Hunting?

How do I phrase this. Before I started to open my then narrow mind to hunting, my general idea on the subject regarding those who do not need to hunt for food, was that these people were probably only driven by blood lust or macho egos. I mean, think about it. Why kill beautiful animals when there's plenty of food available in the markets? That was that. I simply shut the door. I had no need to care. Oh, what a simple mind I have.

Another aspect of my self is my absolute LOVE for dogs. I currently have an English Yellow Labrador named Hank. I met him while working at a dog day care facility and I worked there to try and fill the gap in my life, reserved for dogs. I was going on 3 years after the loss of my first dog, Beaux (Bo). I could not decide on a breed, the age, wether to rescue or get a champion, etc. A dog is a HUGE responsibility so I didn't want to make the wrong choice.

I figured if I worked at a dog day care it would satisfy my desire to have one of my own. Well, that doesn't quite work, obviously. :) What it did allow is for me to observe dozens of different breeds, first hand. I highly recommend working in a dog day care. It is the funnest job and one of the most satisfying I had ever had and I have a long list of jobs I have done. Life is too short, I say. I wanted all sorts of experience.

Anyway, I started to narrow down my favorite breeds and had my favorite dog in each catagory. Hank was my top favorite in the Yellow Labradors. He has beautiful conformation for a non-show-quality, excellent attitude and an absolute joy to play with. The news that his owners needed a home for him was a shock but a much welcomed surprise for me! In less than 6 hours all concerned parties were contacted and I was finally the owner of my perfect companion. Best choice I made. Of course, my friends certainly helped encourage me to close the deal.

So here we are, 4 years later and he is 6 years old and still awesome. It is the perfect time for a second dog. Well, anytime is a perfect time for a second dog. I have been preparing for it for the past 2 years. Hank has a wonderful temperment, excellent with other dogs (thanks to the socialization at the daycare). I was really hoping that some of his qualities would transfer to my next dog. But, again, I came across the same questions: which breed, to rescue or not to rescue.. etc. Well, it really came down to my current situation. I am renting a house. It even has nice laminant (I think) hardwood floors, large back yard and I have a job that allows me to purchase from champion lines. This was the perfect situation for a show puppy. But now, which breed?

You would think it would be obvious seeing how much I love Hank but see, I also love the gladiator breeds. I had looked into the Amstaff, Dane, Dogue de Bordeaux, Dogo Argentino, and also the adorable Bulldogs and French Bulldogs. But I didn't want a dog just because they looked good and were protective. I don't need much protection and most dogs will protect anyway. I wanted a dog with more pupose. Well, Hank is a gundog, a sporting breed, the sport: Hunting. I had to face my hunting blocks. :)


So, I went to You Tube and searched for hunting videos to see what it was like. To my horror, it was exactly what I thought. People with guns using dogs to spook the birds in flight, then shoot them dead. Closed the door on that again. Ofcourse, Labs are more than just hunting dogs. They help the disabled, used for search and rescue and even bomb and drug search. Also.. oh, so cute! OK, back to Labs again and more on show quality goals, conformation. But this really wasn't enough. I didn't want a dog to just look good. I needed him to be utilize for a real purpose. I needed to find that balance and finding something that would allow me to work or play with my dogs. Back to the drawing board.


I tried again with the idea of hunting. What good purpose would it be for? I spoke with people about hunting, those who actually have hunted and lived in other parts of the country. To my surprise, hunting made sense. It controls the over population of certain species. It is very needed in a lot of areas. Wow, it took me this long to realize something that is so obvious. Thank god I didn't vote on anything that would prevent hunting or restrict gun ownership. See, people should not vote on things they have not researched. Leave those sections blank for the people who really did their research and know the best choice. Yeah, guns are good with me and hunting is good with me too. In fact, I think we should all be trained in combat.


So, you would think that I would go with a Labrador.. but I didn't. Labs shed a lot and if I'm going to be showing for the first time with a Labrador, I think I might quit early. My friend has a German Shorthair Pointer that she shows. I've gone with her on a few shows and was amazed at the grooming required. Almost nill to non-existant. A good bath, dry and that's it. Man, that's attractive. So, I did some research on the breed. These guys are phenominal. They are a versitle hunting dog used for waterfowl, upland birds and big game. German breeders know their stuff. A switch to the GSP was made. :) Now, to find the best of the best.






Well, that same weekend, my friend and I were at an all breed dog show in Monroe. That's were we met West Star Kennel's breeder and owner, Sarah. She had the best dogs at the show. She also had one of her top females ready to have a litter and that was that. I was lined up for second pick for a male pup. :) Khan will be here mid January. His full name will be WESTSTAR'S HURRIKAN KRIEG AUF VÖGELN.

So now, that litter of pups is about to hit the 6 week mark on Dec, 29th, 2008. Wow, I'll have Khan in about 2 weeks. :)