3 Surprises in One Day

First surprise was the arrival of Flynn's Grade One gundog certificate. For those who didnt see my blog, Flynn took his beginners gundog test a couple of weeks ago and I was told he achieved 76% which is a pass. I was pleased and proud of Flynn but also a little disappointed we scored only marginally higher than the most useless dog in the class.

However, his certificate showed he achieved a merit and when I looked at the test scores, the examiner had initially miscalculated. The only place Flynn lost marks was his heelwork and his return and delivery of the dummy, scoring full marks in the stay, recall, outrun and pickup and his hunting. His actual mark was 86% so I was totally chuffed with that!

The next surprise involved Flynn's first live retrieval from water. We came across a coot sitting at the waters edge. I could immediately tell it was on it's last legs as it made no attempt to move to safety when it heard us. Only Jed charging up to it made it move further into the water. Of course, as soon as Flynn saw he was in with a chance, he was straight in swimming after it. It managed to dive twice to avoid him but I think after that, it was sapped of energy and gave up. He caught it and brought it back where it died within a minute. Normally he shows no interest in birds on the water but he must have sensed it was easy pickings.
I tried to get a picture of Flynn with the bird in his mouth but he wouldnt hold it long enough so I got this instead:



The final surprise was Jed's return to swimming. After he discovered he could swim last August, there was no stopping him but he stopped totally when Flynn got bigger and always got in the water first. Jed decided it was far easier to stand on the shore and mob Flynn as he attempted to get out!
Anyway, for some strange reason tonight he thought he'd like to give it another go. His method is far from refined as he first hops on one foreleg and then doggy paddles at the air before taking the plunge! Once he gets in the water, he's a strong, fast swimmer but does a namby pamby dance before he gets the courage! I tried to get a pic with my phone but it's not too good. I think you can just about make out the splashes he's making and his tail stuck high in the air!

that's a hat trick then....................all three done and dusted. Well done