Dear Bo
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By Chris Robinson
I can feel the warmth of your head on my foot down under my desk as the keyboard for my computer clicks along typing this. I could just tell you these things but then no one would know except the two of us. Written words always seem more permanent and somehow more meaningful although perhaps that’s just my bias since I make my living putting words on paper.
You have some pretty big paw prints to fill but I think you will be able to do it. It’s been almost three years since that March night when I had to say a sad goodbye to your predecessor and distant cousin. I still have times when the tears well up and I have trouble swallowing the lump in my throat when I think about having to tell the sympathetic veterinarian that it was time to end the dog’s battle with the canine version of COPD.
Maybe you wondered why I hugged you so hard and buried my face in your puppy fur when you came out of your crate after that long flight from Florida. The reason was that I miss the dog who occupied that same spot under the desk for more than 12 years and shared so many hunting seasons with me. He wasn’t the most titled dog I’ve ever owned but he had an uncanny ability to understand me that was almost scary at times. He also may not have been the best hunting dog I’ve ever had but whatever bird I asked him to hunt, from tiny bobwhites to giant geese, he willingly did it and he had the heart of a champion. No water was too cold for him to jump into, no brush too thick for him to bust through and he never quit. Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t something to be said for having dogs that just work and don’t invite love. Perhaps there is less heartbreak when you lose them.
Anyway, like you, he had a flock of champions, both field and conformation, in his pedigree but I’m writing this because you are one of the best looking dudes I’ve seen in all my years as an owner and breeder and I expect great things from you. When you grow up, I think you’re going to compare favorably to your group winning ancestors and maybe even with your BIS winning, maternal great-granddad. A little ways back in your pedigree, you have three of the finest dogs I’ve ever had the privilege to own, show, trial or hunt over and that doesn’t even include your immediate predecessor. You’ve shown a lot of intelligence already and that’s one reason I have hope that you’ll be the best one I’ve ever owned. You’ve made it clear that you believe my insistence that you sit before you get your meals is an unnecessary restraint on your desire to fill your stomach but you’ve already shown enough independence so it’s wise to remind you, on a regular basis, who is buying the food. In other words, who is the commander-in-chief in this relationship.
We heard you complaining about your confinement in the shipping crate at the priority shipping building at the airport while my padre friend and I proved to the folks at the counter that we were entitled to take you. You peered out of the crate, your yellow eyes not yet having lost all of their baby blue coloring, trying to decide whether I should be trusted or not. Apparently the answer was in the affirmative because when I took you out of the crate, you immediately snuggled down in my arms and stayed there, content that you’d found a friend, all the way to the truck. Once in the truck, you plopped down between the padre and I and instantly took a nap until we stopped for a sandwich and the young lady in the drive-thru handed out our order. At the faintest aroma of food, you woke up immediately and made it absolutely clear, in keeping with the practice of all your predecessors, that you expected that at least part of the sandwich would be yours, early preparation, I assume, for demanding at least half of the meatloaf sandwiches when we start hunting. From that moment, you acted as if you were home and more than happy to be there.
You settled right in to the house and insisted the very first night that your rightful place was on the bed alongside me. You also assumed that right also applied to all the sofas in the house. Within days, you were pretty good about housebreaking even though it was the middle of the winter when you arrived and it must have been a considerable shock having to make your “head calls” in a foot-and-a-half of snow. You had also figured out right away that you could get a rise out of the two girls in the dog room just by standing in the door and yipping at them. Not too close, however, since one of them regularly threatened to whomp you if she got the chance.
One of the really nice things about you is that you’d do almost anything for a treat or a toy and from the beginning, you have been very proud of your ability to pick things up and hand them to me. Of course, the downside of this “skill” has been that you quickly mastered the “trick” of taking every toy out of your toybox and scattering them throughout the living and dining rooms. It is also true that you have shown your independent streak on more than a few occasions. The first one came with the recall which you decided was optional depending upon whether you felt like coming or not or if there was an enticing enough treat being offered if you did come when called. The second major issue occurred during the force-breaking process when you had become quite proficient at “fetch,” “hold,” and “leave it” only to decide that the only command in that sequence that you cared to honor was “leave it.” But, eventually, we managed to work past that issue and now all three of those commands are something you are happy to execute.
It’s important always to keep in mind that you are part of a breed that does not hold up well under heavy pressure and rare is one of your breed that will put up with harsh training. Where many trainers including professionals go astray with guys like you is trying to force them into a one-size-fits-all training program. It is clear you need to understand everything, including the “why,” about what you are being asked to do or you won’t do it, or if you do, you will do it your own way. Unfortunately, over the years, this has been labeled as stubbornness by many professional trainers. In most cases, what’s really happening is that you are confused or think you have a better way of doing the task. I’ve had enough experience with other dogs in this breed to know it is unwise to be a tyrant with them. Rather you must be a benign ruler because success with you and every other dog I’ve had requires that our relationship be more of a partnership than a dictatorship.
It was clear early on that you had a problem with loud noises. So, I tried to make sure you had to put up with a lot of commotion in the house, but that did not entirely cure the problem. Luckily for you, I’ve had enough experience training dogs to know when an issue arises that I shouldn’t be messing with, and this was one of those times. While I have successfully introduced dozens of dogs to the gun, I’ve never had one as noise sensitive as you. What this meant was that you had to spend time with a professional trainer. And, it took a lot of time because you are a dog who needs to have his confidence built every time you are asked to do something new. See, I understand you as well as you are acting like you understand me.
You seem to be a good humored dog and the professional trainer who worked with you said you have a great personality. One other benefit is that you don’t look like your predecessor. You are lighter in color and have a harder coat. This is good because if you were his twin, I would be tempted to compare you to him and that wouldn’t be fair to either of you. You have the genes of champions jiggling around in your veins. The pro trainer says you are going to make it as a hunting dog; the pro handler says you’ll be able to finish your championship in the show ring and you have already earned top honors as a pet in my book. I couldn’t ask for anything more in a pup. So lie under my desk and snooze and dream, waking up every now and then to put your head in my lap and check on what I’m writing to make sure I get it right and don’t misspell your name, not something that’s likely to occur since it contains only two letters. Some days in our time with each other will be good, some positively dreadful and every now and then, one will come along that’s pure golden perfection. We have a long way to go together, Bo. But in the end, my fondest hope is that we will have given each other a fair trade.
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Posted by ralbee
on Sep 11 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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