Happy Dog, Happy River...

Murph still be haves like a puppy in most instances.  Going on 8 and you'd think she'd chill out

That tends to happen right away when she hits the river.  It makes her a happy dog.

A Stolen Season...

Sitting here reviewing pictures from the fall and winter and Murph Dog is sitting next to me, snoring away.

It's occurred to me that I pretty much stole this bird season from her.   She's in her prime and I made it afield 3 times.  One of the days I shot so poorly I think she laughed at me, but the last day of the season made up for two other mediocre efforts with the scattergun

That's horseshit in my opinion.

So a belated resolution.  I'm going to get my dog's nose in the cover more come next fall.

The Choices Inside Your Dog's Head...

While I am standing thigh deep in the flow, Murph Dog is left to her own demise.

Passing the time between casts and the occasional hookup, I start to think about what in gods name is going through the dog's brain while she watches me fish....

It's all about choices

Eat and roll in the dead, rank and rotting salmon, or.......Hang out on the beach

Find the deer carcass, ripe a leg off of it and chew it to bits and in turn, smell like decaying flesh for two days or.......swim out to me, anchor in the current and perform the doggy treadmill (see below)

Jump into the run first and spook the fish, or.....fall asleep standing mid river

She's a dam fine lab with a good enough bird nose to boot, but there's always a a bit of hijinks involved when all she has is time on her hands.

Of course, when a fish is hooked...she's right there as inspector general.

What's your best story of dogs on the bank?  We'd love to hear about them.

Ol' Murph Dog Will Be Happy Today...

Notice how Murph is smiling.  I predict that later today, she'll be wearing that same shit eating grin on her face.

Why?

Because of the fact our feathered friends in the tall grass won't be having such a splendid fall day

Boom!

And Murph Dog Says, I GET IT!!

Season 4 of a bird dog's life can be a beautiful thing to witness.

Last Friday, I watched it all come together for Murph Dog.

Gone are the wild escapes of birds sent up by an overzealous pup with nostrils full of a running ditch parrot.  Gone are the continued sprint with head cocked to the sky waiting for that hen to drop out of the sky.  Almost gone is the constant trailing and mirroring of the other dogs in the effort to learn

Murph has graduated, she gets it.

After we hunted the first piece of cover d in the morning to alleviate the nervous energy, the dogs shifted into their hunting pace.  Back and forth their worked the ground in unison between gunners, and soon roosters were on the ground to showcase their hard work.

Murphy has shown great promise since her first season in the field.  Generally she stays tight and works hard, but most of the attention we gave to the dogs focused in on Dakota, OMR's veteran pheasant sniffer.  She's a machine that works at a methodical pace and you absolutely know when you better be ready because her birdy clues rairly, if ever fail to produce.  You can read her like a book

This particular day afield, halfway into the canyon stretch of property we have access on, I watched it all click as well for Murphy. 

Both dogs instantly got hot in the normal spot and birds rocked out of the cover.  More weight was added my bird vest and we continued on.    A few hundred yards later I separated from OMR and Kevin, taking Murphy up a draw ourselves.

From that moment, her nose alternately went from ground and into the light breeze and I knew she was on a bird.  The pace picked up and we swung back up to meet Kevin and OMR in the main path of the canyon.  At that very moment, Murphy dove into a patch of native grass and up rocked up a cackling rooster giving me the classic going away shot that all pheasant hunters dream of.

One report of the Ruger Red Label 12 gauge and Murphy was soon hovering over her prize.

50 yards later a rooster surprised Kevin and I with a wild flush.  Over the top of a basalt column chased by two quick shots the bird roared.  A possible hit sent Murphy and I up over the top to a piece of cover that might hold the wounded bird.

After a quick approximation to the landing zone, Murphy locked into the birds sent.  Following it for about 200 feet,  a quick shot and retrieve gave me my limit. 

The day continued with success.  Kevin got his first ever rooster and plenty of prime pheasant dinners were added to three families dinner table.

A beer at the end of the day at the truck and we all came to this conclusion;

It was a hell of a day.

Yes Dad, I Know It's a Staged Photo...

I dont care, it's a limit. 

What a great day out, a perfect excuse to skip work and share time outside with OMR and Kevin from
Ducks, Dogs and Downriggers. 

More info to follow, but we had a hell of a day.

Murph Dog...River Enthusiast..

Someone else in my household also loves her river time.  Almost looks like she was posing for this one.

Hey Dad, Take Me To The River...

Well, he didnt actually say that, but I could tell that's what he was saying while he was "talking" to me.

After a long weekend of pretty intense teething pain, Big C's first trip the the river was great.

The wife saddled up the kiddo in the backpack, Murph Dog bounded around and I threw a few casts into some great water.

One thing's for sure...

I'm a pretty lucky dude...

Fishing Dog Couture...

Um...no....double no.  I think this thing could be swung for Kings with a big enough spey rod and a balanced Skagit head....snarf.

What I am talking about is adding a little flair to the Murph Dog. 

It's about time for her be the outward canine representation of what we're about.   

The good buddy who owns the pet shop where we bought put it aside for Murph as soon as it came in.  Of course, I obliged.

Ok fine, Murph couldnt tell the difference between a Steelhead and a laser pen.  All she really knows is that they're both fun to chase and bark at.  But who cares.  She still is a better dog now because of this collar.

If you're in Spokane, you should check out the Yuppy Puppy.  Aquila will hook you up with what your fishing dogs really need...including the collar above