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Thank you. The big one's been a fine friend and hand. The little one...well, we'll see.

Young Marsh has been doing well with his retrieving lessons on mowed ground, so we celebrated Easter with his first puppy marks in the field and "cover" of last year's rice stubbles:


Which he handled well despite the distraction of Nonc Peake spotting the action and running over to check it out. "Too slow, Nonc!"


He's shown the tenacity to hunt up mis-marks and instinct to use the wind, but it was pretty sweet to see him sticking his marks in what is tall stuff for him without needing either. All these years and dogs later, I'm still excited to see them do just what their blood has programed them to.

Good stuff Rick! Keep em coming.

Nothing better than seeing a pup progressing.

Big day, yesterday: the coyote caught one of our pigeons that was in the yard a little hard, so Marsh got some bird work with the corpse. (Before I had lunch with it.) Was good about not wanting to run off with it but not so much so about "give".

That is always one of my favorite moments with a pup.......you can clearly see the "what the heck, you want this!!" in thier eyes.
Pretty funny really......

Have a new english bulldog pup for the grandbaby, and It's cool being able to play tug of way like normal dog folk

simplepeddler wrote:...you can clearly see the "what the heck, you want this!!" in thier eyes.
Pretty funny really...

Don't know if you saw the pic at the top of this thread's second page, but Marsh looked pretty panic struck when he picked up his first live pigeon and brought it to me - perhaps because he didn't know what the heck else to do with it.

Great pics and commentary.
I'm sure you've been asked this before but I'm curious why/how a guy in south LA came to be a chessie man?
I also didn't know that you could find chessies the 70 pound range. The ones I've seen have always been a great big hoss of a dog and I never wanted a dog that big but have always been intrigued by the breed.

grnhd wrote:Great pics and commentary.
I'm sure you've been asked this before but I'm curious why/how a guy in south LA came to be a chessie man?
I also didn't know that you could find chessies the 70 pound range. The ones I've seen have always been a great big hoss of a dog and I never wanted a dog that big but have always been intrigued by the breed.

Can't answer on how he became a chessie man, but that is how big they are supposed to be.

http://www.amchessieclub.org/standard/standard.html

Weight Males should weigh 65 to 80 pounds; females should weigh 55 to 70 pounds.

Just have to go to someone that is serious about the breed.

Of course that is fighting weight. Most dogs aren't kept in that kind of condition and will be carrying more weight than they should. My female when she was in shape she was probably a little over sized, but not much, and after a few injuries slowed her down, she got up to about 85. She didn't look out of shape at that weight even though she was at least 10 lbs overweight. She probably would have been within breed standards if she had been a serious working dog and not a house pet / hunting companion.

grnhd wrote:Great pics and commentary.
I'm sure you've been asked this before but I'm curious why/how a guy in south LA came to be a chessie man?
I also didn't know that you could find chessies the 70 pound range. The ones I've seen have always been a great big hoss of a dog and I never wanted a dog that big but have always been intrigued by the breed.

While I bought my first thinking I'd be moving back north, where I'd never seen a Lab handle hunting off the ice well, in a year or two, the fact is that Chessies were more common in Southwest Louisiana when I moved here in the mid '80s than anywhere else I'd been previously. Could be I just hit it right, as good ones seem rarer now, but I was wowed by a couple local Bay dogs when looking for my first bonafide "retriever," bought a half brother of the best one, and wasn't disappointed by he or the three that followed. And it's looking like little Marsh will make a fine friend and hand, too.

My first two each topped out at 96lbs, which was fine when we mostly field hunted and particularly since so much of it was high volume light goose hunting, but moving to the floating marsh, where big dogs have a harder time staying atop the flotant spurred some downsizing.

After doing a little looking, its tough to find a decent chessie litter with parents that have any kind of hunting line and letters around their name that is hunt test related.

A lot of Chesapeake folks will try to tell you that your odds of getting a good one are better because their gene pool is small, but that's a hopeful myth. There are some truly sorry Chesapeakes out there, and the really good bets are too far and few between. Best puppy source I'm aware of are the puppy ads on this link: http://teamchesapeake.infopop.cc/groupee/forums

I need to get out that way to meet Marsh and have a visit with nonc Peake.

Doug got the deadline backed off on your farm, and says the landowner now just wants to see it plowed before signing. 'Course the coyote and I took Marsh on a field trip to the east blind this morning and found as much water there as ever, despite pumping since Sunday. Saw no sign that the farm had been sprayed Friday before the rains started. And don'tcha know I checked the pump in the rain tonight.

Rick wrote:Doug got the deadline backed off on your farm, and says the landowner now just wants to see it plowed before signing. 'Course the coyote and I took Marsh on a field trip to the east blind this morning and found as much water there as ever, despite pumping since Sunday. Saw no sign that the farm had been sprayed Friday before the rains started. And don'tcha know I checked the pump in the rain tonight.

I could set a spread in my yard right now. It needs to STOP!

I sealed that clutch housing before pumping this year due to rain water seeping in and causing it to slip. When it slips the back wash causes the pump to spin backwards, as you probably know, and if the clutch grabs during the back spin things could get ugly. I actually watched it do that twice on two different occasions while sitting there in the pouring rain. The first time I thought for sure something had sheared but I guess it just cavitated. The second time I was able to disengage before the clutch dried and reengaged. I did monitor it this year during the rain and didn't have an issue. I was always concerned about running that pump in September with the chance of afternoon showers before I sealed it. The only issue I had this year was when you stuck that board in the intake.

I'm no mechanic: if she dies, she dies. Getting pretty tired of twice-a-day trips to see if she has and check fluids, anyway.

Took advantage of a break in the rain to try our hand at water retrieves for the first time this morning:


Did a mess of them in what's driving water for young Marsh in a place with a fitting backdrop of ducks, albeit mostly whistling:


And even did the pup's first short swimming retrieves across a deep flooded road ditch away from the tatailles bogarting the more permanent swimming water nearby:

That's an impressive tatille!

He's still a baby compared to the one that left this calling card about a mile down that drain:


The thought that that big boy is out dragging the ditches for tail this time of year and could show most anywhere gives me willies that won't settle until the breeding season's behind us, the big'uns have taken up more permanent quarters, and I feel like I've done my annual "census" of training hazards.

Our man Marsh celebrated the grand old age of 12 wks with introduction to some of the fun things his future holds, like his first submerged combine rut:






And found it would be just one more thing that couldn't stop the Marsh Fire:


Also learned they come in pairs:

Excellent Rick

Awesome Sir.

It's fun to see both of you so obsessed with a obsession......which will.....make both of you , so proud !

Carry-on ! The Motivation

Just an old hillbilly trying to avoid being like his buddy Garrett:


Not so bad when they fall dead close, but when they hit the ground running, and you gotta tackle 'em yourself...


I'm too damn old to think it's fun:

Videos capturing my follies chasing the still-paddling/flapping/swimming birds downed in our marsh would be quite the hit, though I do enjoy the chase!

Damn ruts! That's some good timing on those shots.


I should film Blake walking the pond.

I just wish the levee hadn't gotten in the way of the shot of Garrett's diving catch. Never, ever leave the blind to chase down a crip with just one bullet.

Dave, the saga continues at your piece. Never got poisoned, and I'm told there is now a third fellow supposed to buffalo, ditch and plow. Don't know what happened to Plans A and B, and have no faith at all in Plan C, but the pump's still running.

Rented the Francis and Scanlan farms of your NW corner from the fellow who bought them, so we ought to have something else in that area, if yours falls through. I spent most of the day with the new owner and still don't really know the lay of it all well enough to say where those blinds should end up. 'Course Doug could have all seven rented out by the time I hit "submit"...

Rick wrote:I just wish the levee hadn't gotten in the way of the shot of Garrett's diving catch. Never, ever leave the blind to chase down a crip with just one bullet.

Dave, the saga continues at your piece. Never got poisoned, and I'm told there is now a third fellow supposed to buffalo, ditch and plow. Don't know what happened to Plans A and B, and have no faith at all in Plan C, but the pump's still running.

Rented the Francis and Scanlan farms of your NW corner from the fellow who bought them, so we ought to have something else in that area, if yours falls through. I spent most of the day with the new owner and still don't really know the lay of it all well enough to say where those blinds should end up. 'Course Doug could have all seven rented out by the time I hit "submit"...

NW corner! You have my interest up. That piece is well liked by the specks and It hold ducks as well. Seems no one hunts it.

That seems to be "par for the course" at our place. It'll come out in the wash. I need a new blind. Haven't told Doug this yet. Have you?

Yes, a couple of times. That doesn't mean it wasn't long forgotten, but we should have several sitting around after the Dixie shuffle.

No rain this week, so far! I may take a ride out that way this weekend. I haven't been bit my deer flies in a while.