Looking ahead...

[Rick]

Our wildest-ever child, Call, celebrated his 5-month birthday yesterday with remote whistle sits, waiting without creeping until sent for his (hand-thrown single) marks and retrieving them to hand.

May blow up and run off with his bumper and eat it today.

So it's gone with our manic little man. He's well behind our past pups his age, but solving the riddle Call poses has been a fine way to ease duck season's passing.

[Deltaman]

Perfect time to hone those skills too
Does Cherry Ridge do any of the Spring goose hunting?

[DComeaux]

Wild child!!--- That what we have as well. She is slightly behind some of her siblings from what I've seen in videos but we're getting some things accomplished. She's finishing her 13th week of life and I need to keep reminding myself to be patient. I'm beginning to see some mental changes taking place, for the good. It's awesome when things begin to click.

[Duck Engr]

Patience is my biggest struggle training one.

[5 stand]

Patience is my biggest struggle training one.

Reckon I have plenty of patience, Moe is 4 years old and he still isn't trained...
But we might be getting better?

[5 stand]

but solving the riddle Call poses has been a fine way to ease duck season's passing.

"Riddle" I like that, and what a great attitude...

[Rick]

Perfect time to hone those skills too
Does Cherry Ridge do any of the Spring goose hunting?

I guided Rick Olsen on three of the e-caller hunts he had the grant to run around the country studying prior to the institution of the so-called conservation season - and haven't made one since. Just not for me, even back in the days when spring hunts were far more viable here. But, no, Cherry Ridge doesn't even hunt September teal (aside from guides' friends and family play hunting), just the regular duck season.

[Rick]

Someone elsewhere requested a current Call photo, so we went out and shot this one that I may as well include here. Call at 5-months:

002a.jpg

Am delighted to also report that the little alligator finally lost the last of his puppy daggers today.

[Deltaman]

Great pic Rick!

[Duck Engr]

He certainly looks the part!

[5 stand]

He is getting bigger, and quite the identification mark...

[Rick]

...quite the identification mark...

That's his "power on" indicator, and the dang thing never even dims.

(Tried to sneak in the push-up portion of my every-other-morning routine while he was off getting a drink a bit ago and finished with our version of a monkey on my back. Lucky we finally managed his introduction to having his claws dremeled just yesterday.)

[DComeaux]

Seeing that picture reminds me that Remi is still a tiny pup. She is a handful, to say the least.

[Rick]

Seeing that picture reminds me that Remi is still a tiny pup. She is a handful, to say the least.

"This, too, shall pass." We hope.

[Darren]

Wow what a handsome fella, sounds like you're enjoying!

[Rick]

Call and I have made it to his six-month mark today with the only blood shed to date being mine - though he's been thoroughly threatened with spillage. His frustrating frantic fits are fewer and farther between, but I dare not think behind us.

Launched a hundred-plus yard crawfish pond mark for him yesterday yet failed to launch the pup with, "Marsh, fetch." Took a moment to realize that incredibly uncharacteristic no-go was on me for inadvertently subbing his late "brother's" name for his in the release, right that wrong and send him flying. Just the sort of big dog thing he baits me with to keep me hopeful.

[DComeaux]

[quote="Rick" His frustrating frantic fits are fewer and farther between, but I dare not think behind us. [/quote]

I'm hoping for this day. I am however starting to see her trend a bit calmer as the days go by.

[Rick]

The old "work fast dogs slowly and slow dogs fast" mantra sounds so simple...

(Call acted an ass time and again after I typed something nice about him yesterday morning.)

[Darren]

(Call acted an ass time and again after I typed something nice about him yesterday morning.)

Dog Rule #1

Applies in training and in the blind just the same, as we all know

[Rick]

Dog Rule #1

Applies in training and in the blind just the same, as we all know

"The dog you brag on is about to mess up." Dubbed "Duffy's Law" at our house in honor of the finest dog that ever graced the grouse woods - until I'd be dumb enough to say so. Can chisel it in stone and cast it in bronze, has held true for my guys all the way back to its circa '70s namesake:

Duffya.jpg

[Rick]

While I'm braggin' on hounds, how about this bird work?


I'm tellin' ya, Call's got the stuff.

(Though just what that stuff might be remains to be seen...)

[DComeaux]

I smiled real big watching that. LOL!!

I'm assuming a mockingbird dive bombing. I do hear redwings.

[Rick]

It's a hen red-winged blackbird that's claimed that stretch of wire and the crawfish stubble across the farm lane and is as stubborn about staying as Call is about running it off. That, or it just likes messing with him.

Usually perched on something in the pond when we get to its turf and can be counted on to help run a little steam off - or wind him up. Something of a training partner for me, as breaking off their game offers a start on eventually being able to break off other chases toward potential danger. Surprised myself managing it with just our "Right Here, Right Now" hand gesture that morning. Albeit probably because they'd been at it and already made some big loops before I tried some smarter-than-me-phone video.

[Deltaman]

Like Dave, that made me smile big as well!
He's definitely got the "want", and plenty of energy to go along with it.
Thanks for sharing

[Duck Engr]

Send some of those training birds a few hours to your east!

[5 stand]

Call would fit right in around here, Moe would have him treeing squirrels in no time...

[Rick]

Call would fit right in around here, Moe would have him treeing squirrels in no time...

I've scraped an awful lot of the squacks our remaining oak draws off the state road in front of our place and strive to keep guys from following they (or stray dogs, cats, rats or elephants) to similar fate. So we'll pass, thanks.

[Rick]

Send some of those training birds a few hours to your east!

Spring is definitely in my homer loft's air right now, as their production's in overdrive. No need for a laying pellets to spur them on.

[Rick]

Been playing with my smarter-than-me phone a bit and shot a couple videos of the not-as-wild-as-he-once-was child this morning. The first is of a longish hand-launcher mark (seen fall) in chest deep "driving" (lunging and plunging) water:


And the second a youtube "short" of the kind of "gimme blind" we do to build confidence that there will be something where we send them, even though they didn't see a mark fall:


Those who've hunted over my guys may be surprised to see a collar, much less an e-collar, on one. Please know I'm much too much of a Luddite to train with one but not adverse to using one as a breaking tool for dangers, such as gators and snakes. So far, though, just a young otter, and I'm not sure how we did on that: it went under, he went under and I doubt the collar could bite until he came up alone.

[Deltaman]

He's coming on Rick