Latest All Things Brittany YouTube Video

John and I take a rather casual approach to field training in the beginning of the year no matter which dog we're working with. (Following a lot of the philosophy laid down by Bill Tarrant and Delmar Smith, the first year of a Brittany pups life should be full of happy field experiences anyway.  Birds are introduced as early as possible, and all pups have fun with them while here in their first 8 weeks of life. There was one exception and that was when Treasure decided to take charge of her pup's introduction to birds all by herself.  See 'her training video.'  ) There's a time to 'finish' a hunting dog and that often is best done by a third party IMHO and definitely not under a year of age.  It's easy to mess up a good bird dog. One common mistake is trying to teach a dog what whoa means using live birds before basic yard training has been done. We all want to see our dogs point birds and they all will. But they should know what that word WHOA means long before they are expected to hold that point on a live bird!   The video above is compiled of photos and clips from yesterday and the day before when All Things Brittany had some good runs in one of the nearby fields we use.  No pressure. No birds. John randomly laid down grouse scent, ran two dogs together and we both observed which dog did what in order to determine what necessary work should be done over the summer for each dog.  Jack and Pippin have both been worked a lot already this spring on birds so yesterday was more of a handling exercise with the whistle and hand signals. It goes without saying that every one of our Brittanys w/exception of the younger ones have been hunted over and work real nice and close in the woods.  Off season which is the rest of the year we provide frequent outings like the one we had yesterday.    Comment:  Please note that if you are training hunting dogs (for field competition or hunting) that a valid Maine Hunters License should be in your possession. This is a new Maine law. Additionally, a permit to train sporting dogs may be required.  

With the recent addition of a Shamrock Dog Topper for our pickup truck we've discovered it is a whole lot easier to take our canine Brittany crew out together all at the same time. All of ATB gets to ride together in style. This particular dog topper is climate-controlled, includes 4 crates, ample storage room in the back for two more plus our training gear. The smaller dogs can double up comfortably and of course there is room in the backseat of the truck as well.  This was something that John has looked far and wide for just the right one for our needs and the size of our dogs and really liked the ones made by Shamrock.  The company is out of Oakland, Maine - well at least it was until closing it's door last year after 50 years of business.  We were really blessed to find this one.  A good friend of ours had one available for sale which she used for traveling with her Labrador Retrievers from Maine to the deep south for the many trials and competition she is actively involved with.  It was perfect except for one thing - it did not fit our truck.  Although at the time Shamrock would have willingly customized it to fit ours we decided to wait a little longer.  I'm so glad we did.  Now I will be point blank honest about something.  "I" was on the fence about using a dog top pickup camper top.  I've seen good designs and I've seen poor designs. The comfort, safety, and well being of the dogs is critical to both of us - but remember here I'm still 'momma' and look at things a little less practical than he does.  But after yesterday, 'momma' is sold on the new method of transporting our Brittanys in style!  The addition of this brings us one step closer to the reality which we know we are heading towards, taking ATB on the road for field events.  (What was that? Did I hear someone say "I told you so?")  Although I trust John's judgement completely, he also knew there are certain styles I approve of and certain styles I would never put my dogs in.  I can only suppose he breathed a deep sigh of release when, after a period of silence when the dog topper first appeared, I said "hey this is great!!! I really like this!!"   I had to be convinced that the air circulated freely, the dogs would ride comfortably, they would be neither too hot nor too cold, and that they could turn around easily in the crates.  There is a built in overhead "skylight" which also includes a cooling fan. It's heavily insulated and the crates are open on the inside (dogs can see each other) and the circulation is excellent. The doors to each crate also include 'levelor' type ventilation blinds over a screen. I'm looking forward to the opportunities that this dog topper camper has opened up to us for ease of traveling with our crew!

Take care and God Bless, John, Ann, and All Things Brittany