That is how my calendar is marked, and with this post you may begin to learn why. This was a good trip despite quail numbers being at the low end of mediocre. Sadly, hunting pressure was way up from the previous year, and we hit the late season... Still, only a madman complains about hunting quail in Arizona, in particular Mearns quail.

Round trip we drove 4,800 miles, 1,600 of which were spent on Forest Service roads in search of our quarry. The autofocus in my beloved DSLR totally went out, so it was up to the cell phone to save the day. We managed to capture a few nice landscapes and a couple of okay videos, shared below.

​All in all, we did well, and as an added bonus I got to meet a few members from BD&FF I've known from Facebook for quite a while, got to run around with an old coworker/friend, bumped into some old friends at the Steak Out, visited a good number of the local wineries, discovered a real treat along the way called the Meading Room, and even made some time to evaluate a dog for the DPCNA.

I recommend you not go...​Mearns Madness, once you have it there is no known cure!

Thank you Janneke Pinkster-Brunink‎ for creating this video and including Paxson & Booker.

Esp. Ch. Joksan NABAR The Gloucester CGC, aka Booker

22 August 2008 – 18 December 18, 2019
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To be honest, from the time Booker was a very young dog I had always had the feeling that once I had lost one of my boys, I would soon lose the other. This ‘feeling’ was something that never waivered, but I also didn’t give it much credence either. Booker was imported from the Netherlands to New Mexico by Rob Key for me. I can still vividly remember watching Rob walk him through the El Paso airport. Rob was beaming, walking this tiny, happy, self-possessed, puppy on a taut line. His head held high, tail up, prancing, the self-elected Prince of the El Paso airport – Booker. All Drent puppies are super cute, but Booker was more. In fact he was more with just about everything. His brother Paxson was the moderate, Booker was flash, bang, pop. Why not? I mean if you got it flaunt it. He was a handful, he was beautiful, he was naughty as hell, he was sweeter than them all. He was Booker, named after my favorite bourbon (back when it was personally attended to by The Booker Noe, a hand selected sugar barrel bottled, uncut, unfiltered, and likened to a runaway freight train - Booker’s) he was pretty damn much the same – too much. But when you liked it, really was it a problem? Just grin and bear it, be a man LoL. Booker was born for the show ring, confidence poured out of him, what could he not do? Without much fanfare he quickly became the first beauty Champion of Spain for the breed. He was judged by some of the most prestigious Group 7 judges in Europe – he owned them despite his shortcomings. He was guided in the art of hunting by Terry L.  Chandler Sr., a huge name in the German Shorthair community. Booker was a wickedly effective hunter of every game bird presented to him. He was hunted just about everywhere on just about everything with just about everyone worth a squirt of piss. His resume is missing only the prairie grouse, the mountain quail, ptarmigan, and the Himalayan Snowcock. The more he was bragged about the worse he performed, the less that was said, the better. He knew, he was in charge – that was Booker, take a sip, enjoy the ride. Fighting it was for little girls and sissies. Booker sired two lovely and large litters of Drents, with many becoming involved in active breeding programs her in North America and possibly even back in the Netherlands. He was on track to sire his third and last litter, but as fate would have it, his condition deteriorated at an astonishing pace and so was not. Neil Young can be quoted as having said, “it is better to burn out than to fade away” and that is certainly how Booker lived his life from the beginning. Go big or stay home. He started with a transatlantic/transcontinental flight and passed quietly with his head in my lap. Go run with Pax my friend, run hard.

​The DPCNA decided to retain the difficult to pronounce native name with the intent to help ensure the Drent stayed true to type and form - One Drent. Besides Dutch Partridge Dog, as the English translation typically goes is terribly generic and threatens to pigeonhole the Drent as a ‘one trick pony’ here in North America...As for those in the know, the Drent is so much more.
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As far as pronunciation goes, when in doubt, just say Drent.

Overview: First and foremost, the Higgins Method is a ‘no force, no whoa’ method of birddog ‘training’ which is modeled from his experience working with falcons. It’s all about the relationship shared by predator and prey while simultaneously recognizing well-bred dogs are intelligent creatures capable of learning from their mistakes and want to cooperate with their ‘boss’. Afterall, if you try to use force while ‘training’ a falcon it has a high probability to just up and leave. The beauty of the method is in its simplicity once you have opened your mind to this concept and made yourself ready to learn. The cornerstone of his program is a large block hewn from pure Cooperation & Trust. Brad trains handlers in the art of mindfulness/self-awareness and energy management for both dog and self. Then he presents realistic hunting scenarios to the dog and handler team and hopes errors are made, since this is where the gold is found. At its core Brad’s birds do all of the dogs’ training, we are only there to help the bird and partner with the dog. By increasing the dog’s success, we only increase our own. The result is the handler improves and the dog learns its odds for success go up dramatically when it allows his ‘boss’ to help. Brad’s unique falconry inspired ‘fly the dog’ methodology is elegant as it simply works and works simply.

​Who isn’t it for? If you love to lay on the e-collar and shout ‘whoa’ until the small vessels in your eyes begin to burst, this technique isn’t for you. If you take a lot of joy posting photos of your statuesque dog posing on a Whoa Table/Barrel or fence post, this technique isn’t for you. If your collection of bird launchers is a point of personal pride, you guessed it, this technique isn’t for you. Alright, I’ll dispense with the Jeff Foxworthy shtick, since I am pretty sure you get the point. In short, this methodology isn’t for you if you can’t or are unwilling to open your mind to the possibility that traditional obedience training has nothing to do with cooperation and trust, but is instead much more about coercion, intimidation, and frankly bullying or worse. The use of toe-hitches and ear pinches can very easily cross the line into abuse...

Who is it for? Have you become disillusioned with the traditional obedience style ‘whoa training’? Do you want better for your dog, and yourself? Have you been looking for or are you ready for something different…well, and if I am to be honest, better? Are you ready to be in real a team-partnership with your dog? Are you ready and willing to learn? If you can answer yes to most if not all of these questions, you need to get off your laurels and get in contact with Brad to get yourself started. Yes, that's right. Just do it.

​So, what do you get? A better way to manage your dog and hunt. What used to be stressful situations become learning opportunities where growth and improvement in both handler and dog are cultivated. Meaning, learning and improvement come at an exponential rate with no risk of the dog shutting down – after all the dog thinks you are out hunting and having a grand ol’ time, the whole time, every time. Depending on where you and your dog are in your readiness this experience can progress at a truly unbelievable pace. Brad says he can get a team through his program usually in 10 to 15 hours over the course of a couple of days. We brought a well started pup and an adult in need of some serious rewiring. Each managed a smidge over eight hours per dog to make it through Brad's (HGD) 'fly the dog' program. Brad is a consummate gentleman and professional with superior problem-solving skills. He is passionate with a dry sense of humor which was appreciated by us, and even helped us to let go the vestiges of our left-over baggage needing to be jettisoned in order to be successful. Brad isn’t cheap but as a value proposition, seriously, the experience from start to finish is quite the deal. You walk away with having been given a personalized private lesson in what to do and why, be gifted a host of new tools in your dog handling bag, as well a Higgins Quail 'trained’ dog all in just a few days. Simply put, you are not going to get that any place else and you aren't going to be disappointed with the results. I am sparing of glowing endorsements after 30 years of military service - but Higgins Gundogs deserves high marks and public praise!

*We were recently clients of Higgins Gundogs. No goods, services or discounts were exchanged for this review.

​Ingredients

• 4 Pheasant breast fillets (feeds ~2 people)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour combined with 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying (use a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point)

Instructions

1. Place the fillets between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them until just under a 1/4-inch-thick with the flat/smooth side of a meat tenderizer. Lightly season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Make sure the cooking oil is ready to go before you start the dredging process
3. Place the flour mixture, egg, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip the tenderized fillets in the flour, the egg, and the breadcrumbs, coating both sides and all edges at each stage. Be careful not to press the breadcrumbs into the meat. Gently shake off the excess crumbs. Don't let the schnitzel sit around once dredged or they will not be as crispy once fried - fry immediately.
4. Use enough oil so that the Schnitzels "swim" in it. Or just cut to the chase and use a deep fryer.
5. Fry the Schnitzel for about 2-3 minutes (on both sides if pan frying) or until a deep golden brown and delicious color presents itself. Transfer, to a plate lined with paper towels.
6. Serve immediately with slices of fresh lemon and parsley sprigs or with your choice of sauce. We love our Quail Nugget dipping sauce…
7. Serve with German Spaetzle, French fries, or German potato salad, and with a fresh leafy green salad.
8. Pro-Option ‘go Jager’

 
Brown Gravy for Jägerschnitzel

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter, bacon grease, lard or beef drippings
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 16 ounces fresh mushrooms of choice cleaned and sliced
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups strong beef broth
• 1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (according to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Optional: For a creamy gravy, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream at the end
• Optional: ~1TBsp tomato paste, adds a richness and some sweetness

 
Instructions

1. Melt the butter (or bacon grease, lard or beef drippings) in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions until beginning to brown.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook 5-7 minutes or until golden and the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
3. Add the butter and melt.  Add the flour, stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring continually.
4. Add the beef broth, vinegar, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper.  Whisk continually until the gravy is thickened.  Cover and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you prefer the gravy thinner add a little more water (or heavy cream if using)

​Paxson the Gloucester CGC, 9 June 06 - 13 November 19.