Patridge hunting season opened in Vermont last weekend, so Eric went hunting with a friend this morning. Eric took Toby with him since the friend he was meeting (Mike Q.) was bringing his Black Lab, Wally. Toby was never trained for hunting because we got him from my parents when he was about 8 months old and because, as an alpha male Golden Retriever, it was hard enough to get him to heed our weak-willed human commands. Needless to say, Eric and I were a little worried Toby would sabotage the hunt even though Eric’s taken him out hunting previously and he’s done fine.
Just to make sure Toby didn’t misbehave, I had a talk with him when I walked him before he left to meet Mike and Wally. I told him to be a good boy when he went hunting with his Pa and to follow Wally’s lead (Wally has been trained to hunt.) I repeated this message to Toby several times, and I think it worked because when Eric and Toby came home around 1 PM, Eric said Toby did pretty well, all things considered. He didn’t go crazy. He didn’t run too far ahead of Eric and Mike. He was a good boy. He didn’t retrieve any birds because there weren’t too many birds for Mike and Eric to shoot at. It turned out that Wally was the bad boy. Not so much in the field, but in the car. He devoured three cider donuts Eric had bought–one he snatched right out of Eric’s hand. That Wally. He’s a rapscallion. (more…)
