This past February we were fortunate to be blessed with an “oops” litter of Brittany Puppies ..four in total.The parents Slick and Lucy are pretty darn good dogs so we were not worried about any of the puppies being slouches as genitically they would have the right stuff or breeding behind them to become bird dogs.We spent a lot of time with the puppies socializing them.Mild yard work also came into play,the puppies would all come when called and at six weeks I began taking them out on training runs,of course I was not expecting much the goal was to get them use to the hunting routine re.traveling in a dog box,coming in for water,exploring and having fun.We kept Tank and Squeaky and found good hunting homes for Rocco and Valentino.Nothing much was done with our puppies during the summer months,Lisa did some more yard work and they kept themselves busy pointing grasshoppers and Eurasian Collared Doves in the yard.Once in Saskatchewan The training intensified,I began running them on Huns and Sharptails and searching for crippled ducks (retrieving practice) after our Waterfowl shoots.Bird contacts where made and both puppies where on their way.Now that I am between seasons (Saskatchewan is over and My guiding here in Arizona has not started yet) I have had the opportunity to get both out a lot and focus on some good old fashioned yard work namely whoa,leash and retrieving training.Both are doing well,and now have a some points and backs.
I usually run the puppies on separate loops with older Pointers,I think running them with pointers helps them to stretch out and become bolder,of course the Puppies are on check cords so I can steady them up or control them when an older dog is on point.Both are showing great promise and now have a considerable amount of backs and points behind them.Of course they don’t always get it right but as they gain more exposure more often than not they do.
Introducing them to the gun has been easy,I take a blank pistol with me on our runs and when they are out running around (fun) I fire it and of course it is fired after birds are flushed.Both Squeaky and Tank are fast becoming Bird Dogs and its been a great time bringing them along from newborn puppies to this stage in their lives.
