Butte, MT

June 13th-14th we had a double header in Butte. Gunnar and Lucy ran both days and we decided to put Cougar in just one day to see how he would do even though he was only 7 1/2 months old.
We got up when I'm sure some people were going to bed, at 3:30 am (that's after going to bed at 12:30 am) to head the 3 hours or so to Butte. Justin was nice enough to let me sleep, even though I don't sleep in cars. Saturday Lucy ran her first run and did well. Gunnar ran his first run and did well, minus the fact that at the end he decided he wasn't done yet and took off to go find another bird. The second run was a bit difficult, in the fact that they chose to do the one thing Lucy can't do yet, a "channel blind." This is the retrieve that the dog does not see placed and they have to trust and obey the handler's directions to the bird. A straight line is prefered, with few whistles (that's how they stop them if they start going the wrong direction) and the channel part means they go up a canal type water spot and must stay in the water without just running up the side of the bank, cuz that just makes more sense to the dog. Unfortunately, Lucy didn't get this part, so Justin decided it's time for her to start learning those.

Sunday, the test looked easier, but it wasn't, for the simple fact that one of the duck stations was wide in the open, with the other slightly hidden, bringing all the attention to the one station. Both dogs finished the first series. Then we went to run Cougar. He did really well! His job is what the other 2 dogs' job was last year. He does everything naturally for the most part and doesn't need too much training, but of course we train him anyway to make sure he doesn't mess up at the test. Then it was back to the Senior test for G and L.....Lucy did well, until she decided..... who knows what!? She 'popped', meaning she stopped to look at Justin w/o him blowing the whistle, but he couldn't give her directions bcuz he had had to 'handle' both dogs in the first series due to the distraction set up, so after doing that she lost her place and never found the mark again. Then it was Gunnar's turn. He did everything perfectly! The very last thing was the 'honor' waiting for the next dog to take his turn, while sitting and watching, not going after its birds. Gunnar made it through the honor, then, the second they released him, when Justin was getting the leash to put on him, he got up and took off, so he lost the ribbon litterally in the last second!! :( Then back to Cougar's test.....He did well, took him a minute to find one of the marks that landed in soggy grasses, which a lot of dogs were getting out on, so I got a bit worried, but he got it and he got his first ribbon in his very FIRST TEST and he was the youngest dog out of ALL the dogs at the whole test!! So we were glad we put him in, so we could at least come home with one ribbon!! But Butte still was a cool town and it was gorgeous there, although extremely tiring! Plus I got some great pics..............

Saturday's test-
A little froggy that Chaz found-
Saturday night we drove around Butte to entertain ourselves and there were LOTS of cool old houses and buildings (sorry, I took these driving down the streets)-
The old houses were super-duper close together! (There were a bunch that were touching.)

Sunday's Tests-

This is Lucy splashing through the shallow water (maybe that's part of the reason she got lost)-

My 2 hard workin' boys for the day-

Isn't he the MOST HANDSOME dog you've ever seen? (The answer is YES!)

OUR CREW-

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