The results
We had an awesome hunt today (11/14/15), due to some unfortunate stomach problems (yuck!) I missed most of the opening day of pheasant hunt last weekend. Additionally, my work schedule has been very busy and in conjunction with that and good Ol' daylight savings, i'm not home until after dark in the evenings, meaning I can't hunt at all. Needless to say I was pretty bummed about it all week, and on top of feeling sorry for myself, I was also feeling pretty bad for not getting my young dogs in training out on wild birds.
Bo
Ziggy on point, the bird was in the thick patch.
Bo has it pinned.
Ziggy
Well, the bird god's decided to smile on us, and we had a very very good day considering the overall bird numbers this year (ie low, low, low). Ziggy AND Bo, put birds together and turned on like crazy. Bo showed big run and big drive and a ton of nose. On top of that, he retrieved to hand on every bird. Ziggy, showed a fantastic nose, and some fantastic bird sense, watching her work was eerily similar to watching her mom (Zoey) work. She also retrieved well.
The thing that i'm thrilled about, is these dogs are pups, Ziggy is 7 months, and Bo is 9 months. This was their first real opportunity at hunting real birds, and they stepped up beyond my wildest dreams. They've solidified themselves as key parts to the future of Steady to Wing and our selective breeding program.
Continue to watch for BIG things from these two in the near future.
-Kyle