And finally, here’s a
description by Kevin McWilliams, from the Ottawa Pointing Dog Club, of a scene each fall in hunting season and a scene that is replicated during CKC Hunt Tests for pointers: “We are crossing a large area near an abandoned farmhouse, and suddenly my German Shorthaired Pointer, Vito, locks up on point. The adrenalin starts flowing, and I slowly walk around my dog − who now looks like he is chiseled from stone. I raise my 20-gauge shotgun and make ready. In a mighty, thunderous blast, out of a low hedgerow flush two grouse. I fire my first shot, a clean miss, and then, with the second shot, the grouse on my left drops. Vito remains by my side, watching intently, waiting for the retrieve signal. I gently tap his head and he is off. He heads toward the downed grouse. Vito picks up the bird’s trail and tracks the bird another 20 yards from the impact area. He has it and is on his way back to me, bird in mouth. He sits in front and I give the command to release the bird. What a beautiful specimen.” Dogs are judged not only on
their pointing instinct but on many other skills. They should retrieve to hand on land and water. Your pointing dog will also need to honor other pointing dogs in the field. Honoring is a more advanced skill and usually requires much more training.
And once again there are
pointing dog trials − winners and non-winners. The Ottawa Pointing Dog Club is a great place to start your pointer’s training/testing journey. Their website is http://
www.ovpdc.org/index.php ,or contact Kevin MacWilliams at
bauto@nrtco.net or 613 602-2224. Get out there with your dog
this summer.
Part one of this story appeared in the Spring, 2013 issue of Bounder.
www.bounder.ca
BOUNDER MAGAZINE 19
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