16 years 8 months and still going strong

Lovely shot of a wonderful old lady. I have a thing for HPR dogs.

Do / did you work her ?

I know they differ but a pal of mine kept the smaller Grand Basset Griffon Vendéens
 
Last edited:
dinners said:
Lovely shot of a wonderful old lady. I have a thing for HPR dogs.

Do / did you work her ?

I know they differ but a pal of mine kept the smaller Grand Basset Griffon Vendéens
Click to expand...

Yes...I hunted her from the time she was about 5 1/2 months old. It was great to watch her work pheasants, grouse and gray partridge. She certainly was a better gun dog than I was a shotgunner. :LOL: Here's a picture of her on point on a pheasant a few years ago. One of the last years she actively hunted. (I know she had a great nose, because she obviously had hair in the way of her seeing. :LOL:)


Ginger on Frosty Point by hunter20ga, on Flickr
 
Aww - fantastic

I'm more a Spaniel (Working rather than show English Springer) person but my dogs (Springer and Deerhound Cross X Elglish Sheepdog 'Lurcher' ) are also quite old now at 13

I quite fancy a Spinone next time around.

I've one young 'pointing dog' at the moment - an English Pointer X Black Labrador.
 
Last edited:
I like the second photo the best you get a good feel for the scene, I find the blue in the bottom right hand corner of the first quite distracting.
 
dinners said:
Aww - fantastic

I'm more a Spaniel (Working rather than show English Springer) person but my dogs (Springer and Deerhound Cross X Elglish Sheepdog 'Lurcher' ) are also quite old now at 13

I quite fancy a Spinone next time around.

I've one young 'pointing dog' at the moment - an English Pointer X Black Labrador.
Click to expand...

A good friend of mine has Spinones that I've had the pleasure of hunting behind. Very much a close-working, methodical and thorough type hunting dog.
 
She looks good for her age. I hope she gives you many more year of happiness.
Great images too.
 
Thanks, Neil and Ivan for your respective comments. I agree the blue is a bit off-putting; thought abut a B&W conversion but decided against it for some reason, though it completely hides the blue object. This shot was a quick attempt to see just what my new 85mm lens can do, and I wasn't thinking all that much about producing a real portrait.

Ivan...She really is in remarkable shape for her age, but the years have caught up with her; she has low lung capacity as they have lost a lot of elasticity, so really can't run any more.
 
What a grand old lass, I quite like the second shot of her....certainly shows them in their environment and how they can blend in cover like that. I have springers and a GSP....who is like a ghost, she seems to vanish at times :LOL: her appetite to hunt is never ending! of all the dogs i've owned over the years she still takes my breath away with her ability to cover vast amounts of land in her quests, her stamina is staggering but i've not had the best of luck with her retrieving which is very hit and miss. You've obviously looked after her well, she looks in great shape for her age...(y)
 
DuncanR said:
What a grand old lass, I quite like the second shot of her....certainly shows them in their environment and how they can blend in cover like that. I have springers and a GSP....who is like a ghost, she seems to vanish at times :LOL: her appetite to hunt is never ending! of all the dogs i've owned over the years she still takes my breath away with her ability to cover vast amounts of land in her quests, her stamina is staggering but i've not had the best of luck with her retrieving which is very hit and miss. You've obviously looked after her well, she looks in great shape for her age...(y)
Click to expand...

Thanks, Duncan! She's been a fine hunting companion, and has covered more miles than any human, I'm sure. She's not (or really, she wasn't) a real "big goin' dog" like the pointers and field trial setters, but she could put some distance between the gunman and herself in the blink of an eye. She was staunch on point, and fantastic at retrieves.

Sorry to go on about her, but she's really in her last mile, and won't last until Christmas, I fear. It's been a grand 16 years with her, though, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
hunter20ga said:
Thanks, Duncan! She's been a fine hunting companion, and has covered more miles than any human, I'm sure. She's not (or really, she wasn't) a real "big goin' dog" like the pointers and field trial setters, but she could put some distance between the gunman and herself in the blink of an eye. She was staunch on point, and fantastic at retrieves.

Sorry to go on about her, but she's really in her last mile, and won't last until Christmas, I fear. It's been a grand 16 years with her, though, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Click to expand...

That's a very poignant post and I fully understand your feelings, never easy when they're getting on in years and terribly sad when they go...my mother said 'consider it your privilege to of owned her' when I lost my first Springer some years ago, I guess that's very apt in your case too from what you say...she sounds like a wonderful dog and i'm sure she wouldn't of had it any other way either!
 
Sorry to hear she's stuggling.

It's always a tough thing to go through and it's heartbreaking to watch them deteriorate but it's all part and parcel of having animals in our lives.

What's the saying again - "Grief is the price we pay for love." - I've always been able to relate to that when we've lost animals that have been part of the family.

Anyway - sending some healing vibes your way.....
 
Thanks, everyone, for your kind thoughts and words. She's rallied as of late, and now shows little evidence of going anytime soon. Time will tell.
 
I always have great affection for any gun/hunting dog and she looks lovely. They are always great to watch while hunting. I lost my old lab Sam at 14 1/2 a few months ago and miss the old bugger. We covered a lot of ground in our time and he made some great retrieves. Best of luck to you both.
 
Well, she continues to hang on. Doesn't appear to be in much discomfort or pain, except for the arthritis. Still has a good appetite, so who knows!
 
cracking pic of a cracking mutt...........
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top