Why a Spinone Was RIght for Our Family…

Bernie is a bird hunting dog. We picked his breed for its gentle demeanor because the kids were nervous around dogs, but we knew if the right one came along, they would love it. When we were linked up with the perfect breeders, we agreed with them that with owning a Spinone came a whole new world for us — hunting! But we are not hunters. At all!! The only gun I’ve ever held is a super soaker and our birds come from the grocery store. But, it was important to us to have this dog, so we said we would put in the work training Bernie for his NAVHDA Natural Abilities test. He would have to point birds, swim, and track a pheasant. It was supposed to be a John thing, but it quickly became a me thing because of my availability to train, and all of a sudden I found myself playing fetch with frozen birds, shopping from hunting supply companies, and learning how to place live birds in the field for training. I’ve been working with Bernie since September to prep for it. I was SO out of my element and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I kept with it and had a really great group of mentors and fellow puppy owners guiding me (many from Bernie’s litter!).

Even though it’s a “natural abilities” test, if I threw Bernie into a field without any exposure to birds and swimming beforehand, it wouldn’t have been fair to him (and half of the training was for me, anyway!). And despite it being a test, the entire process was really meant to be a bonding experience and a chance to watch him do what he’s bred to do. I ended up surprising myself and having so much fun! The best part was watching Bernie have a blast!

Saturday was the big day — the test ran from 7am - 6pm with a lot of waiting. I was SO nervous and just wanted to pass. Not only did we pass, but Bernie crushed it and got a perfect 112 Prize 1!!!! I still can’t believe it. I am sooo proud of him, but I am also really proud of myself. I kept an open mind and joined a predominately male sport as a woman first-time handler. I went to these trainings solo and just took in any advice thrown my way and it paid off for us. I’ll be riding this high for a while and I may have found a new hobby! Maybe some additional testing in the future and more fun in the field for Bernie. I also made lots of new friends who were in the same boat and I now have a new understanding and respect for hunting breeds. Here are some moments from our training journey (again, so out of my element which was honestly really comical and gave us a lot of laughs along the way ).

~ Melissa (New Hampshire)