6/1/2010 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 6/1/2010
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Sunny/Wet
Temperature: 68 °F (Start) 65°F (End)
Dogs of mine: Belvidere Bailey & Wild Seasons Mountain Snickers
# of Rabbits Ran: 2

Today was opening day of training season. The dogs hadn't been out since the last day of rabbit season in March. I got out of work at 3:30 and hit the road around 4:30 for the hour drive North East. On the way in to the log landing I stopped and talked with Bruce for a few minutes. He is up for a couple of months working on their camp. Once the dogs were geared up we headed down the VAST trail towards the power lines in search of our first hare. Bailey got the start and the race was on. It went well for the first half of the run, but then started to sound weird. Bailey didn't sound like she used to. I was missing her nice rolling bark. I thought maybe another year older might be changing her voice, or worse, off game. Haven't had the problem before but acted quickly in case it was. I caught up to the dogs rather quickly as they were swinging back down to me. The rabbit crossed the logging road in front of me as the came closer, satisfies the off game theory, and then I started to get worried. Bailey sounded like a snorting pig as she was trying to breathe. I began to worry about a possible stick in her throat. After looking her over I didn’t find anything. I took off a collar in case it was choking her. As she took off again she kept it up. It then hit me, they are out of shape! Bailey did put some weight on during the off season and she was out of breath. They ran for a bit longer and they checked at one point for close to 20 minutes. I called in the dogs with hopes that one of them would pick up the scent on the way through.

Snickers was the first to show up. I've noticed that she likes to cherry pick. She relies on Bailey to find the rabbit and then she is right there to run it. I kept trying to point into the brush to get her in to look. She had no interest in finding the hare herself, but kept trying to listen for Bailey. I could get her in the brush for about 30 seconds before she would come back out on the easy walking trail that I would be on. When I got in the brush with her I could keep her attention for about a minute, but then she would go back out on the trail and listen for Bailey.

Bailey got the next start and Snickers was off like a rocket to catch up. Bailey cold trailed the hare in a small patch of softwoods that was bordered on all sides by logging roads. She cold trailed for about 5 minutes before finally kicking it up. Bailey's cold bark turned to a deep excited roll , and Snicker's joined in. That made the trip worth while. The two of them took the hare up along the side of the power lines and back up across the VAST trail. Must have been the same hare we ran on the last day of the season. It ran the same pattern, so I knew where to go. The hare crossed where I thought it would and the dogs were struggling to keep up. Again, gasping for air. They ran for about a half hour before they were checking a lot. My guess is they were too tired to keep up. After a long check I called in the dogs, with a lot of coaxing, and made our way to the truck.

An informative first time out for the season, and I can't wait to keep running them more to get them back in shape!