Freighter ran two Junior Hunter tests this weekend.  We did not know what to expect since the plan was for my husband to take him off the pro trainer’s truck and run him.  Oh boy!

Junior tests require the dogs to pick up back to back single marks on land, (one is usually a shot flyer) and back to back single marks on water.  A single mark is where the dog marks and retrieves one bird at a time.  The dog must deliver the birds to hand.  The dogs must be somewhat steady, but the handler can restrain the dog gently by holding its buckle collar.

On Saturday Freighter ran the land clean but the water set up was a bit too complicated for him.  The first bird on the water landed up on land in some high cover.  He had to swim the pond, exit and then go a little bit to the cover for the bird.  He got over to the land, but then got hung up in the gunner’s station, (which was close by) and the edge of the cover.  He did not find the bird so was called in.  Too bad.  He still did a good job for a little guy.  I did not get to watch him or take any pictures because I was working at another stake.

Sunday I was able to go and watch Freighter run.  The flyer was to the left and up a hill.  The dogs had to break through some sorghum and corn cover to get to were the birds where landing.  Freighter did a little hunting, probably due to all of the feathers from the birds shot for the dogs before him.  He quickly found and retrieved the bird.  He got a little disoriented on his way back through the cover, but after a couple of whistles from his handler, he found his way out.

The second mark was a dead bird off to the right down a hill and fell in some high grass.  Freighter absolutely pinned that bird and brought it back.  It was tough to get pictures of the land series, but I did get a couple.

2nd Land Mark
Good Boy!

On to water!

To get to the water portion the dogs had to walk down a little strip of land.  The first bird was off to the left.  The water in many of the ponds around here is very low.  The bird landed in some shallow water on the edge of pond mud/muck.  This meant that the dogs had to go through mostly running water to get to it.  I figured Freighter would have no problem marking the bird, but I was a bit concerned that if the bird was to covered in mud, he might not want to pick it up.  Silly me.  He had no problem picking up that bird.

The second bird was to the right and landed in swimming water.  Freighter marked the bird and swam right out and picked it up.  His handler called him back and he turned right around and brought it back.  A few of the dogs ran the bank, but Freighter did not.  He delivered the bird and earned his first Junior Hunter pass at 9 months old.  Thank you Darrin for doing such a great job with our boy!

A few pictures from water:

Waiting In The Holding Blind
Trying To Sneak A Peek
Heading Put To The First Mark
At The Edge Of The Mud
Freighter Has The Bird
Making His Way Back
Swimming Back
Good Boy!

This is a Blog Hop.  Thanks to  Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Luna, a Dog’s Life, and My Brown Newfies for setting up this hop.  Please go to any of the sponsoring blogs to find out who else has been mischievous.

Monday Mischief

39 thoughts on “Monday Mischief–No Mischief Here Freighter Earns His First JH Pass”

  1. Hey guys, CONGRATS to Freighter on his JH pass!!! All that hard work really paid off 🙂 He’s so beautiful– we love those water photos! Have a great week!

  3. Your team has done a great job with Freighter and all deserve giant pats on the back! When you got Freighter, did you ever imagine he would earn a JH on his first attempt? Do you know the age of the youngest dog to ever do this?

    Did he get a ribbon? You know how much I love a dog with a ribbon. 😉

    1. Actually it was his second attempt. 😉 But originally we had planned to wait until he was older to run him, but he showed he is ready for Junior.

      Yes he got a ribbon, but he went back to the trainer’s for this week so the ribbon picture will have to wait. 🙂

      1. Still he’s so young!! You’ve done a great job. 🙂 I can wait for the ribbon picture. 😉

  5. Roo ROO Roo Freighter!!! Glad you got your first pass. It will be fun to run six dogs after you on this coming Sat! Hope we both do well.

  7. I like those water pics! Congratulations on the pass! I noticed no ribbon either? Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

  8. Hey Freighter,

    I can see why you didn’t have time for any Mischief buddy – you were busy making your humans happy 🙂

    Wags to all

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

    1. Thanks Snoopy and thanks for stopping by. My humans were so happy about my pass that they forgot about the mischief I caused waiting for my turn…lol.

    1. Yes. He needs three more passes for his JH title. I found people reading here understood pass better than leg so I tend to use that term more. 🙂

  10. Great Job Freighter earning your Junior Hunter you always have such energy and enthusiasm. It was really good that your training is helping control all that energy to focus on your test. Great pictures:-)

    1. Thank you. But he needs to pass a similar test three more times to earn his JH title. He is kind of crazy and will need a lot more work to control his energy. I think it will be a bit before he is steady for higher level tests…lol.

  11. Congratulations, that’s great. My two year old,Rider has the same water problem, when he retrieves on the other bank he thinks he’s done, if it stays in the water no problem. Riders fist shot at a JR test is next weekend. Most time is spent trying to calm him in test/ training situations. Nice job.

    1. Yes he took Freighter off the pro’s truck, ran him and then put him back on both Saturday and Sunday. Says a lot about Freighter. He is at the stage where he just wants to fetch the duck so if you point him in the direction, he will go for it!

  14. Congrats to you and Freighter! Sounds like you had a great weekend!! His trainer sure is doing a nice job with him. 🙂

  15. Hi Y’all!

    Just trying to visit all my friends I’ve been missing. Hope y’all are havin’ a great day!

    Looks like Freighter had a fantastic time! My Human still can’t get over how quickly he has matured. JH already! Go Freighter!

    Y’all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

  22. Congratulations to Freighter! I think there’s always something special about a pup passing their first test.

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