Thread: Bo

I had forgotten I started this thread. Heaps has happened with Bo since my last update including getting his first two deer on the ground, finding a shot chamois and he even retrieved a duck for a fellow forum member who shot one of our ponds on opening weekend and he's now at a stage where I can pretty much guarantee he will take me in to a deer if I start him off in the right spot. We have had a few little speed bumps along the way including the past few weeks where it seemed as Bo approached his first birthday he wanted to challenge me a bit and needed some reminding about who the boss is but we have him back on the straight and narrow now.
He's been everything I hoped he would be, and more. I didn't start out with a specific goal of him being an indicating dog but he's sort of decided that himself so I have run with it, he even points now, not a good strong point like a visla or gsp, but a point all the same. He's a pretty smart dog and training has been a real pleasure as he picks things up quickly and even trains me on a few things as we go along. We are really fortunate to have a good population of deer on this property so despite being busy I have always found a spare hour here and there to do some practice with Bo and we "hunt" without the rifle quite often. I'm liking the new dimension having the dog brings to hunting and can't wait untill calving here has wound down and I can get him back out on some public land again. He's my shadow on the farm and spends most of every day with me and will even do a bit of simple mustering work bringing cows down off the hills etc. He's still a very laid back dog and I like that about him, doesn't get excited around new people etc. I'm having a bit of a conundrum at the moment deciding if I should have him fixed or not, on the one hand I know it will save any possible wandering problems etc but on the other hand I don't want it to change his demeanor in any way and the way he has been as a pup and how he's turned out makes me half think if might be nice to have a pup from him a few years down the track.