What a rollercoaster
Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:32 am
Me, T-bone, Eddie, and Eddie Sr, hit Mid South this weekend. Sat was a humbling experience. Senior test Sat was straight up, two good marks and a angle entry/exit water blind, could have not been more than 60-70 yds and that was pushing it.
Long story short Nash cleaned up the marks better than I could have asked and then he had a mind fart, he made his mind up that he was gonna square the exit, 2 cast refusals later he was beached, 3 more cast refusals later sweat was pouring down my face, I sat him, brought him in a little to make a point and right when I was gonna cast him the last time he looked right back to where he had been and I knew I was had. picked him up and saved the judges from having to endure any more of the slaughtering of their water blind.
Sunday however was a different story, he smoked the marks, land and water and the blind on land was good, he got a little right on the down hill side but he took the cast(s) and brought back the chicken. Water blind was a very tough senior level blind and even a good master blind, the judges set it up and judges it according to how a senior dog should do. When one judge told us tha he would expect a solid master dog to pick it up in 4 whistles I felt better about my 6.
The blind was 50-60 yds, very tight angle entry, running water to a point, over the point and then down a channel ( 7' wide ditch) at the end, the ditch split into a "Y" which required you to maintain very tight control and finish the blind. Dogs that typically were use to hunting the end of a blind found them selves lost as a goose down one of the two legs of the "Y". Most of the dogs did OK on it with a bunch ping ponging from bank to bank. But all in all, I got a new orange ribbon to add to the wall.
Good weekend, Nash is sitting on three senior passes and three master passes, Where to next??????
Long story short Nash cleaned up the marks better than I could have asked and then he had a mind fart, he made his mind up that he was gonna square the exit, 2 cast refusals later he was beached, 3 more cast refusals later sweat was pouring down my face, I sat him, brought him in a little to make a point and right when I was gonna cast him the last time he looked right back to where he had been and I knew I was had. picked him up and saved the judges from having to endure any more of the slaughtering of their water blind.
Sunday however was a different story, he smoked the marks, land and water and the blind on land was good, he got a little right on the down hill side but he took the cast(s) and brought back the chicken. Water blind was a very tough senior level blind and even a good master blind, the judges set it up and judges it according to how a senior dog should do. When one judge told us tha he would expect a solid master dog to pick it up in 4 whistles I felt better about my 6.
The blind was 50-60 yds, very tight angle entry, running water to a point, over the point and then down a channel ( 7' wide ditch) at the end, the ditch split into a "Y" which required you to maintain very tight control and finish the blind. Dogs that typically were use to hunting the end of a blind found them selves lost as a goose down one of the two legs of the "Y". Most of the dogs did OK on it with a bunch ping ponging from bank to bank. But all in all, I got a new orange ribbon to add to the wall.
Good weekend, Nash is sitting on three senior passes and three master passes, Where to next??????
