b'The styles of a hunting dog are a beautiful sight to see. The dogthat points his chest high, tail immobile; the dog that bends overitself, pretzel-like as it catches scent behind itself in mid-stride;thedog that looks like a perfect right angle, with head lowered, caughtat the bottom of its stride, frozen in place by the scent of its prey.One of the seminar students was waiting me. This was not Belles bold pup. This dogfor him, so George politely excused him- wasterrified;snakebitbylifeandbarelyself. Thats when someone I knew, particu- holding on. Belle and I had him for onlylarlybyhisreputation,steppedupand eight weeks. After that, he had been livingasked me a question. what I would not want to imagine duringHey, Lonnie, you want that piece of so many important stages in his young life.crap? HehadbeennamedJustin.IneverGeorgesobservationaboutbroken wanted him to hear that name again.dogsmighthavebeenwhattippedthis Ontheridebacktomyplace,ILonnie Spell, shown with other mans hand. He had more than a few remembered why I bred this litter and theLimited Edition Super Joe,hails dogs he was cutting from his string. They hopesIhadforthepups. Thisdogwashadnt gotten with his program so they had born with the gift of extraordinary genet-from Lafayette, Louisiana. He to go. And there was that one dog in par- ics,goingbacktoatopfieldPointerhas been training dogs for ticular. namedHonky Tonk Attitude. Oneyearalmost 30 years. His grand- I had to say yes. It would have been later, I wondered how and if I could find,father was a dog trainer, so easier to say no, but sometimes the easy under all that fear, that confident, happyhe has been around bird thing is not always the right thing. And no puppy. Would we, he and I, be able to finddogs as long as he can would mean that pup was destined to be his Attitude?remember: Pointers, dumped in an after-hours outdoor run at a I left him alone and kept interaction toChesapeake Bay Retrievers, kill shelter with all the other dogs. It was- a minimum for the first week. He neededWater Spaniels and a partic- nt my job to make his dump at the shelter to settle in to a new place. I needed to giveular Llewellin Setter, one of easier, but taking that dog would be the him time to feel safe and secure. His runthe greatest dogs he said he right thing. It would save a life. And I knew was cleaned. He got fresh water and goodhas ever had. Although he that dog. food.Noexplosionshere,buddy.Youhas done some breeding, his That piece of crap was once my girl can relax.focus is on training the big Belles puppy. I knew the field blood run- Relax. Easier said than done. My otherrunning horseback-handled ning through his veins. Thats why I bred dogs would see a squirrel running to thethat litter. By a twist of fate, Belles pup tree line and start barking. He would runfield dog, a gun dog that isendedupwiththisman,whowasnow and hide. Before, barking meant trouble.handled by someone riding a ready to throw him away. He deserved bet- Troublemeantpunishment.Punishment.horse rather than someone terthanthedump. Theyalldid. They Just for being a dog. His fear grew out ofwalking on foot. always do. knowingpunishment.OvercomingfearBig running describes I had to work on Monday, so I made meantovercomingthehardshipofbadthe distance that the dog arrangements for my friend, Bobby, to go experiences. maintains from the handler and fetch him up. The next day I went over Punishmentisdifferentfromcorrec-while seeking game. to Bobbys. He warned me, Its been about tion.PunishmentspringsfromawellofGenerally speaking, a big a year since youve seen this pup. A lot can anger. Correction is not from that well ofrunning dog runs (and hunts) happen in a year. anger. Correction is right for the situationfarther out from the horse- As we walked out back, I saw him. He andrightforwhatthedogknows. Youback handler than a dog stood there in the middle of the kennel cannot correct a dog for something youbeing handled by someone run, scared and confused. Everything about have not trained. on foot. his body language shouted fear. His tail was In training, a dog will learn what to do,tucked tight between his legs and his ears and what not to do. Just like in life, mis-Photography, courtesy of Lonnie were tense and set back, as if he was wait- takes are good. Only by making mistakesSpell: Previous page - Petie with ing for the next bomb to explode. I stood do you have the opportunity to learn andGrace, both Pointers. Opposite page there, staring in disbelief at the dog before truly grow.- Petie in tall grass. 32 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'