First duck of the season !

And it is a WHOPPER !!! This is Chiloe's first hybrid duck and after approx. 50 years of duck hunting mine as well. It is a Drake Mallard/ Black duck mix. You can bet this one is getting mounted. This damn dog hates to have his photo taken and it shows. The minute the phone comes out the ears go back.
 

Tripp is thinking ahead

 

Tripp is thinking just in case we wear out the duck we can have the stick as a back up. LOL I don't know how the hell he managed to grab both and bring them back.......but he did. He is one incredible little guy. I just can't believe how easy he understands everything in training but he does. I keep waiting for something bad to happen but he just keeps rolling. Watch.....he will get to a hunt test and fall apart.

Hope my dogs are not scared of the water!!!

 

I think they will be OK!!

Happy Birthday Tripp!!!

 

True to form I am a little late posting this picture but this is Tripp at 1 year old!!  Damn, where does the time go. I am chomping at the bit to run him in a hunt test but am going to wait until next spring and then turn him loose. (I think LOL) We are skipping the puppy class with him and going straight to Senior with him. (Yes, I think he is that good......don't let me down Tripp LOL)  I was Hunt test cordinator at our clubs last hunt test and , anything can go wrong but I really thought he could have passed that test no problem. I need patience to hold back and just keep making him (us) better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRIPP !!!

Dang...I am dropping the ball

 

I have damn near let Tripps whole puppyhood go with almost no photos. That doesn't mean he is getting neglected. We are doing tons of training and the little guy is not letting me down. He is really showing a ton of promise.Even people I am training with are very impressed. Most times when our group trains we set up tougher marks and run them as singles. Dogs 3 to 5 years with Master Titles and Tripp runs them as good as any dog there. He is just transitioning from pattern field to cold blinds , which is a hard thing to do and he is just OK on it. No problem.....it just takes time. This is Tripp at 8 months old.

The Three Amigos

 

Better late than never! Middle of July and I finally get Tripp out in the boat  for his first boat ride. He loved it as I knew he would. This is one of the few things the other dogs can really help on. When Tripp saw how excited the other two dogs were he just followed suit. First time he has been exposed to white caps and waves crashing as well......no problem. I have really lapsed on posting stuff but just so busy mounting birds and training that I just don't stop to take pictures. Tripp is doing pretty darn good for being under a  year old.....I hope it continues. 

You are still the one Chiloe

Ang and I both see it. Since the pup has arrived we feel Chiloe senses the change and really has become a little depressed. I still try and love over him as much as possible but he ain't dumb. I have taken him duck hunting a couple of times.....just the two of us.....and he made one hell of a nice retrieve on a crippled green wing teal. the bad news is he and I are having a really bad season and not gettin much. Hang on Chiloe...I am not through trying. I just wish you knew how I feel about you partner.....you might not be so depressed.
 

Chase wears me down

You don't have to be a drunk to own a Chessie......but it helps. Thought it was kind of cute and if you notice Tripp is copying Chase and has his own corn stalk! Not quite as big as Chase's but the thought is there. I hope Tripp picks up some good habits as we roll on....we will hope and find out.
 

I don't think water is going to be a problem

This was from October and Tripp went wading without hesitation. It was cold enough I wasn't going to push it so we didn't stay long. 

Didn't hurt he has two big brothers swiming away while he was wading so I am quite positive once spring comes the Tripp will take to the water quite easily.
 

Chase has a new friend

 

Chase has really taken Tripp under his wing and these two are playmates beyond belief. Non stop when Tripp is out of his cage and they really go at it. Chase has been super calm with him and Tripp takes advantage of it and really gets rough. One of these days Chase is going to let him have it back and I for one won't care. LOL

Sucking up to the "Big Guy"

 

Tripp is trying to buddy up to Chiloe. Chiloe tolerates him and that is about it. LOL Learn what you can from him Tripp.....he is one of a kind.

New Game in town

 

Well, I decided to roll the dice again with another puppy. I couldn't find a Chessie breeding I liked so I went back to my roots and bought a lab. His AKC Registered name is The last Tripp. Doing the math with my age I figure this could be it......but is it? Only time will tell. This boy comes from an incredble breeding which sometimes doesn't mean crap.......we will see.

A DEEP DIVE INTO THE AKC SENIOR HUNT TEST

River Dazes

Chiloe looks on while Chase dives for rocks.

Chase went deep for this one!

 Chiloe loves eating the weeds as he swims. The last week was sooo hot about all we accomplished was swimming in the river. None of us mind!

Are you suppose to be in here???

 

No , he is not!!!! But when you are the Chiloe dog certain rules get overlooked. He loves "sneaking " in the bedroom and laying near the bed. Ang thought she would punish him by giving him the pillow.

Chiloe still loves the game

 

He is not about to let me leave him at home and I sure would not anyway! He did pretty good but did cheat the water a bit. Since he is retired I did "pretend" not to notice as the electric colar is more for show than anything. LOL

A little traning at the dog park

  

Took the boys down to the park. Chiloe to swim and Chase to train! LOL I can't believe Chiloe let me take this good of photo with him....every time I try his ears fold back and he looks like crap. Chase is looking so mature in this picture.....the little guy is growing up. I hope I don't jinx this but he has been running really good. Hope it continues as he is running a finished test this weekend. Today Chiloe was coming back with a dummy.....stopped and spit it out........and rolled around in the grass for a couple of seconds!!! I would have been pissed if I wasn't laughing so hard. Enjoy your retirement Chiloe, you earned it.

How time flies when you have a great dog

 

Damn, but this is getting depressing! We are at a training day at Butlers and everyone here is commenting how they can see Chiloe has lost a step or two. I don't care how bad he runs from here on out, but I know for a fact I will always be damn proud of him for what he has accomplished with a fumble fuk like me running and training him. For being April 22 I must say I froze my ass off.

Going out in style

 

385 dogs in the United States qualified for the Amateur Master National this year........9 were Chesapeake Bay Retrievers......and one of those was my partner....CHILOE!!!!! Chiloe's hearing has gone away enough he can't compete anymore which is a shame. My one last goal for him and myself was to run a National. Oh well, I still have him and he can sure as hell hunt with the bad hearing. It was a hell of a run Chiloe.....while all of the medical problems held us back a bit I wouldn't trade you for anything. You always made me so proud of you and you were so damn good, you even made me look like I knew what I was doing. The both of us still have a bunch more ducks to kill......together!!

A few more

 

Well, three more is better then none. Today I am afraid I let the boys down with my shooting. Good grief did I miss a couple of easy ones. The nice thing is Chase and Chiloe forgave me and we still managed to get these. Having two dogs and trying to hunt both is an absolute cluster f#%!......Chase has lots of talent he can't showcase because of Chiloe and Chiloe struggles a bit because he is not use to sharing with Chase. I just can't stand to leave either at home so we struggle. Sigh

Not much to brag on this season !

 

Had one of our worst seasons ever.....warm, no water, not much use in even going out. At least the boys got to go for a swim tonight. Both dogs got to retrieve a bird.....both dogs needed me to come through better than this. I could tell Chiloe was antsy all season.......knowing we should be going and burning some gas through the boat but just wasn't meant to be. Chase could and should be soooo much better then he is but just not enough action for him to get the birds he needs.......cuz his big brother is going to get half the birds. Poor Chase gets bored from lack of action and just lays there but when the shooting starts the little guy is right in the  ice water ready to rock.

 

Well, three is better than two!!! Had a hard time getting a picture of this as the geese were pouring in here after legal shooting time. LOL  Ain't that the way she goes.

A couple of more for Chiloe Dog

 

A very cold but productive morning for Chiloe. He had to hunt like hell for one of them before coming up with it. It fell in the perfect spot where he could not see or smell it but he will not give up on them. Poor Chase has to stay home asd he has a real anxiety disorder for this stuff. He has all the talent in the world to do this but gets so excited he just goes berserk whining and barking thus scareing all ducks away. I will keep working him but until this shit goes away he stays home.

This sucks Dad

 Chiloe gets to have all the fun at these hunt tests and all I get to do is look pretty! I must admit I do a good job of it says Chase!! The truth is Chase's vocal problem is keeping him from running but I drag him along to these trials hoping he figures out that when he is at these he doesn't always get to run and will calm down some. There is not one pro trainer out there that doesn't think it is almost impossible to fix since he only gets out of control here and not in training where I could do something about it. I am going to keep trying. I will say this......it is very decieving but that bale Chase is on is very tall. He can jump up on it with very little effort. At least he has that going for him. My boy Chiloe smacked another test right in the butt for his 15th straight Master test.

Master Pass yesterday...back to work today

 

Chiloe earned his 12th Master pass in a row yesterday but no time off for this guy! For some reason he really wasn't at his best so I wanted to throw him a couple to see what was going on. He was still running rough today but tomorrow is a new day and another hunt test so hopefully he keeps this train on the tracks. Poor Chase has to sit in the truck and observe......I feel so bad for him but he just is not ready for Master. I am going to get you to Master Chaser boy, even if it kills me.......and it just might. LOL

It isn't all work and no play

 

We are back up in Harrisvlle, Michigan again this year for the Blind Challenge. The pros place all kinds of blind retrieves out and for two days you pick and choose which ones you want to run. It is very stressful on the dogs as well as myself as it takes a great deal of teamwork as these are very hard blinds. If you can run these well you should ace any hunt test blind out there. Both dogs came out with the worst attitudes I have ever seen either dog display. I really feel they remembered from the start what they were in for and were not happy. Very slow running (mostly walking) and tail down pretty much saying this sucks as there are only dummies, no birds. However, they did execute the blinds and took handles from me almost flawlessly!!! On Sunday they both did a very very loooooong blind and the trainer said they were the first to complete them!!! Wasn't sure Chiloe would pull it off but wasn't shocked either......after all, he is my partner to the end. Chase....another story LOL....I thought I would just try to run him to the middle dummy which in itself is a very tough blind but as he got near it I saw he still had some confidence so I thought what the hell and kept him going. It was not as nicely done as Chiloe but he got it done!!! I was very proud of the little guy. It took guts and most of all trust in me to get him to the bird. A very big step in the right direction for both of us. As the pictures show, at the end of the day, we walked across the street to the beach. The boys got their swagger back quickly as we just swam around and crashed some waves to get rid of some stress. We all loved this!!LOL