"The Nose Knows"

Now if you told Gypsy she had a big nose she would be flattered. If you told me I had a big nose I would not be flattered. The reason is because Gypsy is an English Pointer hunting dog. Her whole being is to sniff out birds. If she does not smell it, it is not there. When we are on her porch early in the morning and the West wind is blowing at a good clip, she sits next to me and with her nose ever so slightly tilted up, sniffs the crisp, cool air searching to fill a memory from her past. I always wonder what she is smelling as her eyes follow her nose pointing at the morning sky. I am not sure how good her eyes and hearing are, so it is good she has a big, good nose.
Now, when a person goes out to purchase an English Pointer dog, they want to be sure the dog will use its nose and not its eyes to find birds. A pointer is low to the ground and could not see birds in tall grass. Most of the time it is difficult to read puppies skills. So if possible, look at two year old pointers who have had just alittle training. Put a quail feather in the cuff of your pant leg and see if the dog finds it. Also, you can see a two year old dog work on the ground in the field. It is very important to get a dog that has a good nose, smell birds and wants to do this more than anything else in the world. Gypsy is this dog.
There are other things you can cope with if they aren't perfect. One dog we had had a terrible overbite, and Gypsy a kink in her tail. They are all hard of hearing when you are trying to give them your instructions on hunting. Gypsy is one of those dogs that the purest hunter would have problems with because of her tail. It is not quite straight. When she points it is like a ski slope, except for the kink, from the tip of her tail to the end of her nose. You can pick her up and move her, but she will not break this point. She is like a statue. A few of our dogs knew how fast to approach birds so as to not flush them and just how close to get so the birds would not run. This is a delicate situation where alittle too much or alittle to little could ruin the point. Gypsy knew about this and executed her skill perfectly. A good hunting dog is born with this ability as well as the ability to honor another dogs point. That is a hunting dog. This is Gypsy. She lived for these moments.
Another thing about this dog. She can take you or leave you. Dirty looks abound if your behavior is questionable. She expects you to feed her, take her for walks and scratch her belly. Her bed must be made everyday (when mine isn't) on her highway 281 red leather chair and ottoman. Her chair is named this because the couple, Angie and Lynn who sell furniture, put it outside along highway 281 on nice days where folks driving by can see it. There is always a red leather chair included. It has become famous. Everyone looks for it.
Pointers are intelligent, single minded, stubborn dogs who decide early on to do it their way no matter what the consequences. They don't bother with small stuff. She has never tried to fight with another dog. She worked hard most of her life. Her first two years she was in a kennel where we found her. She had never even been in a veterinarians office. It didn't take her long to figure it out.
She twitches and yipes in her sleep dreaming of the good old days when we were walking the fields of South Texas hunting. We always tried to hunt into the wind which would carry the scent of the birds to Gypsy nose. She would be running as fast as she could and stop on a dime when she found birds. I wonder if her dreams are as good as the real thing? Maybe they are better.