Natural History

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

15 Responses

1. on August 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm George

   Awesome video. Dogs looked calm but very alert. I also liked the way they were worked. It looks like they were sent for birds from a designated spot and not necessarily from the handler’s side.

   
   
   • on August 18, 2009 at 10:16 pm retrieverman

     That’s what they want in their retrievers. They want steady, easily controlled dogs with natural retrieving instinct.

     
     
     • on August 18, 2009 at 10:48 pm flattie-n-Labbie

       In hunting and hunt-test training, if you want to be successful you need to practice and perform “remote sends” regularly–it’s very common in hunting, fairly common in upper level tests. (In field trials, it’s really never done.)

       
       
2. on August 18, 2009 at 7:37 pm Melinda

   I know next to nothing about hunting and am far more familiar with herding dogs than retrievers. But those are *wonderful* videos of dogs and people whose relationships are obviously enriched by the work they are doing together. Beautiful animals. Great videos. Perfect background music.

   
   
   • on August 18, 2009 at 10:19 pm retrieverman

     The music is excellent. It really adds to the wonderful cinematography.

     
     
3. on August 18, 2009 at 8:21 pm flattie-n-Labbie

   Nice dogs. Especially in the first video, you could tell they were in good shape and worked regularly, too. Did I see a Springer break in the second video??? ;)

   
   
   • on August 18, 2009 at 10:18 pm retrieverman

     You should check out the other videos. I’ve not been to the Borders of Scotland or Northumberland, but from the videos, it looks a lot like West Virginia.

     I’ve only been in the South of England, the Midlands, and the West Country.

     
     
     • on August 18, 2009 at 10:45 pm flattie-n-Labbie

       I will check out the other videos, yes.

       Some of the terrain looks a lot like the public training grounds I often end up on in Ohio–mostly “reclaimed” strip mine land.

       It’s interesting terrain, if stark.

       
       
       • on August 18, 2009 at 10:54 pm retrieverman

         Haha! We have an area the size of Kanawha County in West Virginia that has been strip mined. (Kanawha County is large by area and by population. It’s where Charleston is.)

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanawha_County,_West_Virginia

         The offiicial pronunciation and how I say it is correct. However, the locals call it “Kanaw.”

         
         
         • on August 18, 2009 at 11:17 pm flattie-n-Labbie

           And of course, I live in “O-ha.”

           
           
           • on August 18, 2009 at 11:26 pm retrieverman

             Which in West Virginia is called “O-hi-a.”

             
             
4. on August 18, 2009 at 11:29 pm flattie-n-Labbie

   Okay, I really like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sikn7axEWEo

   Two reasons: first, the dogs aren’t perfect (two boys growl, a dog doesn’t give up the bird like it should, neither thing treated as a tragedy, just dogs being dogs); second, the dog work is REALLY good.

   Whoever filmed and edited knows dogs.

   
   
   • on August 18, 2009 at 11:35 pm retrieverman

     Yeah, but it looks like so much fun.

     You know I have the full outfit– green coat, cap, and Wellies. I have a photo somewhere of me in the full get-up holding a cock pheasant.

     
     
     • on August 18, 2009 at 11:44 pm flattie-n-Labbie

       It looks like a hunt test, with all flyers and no judges.

       Heck, yeah, it looks like fun!!!

       
       
5. on August 20, 2009 at 2:05 am Now for something completely different… « Retrieverman’s Weblog

   […] this with the British retriever work videos I’ve been embedding. Quite a […]

   
   

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