Scott Linden Outdoors

Well, he’s 20 weeks old so I guess I’ll refer to his age in months from now on (20 divided by four = five, right?). What have I learned, and what has he learned?

Did I mention he's feisty, too?

Manny can climb to the top of his crate, which is inside his living room playpen … a recipe for disaster. Box goes, he sleeps on the floor until night time and the other crate next to Buddy.

He’s tall enough that Emmy our Corgi can weave her way through his legs, but too tall to do the same to his Uncle Buddy, but it doesn’t stop him from trying. He’s figured out that he can outrun me, so the check cord gets longer and I only give commands I can enforce (sound familiar?).

Speaking of commands, he’s doing well (I fully expect some backsliding based on what experts tell me) on: whoa, here, heel, and over, and will do almost anything to mimic his uncle. Though I haven’t tried “jump through a flaming hoop because your uncle did,” quite yet.

He is learning to manipulate as well. Not completely housebroken, so we jump at most of his barks just in case. The consensus is, most are simply tricks to get attention (he does). He’s also a jealous S.O.B. and voices his disapproval when Buddy gets attention he thinks he deserves. We’re working on that indoors and out, with the tie-out stake a helpful tool.

He’s filling out so it’s time to watch his food a little more closely, and that faint white snip running from nose to forehead hasn’t  gone away – in fact may have become a bit more prominent.

Manny has grown emotionally as well. Never a wallflower, his vet visits are marked by appreciative looks from a confirmed setter man. He likes Manny’s confidence, exhibited in tail set and the way he moves, even in unfamiliar settings. So do I. After his last vaccination, we talked while he laid on the table front legs crossed, and took in a commanding view of the entire universe as if it were his.

This five-month-old is also no shrinking violet in the field – barreling full-bore through brush and screaming almost above the grass at warp speed. He explores every nook and cranny, which becomes a problem when I forget to put his bell on and Buddy and I lose him in the tall stuff.

He’s learned to drink from a bota, and is glomming onto the  whistle equivalents of voice commands. And he’s getting along famously with every dog he meets on the trail, in the field, and in town.

Time to stop or I’ll jinx it. Got any similar experiences to share?