Prologue---From Both Sides

I’ve been dealing with losing our dog by dreaming of getting the hunting dog some day. I subscribed to Gun Dog magazine shortly after Copper died to study how to choose a pup and a breeder. Gun Dog magazine is full of wonderful articles on all types of tips and stories of hunting dogs and their owners.

Since I already had a file on breeders I would contact, it was only a matter of finding if one of them had a female that I could check out. I wanted a female because she would be boarded in the house and I didn’t want my walls marked up as territory.

One breeder in Brunswick, Maine, had an eight week old litter ready to sell. There were nine pups in the litter, five were pre-sold before they were born, and now there are two males and two female available. My wife borrowed a cage from a friend just in case I wound up bringing one home.

Brunswick, Maine is two and a half hour drive from our home. As I pulled into the breeder’s yard I was greeted by three adult shorthairs barking to let the owner know someone was there.

The lady of the house came out; she told me she is the breeder.

We spoke for awhile about things we had already discussed on the phone. I guess I was just being sure I was making a good choice. What I learned from Gun Dog magazine is you can purchase a pup from a breeder but you need to be sure the dog is from good hunting stock. There are many breeders who breed their dogs more for show. The genetics in their lines tends to effect how they respond in the field. In other words if they don’t have the nose, it doesn’t matter how much you paid for the dog. It just won’t work.

To show me the quality of the litter, she took me out to the backyard where the puppies were. She showed me the parents and the grandparents. Taking a fishing pole with a pheasant feather attached to its line; she dragged the feather along the grass. It was amazing to watch four little puppies, tails wagging running to the feather and all four point. I had never seen such a sight before. But there was no question; they had the genes for hunting pheasants.

Next, I had to decide which female I would take. Putting each one through some of the exercises I learned about selecting a puppy, I found both dogs were about the same. However, one seemed to be more attentive to me then the other. I chose her.

After giving the breeder a check, she asked me if I had a name for her.

“I told her that she would be named Tova. Tova is an abbreviated form of the female noun spelled Tovah. It means good in Hebrew.” Since I am Jewish, I wanted her to have a Hebrew name.

She laughed telling me her son always picks names for each puppy after they are born, he had named her Zion. She thought Tova would be very appropriate for her.

Before I left the breeder gave me all of the registration papers I needed to register her with the American Kennel Club and records of her puppy shots.

Tova and I needed to head for home.

“Come on girl, we’re going home.”

But,I am home, what are you talking about?