Wow is he growing fast! Great to see a pup work in the field, even if it isn’t the target species. 4-6 months is the best, they are starting to show their smarts and ability but are still clumsy and somewhat disorganized.
At least his fur wont attract burs.. 
Welcome to the club sucka!!!
At least his fur wont attract burs..
Uh, yeah. That’s not been an issue at all. 
Ripley will be headed off to gun/bird/e-collar/water intro next month. On Saturday, we took a drive up to visit Ed at Autumn Breeze Kennel and let Ripley meet him. Aside from the wildlife he stumbles on, he hadn’t been on a live bird, so we tossed out a live pigeon to see how he’d react. It took him all of about 2 seconds to have that bird in his mouth. 
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How long will he be gone for? Fritz went to a 5 week additional training program shortly after we adopted him. It seemed like a lifetime until he came home!
I can’t believe how big he’s getting already! 
How long will he be gone for?
4 weeks.
I can’t believe how big he’s getting already!
65 lbs last time we were at the vet!
Awesome looking dog there! 
-J.
Well, tomorrow is the day that Ripley heads out. We’re going to miss him. I’m excited to see the progress he makes.
We took a nice hike this morning, and he even flushed two unexpected, huge roosters. He needed a good hosing off when we got home!
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Ripley has been away for 4 weeks! 
Tomorrow is the day that we get to go pick him up, learn our part, and see how he’s developed. I’m excited to get him back home–the crumbs have been building up under the table.
We were able to make a short visit last weekend. He’s done well. He’s bird crazy, comfortable being shot over, conditioned to the e-collar, been doing some water retrieves, etc. He’s been a little reluctant to point, but the genetics are there, so it’s developing. Latest I heard is that it’s improved a lot this past week once he figured out that Ripley was getting startled when the bird flushed. Too much excitement for his 9-month old heart, I guess!
Anyhow, one more day till we get to bring our big fella back home, and he’s in dire need of a bath! It should be a fun summer. 
More pics to follow, but this is one from last weekend.
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Don’t worry too much about the pointing. Mine was slow to point first year but that completely went away.
Don’t worry too much about the pointing. Mine was slow to point first year but that completely went away.
Yeah. Ed said he’s not concerned, either. Said the genetics and other pieces are there, some dogs just take a little longer to figure it out.
We’re back home, and after an extensive bath for Ripley, he’s smelling house-worthy again, though it’s going to take some work to get through some of the snarls! He spent 4 weeks with Ed going over beginning pointer training and came home with a nod of approval. As I mentioned, we were able to visit last weekend, and I was impressed with the progress he made in the past week. They were able to get through the flushing/startle response nicely. He’s also now swimming recreationally (i.e. he’ll swim laps if there is nothing in the water to retrieve). And of course the most important thing is that he’s still our sweet, lovable, goofball. He spent Sunday morning cuddling and watching cartoons with our 3-year old.
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