The
round puppy look is gone as Bouncing Baby Bessie Boo moves into adolescence. We’ve
noticed another growth spurt and she demands more food. One of her favorite
sports is to furtively steal Nellie’s food and run to a corner to quickly munch
and swallow. Clearly, she knows this behavior is wrong but just can’t help
herself. It’s not just the tasty morsels she likes. She likes to cause a stir,
and picking on poor ol’ Nell is such fun.
Bess
is a talker -- really very vocal -- making guttural sounds to express her
thoughts. The other night she got up from the pillow, stretched long, and made
a vocal appeal in Mike’s direction. We agreed she wanted to go outside.
“It’s
good that you let me know,” Mike said to her. “That’s what a responsible dog
does.”
In
fact, my Swiffer used to be my best friend, but it’s been a long time since I
had to use it on account of Bess. If I do, it’s because we didn’t pay attention
to what she was saying. House training went well all things considered.
And
-- she has now discovered her calling in life and loves it! Going with the
“fun guys” to play in the outdoors is just the best and she greets the
experience with puppy enthusiasm. To Nellie, the old pro, a hunt with the guys
is a serious duty and she works hard in the field, but to Bess any outing is a
big lark, though she does her part to the best of her ability. After a hunt,
Nellie requires a long nap and ideally she has at least a day’s recovery time
before she goes out again. Bess takes a short nap and then begs for more fun.
If the back of the pick-up is open, she’ll hop in, hoping for an outing.
Puppy
antics have tapered off. Now that she has her big teeth, she doesn’t chew on
cords and shoes. When she playfully steals my slipper, she means to play a joke
rather than commit an act of destruction.
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Ken
didn’t contribute much to the conversation except to say: “That’s two
sandwiches that are missing.” His was missing, too. And the look on his face
said he had suspicions he wasn’t voicing.
Fifteen
minutes later I answered the phone. It was Ken calling to say that he had
found the remnants of two sandwich bags in the back of his car.
That’s
right – Bess had sniffed out the hunters’ peanut butter sandwiches, which each had
tucked into his canvas gear bag, ripped through the sandwich bags and enjoyed
these tasty treats in open secrecy. KW
This was a red letter day. On a hunt a few days ago I had discovered a cave high on the mountain side that would be a perfect spot for a geocache. Even though Ken and I had hunted yesterday on the pheasant farm we decided we would take our guns and dogs along while I went out to place this cache.
ReplyDeleteAfter placing the cache I climbed the rest of the way to the top to hunt along the edge. I noticed Nellie on point up ahead and a ways back from the edge. Then I saw Bess about 30 yards further up and closer to the edge. Since Nellie is the old pro I edged toward her thinking that was the best bet to find the birds. About the time I was even with her she began creeping down toward where Bess was. Meanwhile Bess was holding steady. At this point I thought I'd better see what Bess had so I moved in and just as I got even with her a covey of about 10 chukars flushed about 20 yards out. I managed to drop one which hit about 40 yards out and both dogs raced for the bird. Bess eventually came up with it and delivered it to my hand. I think she's a keeper.
We went a bit further and Nellie who was now near the edge went on point. I approached and a single flushed giving me just an instant for a snap shot but when I saw I would be shooting just a foot or two over Nellie's head I pulled up. Soon the scenario was repeated but this time I was able to shoot and the bird dropped on the slope below the cliff and continued tumbling. About that time a hawk swooped down and tried to grab the bird but must have decided Nellie was too close and pulled up. The bird then tumbled over another cliff out of sight and soon Nellie was out of sight too. About 4 or 5 minutes later here comes Nellie with the bird. It was very warm and Nellie was really hot so we headed back to the truck after a perfect morning.
Quite an adventure, indeed! I really like the dog pile photos--wish I could get in on that! :) Was Nellie upset that Bess beat her to the bird for the retrieve?
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the snuggled doggies in the bed. :-) The orange collars have me intrigued (no bird hunters, at least with dogs, in our family). What's the black knobby-looking thing on them?
ReplyDeleteThe black knobby-looking thing is a noise-emitting sensor. When the dog stops moving (goes on point, for instance) the sensor lets out a loud chirp to alert the hunter of the dog's whereabouts. Handy in tall grass, I'm sure. Dad used to put a lamb bell on the dog's collar, but that works in the reverse way. You know the dog's whereabouts when she's moving but not when she's still!
ReplyDeleteI just remembered I had forgotten to respond about the "beeper collars," and when I came here I discovered Hallie had done it for me. The collars are battery operated. The dogs don't seem to notice or care that the electronic sound emitted is obnoxious. And -- both dogs also wear lamb bells.
ReplyDeleteWhen the dog goes on point, she stands transfixed and can stay that way for quite some time.
Well then, those are 100% noisy dogs! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks, both of you!
ReplyDelete