Little Miss Enthusiasm
I opened the back door of the Tahoe and Lily enthusiastically jumped into the open crate. Everything Lily does is with ‘enthusiasm’. We could have easily walked the quarter mile to the starting point, but with a youngster, this was one of the many routines she was learning her first year. Lily is an 18 month old bitch out of Two Seasons October Daze JH and Ch. Stilmoor Rainy Day Blues and this particular day was at the end of bird season.
After parking the truck, I let Lily out and gave her the “whoa” command. Not surprising, little Miss Enthusiasm didn’t see the need to obey. So I called her back, snapped on the check cord, and heeled her back to the point of the infraction. Once again saying “whoa” stroking her tail up and lightly running my hand back and forth on her back. “Really Lil, whoa is a good thing, remember?” she stood there while I gathered gun, whistle, bell and water bottle. “Good girl, Lil”. She started to move. “Lily, you whoa”. She stopped and looked up at me. “Ok” I said, and we were off and running. Lily covered the first 50 yards straight away with, guess what? her enthusiasm. A single blast on the whistle plus a verbal “whoa” and Lily stopped, tail wagging. “Good girl” I said; she stayed put, waiting for instruction. I pointed to the right, “ok” I said, and she headed in that direction. Two pips on the whistle, she turned and headed in the other direction. A couple more turn commands and then I whoaed her again. She stayed put while I walked over her, styled her up, and took a few moments to express how much I appreciated her attention and obedience.
About ten minutes into the hunt, as I was watching Lily work, she abruptly changed direction, changed again, and suddenly froze. For a moment, so did I soaking in the sight of that gorgeous black and tan statue.
Lily, as our other Gordons, got and early start on birds. As a puppy, she demonstrated a very strong pointing instinct. Lily was initially given a lot of contact with quail and chukars, and we were careful she did not catch any birds. Over the course of her first year, she was trained on the basic hunting commands; a single blast of the whistle or “whoa” to stop, two pips on a whistle or “come around” to change direction on command, and several pips on the whistle or “here” for recall. These training exercises are for control and to enhance the dog’s natural abilities and instincts. The first year for our young dogs is busy, but fun and exciting for both man and dog. It is a year in which through training, bird work, and exploring the fields and forests, confidence and trust are built. Our dogs do not “hunt” until they are at least a year old.
Lily was about 14 months when this past hunting season started. I really do not have any serious expectations as far as putting game in the bag the first season the dog actually hunts. We start the season primarily focusing on woodcock which generally hold well for dogs. We expect mistakes; they flush a bird. That’s ok; we take the dog back to where the bird flushed and ‘whoa’ the dog up. There is a tremendous difference between planted and wild birds. A good grouse dog among many other things must learn to be cautious and must learn to distinguish the different smells that can distract the best pup.
Lily made plenty of mistakes through the course of the season. Mistakes are how we learn and learn she did, showing improvement every time out. She learned about chipmunks, song birds, deer, coyote, and bear scents. She learned we only shoot birds that are worked correctly and pointed thus narrowing down the type of game we are after. She learned that if she went too far, she could get lost, that Dad has the water bottle when we are thirsty and that his general health and wellbeing should be checked on occasionally. She learned that ‘time
-outs’ were fun, talking strategy, reviewing training, vigorous rubs and encouragement. She became very connected, and a partnership was born in the field. That is what Gordons excel at. Not that we didn’t have problems through it all. It is not as though we didn’t snap on a leash and end the hunt early a few times. Annoyance and frustration don’t make for a good training environment. Don’t forget Lily has ‘enthusiasm’. But at a pleasing rate, potential was turning into performance.As I walked into the house that evening, I was greeted by my wife with these words, “Took Lily out, huh?” “Yup”, was my reply as I headed to the ‘medicine’ cabinet. “That bad?” I raised my snifter of cognac and said “Here’s to Lily. I guess I’ll clean some birds.”
—Chuck Momber