2009 Season in Review

[original mngsp]

Last weekend was my last trip of the year with my two dogs. Tori 2 1/2 yrs old and Storm 1 1/2.

This was a fun year. I put trialing on the back burner this fall to get more hunting in. I was thinking both the dogs and I needed a big time hunting fall. I havent put this much time in hunting for at least 10 years and loved it.

Starting in September we hunted for sharptails in Sodak and ended up hunting out there many times this season with success on both grouse and pheasant. Spent a few weekends in the Minnesota woods in search of the ruffed grouse.

Turned out to be great for the dogs. Tori went from being a screaming derby dog to one that was able to control the energy and channel it all into working smartly as a team with me. Finally have a dog I could go hunting with just about anyone and not have to explain my big picture plan of dog development. By the end of the season Tori was almost green broke on her own, taking only a couple small steps at shot. Not much of a retrieve in the girl, but she will hunt and point dead for me. Not worried about the retrieve, thats what force breaking is for. After I will seriously start working on getting her fully broke.

Storm on the other hand was an adventure, in what I think is a good way. I ran him in two Open Derby stakes early in the fall and he really showed me a lot of promise with his abilities. Each trip out to the prairie he gained more confidence and experience. On one hunt I just stood amazed as I watched him hunt through an alfalfa field with scattered objectives on his way to a big draw that had to be 1/2-3/4 mile away. I stood silently as he smartly hunted up and through the draw, came out the end of the draw as a tiny speck and blew over the horizon at close to a mile away. He hunts like this for 1-2 hours at a shot without getting tired. Didnt get much shot over him out there, but the independence, physical talents, and smarts he showed me made me happy.

As much of a big dog as he is in the prairies he surprisingly my best ruffed grouse dog, working at the range of the beeper/bell, checking in and handling kindly. Bumped plenty of birds, but got better as the season progressed and learned to stand of the birds. Shot a few pointed birds over him, like Tori he isnt much of a retriever. Storm will head south at the end of January for a spring of big country and horseback. Think we might have something real special in this boy.

Hope everyone else had good a good hunting season too and was able to see good things in their dogs.

[Shadow]

nice to hear field trail dogs doing great- can just picture you standing watching your's tear up country- sounds like you had a good year