This past week Annie and I were able to tag along as co-guides at the Rooster Valley Pheasant Farm. The owner's son Wade was kind enough to let Annie and I tag along with him and his very talented GSP Whitney. We guided a small group of hunters through some great cover along the river and up onto the sage brush flats. Wade had warned me before hand that Whitney was a retrieving fool and that Annie would likely be a spectator. Lucky for us the first point was solid with Annie and Whitney pinning the birds in. Even luckier two birds flushed, a hen and a rooster and both were shot. Annie bolted after the second bird and Whitney got the first so it worked out great.
As we continued hunting Annie was able to get a few more retrieves as Whitney was out of position or on another point. It was fun to watch the seasoned GSP work those pheasant and I believe Annie learned a bit from her. I was especially pleased that Annie behaved nicely and once even retrieved a bird to hand for one of the guests. Usually, she will only bring the birds to me. A big thanks to Wade and Russ at Rooster Valley for letting me and Annie get some more birds under our belts. We hope to get out on some wild chukar this week while the weather is still nice. Abby's heat cycle should be finished by the weekend so I'll be back to two hunting dogs instead of one.
