Recently, Glenda asked me if I could start contributing to the field column for this magazine. Though quite intimidated to be following her field expertise and writing skill, I was reassured after she told me that the column can take a beginners perspective for now. So with the promise of Glenda’s guidance, here is my introduction and first column.

My name is Pam Ford and I live in north eastern Maryland, just a couple of miles as the crow flies from the top of the Chesapeake Bay, a waterfowler's paradise! I have 3 Golden Retrievers and have worked with them in tracking, obedience, and therapy dog activities, but field work and hunting are my passions. Until recently I had little opportunity to focus on these passions, but as my children have grown up, I found I finally had some time for me! My husband fully supports me in the time and expense required for this hobby otherwise known as "dogs". I am also fortunate enough to have a great group of more experienced "dog friends" who are always willing to listen and help me work through training questions or problems.

In the fall of 2008, High Peak’s Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, "Strider", was the most recent Golden to join our family. As with each puppy acquired for a specific purpose, I was full of both hope and anxiety. Would he like to do what I wanted him to do? Would he be good at it? What could I do to enhance his chances during his puppyhood? How could I keep from creating issues due to my lack of experience? This was my first dog from field lines, how different would he be?

Well, I decided that the safest bet was to stay out of the way! I let nature take its course and just let Strider be a dog for his first 6 months. I think the only formal things I taught him were the "sit" and "wait" commands. But, I worked hard at exposing him to fun experiences hunting and as many situations in the field as possible. Without any demands being placed on him during the hunt, he voluntarily retrieved downed game alongside my brother’s elderly Labrador Retriever hunting companion. He retrieved his first goose at 5 months, crossing a wide channel and climbing a 3 foot high bank to get the bird on land. He retrieved numerous Mallards in swims long and short and quickly showed that he innately understood the concept of a double. He brought back his first crippled goose at 6 months – and while I did not knowingly allow him to get into that situation, he was not a bit intimidated. Best of all, he was having fun, and each experience seemed to ratchet up his drive a notch or two!

In March 2009, we started formal field training with a Master Hunter title my lofty goal! By September, Strider earned his JH title, following it up with a WC in November. Now 18 months old, Strider has spent significant time in the duck blind and goose fields this hunting season. I have loved watching him in these first transition steps from eager puppy to educated hunting dog. And since most of the time spent hunting is a quiet solitary time, I have had plenty of time to observe.

I’ve noticed that dogs really do enter another zone when they are committed to a task working side-by-side with you rather than under continuous control. As I sit still and watch, Strider consistently takes several steps on his own now when we set up the hunt. First he evaluates the field, watching each group of decoys in the distance long enough to ascertain that they are still just decoys. Then he trots a semicircle around the blind, up to about 80 yards out, stopping to sniff various areas. I wonder if he is figuring out where the geese where last night? That done, he comes back and sits 5 yards in front of me and scans the horizon, first to the left, then the right, then the left. Every time he sees birds on the horizon he sits up straighter, ears up. When the birds turn out to be seagulls, Strider’s shoulders and ears slump again and it’s back to watching the horizon. Has he really learned that I don’t shoot certain types of birds? He’ll sit there for 30-40 minutes like that, glancing back at me occasionally as he and I discuss the probability of the birds flying at a particular time, or from which direction they will land today.

When I hear a flock of geese approaching, a simple "kennel" command makes Strider enter his little pop-up tent camo blind. In there, he sits with his head out the door watching while I attempt to call in the geese without giving away my hide. When the geese check me out from overhead but are still out of range, he stares at me with a puzzled "why didn’t you shoot" expression. He obviously hasn’t learned range yet! Or, he thinks too highly of my marksmanship!

While we patiently wait and learn, and I occasionally shoot a goose, with every quiver of excitement Strider shows me that this is what he was meant to do. And when you partner with your dog in the area of his or her highest desire… wow, what a partnership!

Field work is what Strider lives for! I’m just along for the ride and having a grand time of it!

Since there is only one more opportunity for us to hunt waterfowl this season, I’ve already begun to look back at what we’ve learned.

This season, Strider has learned:

• water entries from rocks, blinds, swamps, and boats,
• low tide mud running,
• retrieving a long gliding cripple from the boat,
• that he must give up the bird before he can get back in the boat,
• how to follow the four wheeler through the woods to move our set-ups,
• looking in the direction the gun is pointed, and,
• that I am not going to shoot the Turkey Vultures no matter how many times they circle us.

And I have learned,

• that geese are worthy opponents; ducks are much easier to hunt,
• that I’m not going to hit anything when I leave the improved cylinder choke in the gun after gunning for the WC - with no way to change it to Full in the field,
• that if I’m willing to lug a bit more equipment, I can do some training drills in the fields when the birds aren’t flying,
• that a dog with Strider’s drive and talent gets me invites to other hunts, and,
• how much I enjoy sitting outside in all kinds of weather with my dog,

Although waterfowl season may be almost over, pheasant, chukkar, and quail are in until March and my clubs’ formal field training days are starting back up soon. We have lots of work to do as Strider and I continue our training – both of us students! I hope to be able to share the journey with you this year.

Wish us luck!