When I started looking for a third dog to add to Tru Vizslas I knew we needed a girl. I was looking for very specific blood lines and talked to the guy who owned the stud dog that I wanted a puppy out of. We got to chatting and after he found out that I was looking for a dual potential competition dog he offered me pick male out of a litter he had. The mom was litter sister to the stud dog I was interested in. The pedigree was very tightly bred. I made my decision which was "YES!" and then proceeded to call Dan and tell him I just bought a dog.... ooops! :)
Fire came home to us at 8 weeks old absolutely gorgeous and full of talent. He had a lot of point, a ton of style and would retrieve absolutely anything to hand. I was in love!
He came to us potty trained and never chewed anything. Can you say perfect puppy?
We noticed early on that Fire was not the smartest vizsla we owned.... as he grew up we likened him to a football jock. There are only two things on Fire's mind... birds and babes!
Fire went back to his breeder at 6 months for a season of wild bird hunting. He did well, but frustrated his breeder with his lack of focus and childish antics. After about 6 months he came home to us and helped socialize Desi's puppies.
We decided to send him out to a pro trainer for some conditioning and derby work before field trial season started. He developed a very good relationship with is trainer and we left him there to be competed. Fire would make some very large, very impressive moves and yet he was very inconsistent. We were disappointed. We used him as a personal hunting dog and he was not what we wanted....
Fire ended up being over the standard for size and too inconsistent in the field to warrant us continuing to spend money on his training and campaigning him. We then made the heart breaking decision to place him.
He is an excellent dog with a fabulous temperament - He just does not fit in with why we bought him.
I believe we have found the perfect home for Fire... I will know this weekend. It will be hard for me to see him go... he is the dog that loves me best. I feel that it is best for him to be the center of someones world instead of getting the short end of the stick here. I also refuse to be the type of breeder/competitor who owns a ton of dogs who lives their lives locked in crates 23.5 hours a day. So in order for me to keep a pup or two out of Desi's litter this year, we must say goodbye to the big dumb jock.
I miss you already Fire!
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1 comment:
WOW! what a tough call but ultimately in the best interest of Fire.
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