Nottingham's Tridon Lee Roy JH
April 17, 2010, Lee Roy's 1 yr birthday was spent running in his first AKC Spaniel hunt test in Spivey, Kansas at the Springer Spaniel Club of Central Kansas. He was good enough to get a "Pass" for the day! What a birthday present! The next day, Lee Roy achieved his 2nd Pass and was half way to his Junior Hunter Title. It was a long week until his next chance to run in a Hunt Test. April 24 and 25 were spent running in the Missouri Hunting Spaniel Club's Spring hunt test. Lee Roy did a nice job both days and completed his requirements to earn his Junior Hunter Title in the AKC Spaniel Hunt Test program.
Lee Roy's next Test adventure will be in the Started Division of the HRC Hunt Test program on May 22 and 23 at the Kansas City HRC Hunt Test at Smithville Lake, Missouri.
A Big Thank You goes to the Bramwell's for allowing me to breed Bingo to Robb. At only 18 wks old, they are all showing nice attitudes and retrieving desires. It looks like all 5 pups are going to be nice hunting companions.
Introducing the new addition to the Nottingham pack, Lee Roy. Most times called "Lee" and on some occasions, "Lee Roy". I helped deliver Lee on April 17 along with his other siblings. When Pat Bramwell saw the first pictures of the pups, she really liked the brown pup with the orange yarn collar. Well, if Pat liked him, then maybe I should keep him. Pat has a good track record for picking pups and I kept thinking about the brown pup. Could I let him go and always wonder... "What if..?" The mostly brown pup kept growing on me so I picked him as my pick from the litter at 2 wks of age. He has been a nice pup so far but still only 16 wks of age at this time. You can view the "Puppies" page and see pictures of the pups and info on Lee's breeding.
I have been patient with his training but he keeps learning things and I keep introducing him to new things. He took to the water gradually after several trips to some local ponds but as he grew he became more comfortable in the water. Below is a link to a video clip of Lee Roy making a water retrieve in July 2009 as a 3 mth old pup.
Lee got to experience live pigeons on August 15 and is starting to notice birds with a little more focus when they fly over the yard. He is starting to develop a nice quartering pattern and follow hand directions.
September 1st found us at a dove field opening the Fall 2009 hunting season. I had Lee in the truck but not on the field. After we finished hunting and things calmed down, I got Lee out for a walk and let him smell the smells of a dove field.
The next week we went to St. Louis for an AKC Spaniel Hunt Test. I was running Bingo in a Master Test but I took all the dogs along for the travel experience. Lee was learning the routine of traveling, sleeping in the trailer, eating in strange places and being a good traveler.
I think it is a good idea to get young pups exposed to the routine of traveling so that when hunting trips come along, the pup handles the situations more smoothly. This routine proved well when we went to North Dakota in early October.
Woodcock season was good for the 2009 year and Lee Roy got a chance to hunt a couple times. On Veteran's Day, Nov 11, 2009, Lee flushed his first woodcock and I was able to shoot it. However, Lee was in a sumac stand and didn't see where the bird went or if it fell at the shot. We worked our way towards the bird and Lee eventually found the bird and delivered to hand.
Lee Roy with his first woodcock in Nov 2009
Lee got to go on his first European Shoot in early December. I kept him on lead while I worked Spud and Bingo off lead and kept them steady. Lee got to make a retrieve or two but mostly he was there to see what was happening. After the round was completed, I let him work through the cover and search for cripples that didn't get picked up. He worked the cover well and found a couple birds and also found a couple flyers that were still in the area. Watching him trail out a moving bird was pretty cool to observe.
Here Lee is watching a bird coming our direction during a European Shoot.
Lee Roy is on my leg, Bingo is in front of me. These were the dog handlers at Flying Feathers European Shoot.
I got to play with him some using a Retriev R Trainer bumper launcher. I have varied the distances and Lee is marking well. I have let him make retrieves with someone else shooting the bumpers which he picked up very quickly.
It is going to be a fun winter working with Lee and I can't wait to see what he gets to accomplish in the Spring Hunt Tests.
Went on a hunting trip to Kansas over the Dr. Martin Luther King weekend. Birds were spooky and scarce this late in the season. However, Lee Roy got a chance to stretch his legs and work the cover searching for birds. He has speed and animation in the field and is learning how to work the cover. He had a chance to learn about CRP grass and grain stubble without getting too wild on birds. He was easy to work with and control in the field and around the trailer. An easy dog to be around and fun to watch.
As Spring is coming on, the woodcocks have started migrating back North. Lee has gotten a chance to work cover and search for woodcock. On March 10 and 11, Lee got to flush several woodcock and is working woodcock cover well. On March 13, I had an opportunity to work Lee Roy with Spud at a European Shoot. Below are the links to a some video's I recorded during the shoot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgz5vj9BHCE
This video is of Lee Roy and Spud staying steady and Lee making a retrieve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp-MPV84-hY
This video is of Spud and Lee Roy watching a bird that got shot at but missed. The dogs watch it fly away and then turn to look for the next bird.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nykv8ayGByI
This video is of Lee Roy making a long retrieve back into the cedar trees. I liked the way he stuck with the retrieve and then delivered to hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKigRBMitIU
A water retrieve with Lee swimming to the other side to get the bumper and then swimming back.