Looking ahead...

[Rick]

What's the latest on the pup? Any name candidates yet? I'm gonna go ahead and throw 'Chesa' in the ring

Damon, their breeder, has been great about providing updates and photos. They're now up and about, if not not exactly tearing it up, yet, learning to come to the whistle, be accustomed to loud noises and not crap on carpet, as well getting plenty of people time with his family. The coyote's next brother is in this little pile of males somewhere:


Been my experience that puppies may well name themselves, but I've a couple notions in mind and will take "Chesa" under advisement, as well. Suspect, however, that it would suffer the same fate as Peake's originally planed name: Bon Chance (meaning "good luck"), call name Chance (pronounced "Chaunce"), in honor of my fortune in getting him. Turned out I found myself calling him Chien, a previous Chessie's name, then getting tongue tied going for Chance and ending up calling him "little Peake" often enough that one of the grandkids finally unsnarled me by declaring, "His name's Peake."

On another note, going through the photos and running onto these two characters reminded me of the "little criminals" in one of my late MIL's dementia inspired and paranoia driven hallucinations. Said she'd caught two kids in her bedroom. Found the first hiding behind the TV, and he "ratted out" the other one under the bed. When asked if they were two her great grandchildren, she said, "No, they were two little criminals from down the road." Rena Mae didn't think much of her own kin, either, and I'll never forget one of the wee ones running in to inform me, "Memaw flipped us off."

Perhaps the pups sparked that memory because this is the first anniversary of her death. Funny how the mind works.

And, in any event, I'm looking more and more forward to meeting the new guy and bringing him on.

[Flightstopper]

Rena Mae didn't think much of her own kin, either, and I'll never forget one of the wee ones running in to inform me, "Memaw flipped us off"

imagine that'd be a hard time to keep a straight face in front of them.

The dynamic duo Chesa and Peake

[Flightstopper]

Just informed Alicia of the new pup, she's indifferent on the thought.

"I LOVE THAT PUPPY ALREADY!!! We must meet it"

[Rick]

Hope the coyote shares some of her enthusiasm.

Also note that I got wrapped up thinking about Rena Mae and forgot to post the photo that sparked the "little criminals" memory:


Don't get old.

[DComeaux]

Look at those eyes!

[SpinnerMan]

All these pictures of chessies make me miss my pup. Made me go and post up a picture on my avatar.

Nice looking puppies.

[Darren]

Good deal! Lil Harry had the blue eyes but they've transitioned to a yellow/gold hue that the vet said is indicative of his growing and aging. Keep us posted!

[Rick]

Didn't know goldens made that change, too. Chessies all start with pretty blue eyes that become yellow dark and fog piercers.

[3200 Man]

Rick , as I recall from pictures past of the Coyote , that little guy on the right is already mud-laden naturally ?

[Rick]

He and the little red guy giving the evil eye in the top pic are pre camoed.

[3200 Man]

He and the little red guy giving the evil eye in the top pic are pre camoed.

Where do you think these pups will top-out at weight wise ?

Have you made your pick , yet ?

[Rick]

One never knows with certainty, but their dam appears smallish and I know her littermate, Peake, went 70lbs on his fattest checkup, usually 66. Have also met both of their parents, who were relatively small, but I also knew a grandsire on the dam's side who was a big fellow and threw some big dogs. By the same token, the pup's sire, Tank, only goes 70lbs, but there is at least one appreciably bigger dog in the still meaningful third generation on his side, too. So my best guess is that most of the pups will be on the lighter end of the Chesapeake scale, which is one of the things I like about them, but there's certainly no guarantee that any or all will.

And, no, I've not made my pick yet and may, in the end, defer entirely to the breeder's judgement after the fellow with first pick of the males makes his choice. Though I've hedged my bets as best I know how by choosing blood I expect to be tickled with, the breeder's in a better position than I to spot potential shortfalls for a pup that's to be brought into a physically demanding working life in the company of lots of new people and dogs, and he's someone I trust to shoot straight.

[3200 Man]

Your thoughts are right-on , as mind were selecting my pup 3 yrs ago . Even tho I was with the trainer looking over the
litter at the breeder's , I didn't want to commit to any pup until , I or we ( the trainer ) could spend more time with the
litter at his place . It took the better part of the third month ( with his experience ) for me to say , that's the PUP for me !
After 10 1/2 months of her training and Me there twice a week learning her disposition and personality , I was able to finish
her to my liking......as the best Waterfowl dog I have ever owned.....and , I've had a few !

Thanks for the update.....I'm always interested in the Life of a Waterfowler......and his helper/Dog !

3200 man

[Rick]

The coming pup's breeder has been great about forwarding updates and photos, and among the most recent batch was this one including the all-else-being-equal early front runners (toddlers?), red and blue:


In other "news," the coyote and I have sure been enjoying our post season field time and experimenting with birds that have moved back into places hunting had pushed them out of.

Wish I could say my decoy plans were moving right along, too, but I'll blame that shortfall on the weather a while longer...

[3200 Man]

I would have a hard time which one , as my emotions as to how cute they all are would alter my decision , some !
With your instinct and experience and only Luck being a small part of who (which one) you choose , I'm thinking
you'll end-up with the Best that Puppy can be.....and a good looking one too !

[Rick]

You give me too much credit. I'm probably as easily swayed by emotion as anyone and have long made a point of not even looking at litters with genetics I'm not sold on. That sale was made by familiarity with most of their blood and faith in my informant for the rest before this crew was whelped, but I'm still just looking at the most neutral, readily hidden colors among the males, as the other two are dark brown. Ideally, I might prefer the light brown one's camo coat for concealment versatility on the red one's relatively small body to better stay atop his future workplace's sludge and flotant, but we could well end up with a big dark brown one. Physical and mental soundness I can't very well judge from here are the highest priorities, and while they've the breeding to all be solid candidates, nature's full of wild cards. So we'll see...

Meanwhile, its still great fun to look at photos of the little rips and speculate.

[SpinnerMan]

I'm still just looking at the most neutral, readily hidden colors among the males

You've hunted a thousand times more than I have. I just let my dark chessie sit outside the blind and never saw a single duck or goose ever react to her. I was a bit skeptical when I first started doing but was assured this would be the case and never saw any indication that it was not. I'm not talking about out in the middle of a field, but just next to the blind more or less like it looks like you hunt. Is this really an issue or just a personal preference.

I don't know why but it always amused me to watch the dog watch the ducks or to look over at the dog and see her sitting there staring at the decoys and quivering. Oops, a duck snuck in on us.

[Ducaholic]

I'm still just looking at the most neutral, readily hidden colors among the males

You've hunted a thousand times more than I have. I just let my dark chessie sit outside the blind and never saw a single duck or goose ever react to her. I was a bit skeptical when I first started doing but was assured this would be the case and never saw any indication that it was not. I'm not talking about out in the middle of a field, but just next to the blind more or less like it looks like you hunt. Is this really an issue or just a personal preference.

I don't know why but it always amused me to watch the dog watch the ducks or to look over at the dog and see her sitting there staring at the decoys and quivering. Oops, a duck snuck in on us.

Funny you mention this. Rick and I had this very discussion on another forum prior to this hunting season.

Year before last I hunted my black lab on the front deck of my boat. She was very still and hugged the blind very tightly when she saw ducks circling so I never gave here presence a second thought. Secondly we killed a ton of ducks with great regularity so all was well as far as I was concerned.

Right before this past season the discussion that Rick and I had was on my mind but not so much that I made any changes to the way I hunted my dog at first. When things began to turn for the worse over the course of the season in terms of the duck harvested and what seemed like more birds flaring that finishing I moved my dog inside of the blind. Was my dog really the culprit or was it the fact that we were hunting local populations of ducks more often than not?

I can't honestly say that moving my dog inside dramatically increased my harvest because it didn't. So who knows for sure what the right answer is? What I will say with certainty is self confidence with hunters is a big deal and I always say stick to what you know works and give you the most confidence that you will succeed.

As for next season who knows what I will do where my dog's placement is concerned but one thing is probably certain the first time I have any doubt about what caused a bunch to act finicky Rick's thoughts will creep in to my head and inside the blind the dog will go. Funny how the human brain works...

[Rick]

That's probably been debated as long as folks have been tolling birds to places where there's a dog. Surely most of us have seen birds drawn to running or swimming dogs and shot a mess of birds with what are plainly dogs in plain site. Shoot, I was called some geese to within gunshot of a parked white truck a couple mornings ago and suspect most of us have tolled and killed birds while looking exactly like hunters with guns standing in the open. (Can recall video AB was fond of posting here depicting three or four guys sitting and standing in the open on a river bank shooting ducks.)

But when the chips are down, my focus is on the birds that don't toll, improving incentives and removing preventatives. My thinking is that anything that reminds them of a scene erupting in gunfire before they're well within range is a preventative I want to address if at all practical. Yet guys who obsess about the color of their calls or empty hulls on the ground often think nothing of having what's plainly a dog (and potential predator in its own right) sitting out in the open looking just like what it is and part of a great many, if not most, scenes that are apt to explode. I'm not one of them (on any of those counts) and don't want something as big as a dog being any more apparent than need be. Particularly since better hiding a dog or moving it to work from a remote location has so often turned the trick on days birds weren't finishing as we'd like. Where cover suggests and lets us get away with it, I like having my guys sitting for better vantage, but if birds aren't working as they should and I don't believe the problem is in the blind with me, I'm quick to lay them down - and cover them up or move them if need be and practical.

A potentially interesting sort-of exception having been my white dogs. I camoed them up for the paying guests who initially worried enough just about them being "bird dogs," instead of "retrievers," let alone being so brightly colored, but often hunted them sans vests and in the open when alone or with friends. Why? Because our part of the country is chock-a-block with white birds and water control pvc, and none of that omnipresent white ever threatens ducks or geese. For all I know, a white dog could be a confidence builder.

Anyway, color's no deal breaker. Just find some easier to deal with effectively than others.

[simplepeddler]

Sometimes I'm convinced Quaid is a confidence decoy.....other times I am convicted to believe he is pushing every bird within an arpent of me.........

But I am convinced and convicted on many things..........with no dang reason employed whatsoever.

[Rick]

Probably best not to consider how they feel about us.

[Woody]

Sometimes I'm convinced Quaid is a confidence decoy.....other times I am convicted to believe he is pushing every bird within an arpent of me.........

But I am convinced and convicted on many things..........with no dang reason employed whatsoever.

Maybe I should have read the whole thread, but is Dennis Quaid swimming around in your duck hole?

[simplepeddler]

Sometimes I'm convinced Quaid is a confidence decoy.....other times I am convicted to believe he is pushing every bird within an arpent of me.........

But I am convinced and convicted on many things..........with no dang reason employed whatsoever.

Maybe I should have read the whole thread, but is Dennis Quaid swimming around in your duck hole?

Quaid is the cajun wachtelhund........he is pictured around here a bit

[Rick]

The die's been cast, and tee rouge will join our gang on the 21st:

[Flightstopper]

Excellent

[DComeaux]

I want to meet tee rrrouge in person.

[Rick]

I want to meet tee rrrouge in person.

I'm sure you will. He'll be the put-upon looking young gun in the dog box, while the big dog at our house rides up front with me.

Scrolling down this page, I was struck by the similarity of expression between nonk and nephew's early puppy pics. Nonk Peake's in the middle of this pile:


and tee rouge on the right:


Mean looking little turds.

[Darren]

Whatever that look, if Peake had it, it must bode well for his successor. Hope to meet him in the fall!

[Rick]

If all goes according to plan, I'll be swapping them out at the mudhole to help keep both fresh. Peake has really been double-whammied on that deal, as his has been the toughest beat any of mine have worked, and he's been my first without another working dog in reserve to spell him.

The "old" dog may be deaf, but he's still far from ready for retirement and swam nearly a mile of this morning's hike just to be doing so.

[The Duck Hammer]

Good looking pup Rick. Can't wait to see his action shots when the time comes. Looks like a dog id pick with that pissed off look about him.