Spent a weekend with lots of dog people - different than my normal crowd - but great people who care a lot about their dogs. It was a flushing spaniel clinic and I brought a Chessie (like bringing a gun to a knife fight!). I was wanting to get the young chessie on birds for our new BHU flushing game we're considering doing with him. The trainer (Tim from Georgia) works spaniels (except Boykins he says - it takes a special person to train them - he says) and does Hunt Tests and Field Trials. Most of the dogs were bench-bred, but there were a few field bred dogs (two springers and one cocker). It was awesome watching the light come on with the dogs - and interesting to visit with the trainer about his methods. Quite a bit of difference between how he trains these dogs and how I work with our pointing breeds.The itty-bitty cocker out there was a freakin' awesome little dog. She was amped up and raring to go even though this was her first time on birds or even loose in a field. She hit the water like a linebacker too - and I don't think the little dog weighed more than 25lbs soaking wet. In the one pic, our chessie is up front and the little brown cocker is at the end of the picture. They did have a professional photographer there and she took some good ones, but they're not out yet. Our chessie was awesome - hit his birds hard and handled o.k.
Very cool to learn something from another methodology.