On Monday, we were thrilled to be invited on our first pheasant hunt at a picturesque, private farm in Dutchess County, NY. The weather was unseasonably warm, around 40 degrees and partly sunny. Savi, who has never been on pheasant and also hasn't had any formal training since she completed her Senior Hunter title two years ago, was just beyond amazing in the field. From the start, she immediately went into full hunting mode, searching for the pheasants and strategically covering ground by quartering, working the wind and picking up scent.
Pheasants can be very challenging for the dogs as they are fidgety, tend not to hold in position and run. Savi had a fantastic day, found nine birds, although our group had only bought six. Unfortunately, my hunting partners were off their game and missed all but two of the birds. Savi was rewarded for her work and had two lovely retrieves. My friends, who had never hunted with her before, were quite impressed with her awesome nose and how well she listened. Savi had solid points, even on walking birds and was tenacious in her tracking them down. A few times, she went on point and we couldn't locate the bird. I would release her to relocate and she would only move a few feet before going on a staunch point. The old saying, "Always trust your dog" was the theme of the day and after scrutinizing the area where Savi was looking, we always found the bird, sometimes 20-30 feet in front of us! She hunted with style and enthusiasm, which we all marveled at, for three hours before we called it a day and a fantastic day at that.
Savi showing off her agility skills!
Savi going to retrieve her first rooster - it was a big one!
Savi, beautiful on point!
Savi was on an intense point and we finally found the hen about 20 feet ahead in the pine trees!
The corn fields made good cover for the pheasants.
Savi on point
A truly fun and productive day in the great outsdoors!
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