A great, terrible season � An ode to an old bird dog!

[mark_t1012001]

My brittany will be 13 years old in January. By the newest calculations she�s the equivalent of 70 years old in human terms. I�m in my early 60�s.


My hearing has been poor since my 20�s. I was not long hunting with my brit before I found a beeper was very handy for keeping tabs on her in the bush. I�ve used an ecollar since she was old enough to be stubborn. They can quit calling them spaniels all they want�.they�re still spaniels. I�ve owned 3 breeds.


5 years go, I got hearing aids for normal use. I also got hearing aids for hunting. They let me hear the beeper but shut out the shotgun blast. The sound quality isn�t great but they�re better than the alternative. Two years ago, at 10 years of age, the brittany started to be very had of hearing. My daughter called us �team hard of hearing� Between the ecollar, hand signals and learning to pay more attention to the dog, we still managed to be an effective hunting team.


Which brings us to this season. I�ve had cataracts for two years, not bad enough to fix yet according to the experts, but bad enough that even new glasses can�t sharpen the vision in my dominant right eye. The brittany has now started to lose her sense of smell. Over two days, I watched her bump 5 woodcock. One, I watched her almost step on. Every now and then, the wind is right and the bird is patient and I get a solid point out of the old girl. So far, all these birds have managed to either disappear instantly in the early season cover, or have flushed low and away, over the dog.


In 24 hours of hunting, I have got two birds. A dove that flushed into a tree and sat long enough for me to switch to steel shot and select the tighter barrel, and a woodcock pointed by my daughters 2 years old brittany.


From a harvest point of very it�s been a terrible season. But from my point of view it�s been a great season. I�m retired. The old girl and I head to the bush every day. We�re lucky enough to live just 10 minutes from huntable forest. Every day, as soon as I�m gone breakfast, the britt is sitting looking at me with ears up, eyes bright asking when we�re going hunting? Every day that the weather is acceptable, we head to the bush and the brittany charges off like a puppy. It makes me smile. Every one of these outings is so precious. I don�t care that we almost certainly are not going to get a bird. The old girl is happy and I�m happy. I keep hoping that the fates will align and we�ll manage to get a woodcock or grouse. I don�t care about it for me. I want to get a bird for my dog!!!


I�m on a waiting list for a pup in the spring. Life will get busier then. But for as long as the old girl wants to go, we�ll go. It will be too hard to manage a pup and a deaf dog together so I�ll run them and hunt them separately but the old girl will get her turn.

[Sharon]

What a great post! Thank you.

[finsfurfeathers]

Great story. From the sounds of it I'm following not that far behind your foot steps.

[Bo D]

Love and enjoy reading posts similar to what you just put up... There's just something special when you put a human and canine together and grow old as one...

[Gilroy]

Love and enjoy reading posts similar to what you just put up... There's just something special when you put a human and canine together and grow old as one...

Not to sure I agree with that remark, my guy is back in the kitchen looking for a second supper and I am thinking he might have dog dementia. Then I second guess myself and wonder if I feed him in the first place LOL

He is going deaf which is not real good for a guard dog, when I come into the house he is busy doing what he does best these days and having a nap. However I think his sense of smell is improving and after my nightly bowl of cereal, he is standing to attention in the kitchen waiting for his bowl of milk. Not to mention he does not forget his two daily walk/run times, he has the ending tune of Coronation Street down to a fine art and his walk at 7.30pm.

I am beginning to suspect this guy has been playing me all along. He,he...

[Sharon]

LOL Hilarious and so true.

[Hawkman]

LOL. (:~D
LOVE reading these great stories. and I can relate too!!!
My dog is a fantastic GSP, but I am a horrendous trainer. He is 9 and I am almost 63.
I've had both cataracts done, but last year had a detached retina in the right eye, which resulted in a total loss of vision in that eye. Lucky for me, the medical science is so awesome that - after an operation called vitrectomy - I could see again and function pretty normally. I have made some adjustments and started hunting with guns again this season.
The dog's hearing and eyesight are of concern, and like mark_t1012001 and Gilroy, I am beginning to wonder about HIS functionality as well as my own.
Do we fully understand dogs? How come they are so smart yet so dumb?! How can they be so sharp and alert at times yet act so oblivious or stubborn at others?!? Of course they all have their own individual personality and genes that dictate their behaviour but I am never sure if they are acting purely on their instincts all the time or they are "playing" their humans like Gilroy has stated every now and again! We will never find out for sure I guess...
By the way, a "two bird season" is still a great season in my books. Most years I can appreciate getting a single bird anyway!

[Cass]

This hits home. My cocker will be 10 in January and I am suspicious that he is losing his sight. He lost sight of me the other day when out for a walk. The pup and I came out into a field and Jake was still hunting the brush. I kept walking out about 150 yards into the field with the pup and called Jake. I watched him for 5 minutes come out and look frantically for me - in the field, back into cover and back out again all the while I was calling him (which I'm sure the sound was bouncing around off the trees) and waving my arms. Eventually I had to walk back to the area where he kept breaking out into the field. He finally saw me and ran hard to me and I could tell he seemed distressed. The old boy is still full of energy and his nose is finding grouse. I just hope it doesn't progress faster than his physical condition deteoriates. He lives to hunt so hopefully we get another couple seasons together.

[ihunt]

keep it up and enjoy every last minute of it. Luckily you are close to the woods and its not hard to get to. That's what retirement is for and what every hunter hopes to be doing one day no matter how much you put in your game bag. You are living the life and have a loyal partner to share it with.