Moose's Fault

[Wandering Sagebrush]

OK, I admit it, I really like my boat dog, and when Moose got us working with Photoshop, I truly went bonkers. Here's a shot of Salty as a youngster last fall. The photo itself is out of focus, but when applying a water color filter in Photoshop, it comes out nicely... Not only is he the world's smartest boat dog, but the most handsome as well.

 

[Da Nag]

That's priceless...what a great shot.

I know I've said it before, but man...I just love your chosen breed. I'm stuck on Weimaraners like a bad habit, but I've never met a Wirehaired Pointer that didn't have tons of character, and a simply terrific personality.

And that look...just cracks me up every time. No other breed screams "the old man and the sea" more loudly. On that count alone, you may just have the most appropriate "boat dog"...

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Bill,

Unless a breed has been inbred into insanity, I think all of the European versatile hunting dogs are absolutely fantastic. Your pups are really elegant! When Sagebrush died, I thought I would get another Lab, but decided that another breed might be more appropriate for the boat. I am glad that I went with the Drathaar.

On another topic, what would you and the rest of the CBrats think of a photo contest, with an online poll to determine winners. There are some really talented photographers (of which I am not in the number thereof) in this group, and it sounds like it would be fun. We could have a couple of categories like boat dogs, fish, christmas boats, etc. Let me know your thoughts.

Regards,

Setve

 

[Valkyrie]

I'll have to chime in on being a fan of European versatile hunting dogs, but my subjective vote goes to our breed of choice - the Airedale Terrier. We currently have three.

The ATCA holds its annual Hunting/Working Nationals here in Ohio and for years I had one of the "best seats in the house" as a gunner. On Friday they run fur by tracking a coon and baying treed, Saturday is field work on chukars and pheasants and Sunday is reserved for water work on ducks.

My little girl Valkyrie, who we had to put down a little over a year ago, was a very adept bird dog and loved water so cold that many times my friend's Lab refused to go after a downed duck and Val had no problem with it. Two things: One-Lab owners don't take that personally(!) and two- Airedales have webbed feet, too.

What really surprised me about Val's retrieving drive came in SC, of all places, one spring day a few years ago. I was walking her on the beach in front of my in-laws' house when the tide was out, exposing about three hundred yards of mud flats. Valkyrie took off to chase a bird a hundred yards down the beach, pretty typical, and when I looked up next she was running up to me with an eighteen-inch, flopping flounder in her mouth, which she deposited at my feet! I guess the bird must have been an Osprey and Val chased it off its supper, which soon became ours!

I really miss my little Valkyrie, but she lives on in our memories and our C-Dory, Valkyrie.

There are some Airedale pics in a sub-album posted on the site.

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"

 

[MOOSE]

The photo itself is out of focus, but when applying a water color filter in Photoshop, it comes out nicely...

Look at it this way, at least you didn't have to waste time applying the Gaussian Blur Filter. LOL

Seriously, this is one fine rendition of your pal. I would be proud to own a dog like that and to have captured such a fine photo of him. Well done on all accounts.
Al

 

[hardee]

What a beautiful photo. Great job, I hope that picture gets it's place in an adequately sized wall photo over the mantle. it is worth it.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[Nainu]

Those Weimaraners are characters. I hunted over one that was blind in one eye, complements of a raccoon encounter as a pup. Worked close, great pointer, but he never forgot that raccoon. While he had an otherwise pleasant personality, he had a regular hatred of coons. Pointed in front of me one day, went and kicked out a coon. Battle royale started, they ended up in a creek, was a pretty even battle but at one point I got in a quick shot cause I was afraid the coon might try to drown him, slowed the coon down enough the dog killed him. As we hunted that field the dog would break off about every ten minutes and go chew on the coon some more just to make sure he was dead. Dog also developed a bad habit late in life of killing cats. Guess with only one eye and it going blind he thought they looked like coons.
Another freind of mine had one here in Alaska. You could throw a tennis ball up in a spruce tree and if it stuck the dog would climb the tree and try to get it. Dog was as sharp as a whip.