Itβs Follow-up Friday.Β The blog hop that:
Letβs you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend.
Thank you to Jodi from Heart Like A Dog and co-host Pup Fan from I Still Want More Puppies for hosting the hop!
Thanks to our readers for the all the great comments and questions this week.
Follow-up FridayΒ 7-26-13
Jodi asked:Β It is so interesting to me all of the rules for hunt training. Hereβs a dumb question, what is the purpose of this exercise? Is it designed for people who are hunting with their dogs to train them the proper technique or is it simply for the pleasure and bond of working your dog?
Not dumb.Β πΒ I would say that it is a little of both.Β The big payoff for the dogs is that they get to do something they were bred to do, and the big pay off for me is watching them work at something they were bred to do.
humanrescuesdog asked:Β Is it just me, or do they always look quite proud when they get the bird?
They do love their birds!
Monday MischiefβHuckleberry HoundΒ Dog
We don’t pick or eat the huckleberries.Β I leave them for the wild life.Β I am no berry expert, but I believe these are Black huckleberries (Gaylussacia baccata). Source:Β Is it a Huckleberry or a Blueberry?
From that article:
Importance to Wildlife
Huckleberries can be found growing wild in most of the eastern United States. While they are not as popular as the true blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) for human consumption, they are important to wildlife. Many songbirds as well as ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, and turkey consume the fruits. Small mammals also eat the fruit, and deer browse the twigs and foliage. Some butterflies seek them out as larval host plants, and several types of bees gather nectar and serve as pollinating agents. In addition, they are wonderful native plants that add to the diversity of our woods and landscapes.
We have songbirds, grouse and turkeys which will come to our yard, so I like to leave this natural food for them.Β I have only had them made into jam and it was very similar to blueberry.
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I didn’t realize there was a “proper” way for the dogs to carry the bumpers! I thought they could carry them any way they chose, as long as they brought them back. Interesting. Enjoy the weekend!
Look at those golden finches! So pretty! Have a wonderful weekend!
Great follow-up, thank you for joining the hop! And for answering my question.
I have worked Delilah on backing up (for her freestyle class) surprisingly this is something you can practice in the house. I use a couple of chairs and make a ‘tunnel’ against the wall. It works for her. Mostly I tell her “back” or “back up” and use shooing motions with my hands. Of course, it’s not so easy once I take the chairs away. π
Have a great weekend!!
Geez, Mom would be thrilled if I ever carried a bumper, did not know there was a proper way! So many things to learn. Thanks for answering the color question. Funny how orange is so easy for humans to spot and almost invisible to dogs!
Looks like you had a lovely week! The finches are very beauwooowoooootiful tooowoowoooo, Ku
Great Q & A. We like them since we came across them on Hawks” blog sometime ago. Love the finches too. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
Hi Y’all!
Our hosts, Sampson and Delilah, must have gone on a road trip ’cause their blog is gone.
Y’all had a great follow up! Really fun!
My Human taught me to back on command like I was a horse. It’s a useful command to know ’cause my Human finds it handy in quite a few situations.
Thunder and Storm did not look too happy about learning the back command or heeling to the line. BOL. All they want to do is retrieve?
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I just love the picture of the gold finches! Definitely don’t have any of those around here. How cool!
Great follow up . The pictures are lovely as ever!:)
Great questions and comments. I imagine that this sport you do with your dogs is a lot like other dog sports such as disc dog, dock diving, and agility… it’s for training, exercise, bonding, and fun.
Great shots of the finches and hummingbird…Thanks for explaining the heeling stick so well…Have a great weekend
That was very interesting information about the color of the bumpers and when to use which color, and your bird photos are beautiful. Enjoy your weekend!
Which brings to mind the question, what is the proper way to carry the bumper? Are any of them doing it correctly in those photos?
The birds are beautiful….we also keep berry bushes around to attract them, but I don’t think we have huckleberries. Mostly it’s blackberries, which unfortunately would take over the whole yard if we let them! I also try to plant flowers for the hummingbirds, because I get tired of trying to keep the feeders clean and full! π
Thanks for all the info – interesting as ever π
Great follow up and, as always, I love the photos π
Great follow-up! I love that you answer questions, but you don’t want me to start asking them because I’d have about a million of them!
But, I do have one that you’ve probably covered a long, long time ago… long before I discovered your blog: What first got you started with hunt training? What was your first experience with it that made you know you wanted to have retrievers and train them as hunt dogs? I’m so fascinated with all trained working dogs, whether they are trained for hunting, search and rescue, cadaver search, drug search, etc. So I love to hear the stories of how people get started with it.
Just about a year ago, I wrote a post about it. It is here: http://2browndawgs.com/2012/08/21/from-wd-to-wdq/
Thanks for asking. If you have any addition questions, ask away!
You can find a lot of red huckleberries in the woods here. I think they usually grow in places where the woods were once disturbed because you find them more around houses than way out in the woods. There you will find TONS of blueberries in the late summer though. We like to pick those on hikes. I usually pick a handful to put in my morning oatmeal if we are overnight backpacking π
I have heard black huckleberries referred to as wild blueberries, although I think they are different than true wild blueberries.
Love the explanation of huckleberrys. My dogs are ever so proud when they find a bumper and bird, Glory’s little butt just never stops wigglin. Thank you so much for the sidebar link to Glory’s contest. You are such a great friend!
I think it’s great that you use your follow up to answer everyone’s questions. There are so many of us out there that are not doing hunting with our dogs, and it’s nice that you are always ready to give us an explanation without making us feel silly for asking in the first place! π
Love this FUF post – I feel like I learned a lot!