Rare doesn't mean good...or bad.

One of my pet peeves is seeing breeders of less common gundog breeds use the term 'rare' as an advertising hook, as if 'rare' were a synonym for 'good'. On the other hand, it also bugs me when I hear people bad-mouth less common breeds by saying "they must be rare for a reason".

Braque Saint Germain

When it comes to gundogs, rare does not mean good, or bad. Breeds become popular or remain rare for many reasons, usually totally unrelated to how good, or bad they actually are. Case in point: the Weimaraner. It is among the most popular gundog breeds in the world. Yet apart from a some superb individuals and a few good lines, as a hunting breed, it is in pretty rough shape overall. Trying to get a decent hunting dog by reaching in and picking a pup from any random Weim litter is like trying to hit a hole-in-one with a nine iron. 

Compare that to the Braque de l'Ariege, one of the rarest breeds on the planet. Your chances of getting a decent hunting dog out of just about any Ariege litter are pretty darn good since there are no show lines of Braques de l'Ariege and no non-hunting breeders breeding them. Every single Braque de l'Ariege out there right now is a hunting dog. Most are decent, some are excellent, a few are world-class. None are worthless.

Saint Usuge Spaniel

That said, there are some increased risks that come with rarer breeds, but those risks are not usually related to hunting ability or performance. For example, a small, closely-related population means that if a certain genetic problem crops up, a larger percentage of the overall breed can be effected and therefore present a greater risk to a purchaser. Case in point: Alopecia in the Pont Audemer Spaniel. Like other breeds with a curly coat, Ponto's can experience hair loss due to Canine Follicular Dysplasia. It is a purely cosmetic issue unrelated to performance, but it is a problem in the breed. And with so few individuals in the breed and so few lines, the only way to address the problem has been to outcross to unaffected dogs from other breeds like the Irish Water Spaniel.

Pont Audemer Spaniel

Another issue that can have a greater effect on a rare breed is club politics. In big clubs, political rifts don't usually have much of an effect on the overall state of a breed. But in small clubs, in-fighting can be disastrous. Case in point: the Braque du Bourbonnais. A few years ago, a sort of leadership putsch occurred. The breed club's former president, the guy who actually re-created the Braque du Bourbonnais almost single-handedly, was forced out. The club is now in a shambles. It has more or less ceased doing anything for the breed (no trials, tests or shows) and the Bourbonnais population in France is in a free fall. In fact there are sometimes more Bourbonnais bred in the US than in France now! 

Pachon Navarro

Probably the most daunting task facing anyone interested in a 'rare' breed is actually getting a pup. I often get questions like: "How can I get a (insert rare breed name) puppy? Do I need to fly all the way to (insert name of foreign country)? I don't even speak (insert foreign language). 

10 years ago, my answer would have been, YES, you need to fly to whatever foreign country the breed comes from and yes, you will need to overcome the language barrier somehow. But nowadays, thanks to the Internet, you can do much, if not all, of what is necessary to get a pup without ever leaving your own home town. But I would still encourage a trip to whatever country the dog is coming from just to experience the culture, food and wine! 

Members of the Cesky Fousek Club, Czech Republic, 2007

To break it down in a sort of easy step-by-step, here is what I would do (and in fact have done) to get a pup from one of the rarer breeds.

Stabyhoun

1. Identify the breed you want and make sure that it is still being bred to hunt. Case in point: the Stabyhoun, a rare 'gundog' breed from Holland. The Stabyhoun is still listed as a pointing breed, but in reality no one breeds Staby's for hunting anymore. In the entire world, there may be a handful of people that use their Staby to fetch the occasional duck. And that's it. Staby's can make fine pets, they have great looks and temperaments, but if you want a hunting dog, look elsewhere. 

Among the less common breeds, I'd say that all the French breeds represent pretty decent odds of finding a good hunter (the Braque Saint Germain might be sort of iffy). Personally, I would get a Picardy Spaniel in  a heartbeat, I love the French Spaniel and Braque d'Auvergne, I may get a Braque de l'Ariege one day. Both versions of the Braque Francais are great and the Bourbonnais is really coming along nicely in the US. The Portuguese Pointer offers better than decent odds and you can get a good Bracco Italiano or Spinone (from good lines....be careful). For more, see my book, I offer a sort of 'risk level' for all the breeds in it.

2. Make a connection with a breeder or two. Do it the same way you would here (but maybe with the help of Google Translate). Connect via the breed club or through forums, bulletin boards, Facebook etc. Look for HUNTERS who breed hunting dogs. Engage them on a hunter-to-hunter basis and see if you can see eye to eye. I now have some very dear friends in Europe because we had a sort of 'meeting of minds' about dogs and hunting. I have met many of my Euro friends in person, but there are quite a few that I have never actually met other than online...yet we are now like kindred spirits and have established a very high level of mutual trust and respect. 

3. Go there to hunt or invite them here to hunt. I've done both. The hunting memories, stories and experiences you collect will be priceless. Get a second job, eat nothing but Kraft diner for a year, do whatever it takes. Just get there. It will change your life.

Baltrum, 2001

4. Get a pup. Either have it shipped here or (preferably) go there to pick it up. The experience will stay with you forever and a trip to Europe, especially to hunt, will blow your mind.

Finally, if you need help, just ask. I am happy to help out in any way I can and there are people in every club, in every breed that are willing to take the time to answer questions and help you get a good dog. After all, they are looking for good hunting homes for their hunting dogs. And the rarer breeds really could use a helping hand, especially from North American hunters. After all, where would the Bourbonnais be now without the folks in the US that are doing more for the breed than the parent club in France at the moment!

UPDATE 1. I've followed up this post with another that explores the reasons some breeds are popular, while others are not. You can read it here.

UPDATE 2: There is now a Braque du Bourbonnais right here in Manitoba! Check out the photos of Kolbi Chasseur d'Aspen Ridge "Kolbi" with his new family here or click on the photo below.

Enjoy my blog posts? Check out my book Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals

Best. Book. Ever.

One of my favorite books is Le livre de la chasse (Book of the Hunt) by Gaston Phébus. Written between 1387-89, there are 46 known copies of the original manuscript still around. A few are still in private collections, but most are stashed away in places like the Bibliotheque nationale de France and the Morgan Library.

I've never seen an original manuscript of the book, but I came across a nice video on the website of the Bibliotheque nationale de France that shows one up close.  In the video, the host offers some interesting background information on the book, and even if you can't understand a word she says (it is all in French), it is still a cool video to watch since you get a sense of the size and thickness of the book and the richness of its illustrations and text.

Click here or on the photo below to watch the video. 

In the time of Gaston Phébus, there were no breeds of dogs, just general types. The dogs in this image were called 'chiens d'oysels' ('dogs that serve the bird' ie: a hawk or falcon). Illustration from Le livre de la chasse.

12 Things I Learned at Broomhill, Manitoba.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting some of my photos, videos, thoughts and opinions on pointing dog field trials. Today I'd like to start with what I learned when I attended the Manitoba Championship Trial in Broomhill, Manitoba last September.


1. There is a great big sky over Broomhill.







2. And a lot of big trucks.


And big trailers.


And cool license plates.




3. You meet a lot of nice people at Broomhill.



People who love horses.



And wide open spaces.



And each other.


People who really love their dogs.


And dogs who love their people.



4. The dogs only have two speeds: ZOOOM...


And chill.



5. The dogs greet you in different ways.


Some are super happy to see you.


Some aren't quite sure.


Some dogs couldn't care less.


Some think that you are bringing them a nice meaty soup-bone.


And all the young dogs give you the 'take me home' look.





6. All the dogs have awesome dog names.




And they travel with horses in trailers.





7. Trial folk spend a lot of time in the saddle


And they love every minute of it.







8. Trial judges judge on horseback.


Handlers handle on horseback.







And everyone else follows along to watch...on horseback.







9. Each dog waits for its turn to run.


So they relax in a cool dog-wagon.





10. And when it comes time to run..





They run...


And run


And run... for an hour or more.



11. When they're done, they head back in.









To chill out in the dog-wagon while the others get their turn to run.







12. When everyone's done, it's back to camp.


Near the Broomhill Hilton.


Where all the nice people sit and visit under sage advice written on the wall.


And the dogs go back to day-dreaming...


about running again, under the great big Broomhill sky.


To view a slideshow of these images and more from the Broomhill trial, click here.

Season's End

I just got back from the final hunting trip of the 2012-13 season. My buddy Ross and I had an awesome time in North Dakota chasing roosters with Zeiss, Vinnie, Uma and Maisey. Here's a quick slide show of some of the photos I managed to snap in the -30 weather.

     

And here's a slide show of the great shots Ross got.

 

The Tumbling Pheasant

Last Friday, my buddy Ross Cornish and I headed out to the wilds of North Dakota. It was the last weekend of the pheasant season and we had two goals: 1) to hunt pheasants (duh) and 2) to right a massive wrong. 

You see, Ross and I are both professional photographers. But the last time we hunting in North Dakota, just before Xmas, we didn't even bring our cameras! And since winter in North Dakota can actually be quite beautiful  – in a strange, minus-35-with-a-howling-wind kind of way – we'd been kicking ourselves ever since. So when we decided to go back for one last hunt, we made sure to pack our hunting and photo gear.

On day one we got lucky. We shot a limit of roosters by 3 p.m. So we decided to head back to town and take a few photos on the way. About half way back we noticed a farm yard protected by a thick shelter belt of trees. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that the whole place was filled with birds. As we approached, we could see dozens and dozens of pheasants milling about, walking and flying across the road into another stand of trees on the opposite side. So we hatched a plan: one guy would hide in the ditch with his camera while the other guy flushed the birds over him so he could get some shots of the birds in flight.

We pulled into the yard and knocked on the door of the house to ask permission to 'shoot' the birds with our cameras. The lady who answered the door was very friendly (I've yet to meet and unfriendly North Dakotan). She said 'be my guest'.

Ross was up first. He hunkered down on one side of the road while I walked the tree line on the other side 'pushing' the birds towards him. He ended up getting some really nice shots, like this one.

Then it was my turn. I found a spot next to a telephone poll and waited for the birds to fly over me. The first bird was a rooster. When it was about 75 yards away, I lifted my camera and fired off a long burst  of frames with my Canon's high-speed motor drive. Here is one of the first shots from that series.

Notice the telephone wire in the bottom right corner? Well, it is one of two wires. The other one is not in the frame; I did not notice it. But neither did that rooster! As I was firing away with my camera, I heard a mighty TWANG! but kept on shooting. Then I saw a puff of feathers and realised that the rooster had flown right into the wire. But he seemed to recover from the hit; I saw him fly away into the distance as the feathers he left behind floated down to the ground. So I turned my attention back to the other birds whizzing past me and got some nice shots like this one:

And this one

And this one

When all the action was over, I told Ross about the tumbling rooster but figured I missed getting any shots of the action. It wasn't until we were back at the hotel reviewing all the images of the day that I noticed I actually did capture the action, at least in part. 

So here they are, three not-quite-in-focus shots of the tumbling rooster, Photoshoped into a single frame.