Tucker inherited the hunting gene from his Father, a champion from the Russet Leather line… Wait a minute, I have watched Tucker hunt and I can tell you without a doubt that Tucker has suppressed the hunting gene as far away as he possibly can.
We took Tucker out on a hunting trial when he was but a wee young lad, and he found 2 Chuckers within… ohhh… 45 seconds, and the judge failed him, because he wasn’t crazy enough about hunting the birds, he actually paid attention to where we were in the field, he tried to stay within eyesight, all the things that we had worked so hard with him on, all the things that made him a great walking dog at the time, and an incredible walking dog now – those were the things that they failed him on, the judge stated “Whenever I let my Vizsla out of his crate he is frantic to go after the birds, he doesn’t think of anything else!”, what a wonderful way to make sure that your dog is only allowed in your life when you are hunting in the field, and choose to use him for hunting on that day.
Tucker is a fantastic hunter – if you roast up some fowl – he’s all over it, can pick it up from 100 yards away and is frantic, but still under control, otherwise, he will be laying out chewing on his toy and birds will land all around him, no reaction – unless it is a game bird, then he’s up and pointing, but still not frantic.
Now Bodi, oh man, he has a sniffer too die for, has hunting instinct that blows you away, and is always ready to hunt bird or bunny, night or day, whether you are ready or not. Taking Bodi out to the trails and letting him off leash is an exercise in frustration as he bolts off and goes after some creature…
AND I WOULDN’T HAVE HIM ANY OTHER WAY!
The beauty of watching him pick up a scent and lock into point, seeing him shaking with excitement at the thought of going after something new, watching him breath in all of the scents while trying to decipher the location, watching in horror as he dives head first into a bush without knowing what exactly is on the other side, how could anyone not love that, how could anyone not be fascinated by the idea that this is all in his blood, part of his DNA.
Bodi is getting better all of the time in dialing things down just a notch, he is trying to listen when we call him… he waits until the very last second, and then comes when he know that the next call is going to get him in trouble. Bodi is Beauty and the Beast all rolled up in one little bundle of excitement.
Tucker is, as we always like to say… Ferdinand the Bull, he knows what hunting is, he knows which birds are the ones that he is supposed to point at, he understands the excitement of finding a game bird, and he would rather stop and smell the flowers, chew on some grass, and hunt down any piece of cheese within 100 yards, and kill it good.
The Hunting Gene runs fast and deep in both Tucker and Bodi and just hits the surface in incredibly different ways, it’s funny, fascinating and beautiful to watch them both, and Nancy and I wouldn’t change either one of them for anything.
So all you birds, and beasts… Watch out for Bodi, and all you Tillamook and treats… Watch out for Tucker, they are both out hunting, and you are in danger of being caught at any moment.
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