ATB: Brittany Gun Dog Training / It's All About FRIENDSHIP

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What a special couple of days John and I just shared with our friend Dawn. I have tried to capture the essence of some of our visit through the video above.  Many of these pictures were taken by Dawn as she walked with John through the training fields we use.  I took a few too.  (If you're familiar with the ATB family and crew you know Dawn owns Pippin's sire (Ch Hills Blazin' Jac) and also her half sister Bailey (Hill's Catchn' the Wind JH) out of our Jack (J & A's Apple Jack of Acton JH). That may all sound confusing if you're new to our blog but if you check out our website you can view some of the crew and their information there as well. Or check out our link column to the right and you can see Hill's Brittanys

It's so great to have a friend who is also a breeder of Brittanys with very similar philosphies, hopes and goals. We don't always get together as often as we'd like to. Usually it's at a dog show that we all spend time with our dogs, grooming, handling etc. If you take a look at the video Expressions of Friendship well that really explains a lot of this.

John and I are very blessed to have such a wonderful circle of friends that continues to grow and expand. Each and every person means a lot to us, near or far. I love that a lot of 'you' are becoming friends with each other too either through the blog, Facebook, or of course the dogs. It's not easy to find time to share so that's why this visit meant a lot. Before I get too involved with what I want to write about though - we also enjoyed a very nice dinner out with Lori and her mom recently as they spent a weekend on a nearby beach here in Maine! We didn't have our Brittany Fun Day this year - just too much going on in our life. But slowly but surely John and I are getting a chance to enjoy visits like this (and YES indeed there should be one soon from RHODE ISLAND!!!)

Wednesday morning after Dawn had settled in with her handsome liver and white Brittany pup Alex and her sweet, loveable Bailey bug we took a trip to the field. Bullet, Jack, True, and Scooby went as they are preparing for another hunt test this weekend. Hemi and Alex went to have some playtime with birds. And Pippin and Bailey went to run together; they are not finished gun dogs but the big boys are.

I don't always get to see the dogs work even when I go to the field so Dawn took some really GREAT photos of the boys working with John. Even though, pictures do not tell the story of these highly trained handsome intelligent finished gun dogs! Each at various stages towards finishing as a Junior or Senior Huner - they are doing great.

Alex was introduced to quail and pigeon as Hemi enjoyed his ongoing training. Both just youngsters, they had a lot of fun which is as it should be. I am considering keeping Hemi off of birds for awhile and just letting him run. He's a natural, and he's also way too young for any kind of formal training. I like to let the first year be as unrestrictive as possible, believing you can always haul them back in when they get older but it's a lot harder to get them to range out if they don't do it as a pupster. John is a gentle trainer and I'm really very proud of his training methods and understanding with each dog, no matter what age.

After our awesome time in the field John and I were treated to a wonderful meal made by Dawn! She brought all the ingredients and our kitchen was soon filled with the wonderful aroma of garlic and onions sauteed in olive oil as she prepared a wonderful Chicken Brocoli Alfredo! My contribution was a simple Blueberry Cake and Banana Bread. Dawn is a good cook, but she claims her son is even better. John and I appreciated her catered meal.

Hemi and Alex were put up on the grooming table for a little clippering. Hemi does very well on the table and was introduced to the clipper for the first time. Alex also does quite well; both pups are accustomed to being combed and groomed on the table because they have been up there frequently since a very young age. They looked pretty handsome and soon it was time to head to my weekly handling class with Penny Cary. I'd called ahead to make arrangements for Alex and Dawn to join us and I'm so glad she did! Penny offers a very unique training class which is a fun and holistic (addresses the entire handler/dog relationship) method. Alex is Hemi's uncle - and they are quite amazing little pups. Hemi and Alex were tired from their field fun but enjoyed their very full dual kind of day together.

Evening turned into the next day turned into time to say goodbye. I enjoyed this visit so much which was all about friendship and the love of the dogs both given and received.

Speaking of training: You know I've been so proud of John and his recent field events with some of our crew. You may even be tired of hearing about this in the past few blogs! Well, look for more updates as once again they head out to hunt tests this weekend. Scooby will be going for his 2nd leg of Juniors. Although I'm certain Scoob could easily get a Senior title (has always backed and retrieved naturally)it's more important for us to go through the stages for a lot of reasons. Jack who is halfway to finishing as a Senior will give it his best shot. We also know Bullet, True, and Nash will both give it their all (Nash 1st attempt at Seniors - go Steve!!). And we'll be looking forward to hearing how Bella and Starr do too in Juniors. Hope you'll keep them all in your prayers and wish the ATB crew success!!

The question: "Are your dogs staunch and steady?
The answer: "They were yesterday!"

Take care and God bless you and yours only...John, Ann, and ATB