There's a lot of beet in beating!

Could do with a drink mum!

One of the things that makes bushbeating fun (yes! fun!) is the infinite variety of terrain human and hound are expected to work through - from gorgeous grassy pastures to the thickest most leg-grabbing bramble thickets and everything you can imagine - & a few things you never could - in between......
So, yesterday was Bugler's second day out this season and he spent the whole morning hunting through well grown soaking wet (lots of rain the night before) sugar beet. It's hard enough for human legs to walk (or stumble) through for hours on end but for dogs it involves endless bounding and diving through flapping wet near tropical greenery.... It exhausts them but they love the variety of smells..... the tantalising scent of the birds, rabbits, hares, deer, foxes who have passed this way before them. Imagine reading your favourite novel, the one you can't bear to put down even though you are almost too tired to take in another word. That's hunting through sugar beet........ the dogs just go on and on.... just another yard, just one more scent, OH! and another and OMG over there's another..... and finally the field and the drive comes to an end...... the soaking wet dogs emerge and hunt around in search of a much needed drink.... any old puddle, ditch or stream will do...
What makes the dog keep going? He can't be fit - it's the beginning of the season and we don't do this sort of thing between seasons.... 20 mins to an hour of exercise or training once or twice a day not 5 or 6 or 7 times.... Why does he keep going through sodden beetfields for hours even though he must be getting tired? 
Look at the face of the dog; the eyes say it all - he just loves what he is doing and will go on for as long as I ask him to..... he'll have sore feet at the end, he'll sleep like a log, he'll probably be a bit stiff first thing in the morning..... but, if I ask, he'll get up, go out and, beet or not, do it all again................. That's working dogs for you....

And so another season begis

Another year, another season....Bugler's (and my) first day. He was so obviously happy to be back doing what he loves doing best - whichever way you look at it, training and sniffing out mice are no way near as much fun as going out in a big pack for the day!
It started rainy but by late morning (after a couple of Sloe Fizz's kindly provided by our host) it dried up and the day just got even better! There were birds in abundance - more than enough to satisfy the guns that they are in for a good season ahead: far more birds flew on than hit the dust - which pleased our host greatly!!!
It's always a worry - the first day back: Will the dog behave properly? Will he listen to the whistle? Will he chase after that blinkin hare that always lurks in the stubble? Any shoot day, but particularly the first one, is so full of high charged energy, anticipation, excitement and distraction that many dogs find it all too much; small wonder if misdemeanors and shouts abound. However, today was Bugler's time to shine...... he was a real joy to be out with; worked his little paws off in a really professional way. Will he stay like this all season? It would be too much to expect: usually he starts to boil up by Christmas and we have to have a few little heart to hearts.... but maybe he's old enough now to remain stable and biddable........ time will tell...... Meanwhile, thank you Bu for making the sun shine on an otherwise grey October day !

The new Shooting season begins

Skipper at the end of his first day

Where do the months go? Those 8 long ones since February? The hours and weeks we've spent training, steadying, calming the dogs.... and here we are at the start of yet another season. It's Bugler's 4th and Skipper's first; my 10th or is it 11th? I'll have to check back....  I can't help thinking back fondly to my first season with Gunner..... It's all recorded here in this blog.... so many memories... he may not be here in 'person' any more but what could be better than continuing the story with his son and grandson?

Bugler at the start of his 4th season

Bugler was out with me on Saturday for the first day of this season and I could not have wished for a better companion; the hours invested in helping him become calmer and more focused have paid off.... It was an unseasonably warm and sunny 18 degrees - tiring for us humans but more so for the dogs. He worked tirelessly and attentively - my phone recorded that I did 23,000 steps so goodness knows how far he travelled. It's a hard life being a beating dog! Unfortunately he jarred his front leg on the hard ground and developed a limp in the afternoon. He has been on 'box' rest since and will hopefully be OK soon enough to take up his engagement next weekend.

So - Bugler's limp worked to Skipper's advantage. Ten days earlier than planned he had his first real working day - he did bits last season but mostly under very close supervision and control. Today he had to step up and really work. I think it surprised him! The first drive was a stretch of dyke he's become familiar with over the past couple of months through dogging-in.. so he probably did think it was just an ordinary day - with a bit of extra distraction. He worked really well and close, focused on me and what I asked of him.. a real joy to watch. He didn't particularly like the noise of the guns but only noticed it when he was standing still.... and by the end of the day he had learned to almost ignore it. It was interesting to watch him grow in confidence through the day, doing more difficult bits of work in heavier cover or closer to the guns. The task now is to switch him off for the next 10 days and begin his second day as if it is his first.... with the same degree of focus and attentiveness ... so that we can move forward through the rest of the season in a calm manner laying the foundation for many happy seasons ahead..... 

Or we could lose the plot completely and end up with an out-of-control nutcase! Let's hope it's the former.......

Happy Birthday Bugler

 It is hard to believe that 5 years have passed since the morning I learned that Gunner's offspring had sprung. Meg, the mother, had a phantom pregnancy the first time round and, with time marching on I thought things might never work out as planned so went in search of another pup elsewhere. The Understudy, as I called him then, joined our family a few short months before I heard that Meg was indeed pregnant. Jaunty was just 8 months old when Bugler was born so they grew up as pups together with Gunner calmly keeping the peace between them. Bugler inherited a lot from his dad - identical colouring and markings being the most obvious - but also his biddable and gentle nature coupled with an overwhelming desire to please. He's not as "steady" as his dad but that's no bad thing since obedience is his forte..... which is not to say that he's perfectly behaved all the time. Since the training of Skipper I realise though that the faults he does have are undoubtedly the result of ignorant handling on my part. We're remedying that and he is becoming better - more focused and calm - as the weeks go by. I look forward to the next (his 4th) Season working with him - he is going to be a joy. Happy Birthday Bugler xxx

The Beast retreats

The Beast from the east has gone on  its way. Very soon all that's left will be water and mud...... although the roads were passable yesterday there was still quite a lot of snow - mainly on our drive....  Bugler enjoyed pretending to hunt for rabbits and mice in the long grass on the field edges. These are just a few shots of him being an out and out springer.... It'll be a shame - for the dogs- when the snow has all gone but I shall be pleased to be able to get out of our drive again..... If it were not for the remaining drifts, fallen branches and general debris all over the place it would be easy to forget just how very strong the wind was. 

 

.. and He thinks he has a sense of humour?

Bugler turning his head away from the fierce wind

So I thought I'd take Bugler and Jaunty up the drive first thing this morning to see what the road to the village looked like.....
We did not get far.
Thanks to the #BeastfromtheEast we stumbled into 5' drifts just round the bend...
We did try to walk through the first one.... not funny.


Jaunty scaling the wall of a drift at the third attempt

Jaunty tried to jump up the side of one - and succeeded at the third attempt - he didn't try again! Nor was he amused when he tried to jump the fence between the top of the drift & the bridleway that runs parallel to our drive - as he prepared to take off  he sank down into the snow and nearly garrotted himself on the top wire of the fence. Lucky it's only a plain strand ....



The road up to the village

The cause of the drifting?  The 'Beastly' wind blew fiercely throughout the night so we inherited the snow which should be on the neighbouring fields .... not in the least amusing..... there is no way we can expect to get up - or anyone else get down - our drive until it thaws. The last time drifts like this appeared was in the winter of 2010; a neighbour delivered the papers one day on his tractor..... very kind of him you'd think? Nope: the weight of the tractor compacted the snow with the result that long after the roads were clear everywhere else we had about one foot deep of lethal packed ice all up our drive! Not to be repeated....
Sadly the wind continues to blow tonight. Luckily no fresh snow has fallen during the day. What are the chances of neither snow nor wind tomorrow......? Wouldn't it be funny if the Beast just wrapped up his horns and withdrew back from whence he came........

Ahhhhh - the Beast has teeth

So they had the last laugh - the meterologists. Yesterday may have been pussycat stuff but today was the full-blown beast. The day dawned to extra snow and went on from there..... we were surprised by a friend coming down the drive to join us for breakfast at 0930..... and enormously relieved when he rang us after arriving back home - admitting he'd probably be the last person driving on our roads today.
Occasional bright spells have been completely overshadowed by blizzarding white-outs; impossible to walk or see through, they descend within moments, completely enveloping and closing off the rest of the world.
The dogs all had fun hunting for dummies and mice under the snow.... although none of them were too pleased to find themselves clad in masses of 'balls' when it was time to go home..... Spaniels' feathering works like a magnet on snow and the hard lumps turn to ice making them impossible to shake or rub off; there is no solution but to wait till they melt or pull them off with the teeth one by one..... Have to wonder if it's worth running through the snow.....
The poultry have spent most of the day indoors and tonight I discovered a robin shacking up in Rocco's stable for the night.... I think the birds will all be pleased when the beast moves on. Wonder when that will be; the forecasters say the weekend..... hope so... the novelty of snow - like fish - goes off after three days.
Tonight is without doubt the coldest we have had in a long long time; no moon just the wind continuing to blizzard and blow.... what will the morning bring... ???