Two weeks left in the season. Two weeks of planning, anticipating, sweat, disappointment, success and excitement. The NFL playoffs and Superbowl, not hardly, I’m talking about upland bird hunting with my Clumber Spaniels. It has parallels to the NFL to be sure: Off season training, a playbook of commands, coaching, preparation and execution. Not only for your dog but, for you too.
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The Clumber
Spaniel is not a well known breed, even though it was one of the first ten breeds, recognized by the AKC. The largest of the Spaniel breeds, the Clumber is a closer working, more deliberate hunter than his smaller supersonic Spaniel cousins. And that is part of the appeal of the breed for this early fifties aged individual that still wants to spend time in the field.
Like any sport or hobby the time and effort put into it usually dictates the level of success, hunting with a Clumber Spaniel or any breed is no different.
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Our three Clumbers, JAZZ, ROSIE and BEN turned three years old this fall and are in their second hunting season. Concentration was placed on obtaining conformation titles on all three Clumbers during their first two years while still finding opportunities to work on hunting skills and techniques. They have indulged us by competing successfully in the conformation ring and now it is time to do what they truly love and were bred for, HUNT!T!
While to me, every day of the weekend spent in the field with the Clumbers is the Superbowl, I am by no means a Vince Lombardi or Bill Bellichek of dog trainers. Clubs that have training days, hunt tests and members that share their knowledge are great ways to see how your team is doing. While Clumber Spaniels are no longer field trial spaniels, working with field trailers is great practice and opens up many more training opportunities. I have had the good fortune to spend time with some great trainers and their gracious sharing of knowledge and at times humbling appraisal of my handling techniques have helped immensely. Creating the perfect hunting dog is NOT a requirement for enjoying a day hunting in the field but the foundational work time spent at home and in off season field training carries over to the regular season. Your playbook of commands, COME, HUP (SIT), and DEAD BIRD to name a few will put things in motion. They are spoken verbally and with a whistle and they are the language you choose for your team.
JAZZ, ROSIE, BEN and I mainly hunt Valley quail in the rugged desert foothills North of Los Angeles. Wild birds on public land with considerable hunting pressure. This season has been challenging as drought conditions over the past year has adversely affected bird populations. The Clumbers don’t mind, only the two that have to stay home are upset as I have only taken one dog at a time this season. Unlike training or hunt tests we don’t know where the birds may be and the terrain is varying degrees of up down and sideways. The Clumber Spaniels hunting style pays off here. A Clumber will not tend to spend a lot of time in areas they don’t sense birds in. This allows you to walk a large area and send out your dog and see if they get BIRDY, which with JAZZ, ROSIE or BEN is unmistakable. The sight of the big white rear end wiggling uncontrollably while they zero in on their bird is like being in the RED ZONE. GAME ON, get ready the flush is coming, one bird up and going right, two more straight in front, four more blast up to your left, noisy grey blurs of wings buzzing away from you. Steady yourself, pick your target, shoot, shoot, shoot. I remind myself to get to the range as JAZZ looks at me
waiting for the command to fetch up a dead bird. Instead I blow my hawk screamer in hopes of holding the dispersed covey. I give JAZZ the signal and she happily heads across the small arroyo towards the spot the quail hit the ground running. O for one in the RED ZONE. We finish the day with one quail and the memories of another Superbowl. As I sit back at home watching the game, Jazz is laying on her cushion at my feet running in her sleep. I’m sure it’s the Clumber Spaniel version of instant replay.
https://www.thedogplace.org/Breeds/Clumber-Spaniel/Field-work_Osburne-132.asp
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