Growing and Growing and Growing

Well, Manny has been with us since November 22, 2008. When we got him, he weighed 6.5 pounds and we seriously wondered if he would ever get big enough to retrieve a quail...much less a pheasant. All of my doubts have been erased. Now...six weeks later...Manny weighs almost 18 pounds. Seriously. I never thought that he would grow that fast. He is still a young puppy. His hunting instincts are very good. I use the wing on the string technic and he gets very excited when we head to the garage to "hunt em out" and "get the bird". I have also started to break him in to the leash. I use the same technic that I would do in the field. Before we leave the house, I put on the leash and reinforce him when he does it right. Once we get to the garage...where the 'bird' is...I remove the leash and tell him "let's get the bird". It works very well. Lately, I have started to leave him in the garage and I go hide the "bird". When I let him out, I say "let's find the bird". So far, he has found the 'bird' every time and when he does, he points and holds until I 'flush' the 'bird'. I believe he will hunt just fine and I now believe that he will be big enough to retrieve quail and pheasants. During the Pheasant Pheast, we will show everyone the results.

Now, on to the Phirst Phormal Pheasant Pheast. So far, we have 19 confirmed attendees. The PRESSURE is on the Nebraska contingents to round up some more ROOSTERS before the Pheast. Either way, our PHEAST will be PHABULOUS! For any one who wants to know about accomodations, Exit 149 on I-85 at highway 441 has a variety of Hotels that are suitable. Chateau Bryant will fill up quickly. Our PHOCUS will be on the PHUN!