This is Chris Colt – he is my new neighbor and friend here in Annabella, Utah. He has been training hunting dogs for over 14 years. I have had the opportunity to hunt behind several of the dogs he trained and was very impressed. He focuses a great deal on obedience and getting the dogs experience on wild birds. We will be placing our new Brittany spaniel with Chris and his family for training during the next 12 months. I am anxious to see what he can do with our little Brittany puppy Annie.

Besides having a lot more experience than me in training gun dogs, there are a few other reasons we decided to go this route. First, Chris has a home and family where dogs are allowed inside the house and are accepted as members of the family pack. My wife won’t allow dogs inside of our house. Second, Chris had never trained a Brittany before and was excited about the opportunity to become familiar with another dog breed. He has mostly trained labs and wirehairs in the past. Finally, I like Chris and his family and this gives me another excuse to hang out at his house and visit him often.

Most of the time when you send your dog away to a professional dog trainer it is usually miles away and often times out of State. Since Chris is just a few blocks away it makes the long distance concern a non-issue. I do have a few concerns about whether a dog can adopt a new family and home after spending it’s first year of life with another. I am hoping we can make the transition smoothly when the time comes next year. If you get a chance you can read more about Cove Mountain Kennels where Chris and his wife Julie run a small dog boarding facility out of their home that they call a “Bed and Biscuit” for dogs.

Last night we tested our new Brittany puppy’s pointing and retrieving instincts using a frozen quail. Since it was well below freezing outside we opted to do the training session on the kitchen floor. We were quite pleased to see Annie get very interested in our little frozen quail immediately. We teased her a bit and then tossed the quail across the floor to see if Annie would retrieve it. She was a little tentative at first and picked it up by the legs. But, the next couple of throws she took it full in her mouth and brought it right back to us. It was fun to see such a young puppy get excited about a frozen quail. I can’t wait to see what she will do with a live bird.

One of the most important parts of raising a well-rounded and confident puppy is proper socialization. Mixing puppies and children are a great recipe for success in the socializing process. First of all, a child can replace the void of the littermates that are left behind when puppy goes off to his new home. This helps to minimize the trauma of the new surroundings and pack that the new puppy is thrown into. Kids love puppies and most puppies love to run and play with kids. However, it is important to lay down some ground rules with your socialization team to make sure that it’s a positive experience for both the puppy and your children or grandchildren.

First off, I like to establish the basic rule that only adults are allowed to pick up the puppy. Children can drop a puppy and cause injuries to a wiggly little puppy. If my kids want to hold the puppy, they have to sit on the ground. This minimizes the chances of anything bad happening to puppy. Second, I think it is important to teach the kids the basic commands so they don’t confuse puppy by shouting random or different commands. Last, the most important thing is that the puppy and the children both have a good time. It’s easy to tell when they’ve had enough. Make sure these play sessions are short and sweet.

Today I took delivery of a beautiful new Brittany puppy from a local gun dog breeder here in Utah. The litter of Brittany puppies was born on October 15th just 60 miles from our home in Central Utah. She has a respectable pedigree on both sides with a few of the right acronyms like DC, NFC, FC, CH, MH and JH. Mostly though she comes from good pheasant farm working stock and family companion hunters. She seems to have a bright and eager personality – she loves people and has just the right amount of spunk. Her freckled face reminded me of little orphan annie so I decided to name her Annabella’s Dreamboat Annie. The call name “Annie” seems to fit her and best of all she responds to it already.

We were hoping to purchase another female german shorthaired pointer this winter but our pick of the litter puppy fell ill and we opted not to pursue any litter mates. When we found this Brittany puppy available from a local breeder it seemed like a good fit. Since my first dog was a Brittany I have always wanted to have another. Hopefully with some proper training she can be molded into the close working gun dog that suits the terrain and hunting conditions in our area.

This morning I went out to feed and water the dogs and I found their 5 gallon water bucket frozen solid. Since the snowstorm, temperatures have dipped below freezing and then some. Today it was minus fourteen degrees when I was headed off to work around 7:00 am. The dogs seem to be doing well despite the cold snap with their insulated dog houses inside the barn. I have started bringing fresh water out to them 2-3 times a day as it freezes in a matter of a couple hours. I thought about buying the heated water bucket at the local feed store but I am paranoid that my pups would chew on the cord and get electrocuted.

I let the dogs out to run in the snow since they really haven’t ever seen snow before. Abby discovered how slippery snow can be and ended up tumbling a few times while negotiating sharp turns on slick surfaces. They love to get out of the kennel and run and play. After a few minutes they disappeared and I went searching for them. I heard barking in my neighbors horse barn so I went to investigate. Turns out my neighbor has 50-100 pheasant in the back of his barn and my dogs were going crazy trying to get through the chicken wire.

The North side of my workshop is growing some wonderful icicles as the snow melts a little each day on the metal roof and re-freezes at night. It made me think of the classic holiday movie “A Christmas Story” where Ralphie ricochets a bb off the icicles and breaks his glasses. The cold weather has presented some new challenges, but overall I think the dogs are getting along fine.