Rod and Rio, with the advice and consent of Renae, make a great team. Rio hunts ‘em up and Rod brings ‘em in.
That’s why, this particular afternoon, Rod got the first pheasant. The rules state that hunters can only shoot roosters, and the one Rio flushed from the bushes was a beauty.
Rio flushed the pheasant up and out of the cattails, and Rod got a nice center shot. But in an explosion of feathers, the bird went straight back down, further into the dense patch of cattails.
Rod sent Rio back into the cattails to start searching, encouraging him with “Where’s the bird?” and “Find the bird!” Using his nose, Rio located the bird deep in the cattail patch, and brought it out to Rod.
This is where an Irish Water Spaniel’s thick curly coat has an advantage, protecting most of the dog from the cattail’s sharp edges. After a day’s work, Rio had a few red areas around his nose and tail (plus about 10,000 miscellaneous seeds and plant parts).
We were out for about 5 hours at the Lower Goose, and loved every minute of it. The dogs flushed up two birds, and the hunters got them both.
