2009 SD State Pheasant Championship 1st Place Mixed Doubles Division!!! Just recently March 7th and 8th my 12 year old son and I participated in the SD State Pheasant Championship. We placed first in our division capturing the SD State Title with a 5 minute 46 second 4 bird run! Not bad for a 12 year old boy! I was very proud at the fact that he was responsible for 2 of the 4 kills considering a lot of guys running the division will run with a young adult, but don't give them the oppurtunity to shoot. I take much more pride in my son being able to prove he can compete with much more experienced guys and it just goes to show the abilities of Belle are second to none!
Okoboji Bird Dog challenge. Belle's first crack at the competition! Spring 2007! At just 2 years of age, my brother and I decided to try our hand at competition. We had been watching BDC and other events on TV, but we didn't know what to expect. Belle was able to bag 5 birds in 18min and 12 seconds. Although the time wasnt as good as it could have been because of 2 missed shots on our part it was good enough for a first place finish in the flushing division with a score of 343.55. It was also the 3rd highest flushing score in the history of the Bird Dog Challenge! View the results here!http://www.okobojigamefarm.com/Giundog%20results%2007.htm
Belle and My son Austin's 1st Bird! Youth Pheasant season 2007. Belle locked on point and Austin dropped it with his .410 the bird wasn't hit very hard and ran 100 yards weaving its way through the CRP, but Belle tracked it down and gave my son his first official bird! I was very proud of the both of them, and if it wasn't for Belle we would have easily lost this milestone in my son's life!
Winter 2007. With the season nearing the end and snow on the ground my brother and I decided to hit up some local hot spots for one last rendezvous in Early January. Pictured right is Belle and her son "Gunner". We got into a lot of birds this chilly January morning, and the extra work of tromping through the thick snow payed off. We were able to limit out in about 2 hours time!
Belle's first birds! Late October 2005 Opening Pheasant weekend in Iowa! After months of training, we finally got to put the long hours and work to good use. Opening weekend Belle and I hunted some grassy waterways and she got her first sense of what real hunting was. She very quickly learned that wild pheasants weren't as predictable as the training we did in the offseason. She flushed a few hens which were running ahead and then looked at me as in disbelief as if I was crazy for not shooting. Next she pointed a rooster which I put a good bead on and dropped. It was a clean retrieve and her first bagged bird. The next rooster didn't come quite as easy though. I winged the bird, and Belle wouldn't give up! After about 15 minutes of combing the same area, I finally called her off and walked the remainder of the waterway. On the way back through she caught scent and got real birdy at the same location I pulled her off the downed bird. Shortly after, she was down in the water under the bank digging through through the grass. Out came Belle and rooster #2 still alive and kicking. Upon further inspection I realized that what I was seeing was actually true. Belle had found the wounded bird tucked up under the bank in a thick patch of grass! From then on, I knew I had a special dog!
