Well... being new to the forum this will be my inaugural commencement of a thread. I'm a bit unsure of the protocols on TSD so if I step out of line please give me a nudge.
Your Deer Dogs & Tracking board is a natural home for me. I'm an old fella and have had dogs all my life and became a dog trainer, and dog breeder with all revolving around hunting. Weimaraners were my chosen breed and they did well in the obedience ring but my specialty was hunting and I couldn't ask for better over my 40 odd years with them. But I broke with tradition by accident when a 3 year old Blenheim King Charles Cavalier Spaniel arrived in my back yard because his owner didn't want him, he was badly neglected and had no training at all. Not even on lead walking. This was Henry. I saw 'something' in him which sparked my interest/curiosity and decided to go down an usual path with him. He was bright, intelligent, liked to learn and was comfortable in different surroundings. What I ended up with was a dog that apart from his early apprenticeship where he learnt obedience, learnt what animals I was interested in, learnt what gunfire was all about, learnt to hold a point. It all came together over some18 months and we hunted sambar and wild dogs together. It always brought a wry smile to my face when out bush with him and he'd indicate there's a sambar in that patch of bush. An 8Kg Cavalier vs a 300KG sambar deer? Evenly matched I'd say.
But it wasn't all fun and he had his issues. At around 6 years of age he was diagnosed with Syringomyelia...fluid bubbles in his spinal cord. This caused a bucket load of neural issues. Still...I undertook 12 weeks of research on the disease and came up with a game plan/meds etc and he soldiered on. Then when he was only a year or two older his Mitral Valve Disease began kicking in and it wasn't until he was 12 that it began to take a heavier toll on him. We still went out every day but at his pace and he determined when it was home time. At age 14 & 1/2 he died in my arms...just 10 minutes before the vet arrived at home for his euthanasia. We were that close his loss almost broke me.
I now have another Cav Spaniel... a Tricolour ...Missy. She has a big job ahead of her learning to be a working gun dog and is well on her way to emulating her predecessor.
As I said I am unsure of posting here. I don't know how much detail on training/hunting/medical techniques/info to go in to if at all. If I am out of line so far please let me know or similarly the same if more is wanted/appropriate.
I have often wondered about whether or not people in your part of the world use their Cavs for hunting. I had a look through the forum but couldn't find anything.
Any way...thanks for reading. My apols if it's too long.
Your Deer Dogs & Tracking board is a natural home for me. I'm an old fella and have had dogs all my life and became a dog trainer, and dog breeder with all revolving around hunting. Weimaraners were my chosen breed and they did well in the obedience ring but my specialty was hunting and I couldn't ask for better over my 40 odd years with them. But I broke with tradition by accident when a 3 year old Blenheim King Charles Cavalier Spaniel arrived in my back yard because his owner didn't want him, he was badly neglected and had no training at all. Not even on lead walking. This was Henry. I saw 'something' in him which sparked my interest/curiosity and decided to go down an usual path with him. He was bright, intelligent, liked to learn and was comfortable in different surroundings. What I ended up with was a dog that apart from his early apprenticeship where he learnt obedience, learnt what animals I was interested in, learnt what gunfire was all about, learnt to hold a point. It all came together over some18 months and we hunted sambar and wild dogs together. It always brought a wry smile to my face when out bush with him and he'd indicate there's a sambar in that patch of bush. An 8Kg Cavalier vs a 300KG sambar deer? Evenly matched I'd say.
But it wasn't all fun and he had his issues. At around 6 years of age he was diagnosed with Syringomyelia...fluid bubbles in his spinal cord. This caused a bucket load of neural issues. Still...I undertook 12 weeks of research on the disease and came up with a game plan/meds etc and he soldiered on. Then when he was only a year or two older his Mitral Valve Disease began kicking in and it wasn't until he was 12 that it began to take a heavier toll on him. We still went out every day but at his pace and he determined when it was home time. At age 14 & 1/2 he died in my arms...just 10 minutes before the vet arrived at home for his euthanasia. We were that close his loss almost broke me.
I now have another Cav Spaniel... a Tricolour ...Missy. She has a big job ahead of her learning to be a working gun dog and is well on her way to emulating her predecessor.
As I said I am unsure of posting here. I don't know how much detail on training/hunting/medical techniques/info to go in to if at all. If I am out of line so far please let me know or similarly the same if more is wanted/appropriate.
I have often wondered about whether or not people in your part of the world use their Cavs for hunting. I had a look through the forum but couldn't find anything.
Any way...thanks for reading. My apols if it's too long.
