07-25-14
Belle is home this week due to her trainer being on vacation. Good thing she was on lead when we walked out the door this morning or those three wild turkey hens would have met the Yellow Rocket.

Time for four wheeler training. Belle got to watch only. Want her to see that Bay enjoys it so much so she is jealous and would like to ride.

So many covers we hunt in Maine are a long way from the road and do not have vehicle access. The wheeler is our ticket in.

07-28-14
No shortage of birds in the hood this morning. First peek out the window at 0550 and the two hens and three poults were helping eradicate bugs in the backyard. Took Belle out about 0630 to do her biz. Hooked her on her run and her head shot right up looking behind our shed.

One, two, three hens come walking out from behind, 10 yards from us. Belle's body turned into a rock as she watched those three. I told her to "Leave It." The last one in line putted as to say thank you and they walked along their merry way back into the hardwoods.

God knows my love for the wild turkey. He blessed us with a house inside their home turf.

08-02-14
Took Belle out to the Family Grounds Beaver Pond today. The canoe is still in great shape.



That can't be said for the beaver pond.

Before with Bay



Today



Before



Today



Stopped at the pool below the old sawmill on Dudley Brook to give Belle the swim I promised her in the beaver pond.

Fetch it Belle



Good girl!



Took Belle back to Quail Ridge yesterday for more Summer Camp for Gun Dogs. In the big pond below the house she had just completed a dock dive when I heard a quail whistle. Went in search and I saw one run into a hedgerow. Put Belle on the scent and she put the bird to flight.

Next on the camp agenda.......birds.

How could a man not love a lab?

Mike is the best thing for Belle now at her impressionable age. I admit to being a softy. Belle knows when Mike arrives at Camp that it is time for work followed by fun.

Belle's nose is working in high gear. At the beginning of her training session when she was full of p_iss and vinegar Mike said she ran right by a chukka on the trail. He said she caught the scent and spun a 180 in midair and in an instant put that bird to flight.

Her stare seem to be just as sharp. The cottontail bunny even at 50 yards stood no chance against her eagle eyes. Gonna have to work on that because as Mike said deer and squirrels run too.

Belle...."Leave it" will be reinforced and if needed a button push of the e-collar in these undesirable times.

I envy your time with the labs Dog Whistler.





Canine buddies.

08-20-14
Summer Camp update...Birds

Mike reports "BELLE's first bird of the day this morning, she definitely loves birds."



""Success based training" is such a huge component of the method I use to get the best a dog has to offer. The concept helps a dog build desire to learn, and it helps a dog incrementally learn more and more complex skill sets.

BELLE is on return with an Avery Hex Bumper being carried in her mouth. I really love the design of this bumper as it encourages proper carry of birds and discourages chewing and other associated "hard mouth" problems.

BELLE had to SIT, visually track the bumper in flight, and hunt dense cover for location and recovery of the bumper. She then returns and I get delivery to hand."

"You can literally see Labrador joy on BELLE'S face as she successfully returns with the bumper- "mission accomplished".



"BELLE is "locked on target" like a heat seeking yellow rocket. A very productive day today"



Thank you Irish Whistler.

Training update
08-22-14
Mike reports that there is now continuity flowing between Belle's brain and nose as it pertains to birds. Each day Belle is having bird contact. At this point in her life she lives for Mike's attention and obeys him respectfully.

Some recent highlights in Irish Whistler's words.

"As I had mentioned, we are establishing the "mechanics" of seeing a bird shot from the sky, going to the area of fall (MARK), finding it by scent, and bringing it back. Most retrievers want to keep (possess) their prey once they get back to the handler. I am permitting BELLE to possess the bird a bit longer than I normally would, mainly to establish a true love for the process of hunting and retrieving. I won't let this continue too long as it could create other problems inclusive of wanting to eat birds (NOT GOOD)."

"Miss BELLE is coming in nice and tight to me as her handler while she is in possession of a bird. This is a true sign of trust, the reason I do not immediately take it away from her."



"I teased BELLE with a freshly shot bird to conjure her curiosity and interest in the bird. In this photo, I also position the bird to help BELLE focus her eye contact toward me as her trainer."



"When I first viewed this photo I immediately thought of the book titled "DEATH IN THE LONG GRASS by Peter Hathaway Capstick."



"BELLE'S session ending on a positive note for her hard work and a most productive lesson."



Thanks Madra Whistler.
Níorbh fhéidir a dhéanamh gan tú.

08-27-14
I received some great videos from Mike today showing Belle working cover and retrieving birds. I love his last comments.

In BELLE'S mind now, "if it flies, it dies, and I might get to carry it".

Almost all the birds to date Belle has had contact with are homing pigeons with a few chukkas and quail . Treated correctly the feral pigeons can be used over and over. Belle is a little rough with them but is demonstrating a soft mouth as Mike used one pigeon last night for multiple flushes and retrieves.

When I had my springer years ago my dad would set fishing line foot snares under his bird feeder to capture pigeons. We would tape the birds flight feathers so it could only go so far. At the end of the session we could untape the wings and let the bird fly free.

Belle is giving me visions of my old hunting buddy an English Springer Spaniel named Carlton Brook Brandy.

Carry on Dog Whistler.

Down the Home Stretch
09-04-14
Talked to Irishwhistler tonight. Belle had a great training session today. While airing Belle out Mike heard quail calling. A quick relocate and Belle was into birds. I could feel the pride in his voice about how far Belle has come at Summer Camp for Gun Dogs 2014.

I asked Mike to concentrate her last week at camp on polishing up OB most significantly remote sit and come. Not so much for the hunt but for her return home to a neighborhood life full of distractions.

Graduation Day is going to be Sunday 09-14-14. We are going to celebrate her diploma with a pheasant hunt.

Carlton Brook's Great Bay Belle will soon be home. I'm so proud of Mike's commitment and Belle's development. Those Maine partridge are about to meet the "Yellow Missile " and her heat seeking nose.

"Winding Down" was the subject line of Irishwhistler's training report email last evening. It made me realize we had made the right decision in entrusting Mike with Belle. He is not only her trainer but her friend. I'll let his words and my response be the judge.

Aye O's,
I worked with the Labs tonight. The air was heavy with humidity as I left home bound for QUAIL RIDGE, soon what seemed like water laden air gave way to a sprinkling that made my clothing heavy with water once we were walking the training grounds together. Much like the heft of the air, my heart was heavy in the realization that BELLE will soon be heading home with ye. I knew it was coming from the very day ye entrusted her to me for the forging of a gun dog, yet tonight her near pending departure was much more palpable.

I had considered the potential for connecting with some quail tonight to be better than average, it was not to be. Seems the round little Bobwhites that BELLE and TRAD have been flushing throughout the summer refused to sing this evening, ghosts of the uplands, their ephemeral scent still had both dogs quartering madly with noses pressed to the earth. I watched them, flashes of black and yellow fur with legs scurrying through the cover on a mission they were born to hunt. I watched them like a proud Dad watches his children, satisfaction gained from seeing their progress, their achievement. I thought of the many days of hard work for the dogs and for me, the challenges, the antics that made me laugh aloud in the Connecticut woodlands, but mostly, I thought of the many gains made in a relatively short period of time. In many ways, I now consider the time spent as too short. I know that BELLE must return home to ye, I have always known it, yet I will miss her greatly. I also know that TRAD will miss her as BELLE will miss him.

Not to be cliché, but this is certainly not an ending, but rather, a beginning. Dave, ye know what BELLE was like when ye handed her over to me to work with her. I told ye within a few days that she was a "diamond in the rough", and that she was. Together, we have brought some much needed polish to this wee yellow gem. The Lass is on her way, yet the ultimate luster will be imparted once she gets on the partridge and timber doodles up in the northern woodlands. As I told ye, I will miss her greatly, but I take comfort knowing ye will put her on the birds she needs to thrive as a working gun dog. Dave and Miss K, ye have a fine companion gun dog in BELLE, I know she will bring ye much joy.

As we walked tonight, BELLE was much more clinging than usual, seemingly she senses that "SUMMER CAMP FOR GUN DOGS" is winding down.

Slainte,
THE DOG WHISTLER

Hi Mike,
Only a bird hunter understands the special bond created between a man and his dog. In time that team needs no spoken words. They move fluently through the uplands like water flows through a streambed.

I catch myself daydreaming about our future adventures together. I know I will shed a tear when she retrieves her first wild bird. There is a stretch of road in the Great North Woods that produced Bay's first limit of partridge. It will be our first stop when Belle and I finally get behind the gate at Carlton Brook.

We have been blessed in two ways, first by finding that diamond in the ruff in a small northern Wisconsin town and second by meeting you at an Upland Journal sponsored sporting clay shoot. Who knew the relationship that would prosper in both man and dog?

Thank you very much for your commitment to training Belle. We will continue in your ways. We will make you very proud.

I wish I had a transporter because I would tell the Enterprise, "beam her home Mr. Scott". The universe awaits.

Engage!

09-14-14
.....on the living room rug as I write this. Today was the last day of Summer Camp for Gun Dogs. We celebrated with a pheasant hunt. She is worn out.

TRAD and Belle traded hunting afield four pheasant at a time. Mike handled the birds and the dogs. The gunners were made up of Bill, Henry and Coalman.

Today was all about the dogs. Each performed above average. TRAD making a one hundred yard blind retrieve. Belle finding and retrieving a bird in eight foot corn.

I was favored as shooter today when Belle was afield. The flush was the cake, the shot was the icing. It was all about the cooks body language. We ate well.

Thank you Mike aka Irishwhistler for forming the foundation of a gun dog and to Quail Ridge Kennels for providing top notch care to one of our family members the last four months.

Mike shot some great video. Stay tuned.

09-15-14
I've made a commitment. A commitment to Belle where Mike left off. Tonight we went looking for woodcock and wild turkeys.

This is where I shot my 2014 spring gobbler. Bay and I have put many woodcock up here over the years.



Scratch this fall. The woods are too dry. No soft seeps, no woodcock. We were just about to bust the brush when a doe and skipper busted out to the right and into the woods.

These aren't the first deer Belle and I will find. We went into the cover. When we got to the scent Belle showed interest and started to track them. A stern leave it was obeyed. Whew....!

As we stood where the deer were I saw this...



Too bad it was unoccupied.

Belle loves the woods. The Yellow Rocket.



And thank you Mrs. O'.

Pheasant, it's what's for supper.



The white oaks are producing. Looking into the branches I could see clumps of acorns. Fatten up my wild friends.

09-16-14
Took Belle down to the Roost. Not as many ducks tonight. It was high tide. I think they like it better here when the mud is showing.

The geese were already in. Maybe thirty. I did see a few flocks of teal mixed in with the mallards.

Belle was a little whiny but this was her first extended sit with fowl in the air.

This roost is protected. No hunting is allowed in downtown Exeter.

Click on the videos







The worst part of our stay were the mosquitos. Now I remember why I don't bow hunt in September.

Bring on a killing frost.

It is sad to say but I am retiring Bay from hunting. Too many bad habits I've allowed I don't ever want Belle to play copy cat. Don't feel bad for Bay. She would much rather just hike and hang out in the woods with me. You know it is funny. When we got Belle she was suppose to be my wife's dog. We didn't want Bay to show jealousy. But by the dogs choice Bay is much more a mommies' girl and Belle is strongly attached to me. We have the best of both worlds with our dual yellah dogs.

09-18-14
Deer, Deer, Everywhere
Last night Belle and I stopped at a local farm that has a nice old beaver flowage. I thought we may be able to find a woodcock or two. Nope what we found were deer. A doe and her fawn and in another field a small buck.
Belle winded the doe and skipper and showed signs of hunt but she never went out of sight and listened attentively and obeyed the Belle-Here command.

The Irish Whistler would have been proud!

09-22-14
Our longest and most strenuous training session tonight since Belle has been home. Off the beaten path we journeyed into the ferns and waist high grass of a local beaver flowage. I swear labs can smell water. Belle found liquid before I even saw it.

It was Mr. Woodcock we were after but alas he continues to allude us. I got to thinking last night why? Then the light bulb went off. The grounds we have been treading is a NH F&G WMA they stock with pheasants. In eight days on and after October 1 every blade of grass will be trampled from the orange army who is amassing as this is written.

My theory is over the last dozen years or so every native bird to that local has been shot or scared into the next county. Those spring singing grounds must be silent by now.

Our time is short. Maine Partridge Camp opens for us next week. This year I am splitting partridge week between ME and NH. Got an invite to a camp in Pittsburgh, NH that didn't take twice asked to accept.

Last night made me remember how much I like to hunt behind a dog. No other company required. I speak canine and am just as happy to hunt Mr. Ruff and Mr. Doodle with my two yellah girls.

Fall in the Great North Woods is a magic time.

10-01-14
This is a very special spot.



My dad's last deer hunt in a place he called home every Thanksgiving week for 60 years.

We set him in a chair. When I came up to him he was looking through his scope down the road. I asked him what he saw and he told me "memories".



My dad's wishes when he passed were to have his ashes spread over this area from a plane. I brought his ashes up with me last year but due mechanical difficulties the plane was grounded.

This year new pilot, new plane. We are going to lay him to rest.

These are Bay's first wild birds. Belle's first grouse will be dedicated in his honor.



I miss you dad.

2006 was the last year my dad went into Carlton Brook and the Twin Pine Camp. I hadn't been there in a few years and volunteered to bring him up seeing he could not make the trip alone. From then on until his death in 2013 his physical condition did not allow him a journey so far from home.

What was even harder this trip was his best friend and owner of the camp was sick. Each one knew in this picture it was the last time they would see each other. Sadly Jr. passed the following year.



It was after this last hurrah emotional trip I made a promise to my dad to keep his tradition alive. He could still live the camp life once a year through me. I have not missed a year since then, even if it were only for a couple days.

Three years ago I swapped deer hunting for partridge hunting into Carlton Brook. For these last few years our band of bird hunters have been the first to occupy the camp each fall.

Deer hunting is just what it is for northern ME. Tough as nails. The country is vast and by the fourth week of November a twig snap would send every deer to hiding.

But not the birds. All I can say is WOW! A buddy of mine was in the Allagash last week moose hunting. His comment "We saw groups of 8 to 10 partridge at a time". The Twin Pine is not too far from there.

I am really excited, excited to swing and shoot at a fleeing ruff, to hold that beautiful bird in my hand as I let Belle inhale the intoxicating smell.

Please say a prayer for us. Most of the week I will be alone many miles from any hard road. In God we trust!