Our friends over at rottrover have encouraged Thunder and Storm to enter the Mango Minster 2012 Contest in the category of Working Stiffs. They decided to give it a try so I will now turn this post over to Thunder and Storm so they can tell everyone why they think that they deserve to win this category.
No One Is More Overworked Than We Are
It is true. Our humans are always making us do this thing called “training”. It is sort of fun, but they make us do it in all sorts of weather: snow, rain and the heat of summer. Here is some video of us training while it is snowing. Hey we like to get out and run some, but they throw these black and white bumpers in a field and then they expect us to find them. Do you know how hard it is to find a tiny black and white bumper in a snowy gray field while the wind is blowing in your face?
And that is not all. Sometimes they have this kid throw orange bumpers way, way far away and we are supposed to run out and bring them back. Trying to watch orange bumpers fall on snow is even tougher than watching the black and white ones.
Still we try to muster up some enthusiasm just to keep the humans happy.
~
If it was just training in the snow, that would be OK, but once the ice is off the pond, they expect us to swim in that freezing cold water just to pick up a bumper. Can’t they pick up their own bumpers?
They also don’t seem to care if it is pouring rain. They still drag us out and throw bumpers. It was raining so hard here that the people couldn’t even use a real camera. They had to us a cell phone to take this video.
Again, we try to look enthusiastic to make the humans happy.
Then there are times when they make us just sit and watch the other dogs get the bumpers. Now why would we want to just sit there and wait and for a black lab of all things?
They do another really strange thing. They hide a bumper in the field and direct us to where they hid it using a whistle and hand signals. What is the point of that? If they know where they hid the thing, shouldn’t they just go get it themselves? We get aggravated sometimes and shake the bird just to irritate them. 😉
OK we know it is a lot of videos, but how else are you going to see how hard they work us?
Work That Is Sort Of Fun
Lucky for us, some of our work is fun. When Fall rolls around we get to spend some time hunting. Sure it can get cold, but that is why we wear our snazzy hunting vests.
We don’t even mind when they make us stand or sit on this dog stand thing and wait for hours and hours hoping a duck will fly by.
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Every once in a while the humans get lucky. Some birds fly by and they actually don’t miss them and then we get to make some retrieves. I had to get all of these birds myself because they didn’t bring another dog.
And when we aren’t sitting in the marsh, they drag us out to a field to try to sniff out grouse and pheasant. Let us tell you, it takes a lot of running and sniffing to find those little birds.
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Sometimes we get lucky and find and flush one of those little birds, but then the tall guy misses the shot. We are left just standing there with nothing to retrieve. All of that work for nothing! Sometimes the guy actually hits a bird and we have to find and bring the bird back to him.
They also drag us out to fields with tall grass and we are supposed to find birds in that stuff. You can’t even see us in the next picture even though we are the ones that flushed and retrieved that bird.
As we said before, sometimes they expect us to do all of the work by ourselves and only bring one of us. Look at all of these birds that I had to find, flush and retrieve and not another dog to help.
So we ask you, who works harder than we do?
OH wow, you guys definitely work hard! Great entry!
You sure do work hard. I bet hunting is tons of fun. Makes you feel like a real retriever.
Slobbers,
Mango
Holy cow! You two are the biggest working stiffs I know!! Thanks for Wednesday morning at the movies. lol! I enjoyed actually seeing you guys at work, it really helped put the training diagrams from before into perspective. It shows just how fast and powerful you really are! I was very impressed at your intelligence, too. I definitely think you have a very good shot at winning the Mango Minister 2012 Working Stiffs category. Honestly, I felt like I was watching the doggie Olympics this morning. Great videos!
You two are the hardest working dogs I know. You would be bored stiff at my house because we only take a walk once a day. I hope you get the award! If I could vote, I would vote for you!
How are you enjoying the new puppy?
You DO work hard but you know you love it. What else would you be doing….sleeping?? Ha, ha.
Your dogs are just incredible. It’s so cool to watch the videos of them in action – I got chills just *hearing* the frosty wind blowing in the snow video! I love the still shot “Where are the birds” – man and dog in perfect harmony, dog on high alert. SO incredible. We can’t get silly Daisy to bring anything back when we throw it, which makes watching your dogs retrieve even more special to me!
No doubt about it you are hard workers. But it looks like you enjoy your job. One question: If they keep throwing all those bumpers away why do they want them back?
Blessings,
Goose
What a terrific entry! You definitely deserve an award for all the hard work you do. Not every one realizes how much effort goes in to such a difficult event. It’s not easy to be that skilled. Good luck in the contest!
PS. I love the new look of your blog! It even matches your pretty fur. 🙂
I have been saying for quite some time now that both of you are overworked and under paid:))
Good luck in the Mango Minster contest, you have my vote!
You sure DO work hard, but you make it look so easyyy! 😉
Woofs & hugs, <3
~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)
This is a great post. Love seeing the Chessies in action and we loved the comments they made! LOL…. we humans are crazy aren’t we? You two are the hardest working dogs we know of! Great job and a great post. Keep up the great postings! 🙂
God BLess You!
The Collies and CHuck 🙂
You work very hard ad so deserve to win! Your post made momma miss her first Black Lab who ran trials:(
Hopefully you got my black lab joke. Black lab is “the” dog to have for trials, no? Sorry my post made you sad. 🙂
Abby was prepared to be all outraged on your behalf after reading the text, but your happy ears and tails in the videos show that you seriously enjoy your work. And it is very hard work – especially the crouching in freezing water part. Abby’s only concern now is why aren’t you guys wearing orange vests [like the human in one of the photos is] to help make sure no dum-dum accidentally shoots you.
Jed and Abby are, however, outraged that you haul all those birds back to the humans and they don’t even let you eat them! That is so not fair.
Mama is pea green with envy that you guys stop on a dime when you hear the whistle blow. We tried to keep her from seeing that part, but she did. We just hope it doesn’t give her ideas. Best of luck in the Mango Minster contest.
Jed & Abby the Legal Beagle[mix] Extraordinaire and Official Guardian of Ethics for MM2012
Wow – your humans work you guys A LOT! Hope you win the contest! Sure sounds like you deserve it. 🙂
You guys really work hard but it looks like you’re having fun too. I’d like to come along just to run around and jump in the water but my person says I’d probably be best at getting in the way.
I really enjoyed the videos! And of course the photos, too. Good luck with your working stiffs.
Excellent post! You are indeed ‘work, work, work’ and deserve to win! I have always been impressed with your work ethic. : )
Wow! you sure do work hard! Hope you get lots of money and treats for doing all that! I would love to catch a bird someday!
Lovies, Miss Mindy
Guys,
It looks to me llke you just don’t stop and you go SO fast when you’re working!!
I can’t believe you go in that water even when it’s cold!!
I know I don’t work as hard as you two……
Good luck,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
Whew!!! We got tired just watching you work so hard. We think maybe nobody works harder than you do. Those great pictures tell it all! Hugs and nose kisses
Thunder, Storm you did an excellent job of telling and showing us how hard you work. I agree you boys work very hard all the time and definitely should win for all that hard work. (Running, finding, retrieving, swimming, tracking and you do them all very well. However, I think you also enjoy be out with your person and doing a lot of those jobs. great post and pictures.
Lexie & Mica
NICE JOB GUYS!!! You both work so hard with your people– you are wonderful examples of working stiffs!!! We love watching all the work you do and it sounds like you have lots of fun even when the weather isn’t so great 🙂
Thanks for sharing all this cool stuff– we really enjoyed the videos and photos!
Whew! I’m exhausted after watching all that work! And I thought racing was hard. You guys and gal sure have an incredible work ethic. Color me impressed!
Bunny
You are most certainly overworked and in horrible working conditions too. I do not do water, even if it isn’t COLD and I most certainly don’t do COLD. My human would never be able to shoot a bird so I has to snatch them outta the sky myself (the Mom disapproves) so retrieving might be kinda fun, but it still looks like a lot of work.
YAY! We’re so glad you decided to enter; but you can’t fool us! All that “grousing” about working butt we can totally tell how much you love to work. And we must say, you’re beautiful to watch. Course you’d never see us doing any of that stuff…
Good Luck, Thunder and Storm!
-Bart and Ruby
I went over Monday and voted for Ruby and despite the results, I still think she is too darn cute.
Wowee..Its very nice to visit your blog and well done on your entry Brown Dawgs! You have action packed work to do and it looks like you are super professionals at it..Great to see you in action. Aroofs from France. Zola
PS I am very grumpy that my human has put me in the Bad Sports..I am a very good girl really…Humpf!
I just could not see you as a bad sport…lol.
I had to click over… my father’s favorite dog ever was a Chessie that reportedly lived to the ripe old age of 22 years. You two sure are handsome and hard workers!
Wow 22 is quite old. Must have had excellent genes and a great life. I think 18 is the oldest I have heard of a Chessie living. Thanks for stopping by.
I hardly ever blog anymore — like never — but I just had to check out your blog. My dad was a Chessie and my mom was a chocolate lab and I turned out to be this beautiful blond. If you click over to my blog, you’ll probably see my resemblance. I have that beautiful Chessie face. I have the demeanor and furs of a Chessie too and my mom thinks I am the greatest dog on earth. She had never met a Chessie before she met my dad and now thinks Chessies are amazing. I think you two are gorgeous.
xo
SB
Thanks so much for stopping by. I did click over and you are beautiful and sure do have a Chessie face. I don’t know if you know, but there are blond colored Chessies (called deadgrass). Was your Chessie dad brown or maybe deadgrass? Dog coloring is of interest to me. 🙂