Instant Improvement

A few weeks ago I spent a little time building a short go to ground tunnel. I have been working with Gordon off and on since then, and Graci has even played around in there a bit.

Gordon will race down the tunnel, exiting out of the 90 degree turn for a treat like it is nothing now.

Last few times I have had him out hunting in the field, he had been tentative going into holes and had to be coaxed to go in and investigate.

So we took it to the dunes today to see how he would do.

Last time we were here we found where fox had dug into the dunes, and Gordon did face off against something.

It is too late in the year now, and it has been awfully hot, so I didn't expect to find anything underground.

But Gordon was ready.


We weren't long in the sand before we came across our first hole.

Gordon made a B line for it.

No hesitation, he just plunged right in, flushing the first game of the day.


Toad.

Gordon taught it a lesson, then plunged deeper into the hole.

He sniffed around then backed out, determining that there was nobody home.

We continued to meander through the dunes, coming across some cool turtle tracks in the sand.

We followed them for a bit. Gordon loves being off leash wandering through the brush and field. You can see it in his face and demeanor. He marks everything he can, then moves on to his next discovery. he wanders, but never far, and usually comes when called.

We found some bones strewn about so I guessed there would be more fox holes close by.

We did come across more holes.

Gordon wasn't afraid of any of them.

He checked them all out briefly, then we would move on.

We never did see a fox below ground, but Gordon did chase one through the dunes before he lost it in the tangles of grape vines.

I would call the day a complete success.

We are going to extend the go-to-ground tunnel and keep working though there. I'll introduce some caged quarry soon and see how Gordon reacts. I expect to see more improvement, especially as he gets to see more time in the field.