The One About Doing What Comes Naturally

There's a long and involved story about how I came to be a fan of upland game hunting. I can't shoot worth a darn and I pretty much despise the outdoors. I hate the idea of birds suffering and I'm not a big fan of dirt in general. Suffice it to say that I find nature most appealing when I'm viewing it from a clean window in a temperature controlled environment. Oh...and then there's that whole peeing outside thing....I hate peeing outside...

Now that I've established those boundaries, let me tell you what I do enjoy. I enjoy watching these animals to what they were bred to do. I enjoy the unbridled passion and intelligence that these animals exhibit when they commit to the three "F's"....find the bird, flush the bird, fetch the bird... there's really something quite zen about it...

Over the years, we've had a series of these dogs. Starting with the Moose and ending with the Swooper, one generation has learned from another. This time, it's the Spinner guiding the Swooper. It's the Swooper's first time in the field and he really did much better than I thought. I had visions of having to fish him out from under the van after the first shot was fired..but he hung in and followed the Spinner...

He patiently followed along...

When in doubt, it's always a great idea
to bite the other guy in the behind...

The lead is to control the jumping..the
Spinner is not too adept at "flush the
bird" yet...He's more into "snap the bird
out of the air"...

Working the field...


A perfect point...


A singular focus...


Not bad for a former "foofy" show dog..
Though he still has that "showy" gait


Waiting for the shot....


All in all a successful morning... There was at least one funny though. This was the first time Himself and I had been out in the field together. As I was standing fiddling with the camera, a bird shot out from behind me and flew over my head. I hit the deck, camera and all..and Himself looked at me oddly when I got up. He said "I would never fire over your head"... Mmmm-hmmm just wait till you see the next credit card bill buddy..... LOL!

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