Over the coming month's he quickly developed to be very athletic and I was thankful I had the room for him to run. Such a beautiful sight he was to watch just relishing in his ability to cast about the landscape. Beau's natural ability on birds was a 10 plus as well. Having quail and pigeons at the farm I learned very quickly this dog was something special. He'd strike a beautiful point on quail at just a few months old like a seasoned pro.
One day at my vets office he suggested I might want to attend a workshop by one of the pointing dog clubs to meet some people and give Beau an opportunity to work a couple birds. I thought well let's go and see what we can learn. There were about a dozen folks there with young dogs and a crew of nice people running the workshop. They had a pigeon tethered and first off wanted to let people bring their pups into the scent cone to get oriented. We stood back and watched as dog after dog either rushed the bird or cowered looking up at their owners for direction. Not a pointer in the bunch! Then the leader asked me to bring Beau up. Beau walked with me until we reached the edge of where people were watching and upon seeing the bird stopped raised a front foot and locked up! I heard someone say "What's he doing?" People became quiet as I just let him focus on the bird. The instructor then told me to bring him into the bird! Let him get used to the bird moving and flapping his wings. Well I knew Beau instinctively was programmed to hold point so we just moved away instead. We watched a few more dogs try to catch and chase the bird before leaving having decided this group couldn't be of any help except for picking up a few tips on homing pigeons. As we were walking back to the truck one of the members from the club stopped me and asked about Beau saying he thought he'd make a pretty good dog! Nice folks with good intentions but I learned early on it's all between you and your dog. You're the owner, pack leader and trainer. No one can read and understand your dog like you can. You just have to learn how to do it.
As Beau approached 10 months old he was quite confident, powerful and full of himself. With two other teammates to chase and bowl over we reached a point where I scratched my head and wondered what happened to that other Beau so innocent and perfect right out of the box? He had quit pointing training birds to boot and seemed to just want to run run run. After a consultation with the breeder I was assured he'd come around on wild birds and this was just a growing up stage quite common with many dogs. It was still a few months until we hit the road for sharptail grouse hunting and there were many days Beau and I found ourselves at odds over this adolescent behavior.
September came none to soon and I'll never forget turning out all 3 setters that first opening day in a half section of rolling alfalfa. They raced into the field with Beau in front running into the wind. He quickly veered south and slowed as he approached a slight rise then locked up tight his head held high with Mick and Molly honoring in a string right behind him. They were 100 yards ahead of me so I ran up within range as a covey busted in front of Beau taking one bird with my second shot just a couple minutes from the start of the run. I just shook my head and said " There ain't nothin wrong with that dog!" It really hit me at this moment that I had the incredible luck to have 3 very exceptional bird dogs. The development plan became very clear. Start with exceptional breeding and just add wild birds! Often.
I was very humbled by my experience with Beau because he had ability and potential beyond my comprehension in the beginning. Luckily he came along in my life when I had the time to fully enjoy the gift of owning such a beautiful and talented bird dog. I had read in a book that reaching an impasse with a dog during their development was the time to "put them on a shelf" while they grow up a little. That's all that Beau needed really. Having two other dog's to deal with made the task of giving Beau that time much easier as well. How to understand and develop a dog's potential was a valuable lesson indeed. The reward if you're patient could maybe be a once in a lifetime dog. That was Beau.
Beau's ability to detect scent at great distances was incredible and exciting to watch. He'd just cast about working the wind with head high then stop looking ahead to the source leaving you to play your part in the game. All the setters had their own strengths and together they made an excellent team. Beau was always out front and they'd watch each other as we'd work through cover checking to see who picked up scent. They're skills meshed naturally over time with Beau being the point man and Molly the wing "girl" being very fast but able to stop on a dime and an expert at tracking and recovery. Mick had an uncanny ability to read situations and anticipate the birds next moves. He loved the close work would hold forever and never left a situation until he found the very last bird. It all worked beautifully as Beau would never push or crowd birds always keeping a safe distance to avoid busting them so range was never an issue. On one afternoon he became birdy in some hilly pasture country and we moved along as he cautiously followed the scent. Grouse had moved through feeding in this area I suspected. Then as we reached the top of a hill he came to a beautiful point looking right at the top of the next hill! There was about 50 yards of flat land before the ground rose to this plateau of sorts he was focused on. As I looked at the situation of totally open area my only option was to move forward and hope when they flushed I'd maybe get a passing shot or maybe there would be a bird that stayed behind.. So I took a couple steps forward and a large group of sharptail started flushing from the very top of that plateau at a distance of course that was just out of range. But what a beautiful thing to see as Beau picked up that scent and pointed at that range. I will return to those hills now for as long as I can to remember what it was like to have a dog like Beau. He was made for that country.
There was a pecking order among my setters with Mick being the dominant male but while Beau respected the routines he clearly owned me! This was from day one of course and until the very end he'd check in with me after I got settled in bed then lay down on the floor next to me. He also wasn't shy about marking his territory getting himself in trouble one day in Montana after he took a leak on my friend Tom's custom made boots!
For over a decade life was like a dream as I lived out this fantasy I had as a kid of hunting places I read about in magazines in the local barber shop. Then the years flew by as we traveled together and enjoyed each other's company. I truly loved this dog and how special he was. Everyone that met him was immediately drawn to him by his friendly and gentle demeanor.
Suddenly it seemed season 12 came bringing tears to my eyes as I watched him start to fade in the field. That season became a tribute to all the setters as we just enjoyed each other's company as best we could. We took our time and stopped to rest more often. There were moments that seemed to be just like old times and others that reminded me we didn't have much time left. But precious they were either way.
Then on a clear day in June it was time for us to say goodbye finally. We had a fantastic run at life together and we had so many many great days in the field. As I looked at the sky I thought yes life will go on but Beau and I were here. Together. It was wonderful. Just wonderful.
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| Beau dreaming away the afternoon. So long my friend. |
