Went out today, driving the roads, looking for a bullsnake to teach Layne snake avoidance. As hot as it’s been, I should have realized there was no reason for snakes to be out on the roads to warm up. Saw a few very old and smashed snakes on the road, but I need a live, aggressive bullsnake. A few days back, I found a large rattlesnake that had been recently hit on the dirt road. It was the biggest rattler I’ve ever seen. 3/4 of it’s body was as big around as my Doctor Pepper bottle.
I went back, admired the huge head size, and then placed it on a trail where I knew the dogs would see it. I put the shock collars on the dogs, walked them around a little, and then headed down the trail. Grady either saw it or smelled it and made a big loop around the snake. It was obvious he was still very aware that snakes are bad. Once Layne saw the snake, she moved towards it. When I was sure she knew what it was, I zapped her. Yelping, she retreated back to me. That was a great response. I should have left it at that, but after a short walk, we came back in that direction. I decided to walk over by the snake and kick it towards Layne and again zap her. I knew it probably wasn’t the right thing to do, but I tried it anyhow. She yelped and took off running straight for the truck and hid underneath it. Luckily for me, she didn’t associate me wth the shock, and our short walks since then were just like normal. Anyhow, now I need a good live snake set up so I can see what Layne’s reaction might be. Hopefully she will avoid it, but if not, I’ll have to light her up again, in hopes she will know snakes are bad and to avoid them.
The wrong thing I am writing about is driving down the road. I don’t like driving down roads. I’d rather be walking. Walking has always been the best way for me to find birds. But my short walks have not produced any young birds at all this year. But while driving down the dirt roads today, I spooked several large coveys of Huns. Each covey had a good number of chicks, 10 or more, and they were more than half grown. I saw 6 to 10 different coveys but only tried to get the dogs on one. I saw where the birds landed and tried to walk the dogs in on them. Grady must have seen them fly also, because the minute I let the dogs out of the truck, he went on point. The birds were a hundred yards away, and after I called him off his point, he headed right for where they had landed.
As Grady got closer to the area they landed, the two adults flushed. Layne, all excited, took a short chase, but Grady locked up. I could see a few of the young huns in the sage bush beside Grady. Layne, seeing Grady on point, came running over. Before I could stop her, she flushed the birds. She very obviously doesn’t honor yet.
It’s a little bit confusing for me. Every pup I have ever brought up has respected the older dog and has automatically honored it. I never had to train them to honor. Hopefully, when the weather cools a little, Layne will start hunting with her nose instead of her eyes, and that will take care of itself. It’s so much fun to watch dogs hunt together and honor each other.
It’s getting closer to upland season, and I have to get the snake thing and the honor problem done with. Meanwhile, the right thing I did today was drive the roads. It educated me that there are at least a good number of Huns. I’ve just been going about looking for them the wrong way. Also, another chukar hunter sent me some videos of chukars on the road. I think the out-of-staters can start making some plans, as long as this hot weather we are having doesn’t produce a lot of fires
The Reigning Chukar Champions 