10/25/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 10/25/2009
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 45 °F (Start) 47 °F (End)
Companions: Logan Abell
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 5
# of Rabbits Shot: 1

It turned out to be a really nice day, as the day before was full of rain. I was nervous, looking back I am nervous about a lot of things, but I was nervous today because it was opening weekend of anterless-only moose season. We pulled into the pulloff a little before 7 with the expectation that I would find a couple of trucks there as well. That was not the case, we were alone. I did notice some new Posted signs, and am wondering what the future holds for our hunting spot. Until then I plan on enjoying every hunt when I can get it. We actually waited in the truck for about 10 minutes waiting for daylight to break. Logan fell back asleep again, he woke up briefly when we got there and was able to fall back asleep during the idle time. Once there was enough light we geared up the dogs and made our way down the four wheeler trail. I was hoping to kick up the rabbit that we ran with Dad and Logan last time we were there. Bailey found it first and got the start. She ran it alone for about 40 yards before Remi joined in on the hunt, and a hunt it was! It started out rough and Logan and I ventured down in towards the dogs to help them out. Once the run was going again they did not let up! The rabbit swung up across the 4 wheeler trail and we waited for it come back down where it started. It made a bunch of small swings up above and I didn't think it was coming back down. We went up and set up. I caught a glimpse of it and had Logan ready. It didn't come out in the opening and the dogs kept it going. We waited for it to come around again. It didn't. It changed its swing and ran really tight circles even further above us. We moved in again and I caught another glimpse of it, it still didn't cooperate for Logan, and while we were looking forward it ran behind us. We waited for it come back, and of course it crossed to the lower side of the 4 wheeler trail. It did come back up to us and again I saw it and got Logan ready. It skirted around us again without being seen and the dogs kept running it hard. We set up again with hopes of getting a good view of it this time and the rabbit went down below the 4 wheeler trail again. We were closer to the trail at this point and decided to stand on the trail and wait for it to cross again. As the dogs brought it back up to the trail Logan and I must have turned it as it never crossed and it turned back down. This time the dogs lost it and checked for about 10 minutes. Remi came out onto the trail first and I could hear Bailey not to far off in the brush. I called for her and we went looking for another rabbit. That was a great run and lasted about an hour and a half. At that point that was the longest run the dogs have ever ran!
We worked for about an hour and a half looking for a rabbit before we actually got one going. We worked across the power line where Logan and I shot a rabbit last year and found nothing. We went back up the 4 wheeler trail a little bit and Bailey got the start. The two of them took that rabbit out of hearing and Logan and I ventured in the direction where we last heard them. We found ourselves in familiar territory when we started hearing the dogs again. We were in the softwoods where we saw the rabbit last year jump through the hole in the up rooted tree. We couldn't get into position in time before the dogs lost it.
Remi got the next start and it ran right by the big popul tree that we have stood by a few times. The rabbit ran along the back side of the cut and we were ready for it to come back to us. It never did. When got out near the NC camp the rabbit started to run a different circle, must have been a different rabbit. We made our way over to that run when we ran into Bruce and Sue Buckley again. We talked for a while and Sue commented on the music the dogs were making. At that point the dogs had checked and were not running. We talked for a while and after their departure we made our way in the direction of the last bark. I called them in and Bailey picked up the check and ran the rabbit right by me. I called to Logan to shoot but he couldn't see it, so I shot, twice, missed. They ran it by the popul tree again. We waited for them to come back to us. Logan saw the rabbit first, but didn't shoot. I did, 3 times, and missed all of them. When the dogs come down through they were actually running a smaller rabbit, about 10 yards off from the line that the rabbit I shot at ran. The circles turned small again out in the thick stuff. That confirmed that they ran two different rabbits. The small circles continued out in the thick alders and it made it real tough to get any sightings of the rabbit. I made the decision to get aggressive and Logan was game for that. We B-Lined it through the alders to a small patch of tall softwoods. We saw the rabbit once and no shot. The dogs brought it back to us again but when it ran by it stayed in the thick stuff and I didn't shoot. When the dogs brought it around again the rabbit poked its head out from behind a stump and "click", I never chambered a shell after that last round of shooting. I chambered a shell that was in the magazine and the made the rabbit bust out, I shot twice, and connected on the second. Thank God, that was my last round! It is fun to hunt with a .410, but a bit pricey for the ammo. Remi and Bailey came in Remi finished it off. She did not want to give up the rabbit. I leashed up the dogs, and Logan carried out the rabbit. Another hour and a half plus run, that would be there longest run to date! We made our way back up to the truck and cut acoss the Buckley's camp lawn. They came out and took pictures and we exchanged contact information. We bid our farewells and got to the truck at 1.
When I got home the dogs were tired. Bailey ran to the dog pen for water, but Remi stayed behind at the truck. I managed to convince her to only take 2 steps. I ended up carrying her to the pen, she didn't fight it at all. I successfully managed to tire out the dogs! What a great day! Logan loved it, and I am thankful to have such a great hunting partner! Thanks bud!

10/10/2009 - Lowel, VT

Date of hunt: 10/10/2009
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Rainy
Temperature: 51 °F (Start) 45 °F (End)
Companions: Steve Abell, Logan Abell
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 1
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

It was misting at the house when I left to get Dad and Logan. I was hoping that Lowell would have better weather, but the rain was still coming down when we got there. We went down the four wheeler trail towards the power lines. I was hoping to pick up the rabbit that Logan and I ran a couple weeks ago. The dogs picked up a little bit of scent but never got a run going. We worked our way thru the softwoods in the direction of the clear cut below the truck. Bailey started to pick up some scent, but again, couldn't get a run going. We kept working all the little areas I thought would produce a hare, no luck. We circled back thru the woods towards the four wheeler trail again, hoping to find something. Nothing. Dad was getting wet and was talking about getting home to do trash and stuff. I really wanted to get something going. With one last effort I worked the dogs up through the softwoods along the edge of the power lines. Bailey got the start and got a long run going on her own before Remi joined in. The ran it well for about 15 minutes. They crossed the four wheeler trail and circled up above. As the rabbit came back down we go Logan ready. The rabbit hugged the woodline along the edge of the four wheeler trail and stayed up above us. The dogs circled it back up and lost it for about 3 minutes. They got on it again and were bring it back down again. Logan was ready again and again, the rabbit stayed up high and ran another circle above us. As it came back down again Dad and Logan were ready, it still didn't cross. The dogs ran it back up again and lost it on the turn. As I called them in they picked up the scent again on their way to me. They ran it for a short distance and lost it. At this point the weather was starting to break, but Dad was ready to leave. We packed up and headed home, 10:00am.

10/3/2009 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt: 10/3/2009
Location: Uncle Philip's Lot
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 58 °F (Start) 58 °F (End)
Companions: Alone
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 2
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

I pulled in to the lot around 2:30pm and geared up the dogs. The dogs started working hard right off. We worked our way over towards the garden and Remi got the first start. She was already out in the middle of Mike Duffy's field and was running up on to the bank. They brought the rabbit back towards me and I was ready. I caught a quick glimpse of the rabbit running back down the bank but the dogs didn't turn with it. They kept running up on the bank past me and then a rabbit popped out of the tall grass and ran across the mowed section. I managed to get off 3 shots and wounded on the second and the third. I took off after the rabbit and lost sight of it. The dogs came in and continued to run its track right into a stone pile. I felt bad that I wounded a rabbit and lost it, that's a first for me.
I brought the dogs back to where I saw the other rabbit run down the bank and Bailey got the start on this one. She ran it down into Mike's field again. I turned back towards the mowed piece and there was guy standing there with his dog. His name was Mark Gallee and was quite concerned that I was shooting. He started to drill me with questions. "Who's property are you on?", I told him my Uncle Philip's and he asked me "Isn't it Mike Duffy's?". I corrected him and showed him the property line. He asked me what I was hunting and I told him rabbits. He thought I was hunting Grouse, because he heard the shots and saw some grouse fly over his house. I told him that all my shots were directed towards the ground and he said "thanks". I told him where his house was and he was a bit surprised, I also told him that I already talked with Joe St. Hilaire and he told me where your house was. He asked me if I worked with Joe, and I told him that I didn't work with him, but at the same place as him, Husky. He shook his head and said, okay, you do work at Husky, okay. It then remembered that he was a police officer, that would be the reason for the DRILLING! Needless to say my anxiety level was high and I was not really wanting to hunt there anymore. The dogs ran the cottontail in 2 more circles but the rabbit stayed in the thick stuff. We packed up and headed home.

9/26/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date 9/26/2009
Location: Lowell
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 33 °F (Start) 5 4°F (End)
Companions: Logan Abell
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
Running Partner: Logan
# of Rabbits Ran: 6
# of Rabbits shot: 2

Wow, what a great hunt! I woke up at 4:40 and went and woke up Logan. He was the only one going with me and stayed the night at the house. We were out the door a 5:20, about 20 minutes later than I wanted to be. Legal shooting time was at 6:12am and it was an hour drive ahead of us. Logan fell asleep on the way there and it was past legal shooting time when we pulled on to Robtoy Road. The chain down to the NC camp was down so I figured they were there, and that changed my game plan of the hunt. I was going to walk down the logging road towards the beaver pond, but parked at the log landing instead and worked down from there. When we let the dogs out we worked down the edge of the 4 wheeler trail (opposite side from the power lines). Bailey started barking on some scent within 2 minutes. She worked it slowly for about 10 minutes. She really started in hot and took off on the run real fast. Remi came in from a good distance out and joined Bailey on the run. I was really happy to see her pack! The rabbit made a turn towards the 4 wheeler trail that I was standing on and it quickly popped out on the road and ran up it for a ways. I told Logan that I saw it and I tried to set him up in position to get a shot if it crosses again. The dogs kept running it really hard and fast and quickly brought the rabbit back across the road right in front of Logan. He got really excited and started yelling "here it is, the rabbits right here!". He was too excited to get a shot off. The dogs ran it back up near the truck and lost it. It was a good run to start the morning and I was excited to see such a good run on hare again. It was really good to see that Remi packed with Bailey. I went back up to truck to grab some food and called in the dogs to start again. We worked back down below the truck and swung over to the log road down to the old clear cuts. Remi got the start on this one. She had already crossed the log road ahead of Logan and I where she pick up her first start of the day. Bailey quickly caught up with Remi and they were off on another fast run. They ran two decent sized circles above us, but below the road. There was a short check before they picked it up again and ran it really fast again down in our direction. Come to find out they ran it down the opposite side of the log road then where we were. The rabbit made a turn out across the log road and the dogs missed to the corner. They checked for about a minute and then picked it up again. Logan and I were ready, with Logan being a position to see it first. The rabbit skirted around him and then turned back in towards me. The first chance I had to shot he was already about 10 yards from me. I get nervous at that close of a distance, I hate to blow the rabbit apart so I don't aim so well. I aimed low and it took off again. I pumped and shot again, this time it was closer and again I just didn't aim at the body, or head. I clipped its back foot. I pumped again and shot again. I hit the rear legs again and it started to squeal. Remi and Bailey were closing in and Remi was able to finish off the rabbit. After the kill they wanted nothing more to do with it and started looking for some more scent. Logan was pumped! He was praising the dogs as much as I was. We worked down through the woods towards the first clear cut and Remi got the next start again. Bailey ran by Logan and I at full speed to catch up with her and off they went again. Logan and I set up where Remi started the rabbit and waited. They ran it hard for a quite a while. Twice that brought it down near us but it never came back down in where we were. They ended up loosing it near the bottom of the log road. I called in the dogs after a long check to try and work the clump of softwoods in the center of the clearing. Remi started the next rabbit within a minute of us getting in the thicket. Bailey joined in and their barks quickly changed from a working bark to a hot bark. They ran it fast in a tight circle, staying in the thick stuff. Logan made the comment that it will be hard to get a shot in the cover and we tried to set up in what we thought would be the best place possible. Logan made his way out towards were Remi started the 3rd start to find a stump to stand on. I had found a 6 in diameter downed tree to stand on and balanced myself on it to wait. Logan was just starting to stand on his stump when the rabbit came and stopped about 10 feet from me. I pulled up and actually closed my eyes when I pulled the trigger. It became really apparent that I didn't want to see how destructive a .410 would be at that close. I shot low, and did open up the rabbit a lot. Logan hollard in a disbelief, "you got it?"; "yeah"; "really?"; "yeah"; "already?"; "yeah". He came over and was really excited. He kept talking about how great the day was, and how well the dogs were doing. We talked for a bit about the hunt and Bailey opened up where Remi had got the start on the 3rd rabbit. They both ran the rabbit hard and Logan and I set up in the same spot where we stood before on the 3rd rabbit. The rabbit ran the exact same line as it did before. It had to have been the same rabbit as before. We moved to where the rabbit had crossed a couple of times and set up for the time it came through. This time the dogs made the turn with the rabbit and headed back up past where we shot the 1st rabbit and it turn above us. The dogs ended up losing it just beyond where we shot the last rabbit. At that point we started hearing cow bells and saw a couple of dogs skirting through the trees, with a couple of hunters close behind. I figured it was the owner of the NC camp. We worked down below where we shot the last rabbit and ran in to the hunters. It was Bruce and Bob. Bruce is the owner of the camp and Bob was from VT. We talked for a while and discussed the area, the camp, the differences between bird hunting and rabbit hunting and the Garmin Astro. A very nice piece of equipment! Bruce asked what he could do to not interupt my hunt and I asked the same. We both found that we really wouldn't effect each other in any way. So we parted ways and Logan and I ventured towards the NC camp. Bailey picked up here and there with nothing solid for a run. I called them in and started to head back up near the camp in hopes of running the rabbit that lives near the bottom of the NC camp meadow. Bailey all of a sudden started barking and took off with her hot bark. Remi came in from a good distance away and ran with her. Come to find out we were just below the camp and we set up where I had seen the rabbit run through before. The dogs ran the rabbit counter clockwise around the camp and then the rabbit turned a tight circle up above the camp. They camp back down the same side of the woods as they went up and turned again out towards the log road. The rabbit ran back up along side the camp and above it. It turned again and ran the same line back down through the woods towards Logan and I. It turned again before it got to us and the dogs followed it back up again, this time loosing it up above the camp. We made our way back up towards the dogs and finally got them gathered up. We worked our way back down towards the clear cut and picked up the rabbit we had left behind. We made our way back up to the truck and were pretty worn out when we got there. The dogs were very thirsty and drank for a good minute in the first water hole we came across. Logan kept commenting on how great a day he had and how it was the best hunt he had ever been on. I was very happy with the day and I am excited to invite others along for a hunt some time. Overall, a great day!!

9/16/2009 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt: 9/16/2009
Location: Husky
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 58 °F (Start) 52 °F (End)
Companions: Alone
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 3

Wow, what a turn around! The dogs ran really well on a cottontail! I'm very happy with their performance and their new behaviors! I've ran them a bunch of times throughout the summer without creating log entries. I've struggled every trip out, and actually went through a bout where I was ready to sell them and start over with different genetics. Something clicked over the past couple of weeks and I'm hoping it continues. Remi is now packing with Bailey, and Bailey is working better on her checks. We started off by the gate and working the tall brush on the north side of the road out to the salt shed. Remi got the start by yipping on some old scent and the rabbit jumped out across the mowed road to the upper side of the tall grass. Bailey was the first to get on the line and Remi came in to pack when Bailey barked. The ran it through the tall grass towards the road out to the salt shed, crossed it and kept going. The rabbit ran out behind the first parking lot and the dogs were really hot on its trail. The lost it for a minute on the turn back but worked out the check and brought the rabbit back across the road by the gate. The kept on it at the road crossing and the rabbit circled back where it started. They lost it where it started. I've ran this same rabbit a number of times during the summer and found that they tend to lose the rabbit at the same place every time. There must be a hole that it goes into there.
We went out to the salt shed and picked up a rabbit on the south/west corner thicket. They were running that rabbit so fast and well that I was nervous it might be some off game. The ran it back to the road, turned and followed along the side of the road. Brought it under the apple tree and back to where they started. They lost this one again where they started.
We moved over to the north/west thicket and the quickly ran one around in the tall grass for about 15 minutes. It was a choppy run, but a run none-the-less.
Unknowingly this would be my last run at Husky. A member of Human Resources heard the dogs running and thought that dogs were being killed. They called the facilities manager who then sent out a couple of maintenance guys to see what was going on. When I told them I had permission to run my dogs on rabbits they were fine with it and left. The next day was a drawn out, all day affair of explaining myself. Good thing I had the email that fully explained what a dog does when it runs rabbits back when I asked for permission (August of 2007). In the end my manager, my second level manager, and the Human Resources manager pulled me in to a room and told me that I wasn't in trouble as I was doing exactly as I had asked, and that I was handling the situation very well. They told me that they had to change their mind about the permission they granted and they were happy that I was okay with it. Why wouldn't I be? It is a matter of keeping my job or running my dogs, hmmm, easy decision.

6/5/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 6/5/2009
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 71 °F (Start) 60 °F (End)
Companions: Alone
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 2

Went up to Robtoy Road after work on Friday. Pulled in and was geared up by 6:30. I let Bailey out and kept Remi on a leash as we went into the woods. Walked down in front of the NC camp again in hopes of kicking up the rabbit we ran on Monday. Bailey worked for about 15 minutes and still nothing. I let Remi go and help out. 5 minutes later Bailey got a start. Both of them were running it. Bailey was definitely out in front by 10 yards at times and you could hear her go back to Remi. Clashing speeds. The rabbit came out of the softwoods and turned back in when it saw me. I leashed Remi on her way by because it was choppy running for both of them. Bailey lost out and Remi kept pulling me in the direction the rabbit ran. I let her go and the race was on again. They both ran it down over the bank and out of hearing. They must have lost it on the turn because they took a long time to come back. As they came back towards me it was very choppy running. I let them work it for a good 45 minutes. There were some guys with 4 wheelers that tried to come down towards me on a trail and I could hear them try to get a four wheeler unstuck. They must have worked for a good hour before they made their way back up out of the area. I then felt I could call the dogs in without having them bother me. I leashed Bailey and let Remi work. She got a rabbit going and ran it hard by herself for a full circle she lost it when the rabbit came back up by Bailey and I. It was dark, and we made our way back up to the truck. I will definitely have to run both dogs alone, they clash too much to run them as a pair.

6/1/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date of 6/1/2009
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Light Rain
Temperature 51 °F (Start) 51 °F (End)
Companions: Alone
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 1

Opening day of running rabbits happened to fall on a Monday this year. I left work at 5, and went home to load up before heading to Lowell. Pulled on to Robtoy Road at 6:30. By they time the dogs and I were fully geared up it was 6:45. I dropped Remi first and left Bailey in the box with a bark collar. Remi and I went down the log road at the entrance of the NC Camp and headed towards the softwoods. Remi started to bark on something within 10 minutes and took off on a scent out of hearing. I quickly got nervous as the moose sign was active in the area. I ventured in the direction of the last bark I heard and started to try and call her in. I bumped her and she barked closer than I had expected. Still a long way out, but within hearing. I called her in and she was by my side within 5 minutes. She started working again got a scent going within a minute. I let her take it without any worry because the thicket she was in could not possibly hold a moose. She again ran a line right out of hearing. I let her go and about 2 or 3 minutes later I could hear her again. As she got closer I was able to see the rabbit run by me at about 15 yards. It was a really good size snowshoe. Remi was having a hard time working the trail and I called her in using the “I just saw a rabbit” call that they dogs have got accustomed to. Remi came right in and got on the trail again. She circled the rabbit up along the side of the NC Camp and then back down by me again. It sat still for about a half a minute before taking Remi back out of hearing again. Remi lost out on the trail on her way back up towards me. I called her in and brought her back to the truck. Remi got a good hour and a half run in before I switched her for Bailey.
I dropped Bailey at about 8:15pm and headed back down the NC Camp driveway. On the edge of the woodline I noticed a rabbit sitting up looking up towards us. I quickly got Bailey on the track and off she went. She was like a loose canon. The rabbit made a straight line out of the area while Bailey made it look like it had zig zagged around every tree and then back again. She was just so excited to be running scent that she was barking all over the place. When she finally settled down a bit and took the line the rabbit had brought her out of hearing. She came back up towards me and the rabbit had snuck by me without me seeing it. Bailey was working the line slowly and I’m guessing the rabbit was probably a county line ahead of her. I went up to the truck and brought Remi down on a lead in hopes of having the two pack together. Bailey was barking a bit and I let Remi go. Remi had no interest in helping out Bailey, she just wanted find a line herself. I leashed up Remi again and made my way closer to Bailey again. As I sat and listened to Bailey work the line Remi started to get a bit antsy and had a bit of spark to want and join in with Bailey. I think I will have try this tactic a bit more to get Remi excited and want to honor Bailey next time. Darkness closed in at around 9 and I all of sudden felt quite small in the big wilderness. I called in Bailey and brought the two dogs back up to the truck to head home.

3/8/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 3/8/2009
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 36 °F (Start) 39 °F (End)
Companions: Steve Abell, Logan Abell
Dogs of mine: Bailey
# of Rabbits Ran: 4
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

Today was the last day of the 2008-2009 Vermont Hare season. Dad, Logan and I pulled into our spot at about 8:15. The time change made it a little darker, which was nice. We geared up with snowshoes and headed down the logging road. Bailey got a start right off and worked it slowly down parrallel with the logging road we were standing on. She lost it after about 50 yards. I found a cross trail that I walked down with hopes of cutting the rabbit track that Bailey lost. I found the track, called Bailey in and put her on it. She took off on it, slow at first (zig-zagging) but then picked up the trail on a steady pace. She ran it out away from us on a nice solid run. She brought it just to the edge of hearing range and started to make the turn. She got through the turn and started to bring it back to us when she lost it. I thought for sure I was going to get a crack at it. I had the "perfect" spot. Dad thought the same from his position. If I were to put money down I would guess my Dad would have got it, don't they always? Bailey was in line to bring it back to us when she hit the check. We waited about 10 minutes in hopes of her solving the check before I called Bailey back in. We worked back onto the logging road and headed down towards the beaver pond. We found the pond that Google Earth told me was there, and walked along the edge of its profile. Not much of a pond anymore, looks like the beaver dam broke and it was drained. We worked the cover near the pond with now luck and decided to head back up where we came from as the rabbit sign was lacking. Bailey picked up a track and started working it. She worked it slowly, off and on for about 5 minutes. She finally started on the line and this is where I feel she needs some work, lots of it too. She would run the straight line for about 10 yards and then zag to the right. She would bark (off the line) for about 5 yards and then realize that she wasn't running the line and then stop. She would go back near the line, find it and then run it for another 10 yards and then zig to the left. Barking the same as before. She finally picked up on the line and ran it solid after those two episodes. She ran it well and deep and ran it just about out of hearing distance. She made the turn to come back towards us. Dad made a comment about how good she was doing. And then she lost it. It was the same as last time. Can't quite run the rabbit in a full circle. I would like to blame it on the ground conditions but I know that a lot of it is Bailey. The 3 feet of snow was soft and slowly melting. She would sink up to her belly and struggle to climb up any kind of elevation. We worked back up below the NC camp and made our way over to the other running ground that I ran on in October. Bailey kicked up a rabbit and ran it pretty hot for about 2 minutes. It sounded like it turned and was heading back up towards me, when she lost it, AGAIN!! I can't catch a break. Bailey needs to get over that! I'm hoping some good summer running will help refine her. After letting Bailey work for about 20 minutes and try to find the track again I called her in and headed closer to the clear cut. There was one last clump of softwoods on the edge of the clearcut that Bailey worked and she got another start. She had a couple of good bawls that sounded like she was sight chasing it. It made a real tight circle and was coming back towards me. I felt that I was going to see it, and I found out later that Dad thought so too. She made the turn on the small circle and then lost it again. Four times in a row she seemed to loose it in the same spot…..on the turn. What is it? Hopefully next year at this time she will be able to run a rabbit non-stop until I either shoot it or call her off. We made our way back up towards the road, that was tiring. Uphill and softer snow, made for a tough climb. A good year, I guess, but I look forward to a better year next year.

2/15/2009 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt: 2/15/2009
Location: Corey Lombard's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 19 °F (Start) 26 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
# of Rabbits Ran: 0
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

A bunch of tracks right behind Corey's house. Bailey barked a few times here and there but never got anything running. She barked up by the field at the VAST trail "Y". She barked over behind the beaver pond near the Middle Road side, and then right behind Corey's house. She needs more experience to get the cottontails running and to work harder on her checks.

2/8/2009 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 2/8/2009
Location: Doug Duffys
Weather: Snowy
Temperature: 41 °F (Start) 34 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
Running Partners: Dad, Dustin, Logan
# of Rabbits Ran: 3
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

We pulled onto Robtoy Road around 9:40. Geared up with the snowshoes and geared up Bailey. I found the road down to swamp that I had been looking at on Google maps. It was right next to the driveway of the new camp built up there. Each step sunk about 10 - 12 inches, but we stayed on top of the 3 foot base. I cut the trail down towards the swamp while keeping an eye out for rabbit tracks. Cut moose tracks first, and then saw a few old rabbit tracks covered by the fresh inch of snow from this morning. There were a lot of young hardwoods and few soft woods that I was looking for. There was a small patch of softwoods that I told Bailey to get into. Dad followed her in to try and get her to work. She was hitting the holes pretty good and searching hard. She started barking a bit and I was nervous. With all the moose sign around I wasn't 100% sure if it was a rabbit. She started running a track slowly and then hit hard and started running good. She kept steady for about 3 minutes and then checked for about 2. Ran for about 10 minutes and checked again. It was patchy running, but I was really happy that she was running! My low expectations were met and blown away. It was great! Bailey lost the rabbit after about 30 minutes. There was about 2 small circles out in front of us and then one last circle towards us where she lost it. We decided to pick up and head down deeper towards the swamp.
Deeper down the road I started to see more softwoods and a trail that cut West into the softwoods. We tucked into the softwoods and started looking for sign. Dustin was leading and I told him to call Bailey over and have her look in the blow down right next to him. She looked for a bit and then moved on. Logan mentioned to jump on it and I did. Out came a rabbit like a bullet. I called Bailey over and she got right on it. She ran it better than the first one, but lost out after 10 minutes. At this point we were pretty deep and Dustin wore sneakers with his snowshoes. We thought it would be best to hunt back up towards the truck. We worked the woods on the way up and decided to just walk up the trail and go to the truck. We got back up to where we started the first rabbit and I saw where a rabbit crossed our snowshoe trail. I got Bailey on it and she ran it well. She ran solid for about 15 minutes without a check. I was really impressed how much better she ran each time today. She circled the rabbit a couple of times out near the first run and then checked. After a while I called Dustin up to have him go up to the truck, I was concerned about his feet. When he got back up to us Bailey started up running again. She kept getting closer and we were all at ready. Dad saw a glimpse and pointed it out to Dustin. No shot. The rabbit ran right down to where Dustin was, had he been there. We grabbed Bailey and headed up to the truck as it was getting late and keeping her on the trail would be another hour before we got Dustin back up to the truck.
I was really happy with today's hunt. It was Bailey's first run in the snow and she got better on each run. I look forward to another day like today.

1/4/2009 - Ferrisburgh, VT

Date of hunt: 1/4/2009
Location: Ferrisburgh
Weather: Sunny
Temperature : 8 °F (Start) 12 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey & Remi
Running Partner: John Roberts
Other Dogs: Bowie
Driver/Truck: Ryan
# of Rabbits Ran: 2
# of Rabbits Shot: 1

John talked me in to going down to Ferrisburgh to run some cottontails. I should have gone north and ran some snows, but hindsight is 100%. The snow was dry and didn't hold any scent, and a cottontail with less scent then a snowshoe didn't help. The dogs are inexperienced as well, can't forget this big one. This was Bailey's first run on snow.
We walked in from the gate of Button Bay State Park. John jumped up a rabbit and tried to shoot it on the jump, but missed. He wanted to get a rabbit down for training his dog. I brought the dogs over to where the rabbit was and they never picked up any scent. I knew it would be a long day after that. We jumped on a brush pile and kicked a rabbit out. I got the dogs on it. They ran it slowly for about 50 yards, but then lost it. They picked it up again and ran it about 300 yards before losing it. John jumped up another rabbit and shot it. Bailey was about 80 yards from where the rabbit was and started to bark. I thought she might be trailing the scent of the rabbit John shot. Before I knew it she was sight chasing a bunny. She sight chased it for about 80 yards before losing it. The scenting didn't go well and she lost it. I brought Remi in and they never picked it up. We started walking back and then both Bailey and Remi kicked up the rabbit, where they started it before, and ran it the same distance and direction as before. They lost it again.
We changed locations, went down closer to the Slaughter House. When we crossed the road from where we parked we kicked up a rabbit. The dogs wouldn't run it. John managed to kick up another one. Got the dogs on it and they followed it, without barking. The rabbit ran into a brush pile and the dogs went into the pile after it. They started barking once they were in there. The rabbit ran out the back side and ran around to the front side of the pile and back tracked. John shot twice and wounded it on the second shot. It just sat there. I got the dogs on and the sight chase was on Bailey took off with it first and managed to catch it once, it shook free. She caught it a second time and it shook free again. Remi caught up to the chase as the rabbit took off across a field. Remi chased it down and finished the hunt. That is now the second rabbit that Remi has caught after it was wounded.

11/1/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt: 11/1/2008
Location: Dead Bull 1
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 36 °F (Start) 40 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
Running Partners: Lanny, Dean
Other Dogs: Jitters, Brook
Driver/Truck: Lanny
# of Rabbits Ran: 1
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

What a rough day. Started out okay, but went down hill from there. Dropped the dogs at the Dead Bull area, same place where Dean and I ran last year and the dogs took off on a buck rabbit. We walked in, almost still in sight of the truck, and Bailey started to bark. The other dogs came over but didn't open up. Bailey cold trailed the line back to the road, crossed it, and kept cold trailing on the other side. Jitters squeeled a couple of times and Brook sounded a couple as well. Bailey still kept going in away from the road. The got in about 80 yards from the road and then Jitters sounded off hard. They were off. They ran it in a tight circle down in the balsams. I stayed up in sight of the road in the thinner soft woods in hopes of getting a shot. The dogs circled the hare down low enough where the hare never showed himself. They circled down low and then brought it back up by the road. The hare ran tight to the road and was heading towards me. I was expecting to see it at any time. The dogs crossed back over the road and they ran back in the area where Bailey started it. They checked a couple of times. During the checks Bailey would bark here and there. I thought she was picking up on the scent, but Lanny knew otherwise. After about the 4th check he radio'd me and asked me to leash Bailey. I called her in, she came (no shock needed). Jitters and Brooks never picked up the rabbit again. Lanny came and found me and asked me if I understood what was happening. I understood a little bit, but not completely. Lanny explained that when Bailey was running with the pack she/they would miss the sharp turns and overrun the dekes. The kicker was that Bailey would not stay close to the check. He explained that she has so much drive and excitement to run that she wanted to find scent, any scent, anywhere. She wouldn't stay close to where the last scent was lost and would go off and bark wherever she could find scent, sometimes 40-50 yards away from the check. Lanny thought she might be barking on the scent of the dogs sometimes, or the old track. This extra mouth would confuse the other dogs and pull them off the check and produced rough running. Lanny wanted me to understand and not be upset. I wasn't upset, just disappointed. We put Bailey in the box and kept hunting with Jitters and Brook. I had to shock Bailey once to keep her quiet in the box. We headed deeper in the thick stuff and managed to get two rabbits up at the same time. Jitters ran one one way, and Brook the other. Brook gave up on hers and went and joined Jitters. They ran it for a bit out in the thick stuff, and then circled it back towards the truck. They lost it right back near the road where we went in. We picked up the dogs and went over to Phil's Buck area. We walked all around for about 2 hours and only got a couple barks out of Jitters. Nothing ran. That was a long hunt. I was tired, and ready to get home. Lanny commented that if we had put Bailey down we might have had a start ;). Lanny told me that I need to run Bailey alone to help her overcome her quirks. Running with other dogs could make that trait stick. So, I will be trying to run her alone for a while to help refine her and hopefully tighten her up.

10/19/2008 - Lowell, VT

Date of Hunt: 10/19/2008
Location: Lowell
Weather Clear
Temperature 22 °F (Start) 43 °F (End)
Dogs: Bailey & Remi
Running Partner: Logan
# of Rabbits Ran: 2
# of Rabbits Shot:1

We did it! We officially have shot the first rabbit in front of the dogs as a pair! No other dogs to help, just mine. What a day. Picked up Logan at 5:30 again. Headed towards Lowell Mountain. Its opening weekend of moose hunting, either sex tags first. Parked in the same log landing as last time, there was already a truck there. In the past I would have got discouraged, and found another place, or headed home. I decided to tough it out. We can share the woods, and the moose hunters can't feel like they own the woods. I've seen that mentality before up near camp. Walked in down low the same way as last week. Bailey started getting excited and ran right down the moose trail. She started to open up as she ran down the trail and I knew it was either a moose or deer. I shocked her (level 5, high) and she stopped and came back to me. Hopefully I can get her broke of other game here soon. We worked our way down to where Bailey ran the rabbit last week. She got a start off from the moose trail on the way down and worked it slowly, sparsely barking as she went. She made her way back up towards the log landing. We went back up to find her, she lost it. Found her and worked both dogs back down into the lower clear cut. Worked the thick "island" in the center, nothing. Went down deeper and found some really nice cover. This whole area is nice running ground. I took the dogs over to a really thick patch of woods and Bailey started to bark. She didn't know it yet, but she kicked up the rabbit and it came right at Logan and me. It stopped about 10 feet from me, and I worked to get Logan over to see it. He finally got the right angle and could see it. I called in the dogs, ("wheeee, wheeee"). Remi was there instantly and the rabbit took off. They ran it together straight up to the log landing, again. They lost it up near the top on the turn, up near the truck. Logan and I walked back up toward the landing and Bailey was deep inside the bigger brush pile of the two. She was barking, but didn't kick anything out. I'm guessing the rabbit went in there, but it seems like odd behavior for a hare, cottontail maybe, but not a hare. We kept moving. Got onto the main ATV trail and headed down in deeper. New territory for me. We flushed up 8 partridge in one group of trees, none of them flew out in front of us. No shot. Found a nice open power line. Started out across it and saw some moose hunters coming up through. They stopped and talked for a bit. 5 moose were shot off from the power lines on Saturday. Found a gut pile with Bailey eating some of it. Shocked her for it, will have to de-worm her for tapes. The whole lower edge of the power lines has some really good cover. Bailey opened a few times but never got anything started. We kept working the edge, and kept finding some good cover. Found an area with really good cover. I told Logan that this is Rabbit Heaven. He asked why, and I started to explain what type of cover rabbits like. Remi started to bark hard and a rabbit ran out of the balsams and out along a blow down. Remi ran it hard. Bailey was a ways out and came in on a dead run barking as she went. She caught up to Remi and together they ran it through a really tight turn and headed back towards us, only to far out to see. They ran it a ways down the edge of the power lines and it made another tight turn back towards us. Long check, about 7-8 minutes. Logan and I made our way up to the edge of the power lines and I found a stump that was cut off about 3 feet off the ground. I stood on it to get an overlook. Two four wheelers came down the power line and drove by us. The first guy didn't see us, but the second did. They stopped and shut their rigs off about 70 yards from us. Wasn't sure what they were doing. Meanwhile the dogs were still quiet and then Remi started barking again. Hot. The two of them were humping the rabbit as they brought it back to me. The rabbit ran right by the guys that were stopped, and continued up the edge of the power line towards me. I got a shot off, missed. Threw another shell into Dad's single shot 20 gauge (break action Savage Model 220B) and got a second shot off. Missed. I jumped off the log and Logan was excited. I told him where we needed to go and I saw it again as we got down in there. I shot again. Hit, but I didn't know it yet, it kept running. The rabbit came right in front of us and stopped, right under the blow down that it ran up when Remi first jumped it. It was only 15 yards out, sitting, and I couldn't get a shot because Logan was standing right in front of me, trying to get a shot too. Except he couldn't exactly see it. The rabbit ran back into where Remi jumped it, I never saw it to get another shot. Called Remi and Bailey in again ("wheee, wheee"). They picked up the scent on the way in and ran it by us and into the brush. Then the squealing ended just as it began. Remi had caught it. I quickly got over to them, could see them but couldn't get to them. They were inside some deep blow down branches. Remi was just laying in there chomping away at the rabbit. Bailey was curious, but not after it like Remi. I had to really work to get in and get the rabbit. The brush was really thick and Remi kept pulling it further from me. I got it out, and Remi was just about jumping up to my shoulder trying to get it. We took some pictures and decided to make our way back to the truck. Quickly talked to the guys on the four wheelers, they were taking down a double seater ladder stand. They shot a cow Saturday morning and were picking up. They commented how the dogs were really pumping as the rabbit ran through. We headed back to the truck, Logan was excited. Bailey started a couple of times on the way out and decided to put them on the lead. Took a couple of pictures up at the truck and headed home, 11:15.

10/11/2008 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 10/11/2008
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature 46 °F (Start) 65 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
Running Partner: Logan Abell
# of Rabbits Ran: 2
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

Up at a 4:50. Woke up hard, but I was excited to go. Picked up Logan at 5:30, and started towards Lowell. Pulled on to Robtoy Road at 6:30. On the way by Doug's camp I could see an excavator, and their truck in the yard; knew they were there. I passed the camp and intended on driving down to the new camp down near the swamp and start the hunt there. When I got down to the camp I saw that there were cars in the yard. I was a bit surpised because they are from out of state, NC. I headed back up to the main road and continued down to the log landing. Decided to park there, the cover looked like some thick soft woods. We geared up and headed down a logging road towards the pines. Bailey opened up right off, still in sight of the truck. She didn't get this one going. We found a parallel logging road, had thicker balsam cover on the sides. Made our way down that one. It opened up to a small clear cut that was starting to grow back. Had a really thick patch of balsams in the center. I thought it looked like good cover for a rabbit to be sitting. Bailey went in and started barking right off. Ran a hot line right out of the clear cut and back towards to the camp near the swamp. I got really nervous, thought it could be a deer or a moose. She ended up turning and brought the rabbit back up along the edge of the clear cut. Logan headed up to get a view, I think he turned the rabbit. It reversed its swing and cirlced up toward the truck, turned a tight corner and came back to where it was kicked up. Bailey lost it. Never got a chance to see it to get a shot. We worked back through the woods towards the first logging road we were on. I jumped up a rabbit and got Bailey on it. She ran it right back up towards the truck and lost it on the turn. Called her back in and worked the woods back up to the truck. She barked again when we were back in sight with the truck. She couldn't get it going. It was 10:30 at this point, plan was to head out and try Kidder Hill Road. On the way out I could see that the excavator was running and there were people outside. Stopped and talked with Missy and Doug for a bit. RJ was running the excavator, digging a pond near the road. Went up to Mike Nason's camp and tried working around there. At this point it was 65 degrees. Felt too hot, decided to head out. Never made it over to Kidder Hill.

10/4/2008 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt: 10/4/2008
Location: Corey Lombard's
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 46 °F (Start) 72 °F (End)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
Running Partner: Logan Abell
# of Rabbits Ran: 1
# of Rabbits Shot: 0

Alarm went off at 5:45am, the bed felt good, but I was comitted. I had asked Logan to go along with me, and I told him I would be there a little after 6. As I was getting dressed I was thinking about what it would be like if I was getting up this early to go out for opening day of bow season. There wasn't any excitement there. I was however excited to see how Bailey would run alone. I'm not going to miss giving up bow season this year as long as Bailey keeps running like she did up at Dean's last weekend. Let Bailey out of the pen, Remi sure did want to go. I feel bad for her, I wish she was as solid as Bailey is right now. Picked up Logan, he was dressed and ready to go. His alarm went off at 5am, he said he was out of bed at 5:30. He was excited. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and I got a coffee for myself and a hot chocolate for Logan. We pulled in to Corey's at about 6:40, it was plenty daylight. Put the gear on Bailey and started out along the mowed road beside Corey's. Bailey struck quickly on some scent, about 60 yards from the house, but I coaxed her off from it. I didn't want to run a rabbit that close to the house that early in the morning. Bailey was working really hard, I was happy with her excitement. We walked down the road and crossed over the washout between the two beaver ponds. Bailey was out in front as we worked up the road toward the meadow. Bailey was working really hard at this point. I told Logan that the area was pretty "gamey". It was like there was a light on in the bush and Bailey's nose led her right to it. She went in the brush and started in on a really hot bark. She worked the line about 10 feet and then the rabbit popped out onto the road and ran away from us. Logan got a good look at it, I was beaming from ear to ear. Bailey ran the cottontail trail across the road without any help from me. She kept on the rabbit hard. I wasn't sure which way the rabbit was going to swing, towards the meadow or back towards the power lines. Once I determined that Bailey was running the rabbit back towards the power lines I tried to set up at a "Y" in the road to see if I could catch the rabbit crossing. Bailey was still running solid and popped out onto the road. She worked right up the road toward me and went down the other side of the Y, barking as she went. I must had missed the rabbit by a couple of seconds. Right place, wrong time. Bailey ran the rabbit down into the soft woods and back toward the beaver pond. I caught a glimpse of the rabbit and was ready for it hop out across a pile of blow downs. It stayed in the soft woods a bit longer then I thought and then hit the high grass as it headed back toward the road, where Logan was, and where Bailey started the rabbit. I moved up toward Logan to help him out, but it must had already crossed. Bailey lost out on the trail at the road and that was end of that run. But a FULL CIRCLE! I really wanted to shoot that rabbit and make it the first Official rabbit shot in front of Bailey alone. Oh well, next time. We kept working around the meadow and then back towards Corey's. Bailey found about 3 different rabbits but could never find the line to run it. We packed up at around 9:00, as it warmed up quick, and headed home. Logan enjoyed himself.

9/29/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt: 9/29/2008
Location: Phil's Buck
Weather: Overcast
Temperature: 55 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine:Bailey
Running Partners: Lanny Forgays, Dean Decker, Otis
Other Dogs: Sassy, Breeze, Bam
# of Rabbits Ran: 4
# of Rabbits shot: 3

Pulled in to the spot off from Lewis Pond Road where Dad shot his 6 pointer around 6:45am. We parked down by the brook and unloaded the dogs. We crossed the brook, dogs were hesitant, and the took a right down through the logging road and moose trails. Bailey was working really hard. She started yipping on some old scent and actually running it on a line for while. The other dogs went over to her, acknowledged her barking, but never barked herself. Otis saw a rabbit cross a moose trail and Bailey eventually made her way across the trail on that line. Barking as she went. She lost it on the other side, but I was excited that she found scent. Sassy started a rabbit down tight to the brook (the direction Bailey's rabbit ran), the race was on. Rabbit circled once. Bailey was right in the mix, really tight pack. Dean shot the rabbit, hunt over. Made our way across the log road (up from the brook) and worked the balsams. Bailey started barking on some scent. The other dogs went over to her, and they started barking! Bailey started her first rabbit!! Man was I some proud. Otis saw the rabbit cross in front of him once. Dean and I made our way over to him and the dogs started coming back towards us. Dean mentioned that we should try a quick draw (first one to shoot it). All 3 of us were standing shoulder to shoulder and ready, but the rabbit stayed in thick stuff and went around us. We split up and waited. The rabbit came back by Otis, he shot. Didn't get it, so he thought. The dogs ran the rabbit out by the brook that was deep out in the alders, then stopped. All was quiet. We called the dogs back, had to shock Bailey to come up. Lanny's dogs were there first, then Sassy, then Bailey. Sassy had blood on her nose, they had got the rabbit. Otis must had wounded it. Kept moving down the log road, Sassy got another start. Dogs ran the rabbit for a long time. At one point it ran by me in the balsams, but I never saw it. I moved locations to get a better view, and the rabbit came right at me. Slow hops, 5 yards out. I shot, and missed. Shot high (didn't seat the shotgun to my cheek). I almost had Dad's single shot 20 gauge reloaded and got off a second shot, but it got out of sight. I no sooner lost sight of it and Otis shot twice. Missed. It ran up towards Lanny and he shot it, hunt over. Dogs were tight all day. I was really happy with Bailey, she was tired. At one point I saw her run up towards the front, another time I saw her run to the side just trying to keep up. The older dogs were a bit fast for her, but she got some good experience. Hopefully she picked up some good habits from Lanny's and Dean's dogs.

9/28/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt: 9/28/2008
Location: Stone Dam
Weather: Misty Rain
Temperature 61 °F (Start)
Running Lanny Forgays, Dean Decker, Danny Christianson, Craig Bannister
Other Dogs: Mercy, Bob , Rosie, Breeze, Jack
# of Rabbits Ran: 3
# of Rabbits Shot: 3

Pulled in to the pull off. Lanny had his dog ready, Danny and Craig put the gear on theirs. (No shock collar on Mercy). Dogs found a dead rabbit in the brush by the pull off, was hit by a brush hog. Dogs started a small rabbit, I saw a quick glimpse of it, but no shot. Dean shot at it and it squealed, but couldn't find it. The dogs came in and the rabbit jumped up from under a log. The dogs got on it, fought for it. Dean got them off from it. Heard some hounds out on Peanut Dam Road, so we picked up and moved. Went to the Iron Gate. Worked for a long time before we got a rabbit going. Mercy was very mouthy. The other dogs stopped honoring her. Danny put her in the box. Crossed the road and went down the log road into the old clear cut. Dogs got one going. They were coming towards me, I shot at a small rabbit (and missed), which ended up being a stray. I stayed where I was. Dogs circled back again. Rabbit came down towards me. I waited for it to go across the log road. I shot missed, reloaded the single shot 20 gauge and got off another shot, missed again. It ran back down in the clear cut and Dean shot it. Made our way back toward the truck, slow running, and the dogs got one going. Bob was very mouthy and all over the place made for a long tiring run. Never knew if Bob was just barking or actually running. Lanny shot the the rabbit.

9/27/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt: 9/27/2008
Location: Picnic Area
Weather: Overcast
Temperature 66 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine: Bailey
Running Partners: Lanny Forgays, Dean Decker, Danny Christianson, Craig Bannister
Other Dogs: Bam, Sassy, Rose, Mercy
# of Rabbits Ran: 3
# of Rabbits 2

Story of the hunt:
Dean jumped the first rabbit on the way in. He put Sassy on it and the 5 females took off together. They ran it solid and tight. Bailey was right tight in the mix. The rabbit ran by Dean, he shot, missed. I made my way up to Dean thinking that he shot it, I wanted to see Bailey's reaction to the rabbit. I stayed up there and managed to get a shot as it crossed the moose trail, missed the first but connected on the second. Brought the dead rabbit and the dogs up to the road as Craig saw a stray cross the road while the dogs were running the first one. Dean finally got the dogs on the track. They circled it once and then it jumped out across the road. Craig shot it with his muzzleloader shotgun. Brought the dogs back down on the lower side of the road and the got one going way down by the 4 corners. It was really thick in there. I made my way down in to a valley where the dogs had gone through with the rabbit once already. Dean was up on top a bit more, shot a partridge. The dogs were coming towards me and a rabbit ran out, directly at me. I shot, missed. Ended up to be a stray. The dogs circled. Dogs were getting close again, got ready. Dogs got closer and closer, they came down about 10 feet from me and turned back. The rabbit came up behind me, didn't notice. Dogs circled again. Dogs were coming back and the rabbit ran through the valley so fast it was a blur. Got a shot off, but missed. The rabbit straightlined it across the road and .6 miles (per GPS) through thick growing clearcuts. We managed to get out there and get the dogs back. Took a good 2 hours. Exhausted, made our way back to camp. 5:30.

9/27/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt 9/27/2008
Location: Boulder Pile
Weather Wet/Humid
Temperature 57 °F (Start)
Dogs of Bailey
Running Partners Lanny Forgays, Dean Decker, Danny Christianson, Craig Bannister
Other Dogs: Bones, Rose, Smoke,Mercy
# of Rabbits Ran: 3
# of Rabbits Shot 1

Story of the hunt:
Alarm went off at 4am. I was out of bed rather quickly, as I was quite excited. Dean fixed coffee, had a small breakfast. We loaded up the dogs and made our way to the Boulder Pile. It rained all night, but had stopped by the morning. Got to the Boulder Pile really early, wanted to beat everyone else in. Waited for daylight and set the dogs down. The males were really after Bailey, wouldn't leave her alone. We checked her and quickly found that she was really swollen, in heat. Put Bailey back in the box with a bark collar on. Took her a few times before she realized that if she stopped barking the shock would stop. Made our way down in, Rose got one started. It was the small one that turned a couple of small circles that Lanny and I ran when we ran there. It circled by Dean, he shot twice and missed. I worked my way down deep and saw a
glimpse of the rabbit (70 yards) and it circled back up to Dean, who shot it at about 10 yards. Worked down lower and Rose started another rabbit. It made a really tight circle and came back around to us. I shot once and missed. It circled around and started to head to the road and circle back. A tall Bluetick came into the sounds of the hounds and disrupted their run. They went out across the road with the Bluetick and took us a while to get the dogs back. Went back to camp for
lunch.

9/13/2008 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt 9/13/2008
Location: Husky
Weather Cloudy
Temperature 66 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 0

Story of the hunt:
Ground was really wet from the rain last night. After the good hunt with Bailey at Husky the other night I thought that I would bring both dogs as I missed not having that extra nose. Didn't go well. Bailey would hunt for about 30 seconds and then go looking for Remi. Remi was as scatter brained as ever. She wouldn't focus on one area, and at one point she just went straight out across the field. Not sure what she was doing. Bailey did start to bark on a rabbit, but she didn't go far.
They can't seem to kick up the rabbits, they are hanging tight in the grass. When it was time to go Bailey wouldn't come to me. She would stop about 10 feet away. I shocked her to come and she ran away. It was a game of shock and run away for a while. She finally realized that if she came the shocking would stop. I think it will help her come the next time out.

9/11/2008 - Milton, VT

Date of hunt 9/11/2008
Location: Husky
Weather Sunny
Temperature 58 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine Bailey
# of Rabbits Ran: 2

Story of the hunt:
Got to Husky around 6:30 and parked at the gate. Let Bailey out of the truck and she instantly started working hard. She went into the brush on the upper side of the hay road and started barking. She worked the line and barked about 10 times but never seemed to push it out. She worked to pick up the scent again on her own for a good 15 minutes. We moved out towards the salt shed and worked there for a while. She started barking on a trail when it was close to dark.
She never got this one going either. I missed not having that second dog tonight, but I really need to get Bailey to work on her own and advance.

9/7/2008 - Grand Isle,VT

Date of hunt 9/7/2008
Location: Fish Hatchery
Weather Cloudy
Temperature 56 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine Bailey & Remi
# of Rabbits Ran: 1
# of Rabbits shot: 0

Story of the hunt:
Up at 5:45am, got to Grand Isle Fish Hatchery around 6:30am. Worked for a long time, Bailey bark a couple times here and there. She worked away from well. I was a little happier with her ranging today. Walked along the 4 wheeler trails and made our way back towards the water tower. Bailey barked a few times pretty hot and then just ran away from it. She ran out of bell range. I kept trying to shock her to get her to come back, but it wasn't going through. I finally managed to get a shock through and she came right back. I'm not happy with the way she ran away. I've seen Remi do that and it fires me up. We started walking back to the truck (8:10am) and Bailey struck up a scent. She ran it away from me about 150 yards or so, almost of hearing. I was nervous, thought she was on a deer. She started to come back to me and then
she lost it. I made my way over to where she lost it and heard her bell. She wasn't looking for the rabbit anymore, sounded like she was looking for me. That frantic puppy looking for daddy run. I got her attention and then she followed me out to the truck. Had to be home for Carter's birthday party.

8/30/2008 - Island Pond, VT

Date of hunt: 8/30/2008
Location: Boulder Pile
Weather Cloudy
Temperature 70 °F (Start)
Dogs of mine Bailey & Remi
Running partner Lanny Forgays
Other Dogs: Bones Bam
Driver/Truck: Lanny
# of Rabbits Ran: 3 # of Rabbits shot: 0


Met Lanny at 4:30am at the Country Pantry. Got to the Boulder Pile on Henshaw Road in Island Pond at about 6:30am (Lanny drove). Talked about GMP and the dogs a lot on the way up. I told him my concerns about how the dogs aren't progressing. I was looking for his opinion on my dogs' potential. Lanny offered to let me use a tracking collar that he had extra, I put it on Remi. Put the dogs down and we walked into the woods together. Lanny's dogs picked up a track within 3 minutes. Bailey packed with his two right off. Remi needed to work it out on her own. Bones, Bam and Bailey ran 2 full circles around us while Remi ran the same line about 100 yards behind, she then lost it. Didn't hear from Remi for a while. Another dog joined the group unexpectedly. He was a fast male, named Chuck, 10 years old. Met the owner back at
Lanny's truck, he came down and took his dog and left. Bones, Bam and Bailey continued to run the rabbit for almost 3 hours. I saw the rabbit 3 times, good size. At one point it ran across the hard ground of the moose trail and sound like a gallop. Remi only ran the line if she found it on her own, and would lose it after about 100 yards. Lanny clearly pointed out that Bailey and Remi are not compatible to run with. Remi is not a hare dog and does not pack. Picked up the dogs
and brought them back to truck, headed home at around 10:30.