet and the 'wing' got damp. That intensifies the scent and really gets the dog going. The question is...would you hunt behind a dog that pointed pheasants like this? Sure you would. The real question is...will the natural talents transition to the real thing in the field. There is only one way to find out....

Manny has developed 'Coprophagia' Or, Why do some pups eat their own POOP?

OMG. We humans believe that any dog that eats its own poop is a DISGUSTING animal. However, when we do the research, we find that puppies commonly eat their own poop. There could be several problems. The technical term for this is "coprophagia". It happens when a puppy is too hungry because all its litter mates got there first. It also happens if the growing puppy is eating a dog food that is insufficient in the nutrients that the puppy needs to grow. Regular dog food that is lower on nutrients that pups need, will go through the digestive system partially undigested. The pup tries to 'recycle' the undigested food because nature taught it how to survive in the wild. It gets what it needs...even if it is disgusting. To prevent coprophagia, the solutions are simple. 1. Change the puppy to a higher nutrient food and allow it to process that for a few days and stay with the new food 2. Add a couple teaspoons of canned pumpkin to the food bowl...which apparently tastes great going in, but REPULSIVE when it comes out. I think the first choice for Manny will be the diet. He has been changed to Pedigree Puppy Chow which hopefully will start giving him what he is needing. If that doesn't work, I will add the pumpkin to the food. If that doesn't work, I will go to the hot sauce on the poop thing. Regardless, I don't have to settle for a poop eating pooch as long as I treat the symptoms with the correct cure. Besides, when I know he has stopped his coprophagia, I will try to enjoy his "puppy kisses"... Until that time, I will watch him carefully and every time he tries to recycle, I will yell "DUDE" or "WIGGA, PLEASE" and replace the stool with a treat. Anyone for Tootsie Rolls?

What do you do with a 1/2 pint Brit?

The answer is...train him just like a full size dog. The truth is, the 1/2 pint puppy doesn't know that he is small at all. Manny is small for his present age. The vet has checked him out and he is in great health. He is just small. He is not the 'runt' and he doesn't suffer at all with his size. He is extremely attentive but not hyper. I like that. When he wants to play, I take him outside and get the "wing" on the string. Yesterday, he chased it a lot and had a blast. The 'wing' is one of my old gloves. When Manny chases it, he gets confident that he is going to catch it. As he tires, he instictively stops and 'points'. That worked very well yesterday. Today, I changed things. I changed the glove to a gray colored rabbit ear looking piece of fabric that was once a part of a dog toy. But...I sneaked in something special. I added pheasant scent to this new "wing". It was amazing when I brought it out. Manny saw the different 'wing' but when he got a good nose of it, he exploded with 'birdiness'. It was VERY different behavior with his nose sniffing around where I dragged the 'wing'. Once I started the chasing routine, he stopped and faux-pointed in almost no time. It seemed like he 'knew' it was a bird and he performed the way he should. It was a very promising thing to observe. I believe he will be a nice addition to the Scooby and Bubba team next year. I have to remind myself...one day at a time. After all, he is not perfect. There is this little problem with Manny wanting to 'recycle' his own poop. I gotta figure that thing out real quick....so does Manny.

Can a Brittany Point?

According to the Old Dog, SP, a Brittany makes a great pheasant/quail dog because they hunt close and point instead of flush. Sounds good to me. According to the AKC, the title Brittany Spaniel has been changed to simply Brittany because a Brittany is a pointing breed instead of a flushing breed like a Cocker Spaniel or Springer Spaniel. Based on the research that I have done concerning the breed, I have learned a couple of things... 1) Brittanys are EXPENSIVE puppies. The going rate starts at $500 for a female and $700 for a male untrained PUPPY. (I did not pay that much for Manny. I searched for a couple of months before I found him for $200.) 2) Brittanys are small for hunting dogs. Most hunting dogs are in the 50 pound range, but Brittanys top at 30-40 pounds. and 3) Brittanys are very smart dogs...almost cunning. They know how to steal your heart without you even being aware of it. I have attached a picture of a Brittany on point. Impressive. I always heard that dynamite comes in small packages....

Preparing for Manny's Arrival

When a new puppy joins the team, one has to make sure that the existing dogs don't resent the addition. We have two dogs now--Blackie, our oldest at 15, has knows every single dog we have had since the wife and I married over 27 years ago. She has known: Sinbad, Buck, Phoenix, Scruffy, Fruscy, Nala, Max, Bailey, and soon...Manny. Blackie suffers from a degenerative condition which atrophies her hind legs. We don't know how long she will be around, but, other than struggling to get up, she is fine. On the other hand, we have Fruscy. Fruscy is the ALPHA dog from hell. She does not want anyone to be petted before her, go outside before her, eat before her, play before her, or bed down before her. She will have an adjustment to make. I will make sure of that. Manny is going to be a 'working' dog which will entitle him to a different type of treatment which means that Manny will be 'working' instead of playing. The dogs will be separated during this process. Manny is also a male Brittany and will not tolerate 'heavy handed' training. Fortunately, male dogs often ignore the females unless they get 'excited'. We will try to manage the transgressions without too much trouble.

So far, Manny has his own 'bed', feeding bowl, collar, puppy chow and leash. The adjustment should be comfortable.

Manny's focus from day one will be to learn the art of finding things with his nose and pointing things that smell like a pheasant. I hope to help him with that ability. I have acquired a significant amount of "pheasant scent" from LP. Once Manny learns how to do the basics like, sit, stay, and heel, I will teach him to fetch. We will make it fun. Then, once he gets that behavior learned, I will introduce the fine aroma that will make him hopefully lock on point at the slightest whiff. I will add it to the "wing" on the string that I use to trigger his pointing instinct. The real fun with the scent will occur when I start encouraging Manny to "hunt em out" and find the "scent" on the retrieval dummy. By hiding what Manny will be looking for, I hope to get him to trust his nose and lock on point. Finding things at night that smell like pheasants will reinforce him to be instinctive during the day when he is seeking the real thing. The process of growing up from a puppy to a producer is an every day thing. I cherish each one.

When the Old Dogs and the New Dogs Get it Right

Every now and then, all the elements line up and there is great success harvesting the birds. As you can see from the picture, there are plenty of birds. When the dogs and the hunters work together as a team, "it don't get no better dan dis."

Manny is Coming

Manchester is a new dog. His arrival to us is scheduled for the 22nd. I will be picking him up on my way back from visiting my mom in Tennessee. Manny will be the first "new" dog in our house since Buddy was added in March of 1994. Buddy's job was to help me get through a very tough loss of one of my hunting buddies...Buck. Buddy did his job well. He enabled me to move on and now I am an old dog. As an old dog, I will be breaking out my training gear and going through all the stages with Manny that puppies (poopies) go through. The best advice I ever got was to focus on "one day at a time". There will be mistakes. There will be successes. Either way, we will get there and be ready for the hunt next year.

Can Old Dogs teach New Dogs? That is the question. Or, will the New Dogs teach the Old Dogs? Don't know, but considering the fact that all our dogs are new, we will see what happens with the USOPHT09.