Sophie off at bird camp

[vaturkey]

Have a my little Lew Sophie at On Point Outffitters in Pa for a month of sharpening up. I'm headed on vacation for a few weeks and it was cheaper to take her up to On Point then it was to put her in a local kennel where they would walk her twice a day and she would be looking at the inside of a cage. Fellow up there I worked with is Mike. They have about 500 acres and have their own shooting preserve. Got a report yesterday they were shooting quail over her and working on her retrieving and also putting her on a diet. Little thing was a tad chunky from eating Asian Pears from a tree we have in the back yard. PS. Attached is a cute puppy pic when she was 8 weeks old and a picture of her dialed in rather intensely. PS. Sophie came out of the Lynhill Kennels lines which has closed. I got her from East Coast Lewellins in Va.

[Jim Cloninger]

Great pictures, Tom. Thanks. Jim

[Foxnut]

Great pics Tom. I bet Sophie appreciates being at camp better than the kennel.

[Dave Erickson]

Beautiful setter, Tom.

[vaturkey]

Thanks for the kind words.

Got another nice report the other day from someone who dropped by On Point to watch some dog work. Said he was looking at this little Lew who was a great bird finder and rock solid. Said he tried to get her to move while she was on point by stomping the brush in front of her and making loud noises and she was dialed in and wouldn't even twitch as she was screwed into the ground. He asked whose Lew and they told them it was mine and that it was out of East Coast Lews in Va and he knew them. He then reached out to East Coast and told them what he has experienced and they then sent me a very nice note. Unfortunately the combination of dogs that yielded Sophie is no longer in the breeding program due to age of both. Glad I at least got one out of that breeding for sure. Sophie is a 75 to 150 yard dog in the grouse woods and that works for me. She no doubt would open it up if we hunted in the midwest for Quail and we are contemplating a Kansas trip in December if we can find a place to hunt.

[eightbore]

I wish I could spend a day in the "grouse woods" with a 75 or 100 yard dog. Maybe I could get an explanation about 100 yard dogs in the grouse woods. I would be frantic if my dog got 100 yards away in the woods.

[vaturkey]

I wish I could spend a day in the "grouse woods" with a 75 or 100 yard dog. Maybe I could get an explanation about 100 yard dogs in the grouse woods. I would be frantic if my dog got 100 yards away in the woods.

Bill,
All the new dogs guys are running a GPS system on their dogs these days and they seem to like them big running dogs. I have a friend who used to have a big running dog. He said he would let it out of the truck with a Beeper on and when he couldn't hear the beeper any more he would whistle her in. He figured he could hear the beeper out to about 250 yards. He now runs a GPS system and doesn't see the dog after he lets it out of the truck unless the dog is on point somewhere and the GPS then leads him to the dog. My little Sophie is quite a bit better then that. She will get out to 150 yards max and then come back and check in with me and then work out again. In super thick grouse woods, its more like 75 yards max. I understand big running dogs to a degree as there is a whole lot less birds out there then there used to be and dogs with a bit more range can on occasion find birds that close ranging dogs don't find. That said, I like seeing Sophie and watching her work scent and slam into a point. To me that's what dog work is all about, but I do understand those who like big running dogs as well. For me however that would take a lot of the fun out of bird hunting.