Hey, those are Vizslas!

It is a magical time in the area today. We has some rain come through yesterday and clear out the air. The sky is deep blue with wisps of high clouds floating by.

It has been a perfect morning for a walk, so after getting tires on the Jeep, we headed up to the top of Briones Road for an hour walk. Great warm sun and moist soft earth that is turning the greenest of green.

Bailey and Chloe had a great time in my favorite upland valley, running and playing in the meadows and also running full out through the canyons and ridges.

Heading home, we were coming down the ridge road and off to the left I looked and told Joanie, "Hey, those are Vizslas! You want to stop."

"Sure."

We stopped on the side of the road by the gate and I yelled out to the couple walking down the path away from the gate, "can our Vizslas join yours in your walk?"

"You have Vizslas?" They yelled back to us as we got out of the Jeep.

Susi and Mike live in the neighboring town of Martinez and own Bella, a sweet young Vizsla. They are dog sitting another female. I missed her name.

When I opened the back door of the Jeep, Chloe and Bailey jumped down and ran up

to Susi and Mike's dogs.

The four dogs acted as if they were long lost friends that had so much to catch up

on.

We humans had a great half hour walk as the dogs ran and played. As you look at the pictures, you might be able to see the complete joy in these dogs' faces.

Great morning. Bailey and Chloe even got to scare up some pigeons on the way back to the road.

Sleeping bags for Vizslas

Here in Northern California cold is a relative thing.
But now that late fall has come the nights and mornings have been getting cooler.

We change over to the flannel sheets and added a couple blankets on our bed.


For Bailey and Chloe ,with their very short fur, they are starting to feel the cold also.

So they get into their sleeping bags.

Here they will spend the night in their crates comfortably or on the living room until it warms up.
Bailey stays warmer than Chloe and pops out earlier to enjoy the cool air.

Chole, being the young girl she is, can spend the whole morning curled up with just the tip of her nose poking out.



We own six of these dog sleeping bags.

We buy them on line and have two more shipped to us about once a year.

Now two are in the house, two are in the Jeep and two are in the motor home.

Body Gear for Pets, located in Petaluma, California, has been making these bags for many years. They have their own "E-bay store".

http://stores.ebay.com/Body-Gear-for-Pets__W0QQ_pgnZ3QQ_scZ1QQ_sopZ2You want to get your Vizslas the XL size. When travelling on a cool day and they are in the back of the Jeep you would think the dogs didn't even come along. They will spend the whole trip buried in their bags.

Wouldn't want our rough and tough bird hunters to get cold. But I do draw the line on putting them in jackets and sweaters. A hunter has to have his pride.

Into the field trial

When you follow along behind during a field trial run, you are in the "gallery".

The rules to be in the gallery are simple. Stay out of the way and always stay behind the judges on horseback. Do not talk to the judges unless they ask you a question or ask you to do something.

With Bailey having run the first brace of the day, we were done by 9 am. So I had several hours to enjoy watching the other dogs run.

My goal for this field trial was two fold.

First was not to fall off of the horse.

Second was for Bailey to know where I was while I was up on the horse.

Mission Accomplished.

As far as Bailey finding any of the quail, that had been planted throughout the course (about 10 birds), was something else.

Not a bird found by Bailey in the twenty-five minute trial.

His brace mate, a smart little Brittney, had two nice bird points and was given forth place out of the ten dogs that ran in Open Derby.

Rules of a field trial allow handlers to walk and horseback is not required.

BUT, what a difference.

When Bailey and I went out in our brace, both the other handler and I were on horseback and our dogs ran hard and far. In twenty-five minutes we might have covered more than four miles of treeline.

When I went out and watched another brace that had one of the handlers on foot, they might have covered a mile and a half in that same time period and the dog has to slow down its search.

So this rookie keeps learning. We are off to the fields around Sonora, Califorinia (Sierra foothills) in a couple weeks for another trial. This is the German Wirehaired Pointer club of Northern California.

Hope to get Bailey "into a lot of birds" between now and then to sharpen his nose and tracking skills.

It was a great morning in the fields.

April to October - change in six months?

The top picture show one of my first experiences working my "new hunting dog" at the NAVHDA Natural Abilities Test in April of this year. The bottom picture is from Saturday morning's preparing to run in the first brace of Open Derby at the Gordon Setter field trials at the end of October.

A lot can change in six months in both dog and man.