Monday Mischief~Escaped Duck

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

This weeks mischief was that the door of our duck pen was open and a couple of ducks got out. Pen raised ducks usually stick around the pen as their friends are in the pen so they don’t go to far. When I went to feed the ducks with the dogs I saw the door was open, I then saw a drake and a hen mallard hanging out behind the pen. Gambler saw them too as he was off and running and caught the hen mallard. He brought it back to me to stick back in the pen. The drake flew off. The next couple of days after that the drake mallard was spotted on our pond then it would come back and hang out by the pen.

Here’s where the mischief begins. John goes out with the dogs, he spots the drake mallard comes in and tells me to go around the duck pen and push the duck to him so Glory and him could do a little hunt.

Off we go to get a duck.

Really! Do we get to finally get a pen duck?

Get’en ready.

Hello Mr. Drake.

uh ho I feel something is a little off, I bet get out of here.

I got it!

That’s mine!

Happy girl.

What shall I do now?

You shall pose with your pretty duck.

Have to pay attention from now on and keep that duck pen door closed. Can’t be letting those $15.00 ducks get away. Glory was the chosen one for this mischief fun.

On another note head on over to SlimKitty to check out SlimDoggy’s sister site SlimKitty that was newly launched last month. MK will make a guest appearance, today and be sure to check out on Wednesday also for Wordless Wednesday. SlimKitty is a site that will be a resource to help you keep your kitty fit and healthy. Thank you SlimKitty!

This is a Blog Hop. Thanks to Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog , Luna, a Dog’s Life , and My Brown Newfies for setting up this hop. Please go to any of the sponsoring blogs to find out who else has been mischievous.

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FitDog Friday~First Training Day Of Season

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

This weekend we finally had our first training day of the season. It was still very cold out but we bundled up and braved the coldness and set up some actual hunt test marks. John was the gunner and I was the handler. He did a double from the same station, what we call a mom and pop. One bird gets thrown one way and the other bird gets thrown the other way to make it a double mark. After the marks were picked up there were two blind set up that the dogs had to get by being directed by my hand signals. Both dogs were super excited to finally be out training.

Glory was first:

We are working on Glory being steady and doing doubles with her. Since she will be running AKC Senior hunt tests and UKC Seasoned tests this year those are the things she needs to do as well as run one blind. She was so excited on the first live flyer she broke (she went and got the bird before I could send her and before the other bird was thrown). We repeated the series and she did much better without breaking. I ran two blinds with her and she did them very well. Now we know what needs work right off the bat.

Up next was Gambler:

Gambler did very well also for his first time out. He sat rock solid on the first mark, sat solid on the second mark then he couldn’t take it as I was taking too long to release him and he broke. I got him back right away and made him sit there and then let him go. He flew out there as fast as he could and flew back so he could go out and get the other bird. His blinds were very good also.

Last but not least Nellie’s turn:

Nellie is run just for fun and so she can get some exercise in. She still needs to mind her manners and do things the right way but we are a little more lax with her. She still has it for a old gal. Hopefully her extra pounds will come off a little easier this spring and summer during training season.

Now onto our Resolve To Move Your Mutt blog hop that we joined at the end of last year. We are finishing up on the first quarter of the year of the resolution.

Remember this picture I submitted?

Glory’s resolution was to keep exercising and stay fit with hunt test training. Well we haven’t done much hunt test training this winter as it has been super cold and had massive amounts of snow. She kept fit by just running in the snow. I think she is fit for taking the winter off.

Gambler’s resolution was to eat more and gain a couple of pounds and to stay fit. I did feed Gambler a bit more this winter but then he decided he didn’t want to eat some of his meals so this was challenging. She might of put on a pound but not much more than that. He is still very muscular and very fit.

Nellie’s resolution was to eat less, walk more, loose more weight and to be fit. Nellie and I have failed so far with her resolution. She did get out and exercise a little bit but the calories she burned were put back on by her disappearing acts of running off when outside to go potty and snack on anything she could find, so no weight loss this winter. We will try harder this next quarter.

Please enjoy our FitDog Friday Blog Hop brought to you by SlimDoggy and our co-hosts Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love. Join the Hop or just enjoy the links below – lots of fun fitness tips and advice!

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Monday Mischief~Metals

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

This weekend we had a good kind of Mischief. Once again we were at a hunt test. This hunt test was a UKC HRC test hosted by Muddy Water’s Hunting Retrieving Club. It was held by Steven’s Point, WI at the Mead Wildlife

Glory was entered in Started, which I ran her and Gambler was entered in Seasoned, John ran him. Gambler’s first test was land, he had a double with a diversion thrown after the second mark was brought back then he had a blind. He did excellent on everything even listened to John on the blind. He then went on to water where he had a walk up then his 2 marks. After that was done then he ran a small channel blind and did another excellent job. He got his second seasoned pass.

Glory first test was water, she had 2 single retrieves on water. The first mark she went right in and brought the bird back. The second one she had a small amount of hesitation, she went to the left she went to the right looked at the decoys on the right then I was just about to resend her and then she jumped in and got her duck. The land was next and she had no problems at all. She got her first started pass.

Sunday was another test day. Same scenario as Saturday. Glory was entered in Started, which I ran her and Gambler was entered in Seasoned, John ran him. Gambler’s first test was land. It was a walk up then the blind then his double marks. The blind was a little harry, he wouldn’t listen once again at the end, he thought he could find the bird by himself. He had a couple refusals and the judge said he needs a clean water blind. Glory did most excellent on water. She jumped in twice and had no hesitation at all. I was very proud of her, is she coming around???? We will see. Her land was spot on too! She nailed her 2 land marks, didn’t stop short, didn’t over run them she was spot on! She received her second started pass on Sunday.

Gambler ran land first which was a walk up then the blind which he had trouble at the end of the blind again. He thought he knew where it was so he wasn’t taking John’s cast as well as he should of. The judge told John he could continue to the marks but he better show more control on his water blind to pass. His land double was good. He moved onto water and had to do the blind first which he showed more control and did the blind nicely, then there was a diversion and the 2 water marks. I didn’t get to see this test at all as it was in a small area with no place for me to hide so I stayed by the truck. I was listening to the whistle blows and thought he was having troubles on the blind again but I was wrong and he passed. He received his Hunting Retrieving title and I got wet.

Gamblers new name is: USJ HR U-CH Sand Spring Ev’ry Paw’s A Winner JH

Getting ready for the COLD well water.

The baptism!

WOWEEEE that was cold but well worth it!

A big thanks to Muddy Waters HRC! This was our first time running our dogs on the Mead Wildlife grounds. We had a fabulous weekend, met some really nice people, the club members, the judges everyone made it a great weekend. We will be coming back!

Please don’t forget to go to http://pheasantsforever.org/page/1/puppycontest_2013.jsp and vote for Glory. She isn’t doing to bad on votes.

Don’t forget also if you haven’t left a comment on my Rain Forest Coastal Labs Shampoo blog post last week go back and check it out and have a chance to win a sample of their shampoo by leaving me a comment. This contest will end Tuesday AM Aug 6th.

My blog friend PHE is in the cutest but caught contest also, stop on by and vote for her also.

She is one the destroyed couch with this caption: MOM…I promise, it wasn’t me! The other 3 are hiding. They just want you to think it was me!

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This ‘N That Thursday

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Today we are joining 2 Brown Dawgs for their This ‘N That Thursday’s blog hop!

This is what she has to say about the hop,

A little of this and a little of that and everything in between…

“This ‘N That Thursday is for anything you want! Maybe you want to post about unrelated topics, or each topic isn’t quite long enough to make up a whole post, or you have awards to share, or you have one long post…anything goes! So grab the button and join the hop!”

Where o where to start, I have been so busy and have so many little pieces to tell you I don’t know where to start.

This weekend I put up my hummingbird feeder, I had it’s first guest and I got a picture of it. It was late in the afternoon so the color of the hummer didn’t capture like I wanted but here is the first pictures of the little guy. Hopefully I will get better pictures later.

Can you spot the little guy?

Sunday Morning we had a intruder, we woke up to a horrendous scream that sounded like it was in our yard. Got up and looked and sure enough it was in our yard. The neighbors peacock came down for a visit. I guess he thought we had a peahen for him. When I opened up the door he took off.

May 1st I got out our incubators and put some duck and chicken eggs in them to incubate for the next month in hopes to hatch out some birds for our training season. Ok the chickens are to go in the pen and give me some eggs for breakfast when older.

The incubators in my make shift hatchery on the table.

Chicken’s incubate for 21 days and ducks incubate for 28 days. The brown/pink eggs are the chickens and the green/blue/white eggs are the ducks. Here is a chicken piping the shell to make it’s way out.

Getting closer.

Almost out.

The chick 3 days old the blond colored chick.

A grey colored chick.

One duck hatched out early, I will post him up later. He is hanging out with the chickens. One happy family.

Nellie on her perch saying “Happy TNT everyone”.

We went to our trainers on Sunday and had a great training day. Here is a sneek peek of our day.

So that wraps it up for today, why don’t you hop on over to 2 Brown Dawgs see what their up to and grab the badge and join the hopping fun!

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Wordless Wednesday ~Hunt Test

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Wordless Wednesday is a community linkup of bloggers. Visit our host, BlogPaws, and you can use the icons below the post to hop from site to site. It is a great way to discover new blogs…..or even just a convenient way to find all of your favorites in one place. When you visit each site, be sure to leave a comment and let them know you found them through Wordless Wednesday.

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Random Bird Pictures And A Muskrat

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Spring is upon us here in Wisconsin. We are blessed that we live in a area where there are many lakes, marshes and rivers. So when spring hits us we are always driving around looking at these spots for cool ducks or other animals. Some ducks have better color of feathers in the spring than in the fall so it’s nice to see those birds in spring. The birds are getting ready to lay eggs and start a family so you see the ducks and geese paired up as well as big groups.

These Hooded Merganser pictures were taken 2 miles from my house on a river that flows close to our house property and close to where I own some hunting land.

Drake Hooded Merganser.

Hen Hooded Merganser.

Taking off.

Group Of Mergansers. One with hood up.

Canadian Geese

The field in the back ground is my field. I own the field and the woods and only a small part of the marsh. The water that the geese are sitting on is owned by someone else and it is in a government program so they can’t make any changes to the water at all or put up permanent blinds or stands.

Canadian Geese

Breeding Pair.

Drake and Hen Ringbill.

Ringbills taking off.

These Canvasbacks and Ringbills were on a lake called the Kingston Mill Pond. We do hunt on this lake on occasion.

Drake & Hen Canvasback.

Drake Canvasback.

Group of Canvasbacks.

Group of Ringbills.

And then there was lonely Mr. Muskrat busy eating.

Mr. Muskrat.

That is the end of our wildlife cruise. Hopefully later I will be able to get some closer pictures of the ducks.

This ‘N That Thursday

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Today we join our friends at the 2 Brown Dawgs blog for This ‘N That Thursday.

“This ‘N That Thursday is for those times when you want to post about unrelated topics or each topic isn’t quite long enough to make up a whole post. It can be anything you want, so feel free to grab the button and join us!”

The Duck/Chicken Pen

I keep a few chickens around for fresh eggs. The lay during the warm weather but when it gets cold out they stop laying. Some say I could put a light on as they lay more when the days are longer and with a light on you can trick them into thinking the days are longer. I choose not to do that as I only have a few so I would maybe get one egg a day and it isn’t work the extra electricity. The chickens have a giant enclosed outside pen with a chicken house attached so they can get out of the weather. The chickens do have to share their space with the Mallard ducks. Each year we either start out in the spring by purchasing day old Mallard chicks and raise them up or we keep a few ducks over from the previous year and collect the eggs from the hens come spring time and incubate them and hatch out our own day old. Last year we had so many ducks left over after training we kept them threw the winter. We will then collect their eggs and incubate them instead of purchasing them. We sell most of the ducks to our trainer for training birds. We will use a few on our own dogs for training. Keeping ducks is a very messy ordeal so many don’t want to raise them. We have a big enough area where we can keep them and I enjoy watching and raising them so I don’t mind the mess. The dogs enjoy the ducks too, Norman and Nellie have been raised with them for so many years they are used to them and know the ducks in the pen are off limit. When I go into feed them they will sneek threw the door behind me and will wonder around the pen looking for nibbles of left over food. They leave the ducks alone and the ducks are not scared of them. Gambler and Glory on the other hand are not allowed in the pen yet! They chase them and make the ducks fly around the pen and they get them all riled up. Maybe in a few years they will be able to be in there at feeding time but not now.

Here are some pictures of my birds.

The duck/chicken pen.

My birds.

I need booties for my big orange feet.

Ohhhh it’s cold out here.

The queen hen.

Susie Mallard stretching her wings.

Mr. Drake stretching his wings.

Gambler The Mountain Goat

Gambler is one driven dog when it comes to something he likes (toys & training). He loves to be out doing something, he is always on the go. When we are done playing or training we need to put the items in use up high or behind closed doors as he will find a way to get what he wants. Yesterday his football was up on top of Nellie’s kennel high out of reach, so we thought. When I was in doing laundry I see Gambler first jump into Nellie’s kennel and stick his nose up threw the crate holes trying to get his football. Since he couldn’t get it that way he then jumped out of Nellie’s kennel and jumped on to Glory’s kennel then jumped on top of Nellie’s kennel and grabbed his football. He did this a couple of times while I was getting the camera to take the picture. He has no fear of highs, all he cares about is if he got his toy. John did come in and lift him off the crate so he didn’t hurt himself. He is such a resourceful dog that may get him in trouble one day.

Ha Ha I got my toy!

One Big Beaver

John does trapping on the side. Gambler loves to see all the critters John brings home. This time a friend of ours brought over this beaver for John to take care of. The beaver weighed 65# and Gambler tried with all his might to pick it up. He was able to drag it around for a bit but couldn’t pick it up as it was almost as big as him. Gambler weighs 70#.