DOGS continued from page 12
their Lanark property in 1995 and agree it’s just about the best place on earth. Making it even better these days is the fact that their first grandchild, Owen, lives across the road. Ed and Vera have bred Cocker
Spaniels, but they prefer Springers. They chat easily about the temperament of the dogs, and about the breed’s natural ability for hunting. Ed explains it’s not a stretch to say
these dogs are thinkers. You give them a situation, whether it’s as hunters or perhaps as drug dogs, and they figure it out.
On a hunt, they don’t need to have
someone point out where to go or what to do.
“They have a job and they just do
it,” says Ed. Because of their temperament, they
also make ideal family dogs. “People are not afraid of Springers,”
says Vera. She adds she doubts anyone has ever heard of a Springer mauling someone.
They sell most of their dogs as
family pets, but also as hunting dogs. In either situation, the dogs don’t need a lot of training. They do need guidance. “They have a natural quartering
ability [for seeking game],” says Ed. “They’re born with an instinct to hunt.” When they’re trained, a whistle
reinforces that instinct and helps guide them. And they won’t leave you high and dry in the field. If they do get sidetracked, they don’t go far, and they come back quickly. “They just want to be with you,”
says Vera. That devotion to “their people”
makes them ideal hunting dogs, but it also adds to their suitability to families. “They tend to take on the
temperament of the house,” says Vera. “They can play with the kids, and just chill out at night… and then you can go hunting with them the next day.” She works hard to make sure a
family is well matched to a puppy. The puppies are always house-raised, mostly by Vera herself. She gets to know them over the eight-week period they’re with her. By the time they’re ready to go, she’s able to predict what kind of families
will suit them best. So if you go to her and say you want a calm dog who will stay low-key most of the time, she’ll know which one to suggest. Same thing if you’d prefer a high-energy dog who would rather be outside in the fields. However, if the dog turns out to be
the wrong one for a family, she and Ed will take it back. They don’t want one of their dogs to be given away -- perhaps to the wrong hands. Despite the fact that the dogs don’t
need much training, Ed still enjoys the process. He does a “public” training every Sunday when anyone with a Fionavar dog is welcome to join him. Some Sundays no one shows up, and he trains his own dogs anyway; some days he’ll have a small group of perhaps four or five. He describes the training of an
English Springer as kind of a fine-tuning, a “polishing” to bring out the best in the dog.
Fred and Vera have about 30 dogs at
any one time. They take them for daily runs, and they’re welcome in the house. They don’t attempt to bring 30 dogs to the vet. Instead, the vet comes to them. They use the Almonte Veterinary Clinic with Dr. Mark Van Campen and Dr. Amanda Mulloy. The vet takes one dog at a time
outside for a full checkup in what is referred to by the clinic as “herd health”, a term that makes Vera laugh. “ He looks after the cats, too,” she
says. Starting in May or June until the
snow falls, Ed and Vera guide hunters (with one of their own trained dogs) on their game
farm.They board Fionavar dogs, too. Ed admits the boarding service is a bit selfish. He enjoys having the dogs back for a visit if for no other reason than to see them again and to know how they turned out. One of their dogs, Porter, recently
came back to them, not to board, but to see if he might catch the “hunting” excitement from the other dogs. Porter had become so fond and protective of his family’s baby that he didn’t want to leave the baby’s side. Every time the baby cried or fussed, Porter would go and get the baby’s mother. It seems some dogs are just treasures
like that. Even if it gets in the way of work.
14 BOUNDER MAGAZINE BOUNDER MAGAZINE 14
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