This past week I was able to attend the 2010 American Brittany Club Western Futurity competition in Sonoita, AZ. There is a field portion and a show competition to evaluate the litters from 2008 brittany breedings. While some dogs were owner handled and trained, many folks prefer to pay someone to handle and show their brittany dogs in competitions. These professional trainers/handlers are good at what they do and have all the gear and knowledge to do it right. I was able to meet a few of these pro trainers and see what they were like in person. What a fun trip it turned out to be.

Ben Garcia owns and runs Hideaway Kennels in Colorado and is a respected handler and gun dog training expert. It was great to meet him and ask him about some ideas I have had on putting on a skill level based training seminar with 2 or 3 dog trainers. Can’t wait to pick his brain some more and develop a curriculum for a 3 day seminar to be held in Utah.

One of my hero’s in the dog training world is California based pro trainer Paul Doiron. He has handled and trained an astonishing number of field champion brittany dogs. You couldn’t go wrong sending your brittany to Paul for a few months of training.

Another California brittany man is Tom White who ended up winning quite a haul in the Amateur All Age stakes in Sonoita, AZ. He and his partner in crime Margaret Hostmeyer are know for their tireless efforts in their local brittany club as well as for their brilliant brittanies.

Last but not least is my good friend David Downing of Blueridge Brittany Kennels in Texas. He is one of the few trainers that is actively paricipating in both show and field competitions handling and finishing several dual champions. Dave introduced me to Hank Hartnek of Sunquest Brittanies in Arizona. Hank was in charge of securing the field trial grounds and greasing the wheels for future use of the property.

My custom dog box arrived today from Diamond Deluxe, it was a pleasure working with Warren Brown and his team. The box was exactly what I had specified and better quality than I had hoped for. I am excited to have the last part of my dog training truck and get it all put together. I tried to design it to leave room for an ATV (four-wheeler) on the back of the flatbed. It looks like the fit is gonna be just perfect. I still have to go to Home Depot and get some bolts and L-brackets to permanently mount the aluminum dog box. I was really surprised how light it was and how well-built the dog box is. I’ll try to take another picture when everything is installed.

A few months ago I sold my Polaris Ranger and have been looking around for a new dog training/hunting outfit. My neighbor helped me find this little Ford Ranger V6 4X4 at auction that had rear-end body damage. We got a good deal on it (2004 with 74,000 miles) and popped the bed off. After a bit of searching we found and ordered this aluminum flatbed from a company called Aluma in Iowa. It was hard to find a flatbed for a small truck, but I wanted to be able to have access to all sides for loading and unloading dogs and gear. I am waiting on a custom dog box from Diamond Deluxe to finish the truck. I enjoyed the Polaris but was disappointed with the gas mileage and buying new front tires all the time from driving on paved roads. I thought a light truck with a flat bed would be just right. So far, I love it. Thanks to my neighbor from JRS Auto Repair for helping me find the truck at auction and mounting the flatbed for me.

I must have tried on about 50 hunting vests before I found the Pella Bird ‘N Lite Strap Vest at my local Cabela’s store. I was getting sick of the $10 cheapo vest that I purchased at Wal-Mart. With only a bird or two in the bag the collar would cut into my neck and shoulders like a knife. I knew I wanted a strap-style hunting vest but I couldn’t find one that felt natural on my back. I was surprised at the variety available and the insane pricing of some of the more popluar vests. Many times it seems like your paying an extra hundred bucks for the brand name.

The past few weeks I have been beating up my new Pella hunting vest and filling it to the brim with pheasants. I can comfortably fit about 6 big roosters in the back, a water bottle and 2-3 boxes of shells in the front pockets. The weight was distributed quite well especially with the extra wide waste strap. I’m not sure if this is a product that is easy to find in most sporting goods stores, but at my Cabela’s in Utah this was the only one left in the store. I’m glad I stumbled onto it, and at $80 it was reasonably priced. It even has the capacity for a camel-back style water bladder, which I picked up at Wal-Mart for under $20. I would recommend this product to anyone who hunts for more than a couple hours at a time. You can click on over to Cabela’s to check it out for yourself.

Read a cool article today in the pointing dog journal about an even cooler new dog training product. The Higgins Remote Releaser, was developed by Brad Higgins at HigginsGunDogs.com. Now the remote bird launcher is not a new idea in hunting dog training. Remote launchers have been in use for nearly two decades. The typical remote bird launcher has a catapult or spring-like mechanism that forces the bird up and into flight. This works pretty well unless like me you have a hard time holding the gun, the check cord, the ecollar remote and the bird launcher in two hands. The training scenario can go fairly smooth if you have a couple of buddies to help you out. But, if you are training your dog alone like I often do – forget about it. I usually hit the bird launcher button too early or too late, and even if I do get it right I miss an important correction for my dog because I am not paying attenting to his cues.

The Higgins Remote Releaser is a new concept that gently lifts the lid of the releaser letting the bird decide when it is time to flush. The releaser works almost silently using a hydraulic lift arm and gives a more realistic flush because the bird sits tight until it feels pressured by the dog to take flight. This is great for training a dog to be steady to the flush. After a few times of creeping in too close the dog learns to hold points at a safer distance giving you a better chance at a clean shot. I have yet to get my hands on this product, but can’t wait to get one and try it out. It really looks like Brad Higgins has got a great idea and a killer hunting dog training product. Click over to his site and learn more about the new Higgins Remote Releaser.

This week I received a shipment from my new friend Joe Shown of K-9 Kondos. Joe runs a great little company out of Nebraska that makes the best dog houses money can buy. These very well-designed dog shelters are constructed primarily of aluminum (chew-proof) and are insulated to provide warmth in even the most brutal climates. There was some assembly required after the boxes arrived, but in about twenty minutes the first box was ready for testing by my daughter Hannah. After passing the child test we hauled the new dog house out to the kennels and let Abby have a look.

I’m pleased to say that my two german shorthairs love their new dog houses from K-9 Kondo. I left the doors locked in the up position for a week or so until the dogs were comfortable and then I let the doors swing freely and the dogs quickly figured out how to go in and out. The removable top is a nice touch for keeping the dog house clean. They even make a larger whelping-box-sized shelter with an available heater. Kudos to Joe and his staff at K-9 Kondos for making such a great dog shelter.

Part of the joys of living in the west is dealing with things like cactus needles. When I took the dogs for a run the other night Abby came back covered in cactus needles. It wouldn’t have happened if she would have just stayed on the dirt road with me. But, how to you tell a hunting dog not to hunt? I try to let them roam free on our runs in the hills, chasing jackrabbits and tweety birds. So I got to spend the next 15-20 minutes pulling cactus needles out of Jake and Abby’s legs. Abby had them far worse than Jake covering the front of each of her four legs. I pulled one very large needle from her front paw and immediately blood began to spurt in short rhythmic pulses. It was messy for a moment until Abby licked it and the bleeding stopped.

The funny thing was that neither of my dogs seemed to care that they were covered in cactus needles. They didn’t even seem to notice, no limping, licking or anything. I was pretty sure it was at least a little uncomfortable so I did my best to remove every last needle. The smaller ones were left because I found it impossible to remove the furry little clusters. When I checked both of the dogs the next morning, I couldn’t even find a single trace. In general, I think dogs are pretty good at taking care of things themsleves. After all, they aren’t really that far removed from the wild days of only the strong survive.

I have been working with Abby using a spring loaded pinch collar I got from my friend Kent Forbush at Snow Canyon Outfitters. It is a studded leather training collar with a length of metal banding sown in to help the collar spring back to the open position. I have been impressed with the effectiveness of the design. The dog only feels pressure when you pull against the collar. When she does what she is supposed to the collar springs open and Abby feels nothing. It has worked great for training heal and whoa commands. I have also been using it to reinforce the come command, especially when there are distractions. Abby is coming along nicely despite spending another 21 days in lock-down after her heat cycle returned a few months too early.

After working with Chris the other day I wanted to give it a go with Abby. Chris was kind enough to have me along as the shooter again and agreed to run Abby through the same drills. The first problem was that Abby was a little too hyper and it took her a minute to settle down and focus. Next time I think it would help to run her for a bit on the ATV to help take the edge off. It was cold and windy but she finally scented the bird, but her point was a bit weak. I think with a few more birds her pointing will improve as she learns what is expected.

After Abby help a point for a minute or two we released the hen pheasant and let her fly a ways before I shot her. As soon as the bird hit the ground, Chris released Abby for the retrieve. She found the bird without any trouble but was a little tentative to pick it up. She seemed to just want to stand proudly over it knowing it was her prize. At one point she kind of wandered around the area to see if there might be another bird down. Finally, she settled down and picked the bird up. I knelt down and she brought it right to me. For a job well done we heaped on the praise and made sure she knew she did something good. In a few days we will try it all again in a different setting with new terrrain and unfamiliar surroundings.

The parts came in today for my new Polaris Ranger XP. I had ordered the front and rear windshields as well as the molded plastic roof. I chose to buy the lock-n-ride Polaris brand accessories and was very pleased with the fit and finish. Installation was pretty easy and took less than an hour to install all three parts. It went especially smooth since my good friend John helped me, he has the same accessories on his ranger. The kids were very excited about the roof to keep the rain out. The tool racks were my favorite accessory. For only $349 I got the lock-n-ride accessory mount for the bed rails, the garden tools rack and the lockable weed wacker rack. The tool rack comes off very easily by simply removing two clips. Since I will be using my Ranger for a variety of things I am quite pleased with the versatility that all the accessories provide. Two thumbs way up for the Polaris Ranger and the hundreds of aftermarket parts available for it.