Had a pretty eventful weekend. First off, I got my key and membership card to a local Conservation/Gun Club that has a number of acres used for dog training and their own stock of homing pigeons! So, being able to expose Hank to birds is now going to be a LOT easier and even cheaper. They have launchers as well, but the auto ones are on the fritz...
Secondly, the NAVHDA group had a pre-test training day on Saturday which I attended. The test is next weekend and the guy that will be running it took me and Hank through the process. We started in an upland field where they'll be doing the upland field work. I purchased 3 chukar that folks placed for us as we went through a "hunt". I let him run a bit to get some exuberance out of him, then put him on the check cord as I didn't want him catching any birds. Good news, he found every bird pretty easily. Bad news is that I still had to WHOA him up with the check cord. Once stopped he held point pretty well, to the point that the cord has slack in it. But he's not really doing that initial stop on his own. So, I'm not to hopefully to score too well on that portion of the test.
Though it's not part of the test, we shot the last bird over him. I got him stopped with the check cord and he held steady until the bird was flushed then I checked him until it hit the ground. No flinch at the gun and he retrieved the bird to hand. I was pretty stoked he did all that and very well. Now, if he'd just point...
Next on the the pheasant track. I kept him out of sight of the field until given the signal. He started off okay, then over ran it/got distracted and circled over behind us. Once I got him back on the track, he followed it pretty darn well about 5yds downwind of the actual track, which I was told is really not a problem. He broke cover (going from mown into the thick stuff) on the track which would end that session. Overall I he did good. I let him go a bit before I called him back as the test marshall was given me some advice. When I did recall him he came bounding out of the cover, with a now very dead, rooster in his mouth! He can find and apparently dispatch birds! I then took him over to the pond where he did great. No hesitancy what so ever and even though it's not needed, retrieves every bumper tossed into the water for him.
All in all, I'm very happy with Hank. He's become a very nice addition to the household and I'm certain I'll eventually get his kinks ironed out. I also realize that even if we don't come home Sunday with a Prize 1, life will still be pretty darn good.
