# Anxious



## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

My husband has been talking more and more about sending our Vizsla, Bristol, off to hunt training. I know the opportunity would be a good one, but it is 3 months away from home. I am already anxious at just the idea of her being gone. We have other dogs, but none that sleep under the covers with me.  For those of you that have sent your dogs off to training, how have you handled it?


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

She will be fine. They go to work (assuming the trainer is a good one) and come back and get right back into the flow of things. Dogs are pretty adaptable.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Thanks! I am sure she will be fine. Me? Not so sure. Ha!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I'm sure your new puppy will keep you busy!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I know that they are in good hands, so it puts my mind at rest. Yes I miss them but, they return home just as excited to see me, as I am to see them.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

That new puppy is keeping me crazy busy, especially since my husband switched up the plans on me. He works four hours out of town and decided he was going to take Fletcher with him during the week. He stays with his parents so not a problem there. It will be good company for him and my step-daughter will get to see Fletcher more this way. So, since said husband decided to do this, he also decided to keep one of the females. She is spunky! She keeps me crazy busy. Well - they all do now. Currently I am researching raising chukar so the pups can get the best start ever. 

With all that said, I'm still anxious about the training, but I know it will be good for everyone involved. I didn't get her to be a couch potato.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Am I reading this correctly - do you have five dogs now and two of them are puppies?? That does sound crazy busy.  I think we need some pictures of your crew!


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Wilson just returned home from hunt training-two months away! We took a nice 10 day vacation, went out to dinner after work, and got work done around the house. We also visited him a few times on nice weekends, just to hang out. We missed him an awful lot by the last two weeks, but he had been home one day and it's like he never left. And the best thing is that we appreciate how much love he brings into our home. I'm not sure we fully understood how important he is to is until now... Love this boy.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

@CrazyCash - yep. Five. My husband works out of town so will be taking Fletcher, the male pup with him once he is a bit more trained. I will try and take some pictures this weekend. It seems that as soon as I get the camera out, one of the pups finds something else to do so I have to put it down and assess the situation. 

@mlwindc - thanks for the personal experience. I figure I will be fairly busy with the pups while she is gone, but I know I will still miss her. She'll be about 2 1/2 hours away, so a quick day trip will solve that. I know it will be good for her too and I'm excited to see what her abilities are when trained properly to hunt.


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## Laidback1 (Mar 21, 2014)

Curious. How old is Bristol and what training have you done prior to sending her off for the training.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

She is 18 months, and has a few obedience sessions under her belt. She did go through one hunting season and did fine, but we want her to excel, like we know she can. We have never trained a pointer before, so feel she will be better off with a professional who can train us as well.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Well, I think this weekend may be the weekend that Bristol goes to camp. That's how I'm looking at it. I remember the first time I went to camp - I dreaded it. Once I got there, I loved it and wondered why my parents never pushed me to go before. So - Bristol is just going to camp. 

We are meeting with the trainer at 11am on Saturday. My husband told me to bring extra food and all of Bristol's things, kennel, blanket, etc... I tried telling him that it all wouldn't fit in the car. (We bought a Yukon XL last month, so I lied). He told me to strap it on top if I had to, but make sure it comes with her because if he likes the trainer, she is staying. I've already checked with the trainer and he will take her whenever we are ready. I'm not sure I'll ever be "ready" so I will pack her things, just in case.


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

Just an update...We did not leave Bristol at "camp". As impressed as I was with the trainer on the phone, when I got there, he did not meet my expectations. I did not like how he handled the dogs. He kept talking about "giving them a spanking". His kennels were not clean and we would not have been allowed to leave Bristol's kennel there. He had rain barrels cut in half length-wise for the dogs to sleep in. He also would convert the dogs to his own food - no choice. When we walked by his pheasant coop, we noticed there were several dead and decomposing birds on the floor of the coop. It just didn't feel right. My husband, who was all gung-ho for leaving Bristol there, even agreed that it wasn't the right place for her. When I asked how long the trainer worked with the dogs in a day, he said he worked with them 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week. To me, that is awfully little for $200/week. Bristol must have known that she dodged a proverbial bullet because she has been on her best behavior since.


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