Versatility in Picture Form

We all talk about versatile hunting dogs, but this guy really has been for me.  He retrieves ducks, geese, works and retrieves pheasants and forest grouse and he hauls my pulk on skitreks.  I plan to teach him to blood track this year for follow-ups on wounded big game next year.  My wife gave him to me as a present and I had him blessed by our Priest in an ancient Rite of the Church when he was almost 1 year old.  4 days later a man tried to kill him in the mountains but by a miracle he was stopped.  We have gone many places together and he is a great companion.

Here he is;

9 weeks;



Somewhat older…



Grouse;



Geese;



Pheasants;









Ducks;

More...

Ground squirrels for coyote bait;















Working out:



Up in it;



He even plays Reindeer! {not too happily…}

{not easy on me, either…}









Waiting for me while I ski back for some gear;

VIDEO:

NICE dog OP & pics as well, THANKS for posting!

      Labs are the best!

I would say "versatile" doesn't even begin to describe what that dawg can do!  Great pics, GREAT looking pup, and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys.

He really is an phenomenal dog.

Acts like the court jester at home.  He's quite hilarious. Drives everybody crazy with his constant presentation of stuff he has retrieved...for them...even if they didn't ask him to! Then to a man/woman anyone who sees him in the woods, settling down, falls in love with him.

At home...he's drives everybody crazy and wants to retrieve everything...shoes, tools, sticks, firewood, socks, clothes anything...just so he can "show off".

Does his tricks, too.

I'll keep him.

Great dag there OP.

thats a hell of a dog!

True story.

From the time we got him for 4 months, I got up twice each nite with him and put him outside, then brought him in and sat him on my lap and rubbed his ears and just talked to him, then gave him a treat or two and then put him back in his Baby Cage.  Nite after nite.  We had a lot of upheaval in our lives at the time, mostly good stuff but stressful and he was like medicine to me.  Little by little I introduced him to this and that, fetch, commands, etc.

Except...

At about 6 mo's I had him in water and...he couldn't swim!

His back end sank like a rock.  He'd splash really embarrassingly with his front feet while his hind legs did nothing.  Wow did it take time.

Maybe it was his "trainers" fault.  My wife had a Springer Spaniel that was fast as lightning and she ran my guy ragged, quick starts, this way and that way.  I noticed after a time he was hard as a rock and had little body fat.  Maybe that had something to do with it.  

Eventually he figured it out and learned!

Thanks for sharing some wonderful pictures and what appears to be a great best friend !

Awsome, a true friend, my shorthair is the same way, even helps get fish for me

I wish mine would stop trying to help get fish!

Great dog!

Amen to that.  Fly line, check cord, and a lively pup around your feet when you're in a couple feet of water trying to land a nice rainbow, can be quite stressful.  Goals were accomplished though.  I did not get wet, I didn't break the new fly rod, and I landed the fish.

OP, what kind of harness do you have him hooked to when he pulls your sled?

It is a sled dog harness.

I had it made by these guys;

http://stores.adanacsleds.com/harnesses/

Inexpensive and they made it to his size.  It is larger than most sled dog harnesses.  He weighs 109 pounds and is really massive in the chest and shoulders, and is taller than most any other Lab I've ever seen.

Last skijaunt of the season {May 4}.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_1/674064_.html&page=1&anc=11526852#i11526852

Awesome!

Absolutely incredible! Looks like a fantastic time. I can only imagine how great it would be to have such a loving and hardworking hunting partner.

Thanks.

He is a real gem.

He's back!!

Tell the story about the man who tried to kill him?

I was on my workout hike and training the dog to stand tied.  I'd tied him to a small tree and walked about 50 yards around a bend in the trail where he couldn't see me.

I heard a 4-wheeler approach and then stop.  

Now this you can believe or not.  For a month before our Parish Priest had announced he was going to offer the Blessing of the Animals which is a special blessing coming from the readings and such from the Book of Genesis for working animals and the relationship they have with their owners and masters.  I staunchly resisted it for a few weeks and finally for some reason couldn't anymore, so I took my buddy to the Church sacristy {!!} and Father blessed him, holy water and the whole works.  My bud even sat still which at the time was miracle enough as he was a bouncing ball normally.  So there he was blessed on a Wednesday...  Fast forward to the next Sunday...

At first I thought the 4-wheeler was a friend of mine but I heard a voice say "RUN!" and I RAN.

As I did I instantly felt the need to sling my rifle and as I came around the bend there was this guy leaning over the dog with a .45 aimed right between his shoulders, about ready to shoot him.

I yelled at him and ran up to the dog, and stood between the dog and the man.  He pointed the pistol at me and the dog and a very tense situation developed.

Long story short, I was able to identify his pistol and other weapon, etc and disprove by detail his nonsensical story he of course concocted to defend himself when the situation went to court.  He was convicted of the only crime he could be under Idaho law as interpreted by the judge, "Disturbing the Peace" since only he and I were there and my dog doesn't speak very good English!
So I thank God for the protection He offered that day for my dog, me and of course for the man who is a mental mess. I still pray for him.

Had I had a pistol or not slung my rifle the events of the day could very well have turned out differently.

Here's a recent pic of my bud doing what he loves to do;

He's Back again.  Just kicking around on my first skijaunt of the year.  He's harnessed up just in case I wanted him to help me along.  1000 foot elevation, workout climb.  Breaking in the feet and whatnot for some longer treks to come.

Here he is waiting to get going.  I take him in the Polaris across a road {so he doesn't get used to going thru my ranch gate and crossing by himself}.  Then it is skis/snowshoes and paws from there on up.



First portage;



View one of the outcroppings on the way to the top;





Views along the way:









Break at the top.



Second portage on the way down.  Winter wonderland;

Just brought home the pheasant planters for the year.

With all the peeping and chirping, I'm not sure I should have done this with my buddy in the cab...TORTURE!

He was well behaved, tho, and I only had to pry his head out of the box once!

What a great Father's Day gift for me...from my buddy!!!

Well, she's home now and has met her Dad.

So far, so good.  He.....likes her!   He's even dropped and rolled on his back and tried to get her to play.

She's a doll, and he's a gentleman.

Love this thread. I have a 7 month old choc lab name ruger. I hope he can do half of what your boy has done!

Thanks!

He's a blast.

Here's a video of him exercising his daughter.  Gotta get her in shape for pheasant season!  



http://vid38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/Skaapskieter/BestBud/dogsetc%20011_zpsb65gigpv.mp4

And mortal combat...

http://vid38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/Skaapskieter/BestBud/dadanddaughter%20015_zpsbbwj18p5.mp4

One of our pheasants died so I used the carcass as a training aid for the little gal.  She's 8 weeks and making her first retrieves!

She's a gem like her Dad.  

Video:

http://vid38.photobucket.com/albums/e115/Skaapskieter/BestBud/retrievingpup%20003_zpsc5rl5g02.mp4

Here they are!

Dad and his daughter, almost 7 months old now.  She weighed 61.5 lbs at 6 months so I think she'll be a big one.

On my workout hike today they flushed and treed one and I got it. One Clearwater 55 FMJ at about 35 yards.  {Backed the bird up with a tree}.

What a pair.

Well my buddy is working on protecting our local deer population now.

Not long ago he got ahold of a live coyote that was loosely held in a snare and killed it, then he and his daughter sniffed out a coyote puppy and he made short work of that one, too.  The game managers tell us the average coyote kills about 11 ungulates each year {deer, elk, moose inclusive, mostly fawns} so my bud is doing his bit.

Not that it's entirely altruistic on his part.  He gets his share of the fat scraps from our elk and deer in season.

Awesome thread. Hope the dogs are doing well.

HaHa!!

Thank you and yes, they are!

From a few days ago.

Updating with replaced pix due to being photobucketed.