More Bird Exposure

Winnie's first exposure to quail was in a mowed yard at the trainer's, where she could see the bird. She showed mild interest in it, pointed it, and when it walked away she politely walked behind it like a baby chick following its mother. Better than being scared of the bird, or showing no interest at all, but when I got the opportunity to introduce some more to her today - thanks to the generosity of a cool neighbor I recently met with eleven acres and four setters - I wasn't sure what to expect.

We planted a bird in heavy cover and brought Winnie in from downwind. She quickly started following the scent, and located and pointed the quail! Then she pounced on it, batted it around and played with it. We threw it elsewhere in the cover and she quickly began smelling for it again, and pointing again. She eventually caught it, brought it to me and placed it in my hand. I've never been so happy to receive a gift of a mortally wounded bird in my life.

So we were walking back to the guy's house, less than a hundred yards, Winnie dragging the check cord. We turned around and she was gone. "Where's your dog run off to?" he asked. She was just there next to us a second ago. We looked back and there she was, she had run back to where the birds were!! I was very proud.

Anyway, it was fun and she did great!