Libby @ 6 month's
Hi Sally,
Libby went hunting on Sunday, 12/11/2011, and was awesome.
Her day started with one planted bird for me to ensure that her training was not forgotten. She immediately found the bird, held the point, and retrieved to hand. She was definitely ready for the day.
The group consisted of four adults, three children, and three dogs, including Libby, with the four adults and only one 16-year-old child carrying guns. One black lab flusher, one clueless golden-poodle mix, and Libby the pointer. The conditions were windy and dry. The expectation was that there were 40 pheasant roosters rooming the land from prior hunts. We only saw three, which as you read on, means that there were only three.
The lab and golden-poodle mix hunted with the majority of the group in a separate area. A friend and I hunted behind Libby. None of the dogs found a bird. The flushes were due to the number of persons walking the land and all three were missed. The hunt lasted for three hours.
After a lunch break, I planted four birds and four of us hunted behind Libby without the two other dogs. Libby found all four birds, even though three had moved from the planted spot. She held the point until the flush. One wandering bird required her to reposition her point four times. At the end, the bird was so buried that I almost step on it to get it to flush. I never saw the bird until the flush. Even though I was willing to give up the spot, she would not. We shot all four and she retrieve to hand. What was impressive was the distance of the retrieve in very thick brush, including one bird in amongst downed limbs. Without calling or any prompting at all, she came directly back to me and allowed me to take the bird from her mouth. The experience was even better than the two I shot at the end of her training at Marsha’s.
Everyone was impressed and could not believe that she was only six months old. The person with the lab wanted to know whether or not she would retrieve ducks. He is an avid hunter and is the owner of the lab and the land.
One comment that was made was how calm she was for being only six months. I stated that Sandy would disagree with her being calm, as Sandy is alone with Libby during her active period between 3 PM and 5 PM every weekday. I guess that Libby was in her element and therefore, was calm due to the task at hand.
I could not have been more proud of Libby.
Thank you for allowing us to have Libby.
John
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