J&A's Brittanys: I Am Back In the Field !

9 year old J&A's Dreams Come True of Acton JH - lovingly known as "Treasure".  Established a beautiful point today on a Chukar Partridge and that she held throughout the entire sequence. I walked beyond her to locate her bird, flushed it, and fired my gun.  She never moved other than to turn her head in the direction of the bird's flight. 

7 year old CH J&A's Heartfelt Legend of Acton, affectionately called "Pippin" also established an equally impressive point this morning which she held for quite awhile.  After I flushed Pip's bird for her and fired my gun she remained perfectly steady.

It's 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning. My bed does not want to let go of me.  I roll over to look out the window and get an idea of what the weather may be. The sun is shining!  I hear John and some of the dogs out in the kitchen. Soon the aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee finds it's way to me. Treasure and Pippin are cuddled up next to me while Holly lies in wait on the floor in front of the bedroom door.  
Slowly it opens and John lets her out for she is 'daddy's girl'. I drift back to sleep until Treasure and Pippin respond to the flashes of white going by the open bedroom window by barking a friendly morning greeting.  John is loading his truck for the brief trek down to the field. In just a few moments I hear the gate lock and his truck leaves.

Treasure and Pippin have no intention of coming back to snuggle with me and do their best to entice me to jump out of bed and play with them. Soon I am laughing at their antics which include kissing me, pawing at me, woo-woo-wooing, and a little bit of dancing.  Okay girls, you win. As I open the front door to let them out to do their business I glance at the clock. Almost 7:30 a.m.  I fumble to the coffee maker and brew a single cup.  Pippin and Treasure eat their breakfast while I pop a couple of slices of bread in the toaster which I later enjoy with blueberry jam while drinking my coffee. 

What a gorgeous morning!  I wonder who may be down at the field running dogs this morning with John. Time for a brief morning devotion and thanking God for this day, declaring it is the day He has made and I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it yes I am indeed.  It is at that point that I decide that I want to go down to the field bringing Treasure and Pippin with me. There is still plenty of time.  They did so well the other day! Without any further delay I pull on my jeans and a t-shirt, drag a comb through my hair, put on my Purina hat and look down at the girls and say "wanna go for a ride?"  Of course they do!  And out the door we go.

I arrive just in time to see John and a friend of his finishing up a nice run with their young dog.  My arrival initiates a vocal greeting from those who have already had their time in the field. I walk over to the truck and the chain gang and greet each dog by name, giving them a personal touch because I love each and every one. I learn from John I missed seeing Mojo run with her father Bullet as Dr. F. left earlier. I hear how well Holly and Hemi did, how she is backing him.  John tells me his plans for the next level of training on the dogs there and I smile.  And then I had the joy of watching True and Rosie work together, taking pictures the entire time.

Picture taking.  That's all I have been doing when I come to the field for far too long. Not that I mind taking pictures. Two days ago though I handled Treasure and Pippin for the first time in forever. Seriously, before my total knee replacement in the spring of 2014 I had quit doing any kind of training, hunting, showing anything. I was in such pain from bone on bone osteoarthritis.  But that pain is a thing of the past.

Today was a banner day.  I gave John the camera who had already put birds out for my Pippin and Treasure.  One by one I ran each of my girls. All on my own.  All by myself.  Under the watchful eye of John and his friend. I worked them down around the edge to get the vim and vigor out of them then crossed across the field where I had an idea the birds were planted. Each girl handled respectively to my commands which are a combination of words, hands, and whistle. 

They didn't let me down. One at a time, at each respective run, I felt like something wonderful was re-awakening again between us. Or perhaps even as if for the first time because these girls are not getting younger and neither am I.  I could easily recognize when they started to get birdy and told them to 'work it out' and kept on walking. Soon, their innate and strong natural instincts surfaced and their entire body responded to the scent which had hit their nostrils and they established a solid and no-nonsense point.  I came up from behind them where they could see me and we made eye contact.  I knew there would be no moving from their position. Without hesitation, without struggle, I walked up and began to kick the grass around the area I expected the chukar to be.  The entire time there was no movement or creeping from my dog.  I trusted her and she trusted me.  Suddenly the bird flushed in front of me, I yelled WHOA once then fired my gun and looked back to see the only movement was her head marking the bird. Flawless and I walked to her to praise her and then walk her in the opposite direction.  No one had forgotten a thing.  Not me, and not them. Happiness Is....

What's next?  More mornings like this I hope.  


Thanks for your interest in All Things Brittany, God bless you always!! John, Ann and our amazing canine crew.