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Knocking some of the rust off

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
I have to pull myself back at times from all the bow hunting prep work and remember that my dog needs some attention TOO. Especially for his first trip out west to hunt ducks & geese this fall. He's been getting plenty of conditioning this year, with daily jogs with my wife, and a few times a week with me. We play fetch all the time in the yard, as well as run drills every now and then. But even with all that you still need to switch things up and change the scenery. Whether it be a field somewhere, or a quick dip in the lake...

We've been out a few times to play in the water, but tonight instead of going out to fling some arrows we hit a field and ran a few drills along with some longer retrieves. After being out there for a few minutes I realized there's not much rust to knock off. This dog is ready to run!!

Timber marking the first bumper being launched...



After using the launcher a few times I switched things up and just did some directional refresher drills. He did good, going to the bumper I cast him to, rather than the easy ones thrown intentionally as distractions...



The biggest thing I need to work on with him, is honoring other dogs when it's not his turn to retrieve. He's competitive, not in an aggressive way, but in a good way in that he wants to get every retrieve out there. Working with Longdraw's pooch & JohnROhio's pooch should help him a bit more on that.

Oh.... and we did road scout a bit on the way home.... just does and small bucks though.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Great pics as always, Sean. I am really looking forward to getting a dog soon. My buddy's pointing Lab, Molly, is supposed to go in heat any day now, and the stud is a well-decorated chocolate out in Indiana, I believe. Molly is 60 pounds and the male is 50 pounds, tops... These pups should be lean mean hunting machines.
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Molly is 60 pounds and the male is 50 pounds, tops... These pups should be lean mean hunting machines.

That will make a great sized dog. I'll plan on scaling back a bit on our next one, although you never really know how the dog is gonna grow up. Timber's parents were both 70 & 75 yet he consistently runs between 95 and 103. And he's not overweight. That will be another thing to watch and maintain as he gets older.

Look forward to seeing pics of your pup when you get him / her!
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,738
274
North Carolina
Great pics as always, Sean. I am really looking forward to getting a dog soon. My buddy's pointing Lab, Molly, is supposed to go in heat any day now, and the stud is a well-decorated chocolate out in Indiana, I believe. Molly is 60 pounds and the male is 50 pounds, tops... These pups should be lean mean hunting machines.

I like the petite version of the labs.... Especially the pointing labs.... Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the smaller version from hunting stock and the larger more from show stock? We had a Yellow and the breeder we got her from raised pointing labs and they were always on the smaller side.... She was between 50-60 lbs in her prime....

Sean that is one good looking lab.....