Well, I apologize to those who may have have read this story before. It's story of a bird hunter dog, Josephine, the Kai Ken.
Last spring Josephine was at the farm with my husband and they were out in the woods cutting brush, burning, etc. Towards nightfall he started heading into the house and called for Josephine as she was off on an adventure. At the same time, he decided to give me a call (I'm at a conference in Fla... cell phone reception is chancy up there, but usually good for some reason in that part of the woods... not sure why). As we're talking all of a sudden he starts saying "... omigod... what do you have, girl...". "Here comes Josephine with a partridge in her mouth..." It's the classic picture of the bird-dog. The bird's wings were neatly folded against the body, and Josephine's mouth was around the mid-section, and she was prancing up to my husband as proud as any dog could be! Then he say "Omigod,,, the bird just flew out of her mouth..." Josephine looked at Steve like "...oh XXXX, it got away" for one split second, then took off running following the bird which was now 20-30 feet off the ground above the tree tops... I suggested we hang up and he call me back when he found the dog!
Twenty minutes later he calls me again. He called and walked the trail in the direction she had headed, and after 10 minutes found Josephine. She had the bird again! It was still alive, but, as Steve tells it, the bird looked at him, rolled its eyes and died! (I guess partridge tend to be like that... sometimes appear to die of stress, not necessarily the bird-shot)... Steve then dressed out the bird, cooked it and Josephine enjoyed partridge and rice for the next 2-3 days!
She loves to chase birds... just in the past week she saw a few geese when she was in the enclosed school yard (and off-leash). As they flew, she made a complete circle a time or two just following them through the air as they took off, then banked around to gain height to go over the houses and trees. Steve thought if she hadn't been in the fenced enclosure she might have continued to follow them on their migratory path (well, probably not, just kidding!)... Many times when on-leash its been very evident she is able to keep geese in-sight somehow long after they are merely a speck in the sky! What concentration!
Looks like you've got yourself a birdy Kai there, Bev. Some of the hunters here actually use Kai as bird dogs. The pup I was going to get last month actually ended up going to Yamanashi to be a bird dog.
Yea, my husband used to do some bird hunting when in his teens and 20's. Now he tells his friends who still hunt that if he gets back into it he doesn't even have to bring a gun... Josephine will catch them for him instead!
lol you.ve got the right attitude, Missy is really good around babies Ozzy just can't understand why are they so small and is a little fearful but does like to have a nose at them just to make sure they haven't shrunk anymore. He just keps away otherwise and comes to me for help as to say mom why is she smaller than me i'm only a baby
Well, my Kuma struck again....We went out in the yard for only 5 minutes this evening. I went over to the garage and when I came back he had blood all over his face and a dead possum nearby. So yes, these are quick (and predatory) dogs. But he is completely okay with our cats in the yard, so he can distinguish between "prey" and non-prey (cats).
(PS in 8 years I have never seen a possum in my yard and he found one in less than 5 minutes).
Well, it wasn't a full grown possum....Maybe 1/2 grown. Cleaning him up last night was fun because he had blood all over his face and shoulders from shaking the poor thing.
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Last spring Josephine was at the farm with my husband and they were out in the woods cutting brush, burning, etc. Towards nightfall he started heading into the house and called for Josephine as she was off on an adventure. At the same time, he decided to give me a call (I'm at a conference in Fla... cell phone reception is chancy up there, but usually good for some reason in that part of the woods... not sure why). As we're talking all of a sudden he starts saying "... omigod... what do you have, girl...". "Here comes Josephine with a partridge in her mouth..." It's the classic picture of the bird-dog. The bird's wings were neatly folded against the body, and Josephine's mouth was around the mid-section, and she was prancing up to my husband as proud as any dog could be! Then he say "Omigod,,, the bird just flew out of her mouth..." Josephine looked at Steve like "...oh XXXX, it got away" for one split second, then took off running following the bird which was now 20-30 feet off the ground above the tree tops... I suggested we hang up and he call me back when he found the dog!
Twenty minutes later he calls me again. He called and walked the trail in the direction she had headed, and after 10 minutes found Josephine. She had the bird again! It was still alive, but, as Steve tells it, the bird looked at him, rolled its eyes and died! (I guess partridge tend to be like that... sometimes appear to die of stress, not necessarily the bird-shot)... Steve then dressed out the bird, cooked it and Josephine enjoyed partridge and rice for the next 2-3 days!
She loves to chase birds... just in the past week she saw a few geese when she was in the enclosed school yard (and off-leash). As they flew, she made a complete circle a time or two just following them through the air as they took off, then banked around to gain height to go over the houses and trees. Steve thought if she hadn't been in the fenced enclosure she might have continued to follow them on their migratory path (well, probably not, just kidding!)... Many times when on-leash its been very evident she is able to keep geese in-sight somehow long after they are merely a speck in the sky! What concentration!
(PS in 8 years I have never seen a possum in my yard and he found one in less than 5 minutes).
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