South Point (Part Two)

Note: This is a continuation of Thursday's South Point (Part One)

I'm not a pro.  Maybe this will come to a surprise to some, but there are dog training pros out there.  There are dog trialing pros.  Arguably, there are some bird hunting pros.

Due to limited resources, limited life experience and limited opportunity, not to mention personal choices, priorities, and commitments to other things; I am not one of them.

To put things in perspective, I got into dogs before I got into hunting.  I grew up with dogs and as a young twenty-something, I wanted a pet.  So learning of a litter, I worked the hunting angle to secure an alliance with my father-in-law, and we mutually petitioned our wives to let us bring home a puppy.  I went to the woods with the dog and became fascinated by her pointing instinct.  Thus, the blame for my current hunting affliction rests squarely on the shoulders of a quirky cross-bred pointing mutt named Connie.

Right off the bat, I took on Connie's training as a purely personal endeavor.  I did some reading, chatted on some internet forums, and took (take) considerable pride in showing her the ropes myself without employing professional assistance.

Then came Maddie.  Maddie was an orphan -- a rescue pup of probably purebred English Pointer lineage.  Maddie was an enigma of a dog.  She was (is) a dog of certain neuroses, but an incredible bird finder.  With Maddie in the mix however, Connie gradually came unwound.

It was almost like Maddie absorbed Connie's pointing instinct.  Connie started chasing birds.  Forget about bagging birds.  The gun never got close.  So long story short:  Connie went back to school.  Enter new reading.  Enter new training techniques.  Enter a pigeon loft in my backyard.  Enter new training partners.  And over a period of 3 months or so, enter a renewal of Connie's manners in the woods.  As a result, 2010 ended up being Connie's most productive hunting season to-date.

Fast forward to this week.  This Saturday is the SE Michigan Ruffed Grouse Society Fun Trial.  The trial is a low pressure opportunity for casual hunters have their dogs evaluated in a friendly hunting competition while supporting a great conservation organization.  I've run both dogs in past years, but this time around opted to go with Maddie.

At the same time the woodcock (a migratory game bird) are hitting the area with force, creating a great opportunity for off-season dog training.  I've been in the woods every day for about a week.  In a stunning role reversal, Maddie has been the one struggling, and Connie has been finding birds with the polish of a trial champ.  This prompted me to reconsider my trial entry.  I bragged up my old buddy Connie, and this morning took her out to a friend's house for one last run before the trial.

Sparing you the details, things did not go well.  Her bird work was terrible.  Her obedience was terrible.  I woke up this morning with all the confidence in the world, in eager anticipation of the trial, grateful for the opportunity to show off my handiwork with Connie.  I left convinced that Maddie's natural talent trumps my hard work and is the logical choice for the trial.

On a side note, I was pleased to find on Wednesday that for the first time since first keeping pigeons about a year ago, I had a hen on the nest with a single egg laid.  I returned home tonight to find that a hawk somehow managed to slip a talon into the pigeon coop and the hen is dead -- the nest is lost.

Overall, my Thursday was one steamer of a south point.