Uma in the Snow

Another short video clip, this one featuring Uma the Pont-Audemer Spaniel hunting pheasants in the snow..and a rare (thank goodness) misfire due to a defective shotgun shell!

An Encore for Souris-Manon

 In September I wrote a post explaining that the retirement of our dog Souris-Manon from the hunting field only lasted about a week. And now that the season is over, I can happily report that she actually had one of the best seasons ever! So I've put together a photo and video retrospective of Souris-Manon's encore hunting season. Enjoy!

This summer, our nearly 14-year-old Weimaraner was laid low by pancreatitis. And when the veterinarian discovered a heart murmur, it looked as if Souris-Manon's hunting days were over.

But the smell of autumn and the promise of birds in the woods was too hard to resist. We decided to just let her hunt --come what may.  And on her very first hunt after coming out of retirement, Souris outsmarted a sharptail grouse. Click below to see the video replay.

And so, from that day to the last day of the season, Souris ran across pastures.

and in stubble fields.

Over the prairies,

and in the woods.

She found birds to point in the tall grass,

in the cattails,

 

and even in the snow.

 

She backed her hunting buddies,

and on the rare occasion when my aim was true,

she retrieved pheasants (click to play),

snipe

woodcock, grouse, ducks and geese.

But above all, Souris did what she's done every day for nearly 14 years. She put smiles on our faces and warmed our hearts.

Bravo Souris. It was a fantastic encore!!

Timberdoodles in Uma-Woods

With the hunting seasons winding down, I'm finding a bit more time to post blog updates, photos and videos. So here's today's project, a short video featuring our Pont-Audemer Spaniel Uma hunting woodcock in the Interlake region of Manitoba. Enjoy!

Click here to see more pix!

Snipe Fever!

I got out for another great snipe hunt with Henri, but this time we were joined by hunting buddies, Ross, Zeiss and Vinnie. I managed to get some shaky video of some of the highlights..and low-lights.

Enjoy!

Retirement Sucks! Time for a COMEBACK!

Just over a month ago our Weimaraner Souris-Manon was very, very ill after two back-to-back bouts of pancreatitis. The Vet also discovered a fairly serious heart murmur. So the decision was made that at nearly 14 years old, Souris would retire from the hunting fields.

A couple of weeks ago, after the opening day of the waterfowl season I posted this photo to announce Souris' retirement and noted that she seemed to have accepted the decision and would from now on just spend her days relaxing in the warm sun.

But then I started noticing that Souris' eyes were getting a bit brighter every day and that she was protesting a bit more each time I took the other dogs to the field. So another decision was made: retirement sucks! Souris was getting back in the game! Here is a video of her first post-retirement performance. ENJOY!!

Shooting Sports

Since publishing Pointing Dogs Volume One in 2011, I have to admit that I've been a bit lazy about photographing my dogs in action. For the last couple of years, I've tended to reach more for my gun to shoot birds for diner than for my cameras to 'shoot' dogs for books and articles.

But this year, I decided to get back to capturing the action with my cameras. And I've added a bit of a twist; I've vowed to shoot even more video than still images. So watch out! I'm now armed with a new Sony camcorder and the latest version of iMovie and I intent to post a video every week or two throughout the season.

Here's my latest piece. It's features my dog Henri (Silvershot's Pocket Rocket) hunting sharptails and snipe on a friend's ranch a couple of hours north of the city. As you will see, my shooting --with camera or gun -- sucks. But we had a great time despite my lack of skill.