With rain and cold weather I think we finally said goodbye to summer. Due to very high temperatures during summer we didn't really do much during the day apart from moving around under the AC. 😅
But we still found time to see our friends, puppies and their owners and do a bit of retriever training. So here are short monthly recaps:
July
During July Beni came for a short holiday and we had a small litter meeting for their 6th month anniversary with Sei, Beni, Chili & Tippi. We went for a light hike and took a couple of photos by one of the waterfalls on our way:
We also tried to take a group photo (L-R): Chili, Sei, Tippi, Beni & Yu
We had a lot of fun and I was very happy to see how uncomplicated (still) all the puppies are. No problems with them on our walk, a very well-behaved bunch of ginger dogs. 🥰
Sei had her 1st 'real' introduction to cold game (pheasant & rabbit) and she had no issues with their retrieves. We also did a bit of free search with pheasants and a small introduction to drag tracks with rabbit & pheasant scents. So far she was really good on the track, focused, and good at solving any issues that she encountered along the way (obstacles, wind & other scents crossing her target scent).
Yu also got to work a bit with cold game, some free searches and drag tracks, at 5 years old she's a very reliable working dog, she makes everything look really effortless. 😘
August
Towards the end of August, I organized 2 weekends of cold-game training, for young dogs and 4 Meliora puppies attended (L-R): Tippi, Sei, Wee Red & Chili
At 7 months old the puppies were introduced to common quail, pheasants (male & female), and mallards (wild ducks). Sei, Wee Red & Chili had no issues with any of the game presented while Tippi was a bit unsure but getting better with each training.
Yu also showed her offspring how a real seasoned dog works. While she loves all work with cold game, water/duck retrieves are on the top of her work list. Quiet, focused, fast & with a solid retrieve.
At the end of September, there was also the European frisbee championship held in Slovenia and since one of Yu's puppies, Nique (living in Czech Republic) would be there with her owners, we decided to drive there and meet up. Of all the puppies I still think Nique looks the most like her mom Yu. She has already outgrown her a bit but her expression, body (and ears) scream Yu. 🤣
September
On September 3rd, Wee Red, Chili and Sei attended the natural aptitude test for retrievers (PNZ) and all 3 passed with I. prize class! All of them showed really nice work and good foundations for further adventures in retrieving. I'm really happy that Red & Chili's owners decided to enter their boys and try something new. 💖
Chili even got to play 'rescue dog' as he got the opportunity to get in the water and bring back a couple of mallards that other dogs didn't retrieve.
And then a week later we saw each other again on the puppies 8th month walk. We just barely managed to find an hour when the rain wasn't falling so the puppies got to play with each other for a bit and pose for some photos. L-R: Wee Red, Sei, Yu & Chili
At this point, all 3 puppies have outgrown Yu in height and they are looking more and more grown-up every time I see them.
On September 17th Yu & Sei joined me on a short trip to South Moravia to see the I. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Championship of the Czech Republic in agility. We saw and meet new tollers and their owners and the girls both behaved well, apart from Sei deciding that she loves (love = screaming 😶) watching dogs run agility...but some play and down time and she was able to calm down and watch a few more dogs run without her cheering on the sidelines and wanting to join them. Before heading back on the 18th we took a long walk in the nearby forest and I couldn't resist taking some photos...
And today, despite cold & rain, Sei participated and successfully finished VPP (similar to PNZ, but with dummies), again with I. prize class. 🏆 I wasn't sure how happy she will be to go into the water, but she was great as always, going right in, focusing completely on her dummy. And with this, we have finished all planned tests/trials for this year. A bit of rest in the next 2 months and then we'll slowly start getting ready for spring's hunting tests and trials.
A couple of shows are planned for October/November, we'll see how the girls will do. Right now Yu has the most coat that she has ever had but with our luck, she will drop it right before the 1st show at the end of October. 😆
I also updated Meliora's litter page with some more recent photos of the not-so-little-anymore puppies.