The Importance of being Ernest; or Sage, or Flint, or Laurel, or…

A rose by any other name smells as sweet, but a hunting dog named Fluffy is just wrong!  Mr George Bird Evans and I agree once again.  In the long and hallowed traditions of hunting over well bred setters, there is little room for “cute”, childish names as it, in my opinion, is disrespectful of the sport and the breed.  In our family, we have had some animals with less than stellar monikers: Famous Cow, the goldfish; Twinkle Star, the Great Pyrenees; Britty Kitty; and so on.  However, we have been more careful in the naming of some of our more outstanding pets.  Pete, the Pembroke Corgi, was named for “Pistol” Pete Maravich because he was a spunky contender from the start, and tough and smart to the end.  Flint, our foundation sire, named for the stone that ignited the powder charges of early English fowling pieces and the rifles of our Colonial citizen soldiers in our War for Independence, and indicative of his staunchness on point.  Leah, our orange Belton bitch, for the famous and fertile Old Testament wife of Jacob.  Names are highly personal, and ultimately left up to the new puppy owner to decide, but in deference to the noble breed and the tradition of the hunt, I lean toward the  more thoughtful, intelligent names.  Whatever you decide, use the pup’s new name as early and as often as possible.  Here at Daybreak English Setters,  we encourage our new owners to let us know their pup’s name as soon as possible, so that we can expose the little whelp to it early.

I will admit, I do have a soft spot for well thought out, “tongue-in-cheek” names.  We have an English Budgie (parakeet) named Bud G. Rigar, call name Bud.  My wife, the artist, has an adorable clown of an Old English Sheepdog named Claude Monet.  My 7 and 8 year old boys have a gecko named Sneako, which I am sure means something special to them but they have not been able to articulate the depth of that meaning to me as of yet.

To wrap it up, please show some thought and intelligence in selecting your pup’s name, as he or she will be stuck with it forever.  It also helps to keep it simple, a short one or two syllable name readily distinguishable on the wind and confused excitement of the field.

Stay tuned for the third installation of 10 Easy Lessons.  Thank you,   JB

Basket full of trouble!

On February 20 Judy, our tricolor Belton female setter, presented us with a litter of 8 healthy, gorgeous pups, 6 male and 2 female.  Delivery went well, with no problems or concerns.  She is a very good momma dog, too.  the “fun” for us will not start until 3-4 weeks of age, when clean-up and feeding responsibilities are transferred to us.  We have a little breathing room for now.  For a close up of each pup, go to our “puppies for sale” page and click “View Judy’s litter”.  Good girl, Judy!  Your pups are beautiful!

How about a little comic relief?  Our orange Belton female setter, Leah, has been in heat, but up to and including this morning, refusing our male, Flint, and his amorous overtures.  Just to make sure that we had not missed the breeding window, my wife Gia brought Leah to my veterinary office today to have a vaginal swab / cytology done to determine where Leah was in her heat cycle.  Within a few minutes of entering the office, while still standing in the waiting room, Flint “made a pass” at Leah, which she accepted, and they were soon locked in a lovers’ embrace- IN MY WAITING ROOM!  We managed to get them into the surgery before any other clients came in, thank God.  Can you imagine explaining to some young mother with her small children in tow just why you allowed such salacious behavior in your waiting room, necessitating prematurely the dreaded “talk” about birds, bees, and sex crazed setters?  Actually we all had a good laugh.  Needless to say,the test procedure was not necessary, as the proof, as they say, was in the pudding!  Puppies due from Judy any day now, and Leah should bring in a litter in 9 weeks or so.  Ah, the life of a vet!  Between our dog breeding business, our chicken shenanigans (yes, we have roosters), and our alpaca Casanova, Danger, our kids are pretty much desensitized to the realities of animal reproduction.  A couple months ago, my 8 year old, Eli, breezed by me in the kitchen and casually, without even breaking stride, said, “Oh,yeah, Dad, the alpacas are mating again”.

Sure makes “the talk” a lot easier!

Photos are of the loving couple; should be pretty cute puppies, don’t you think?

Well, this dog won’t hunt, but he sure is cute!  Little Chewy was in for suture removal today at the clinic; tumor removal surgery (benign, thankfully!).  He will kill for a treat; that is what he is trying to con me out of in the pic;  it worked.

      Well, here’s my first real post on my new blog.  I am a newbie, so be gentle!  As a breeder of English Setters, I have an interest in all phases of their development, including training.  I am going to start a series of short talks on “puppy conditioning”, which is sort of a pre-training regimen for gun dogs.  This is my take on a 10 step process offered by George Bird Evans, founder of the Old Hemlock line of setters and accomplished upland hunter and setter trainer, in his book, “Troubles with Bird Dogs”.

Lesson 1:  Gun shyness.

It is best to start introducing your pup to loud noises early and often.  Even before their ears open up, at about 2 weeks of age, they can feel the vibrations of sound.  Using a rolled up piece of newspaper, slap the side of the whelping box.  Later, when their ears open, clap your hands and continue to slap the paper to get them used to loud noises.  We do this with all our pups at Daybreak English Setters, along with serious socialization with our kids (10 still at home!)     When the pup is about 10 weeks old, start introducing loud noises as he is eating, working up gradually in volume.  The distraction of eating, along with the association of a pleasant activity (eating) with the noise will help to further vaccinate him /her against gun shyness.

One may choose to up the ante by using a .22 blank gun, available at gun dog supply dealers, as the next step in loud noise conditioning (www.gundogsupply.com is a good source).    Start at a distance, and work up gradually, while feeding pooch outside.  If the pup startles, back off and try again tomorrow.  Do not comfort him if he startles, as this will reinforce to him that the noise is indeed something to fear.  Consistency and resolve to carry out this conditioning is very important, as you do not want your pup’s first exposure to loud noises to be your 20 gauge on his first day afield!  That might just convince him to leave the county!  Different trainers part company from this point, but I think Mr. Evans’ ideas from here on out make sense, and they have worked well.

The best setting for your (properly sound conditioned) pup to experience shotgun fire is in the field, ON BIRDS!  Once again, there is a strong distraction force working, along with a strong positive stimulus (i.e., birds).  Remember the feeding/noise step?  When working  with training birds, after you have had a few points and flushes, fire a blank pistol or “primer poppers”, but not in the direction of the pup.  If all goes well, work up to shotgun shells, at a distance at first, fired away from pup.  At any point that pup becomes fearful or startled, back off and work up incrementally.

On his first day hunting afield, usually about 5-6 months old, it is best to have no other hunter with dogs along.  If something goes awry, you don’t want another hunter’s input.  Neither do you want your pup to witness any mistreatment of another dog administered by another hunter.  Definitely, take another experienced dog if you have one, just not another hunter.  When your pup noses that first bird shot over him, you will both be proud.   JB

From here

To here, takes time…be patient!

Day One

Hello, and welcome to A Quiver Full, and then some.  The title of my blog comes from Psalm 127, vv. 3-5: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows from the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.  Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them…” My quiver is  full; and then some.  I am the father of 12, husband of the love of my life for 28 years, veterinarian for 33 years, and part owner and head of barn and kennel construction at Cozy Green Acres Farm/Daybreak English Setters.  Among my non- human charges are 5 English Setters, and Old English Sheepdog, 3 cats, two Angora rabbits,2  Huacaya alpacas, 15 assorted chickens,and numerous smaller pets.  I do, of course, have help; remember the 12 kids and the wife?  My blog will contain stories, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, often funny, and always true, about these many blessing in my life.  I will include an eclectic smattering of other (I think) interesting topics, such as animal and people stories mined from the hundreds of  contacts I have had over the years as a vet.  And as a father, husband,and friend.  I’ll try to keep it out of the box.  Welcome.

1.	Mark Sturgill said on 2/10/13 – 05:41PM
	For an arrow to fly straight, it must have a straight shaft. It must have a point that is true, and above all the fletching must be applied with care. The shaft of the arrow is our faith. It’s where we return when we are tested. The point of the arrow is our character; it is courage that cuts through fear, and the fletching is our family. It’s all the life lessons that we learn from those we love. It is hope, faith, and love. It guides us straight through life’s challenges.
2.	Jim Barger said on 2/10/13 – 09:08PM
	thanks, Mark. Wise words; that helps me keep my broadhead sharp! Iron sharpens iron, you know. God bless….JB