It’s really hard to explain to someone who has never seen a bird dog work a bird just how exciting the whole process is. We’ve tried to explain it to family and friends, but we are pretty sure they’ve written us off as “crazy dog people.”
Checking the AKC hunt test schedule, we noticed that there was going to be a double-double (4 tests in one weekend!) in Reno, NV on the weekend of September 12th. Indy was on a hot streak, quickly picking up three legs this past Spring, but we decided to stop entering him in events so that we could try to finish his title in Reno.
Reno is where Marc’s family is located and we really wanted them to be able to see Indy run. So we loaded up the RV and made the 16 hour drive (yes you read that correctly) to Reno. The three of us (Indy’s handler/trainer Tad Walden drove with us) switched driving, dog entertainment duties, and sleeping shifts, and pulled into the test site 30 minutes before Indy was to run. Talk about perfect timing!
Marc’s Dad, Mom, and Step-Dad all made it out and were able to watch Tad handle Indy perfectly in back-to-back passes. The Northern Nevada Brittany Club and the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Reno had the perfect set-up where the gallery had a great view of the action on both fields.
In his first test, Indy had to hold a 8.5 minute honor while his bracemate tried to find the bird that she clearly didn’t see go down. Indy held like a good boy, and then went on to locate his bird and retrieve a LONG retrieve to hand. In his second test, Indy ran with a beautiful GSP who had just finished her Field Champion title the weekend before. This girl got to the line and then TOOK OFF. We didn’t see her again until we got to the bird field were she was having a great time busting birds. Luckily Indy was still able to find a bird in the field and his retrieve was in perfect view of the gallery. Indy’s Grandparents were beaming with pride as they got a front row view of his perfect retrieve. After his retrieve, his bracemate went on point, and Indy was able to get in his honor. Trouble came when the other handler flushed the bird and the GSP broke and ran around jumping, trying to catch the bird in the air. But Indy was a good Vizsla and held his honor through the fiasco. The judges both came up and gave Indy several pats and their congratulations. (As a side-note we saw the same GSP in the earlier test and she handled beautifully, earning a leg…guess she was just having too much fun in the afternoon!)
The best part was that since Indy passed in both tests on Saturday, we were able to enjoy a great dinner with Marc’s sister, brother-in-law, and their three beautiful kids and didn’t have to worry about getting up early on Sunday.
Indy is Tad’s fourth Master Hunter and he has trained all of them without the use of an e-collar or forced breaking. We are convinced he is a “Dog Whisperer”.