There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy
licking your face.
 - Bern Williams

Spring Newsletter 2006

Hello again from DeCoverly Kennels and thanks for being on our mailing list. For any new readers I'm Bill Sordoni, and among other duties at the kennel I'm the author of our quarterly newsletter. Spring is nearly upon us and we've weathered what has been a pretty mild winter. We're looking forward to the return of warmer days and the chance to spend more time outside with our setters.

Included in this issue are news, training tips, events we'll be attending, and some updates about our personal dogs and those of our owners. At the bottom of the page is a link to unsubscribe as well as an option to forward this newsletter. We hope you enjoy this letter and look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at DeCoverly.

Nationally renowned sculptor Walter Matia will soon complete his sculpture of a DeCoverly English Setter head. This new bust will be available exclusively through DeCoverly, both at the kennel and on our website. Look for more information coming soon in a separate newsletter.

Ken spent a few weeks this January in Texas and Oklahoma visiting family and hunting quail. Ken's dogs Cookie and Davey really enjoyed working the open country. One of the highlights from their trip came on their last day in Oklahoma. Ken, Cookie and Davey were just starting out into a cover when Davey pointed and Cookie honored. A covey flushed and Ken downed a double with his 28 gauge. The high point of the hunt was when each dog went to a separate bird and retrieved each to hand.

We will be at the World Fishing and Outdoor Exposition Show again this year in Suffern, NY. The show is held from March 2nd through March 5th and is a sight to see for any outdoor enthusiast.

In late December, we had the pleasure of entertaining Bill Goudy and Brian Parsons from the Ruffed Grouse Society with a chukar hunt that we donated through a fundraising banquet.. The weather cooperated, the dogs did what they do best, and Bill and Brian did their part to reward the dog's efforts with some fine shooting. It was a great December day and we really enjoyed their visit.

This May I will be chairing the 25th annual North East Pennsylvania fundraising banquet for the Ruffed Grouse Society. Please consider joining us at tables specially reserved for DeCoverly owners. This will be a great opportunity to meet other owners and share your stories and experiences. If you are interested in attending, please contact me at the kennel or just reply to this email. The banquet will be held on Thursday, May 4th at 5:30pm at the Pittston Convention Hall in Pittston, PA.

This month's training tip, by our pointing dog trainer Bill Reid, is about the value of only shooting over good points with a young dog.

Despite our differences, upland hunters share a common view when it comes to how pointing dogs should handle game. We not only expect our dogs to find and point birds, but to remain steady until we flush the bird. For a young dog to achieve this level of skill requires some sacrifice on our part, in particular passing up shots at birds that are not pointed.

A dog will eventually learn that for him to be rewarded with a bird he must hold the point until we flush the bird. In this manner we are reinforcing his pointing instinct with positive rewards rather than negative consequences for undesirable performance. The birds we pass up early on will ensure more game in the bag down the road, and no amount of bought pheasants flying to freedom can replace the priceless value of a reliable animal.

On my last hunt of this past season I found myself looking for my setter after noticing he did not quarter back in his normal pattern. Several minutes later I found him low to the ground, perfectly woven into the tight gnarled branches of a thicket of witch hazel. I raised my shotgun to my shoulder as the first of three grouse to flush panicked, cleared the cover and nearly made it to the safety of the trees ahead. Birds shot over good points like this by far surpass the passed up birds, and it is comforting to know that there will be many more to come.

This fall was Clipper's first hunting season. Near the end of the season, we finally got our first grouse. We were working our way up a field edge when Clipper pointed a clump of brush. Suddenly a bird flushed and offered an easy going away shot, which of course I missed.

Clipper chased after the flush, and I whistled him back to apologize for not doing my part. On his way back he pointed again, and this bird flushed out into the field and angled back towards the woods. This shot was about ten times harder than the first. I swung my side by side more than I thought necessary, and he folded at the first barrel. I guess my shooting lessons from Griffin and Howe finally paid off.

After letting him play with the grouse a little he got the biggest bear hug of his life. All of the missed shots, painful cuts and scratches, and fruitless miles walked that year quickly faded away. For those few moments we were a successful pair of grouse hunters savoring a fantastic experience.

At home Clipper is still a constant source of affection and entertainment. Late that same night he whined softly at the bedroom door. We assumed he was just restless and called him back to bed. The next thing that woke us was the sound of him peeing on the floor (he's completely housebroken but had a big drink before going to bed). The amazing part was that instead of peeing on the floor, he walked into the bathroom, got into our stall shower, and did his business there! It was all we could do not to praise him for fear he might come to think that our shower was his new backyard.

Started Dogs

Bill Reid is currently working with several started dogs. The first dog pictured here is Randy, an orange belton whelped 12/23/03.

The second started setter is a blue belton named Yukon. Yukon was whelped 11/17/04. Both setters have sweet personalities and are aggressive hunters.

Owner Snapshot

We have a steady stream of letters and pictures from our owners about their experiences with their best friends. We would love to hear from you, and are also looking for pictures of any of our dogs in paintings, news clips, and anything else you'd like to share.

We recently received this letter from David Wolff in Colorado. His girl Setty is truly an amazing setter, even by our standards!

"I have had Setty for over five years now, and I must tell you that she continues to amaze me and those I hunt with. We were jump hunting ducks last weekend. Setty was with me of course and as always the four people I was with looked at me sideways and asked if I was really going to hunt ducks with "that dog ." There were two labs and a Golden in the group.

On the first jump we found only a few birds and I was unable to shoot. The others managed to bring down four between them, but one hen was not found and had obviously been wounded and dove. The labs spent 10 minutes looking, and then the group decided it was a lost bird. I asked if I could release Setty and let her try the dead bird retrieve. The game was on. They all did their best not to laugh. Only one was smart enough not to take the bet I proposed.

I released her and she covered the dry part of the banks quickly and then dove into the water and swam both banks poking her head under the area where land met water. Suddenly she turned to the open water, swam about 10 yards and disappeared under water. After what was only a few seconds but seemed an eternity she came back up, pivoted like a dancer, swam back to the bank, stuck her head under the water and came out with the hen.

On the next jump all labs remained in the truck to verify Setty's skills. On that jump she retrieved my double and three other blind retrieves. I doubt if you have anyone else using your setters for this, but it continues to excite me that this animal enjoys what she is doing so much and that she is up to the challenge of any game bird.

This is truly the most versatile gun dog I have ever had. This year alone, she has pointed and retrieved Pheasant, Quail, Ducks, Blue Grouse, Sage Grouse and Sharptails (yes, she does give long, high headed points on ducks). You already know how I feel about her looks and temperament.

On your recommendation I have never trained her to retrieve, which no one believes and at times neither do I. This really is, in all of my 53 years, the most natural hunting dog I have owned."

David Wolff, CO