September 05, 2007

Living Up to Her Bird Dog

Woman falls in love with Spinone Italiano puppy.

But the breeder won't let her buy a puppy unless she plans to hunt it.

The Spinone is a bird dog, and she had to promise to train this one to hunt.

So on a 90-degree morning in late August, a day when even the humidity had humidity, there was Hauser, wearing an orange vest and carrying a shotgun. Lumberjack, the dog she promised to train, and her three other bird dogs tromped through the fields of northern Delaware County at her side.


Somehow I doubt this story would make it in Bark magazine, even though it fits their slogan of "modern dog culture," or in Bark's Colorado knock-off, Colorado Dog. ("Your dog. Your family. Your lifestyle")

People want dogs, but they don't always want them to do what they were bred to do.

Of course, what dogs do is loudly vomit indigestible carrion onto the bedroom floor at 2 a.m., as Shelby demonstrated for us a couple of night ago.

(Hat tip: Hell in a Handbasket.)

3 comments:

dr. hypercube said...

Wouldn't be surprised if the breeder lives just south of me. L. breeds fantastic Spinonei (I made that plural form up) and requires that they be hunted. I ran into a Spinone pup at a schoolboy lacrosse game a few years back. The owner was astonished that I knew the breed and even more astonished when I asked if she got the pup from L. "Um, no", was the answer, "She said we had to hunt with the dog." Score 1 for L. and subtract 1 from the owner who had to find a different breeder.

Big attagirl to the subject of the article - if you love a breed, love what makes it tick, not just what it looks like...

Chas S. Clifton said...

I am no expert on Continental breeds, so it was a new one to me, actually. I'll stick to Chessies: a low-maintenance dog with a "You gonna make me?" attitude.

mdmnm said...

That is a very cool breeder. Further kudos to the subject of the article.