ATB: Dog Training Recap

Breeding Better Bird Dogs - Two Pheasants and a Turkey

It's the end of October already! How quickly the seemingly long hot summer transitioned into brisk autumn days where leaves go through glorious stages of change, to eventually cascade from branches
and lie scattered on the ground, reminding me of a quilt of many colors. And this, THIS is the time of year the dogs live for. From Holly Beth, almost three,  to Molly and Wish who both turn 14 on their next birthday, all things Brittany enjoys this time of year most of all. Most everything we do all year long leads up to the joy and anticipation of the moments that October ushers in.

Bird Hunting 2016. Scooby, Maryann, John.

Beginning in the spring and continuing right up to opening day most mornings John leaves the house very early and heads out to run and train dogs.  They all get to go but not all at the same time.  It's a lot of work but it's also a lot of fun. We have great friends who regularly meet up with their dogs too. On any given morning over the course of several months our Brittanys are regulary run with not only other Brittanys (including French Brittanys) but also English Setters and Pointers. Occasionally a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Vizsla, German Shorthair Pointer, Gordon Setter and a Munsterlander have joined them.

Although he's not a professional dog trainer John is often contacted for advice and tips on training a close working gun dog for the walking upland bird hunter. He's always happy to take the time to offer suggestions over the phone.  He might suggest  bringing their dog to the field so he can informally evaluate them.  John does not train dogs for competitive field events although sometimes our own Brittanys or those from our program will participate in them, usually resulting in a placement.  We do enjoy introducing people to AKC hunt tests, especially those with young pups and that type of training can go hand in hand with training a bird dog in most instances.

We have a purpose driven breeding program and have achieved goals that we had in mind when we bred our first litter in 1990 and in doing so we have  reached a lot of milestones as well.  Breeding better bird dogs has been and always will be our first priority. Everything else is frosting on the cake!

Molly Rose - puppy at heart, going on 14 enjoying Moosehead.

Our circle of 'bird dog friends' grew immensely when John retired. Prior to his retirement he'd been working up to and over 60 hours a week leaving little time for dogs.  We'd been given landowner permission to use over 100 acres of field, orchard, and woods just down the road from us. Not that I really knew what I was doing but I did sure enjoyed those early training days with Molly, Wish, Rosie, Jack, Timberdoodle, Treasure, and Pippin! While I thought I was the one doing the teaching the fact of the matter is that they were the one teaching me. They showed me honoring before I knew what it was.  They taught me about the intensity of the point before I understood the importance of it. I observed strong, natural and inherent instincts hard at work before I could even articulate what I was seeing.  I delighted to learn about the scent cone by watching my dog naturally quarter a field in front of me, and so much more.

The summer of his retirement John and another friend helped a nearby pro-trainer in the field with the dogs he was training at his facility.  The following year John returned to assist on a full time basis when his trainer friend had a few serious health issues which fortunately were resolved.

Since we still had permission to use the field near our home that's where John started to run dogs the following summer. We could have two johnny houses there for our our quail, pigeons, and chukar partridge. Some mornings John was joined by others and their dogs and other times he had

Molly's daughter Rose, Moosehead Lake 2016 (almost 12)

the morning to himself with our dogs. For almost 10 years we enjoyed this property and many very special memories were made, leaving us grateful to the landowner for that opportunity.

This spring the news was disappointing when we learned we could no longer use that property as it was going to be turned into a hay field. Friends understood our disappointment and began to look around on our behalf for a new space.  Before too long new 'grounds' were obtained with another generous landowner. The only downfall was that the new land is 40 minutes away. We were spoiled with the other location being so close but everything worked out.  A good time was had by all from spring through to the fall. We were happy to hear how,  as a result of training efforts, a lot of the dogs did well in field events and hunt tests before Maine's bird hunting season began on October 1.

Bird Hunting - Canine family Affair

I make no excuses about not being a morning person and I'm not the early bird that catches the worm! Most of the actual bird hunting is left in John's capable hands and that of our friends.  I did enjoy one morning of hunting with our daughter.  Additionally, John and I headed to the Moosehead Lake Region in Maine for a few days with our entire ATB crew.  Ol' Ruff was rarely sighted! But the dogs loved the total freedom and the chance to spend one on one time with just the two of us. As did I. With the majority of our beloved Brittanys approaching 14, 12, 11, and 10 these moments in time are precious.  The younger dogs were actually taken out to hunt.  The seniors were happy to simply 'be'.

Speaking of lessons and things we learn from our Brittanys. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can learn from our senior dogs is the importance of living in the moment. We can experience this with dogs of any age but far to often we may be caught up with an urgency to

Wilderness paradise at Moosehead for ATB.

teach, train, or prepare them for something in particular. By the time the senior dog reaches their golden years the owners sense of urgency arises from the realization that the days of canine companionship are numbered. What may seemingly appear to be insignificant becomes a powerful demonstration of mutual act of love shared with and from them.  Or as we like to say around here "all for the love of the dog, both given and received."

As always thank you for your interest in All Things Brittany.  Take care and God bless.  John, Ann and our beloved canine crew

PS Looking for ATB family hunting photos for 2016 - you know where to send them! Thanks.

ATB VIDEO: Fun Field Training with Pups

The majority of pups out of any given litter will become a family hunting companion.  We make sure every single Brittany pup that leaves here at 8 - 12 weeks of age has, at the very minimum, been introduced to scent from a frozen gamebird wing. Friends often will save and freeze the wings from gamebirds they have shot to give to us for this very purpose.  As soon as our pups are up on their feet and stable they are allowed to play with, chew on, maul, and carry the wings in their mouths.  It's so fun and you really get a good idea early on who has the strongest prey drive and potential retrieving skills! Then, depending upon the time of year a litter is born, the are also taken down to the nearby training grounds.  John loads them up in the dog topper for their great adventure, we drive to the field, plant some birds and let the pups have some fun! (We have our own homing pigeons who are happy to return back home safely once they have been 'flushed.' ) 

We always offer to help with any pup which we have bred. Because we are both retired we have the time to give 110% into preparing for an upcoming bird hunting season.  John and I are firm believers in getting pups on birds as young as possible.  We also feel strongly that the first year of a Brittany pup's life should be full of fun and enjoyment.  There is plenty of time for instilling discipline, perfect manners, and obedience. We've both seen the results of placing too high an expectation and too much pressure on young dogs that are just not ready for it.  Every trainer has their own philosophy. Ours is similar to that of Mike Gaddis who says "The desire in an exceptional pup is like a rare young wine, kegged from a proven vineyard. Nurture it slowly to perfection and it will pleasure the years. Tap it prematurely, and you will squander it’s bouquet in infancy”. 

The first few summers after John retired he enjoyed hanging out a lot with his friend Bob Paucek who has been training bird dogs since the age of 18.  There's been many articles written about him, Bob is also featured in a book authored by Jerome Robinson and titled "Hunt  Close!" It's a great read and covers techniques used long before the use of remote tracking, training, and e-collars became so widespread.  He's been been interviewed many times for various publications, videos and programs.  Bob bred, handled, campaigned and finished some of the best Pointers and Setters in New England in years past. He was American Field's 2013 Legend of the Game. Bob had also trained Brittanys for us in the past before John retired and before we had found grounds nearby our home to do the same. John always enjoyed helping Bob out anytime he could at the Paucek Kennels in Buxton, Maine plus there were always other friends there and they simply had a good time with all the dogs. 

(Personal observation: Besides, as any newly retired couple knows, finding yourselves face to face with each other 24/7 does require some getting use to (she said with a straight face)! Seriously though, I've enjoyed how this has all come together and I do hope it continues to develop and grow, especially now with our daughters involvement too. She is becoming a great dog handler in her own right with Toph and Zuko! )

These days we do have nearby grounds to run dogs on thanks to the generosity of a local land owner.  For several years now John has mowed and groomed the field to suit his needs for planting birds and running the dogs. In addition to the fields there's also acres of woodland.  There are sometimes a few grouse or resident woodcock but we have a couple of johnny houses set up for bobwhite quail and chukar partridge being licensed in all that we do. Friends may join John throughout the week and especially on weekends. Recognizing the amount of work involved usually everyone pitches in and helps in one way or another. There are other times when folks from away will make a trip up so John can spend a little time offering them tips and advice. We will not run the dogs when it's too hot or during a downpour.

We appreciate those in our ATB family who recognize they may not have the time, resources and/or the experience to get their Brittany ready for an upcoming hunting season regardless of age.  Such is the reason we have Bella and Brook with us.  The door is always open to work with Brittanys we've bred, to welcome them back to our home and to their canine relatives.  The methods that John has developed over the years are specific to the Brittany.  He knows how to read them and it is uncanny how quickly they will respond to him.  A lot of folks have said he is a dog whisperer.  Although he's also known to bellow at times, I will totally agree that he has a remarkable way with the dogs. John is not harsh or heavy handed and always is careful to set a dog up to succeed and not to fail.   Even when they must be corrected for something they know better not to do, John will always end the time together on a positive note including lots of praise for whatever dog he's working with  His greatest fault? Being way too humble and generous with his time but that is just part of who he is, and that's not a bad thing at all.

Hope you enjoyed the video. And if you did or if you enjoy posts about training etc., why don't you leave a comment? Thanks!  As always take care and God bless. Thank you for your interest in All Things Brittany.  John, Ann, and our canine crew