Two days prior I had introduced Kodi to a dog trainer Steve Klassen at Blue Ridge Kennels in Dixon. This is only 25 minutes from the pheasant club. We plan to leave Kodi with him for a week when we vacation to Mexico in April and I did not want that experience to be to hard on Kodi. This is only the second time in my life of boarding out my dog and I do not enjoy the worry it causes me. During the two days at Blue Ridge Steve worked Kodi on Bobwhite quail and for some reason Kodi would not point for him. Instead he just caught the birds. Steve liked his boldness and said he thought he was a good looking dog and not to worry about that. I told him that Kodi pointed for us on wild birds and I wasn't worried.

Well enough about that back to the hunt. Kodi worked the area with ease and always kept in contact with us to the point my friend Dan said what a pleasure to hunt and not have to yell at the dog. On the first bird Kodi locked up less than three feet from the bird and about 30 yards from me. As I approached to about 10 yards Kodi jumped and caught the bird. He brought it right to me and I let him mouth and sniff it for about three minutes in my lap as this was the first pheasant he had seen.

The next bird came in less than five minutes and this time he held his point a 90 degree right hand turn until I kicked the bird into the air. As it flew he charged after it and I shot at about 30 yards and he was on it in less than three seconds. This time he did not want to bring it back so fast so I did not rush him. About five minutes later he gave up the bird and we continued hunting.

The next bird he went on point at about 30 feet from the bird as the weather was improving and sent was traveling a little farther. He held his point until the bird flushed from me at about 30 feet from 90 degrees to the left of Kodi. This time Kodi brought the bird right back to me and I let him mouth and sniff the bird in my lap for about 15 seconds and we were off hunting again.

All remaining three birds were pointed by Kodi and he held until the birds flushed. On the last one he was about 40 yards in front of us and about 20 feet from the bird. When I reached Kodi the bird flushed straight away and low I did not shoot as Kodi was following to close to the bird. Finally at about 45 yards the bird lifted and I shot it. Kodi brought it right back. I think this last bird reinforced in Kodi's mind that he his not going to get these birds without me. What a day we had."


Ernie