Birdsboro Pointers

Ch. Scanpoint’s Boonesborough JH (and AKC Water Test Certificate)

“Boone”

Boone Statistics

DOB: 06/18/1999

Breeder: Pam Coflin (Marsh Run)

Color: Orange and White

Color Genotype: Bbee

Height (at withers): 27”

Weight: 75 lbs

OFA Hips: Good

AKC DNA #: P83080

Click here for Boone’s Pedigree

Offspring: Birdsboro Tom Sawyer JH and Birdsboro Huck Finn

Meaning of Name: Boone means “good”, which is quite appropriate

Nicknames: Mr. Reliable, Goon, Smiley, Boo, The King

Special Talents: Smiling and plenty more (see below)

Song: Sade “By Your Side”

About Boone

Boone was my first Pointer, and my fondness for the breed speaks volumes of this boy.  Most people that know me know that I fondly refer to Boone as “the greatest dog that ever lived”.  Boone is one of those once in a lifetime dogs, that I cherish every day with because I know I will never have another dog quite like Mr. Boone.  Boone is handsome, a great hunter, and an awesome agility dog… but what I love best about him is that he is Boone. 

Boone is definitely a dog for someone that wants a dog for all that a dog can be.  Boone is the kind of guy that will go to a dog show, go running for an hour in the woods afterward, fetch his Frisbee 50 times out of the lake, go to work with me at the vet hospital, and then still be ready for more.  But, he’s also an awesome snuggler, a goofball, and the most intuitive dog I’ve ever known.  Lastly, not only is Boone a great dog to own, he’s also a great buddy for the other dogs.  Being the first male in the house, and the oldest intact male, by default he has taken on the role of the pack leader, besides the humans of course.  He is not a dominant dog by nature, and probably would not have chosen the role if he didn’t feel he had too.  He manages to run the house without any conflict.  He loves his buddy Oz, and his son, Garrett, who likes to pester him constantly.  And always a gentleman with the ladies, he loves the girls as well.  I could not have asked for a better king for the house.

Some of Boone’s many quirks:

Boone’s most notorious quirk is his knack for smiling.  Smiling is a submissive dog behavior; so he’ll usually do it for guests, friends, when I get first get home, and when playing with the other dogs.  He also does it if we are playing, or if he’s in a dominant position (like he’s standing on something higher than me).  It’s hard to get a picture of it, but I managed to by ducking under him when he was on the bed (which at the time was five feet in the air).  But, the pictures of him smiling do not capture his full smile, where he manages to pull his lips up and back, exposing his full set of teeth.

Boone loves to give hugs… and it is because of this that I allow all of my dogs to jump on me (although they all know the up and off commands).  My sister likes to say that Boone needs his “huggies” every day.  Boone hates arguments and will actually tremble if he senses people are getting upset, and then he will come give me a hug. 

Boone is a friend to all animals.  He has befriended gerbils, hamsters, ferrets, rats, etc.  He actually used to get cats to come up and say hello to him during walks when we lived in Seattle.  He once tried to make friends with a skunk, but when the skunk did not want to make friends, he came right back (and managed not to get skunked… lucky for me).

He loves lattes (his favorite flavor is a caramel macchiato and he actually knows what a Starbucks cup looks like from a distance… he doesn’t like Dunkin Donuts).  While I don’t recommend giving coffee to dogs, I often let him lick out the bottom of my cup when I’m done since I usually am carrying one around when I take the dogs running.

Boone loves snow and will actually wake me up early on the first snow of the year because he wants to tear around outside like a dog after a bath.  Don’t ever believe anyone that says a Pointer cannot handle the cold!

He hates baths and only gets into the tub by himself because it’s less embarrassing that when his mom puts him in there.  But he loves the smell of clean laundry; the fresher, the better.  He often rolls in clean laundry and will even take it out of the hamper to get to it… a great hobby I’m sure you can imagine.  As a puppy, he used to smuggle the dryer sheets out of the laundry basket and walk around the house chewing them.  

Boone the Show Dog

Boone finished his Championship with 3 Majors and a Best of Opposite Sex over Specials.  Boone was my first show dog and I finished him myself.  Boone is not a big fan of the show ring (he doesn’t think there is much point to trotting around in a circle for treats); he’d much rather be out in the field, swimming or playing frisbee.  Thus, Boone will only be shown on a limited basis (at the occasional specialty or national).

Boone stacked at 4 years

Boone at 4 years trotting with his Frisbee with his son Garrett (then about 4 months) in the background.  This picture was taken at Lake Chauncy in Massachusetts.  Boone moves beautifully and this picture illustrates that.

Boone the Birddog

For many reasons, Boone was a great first Pointer to have, including in the field.  He was a natural in the field, and taught me most of what I know in that department.  It seems that all it took to make him a good birddog were to keep my mouth shut most of the time, praise him when he showed his natural ability, and have the patience to let him figure it all out as he grew up. 

Boone grew up in Seattle, so he’s a city boy by nature.  Many of the pointing books will tell you not to encourage sight pointing, but I attribute much of Boone’s hunting ability to all of the practice he got with the crows at the off-leash dog park.  He simply transferred what he’d figured out with the crows to the game birds.  He has a medium range (a good foot hunting range and on the shorter end of field trial range).  He has a natural hunting pattern.  He hunts independently of me, but is always aware of where I am, and will happily circle back around to check in if I whistle.  I call Boone “Mr. Reliable” and always say that he is the only dog I know that I would trust off-leash anywhere, under any circumstances.  Boone is true to the saying, “Hunting for his master”, although I tend to think of it as hunting with his best friend.  I think that he loves birds more than anything in the world, except for me.  He loves to find birds, but he will hold his point as long as necessary for me to catch up… and he will occasionally look back over his shoulder at me, as if to say, “Hurry up and get over here so I can show you what I found us”.  When he was young, I think I did a fairly good job of convincing him that I love birds as much as he does.

Boone was a bit slow to mature, and I only felt comfortable putting some pressure on him in training when he was about three years old.  His training has also been a bit slow as I’m new to the hunting game and have had to find resources in the area (and Boone and I have now lived in Seattle and Olympia, Washington; Massachusetts; and Michigan).  We are now training with the Southeast Michigan chapter of NAVHDA in Highland, Michigan.  In just a few training sessions, Boone has become steady to wing and shot.  We just need to get out there some more and spruce up his retrieve and we should be ready for Senior Hunter soon.  In any case, this should be a fun hunting season with him and his son, Garrett. 

Boone and I working on steadying him in the field in Massachusetts when he was four years old

Boone pointing at 5 years of age in Michigan

Here are the same pictures in black and white

Boone pointing at 6 years.  The first two pictures are of the same bird, the last two are two different birds.

Boone at seven years old at a hunting preserve in Meesick, Michigan running like the wind.

Boone pointing at seven years old at a pheasant farm in Heartland, Michigan.

These next two pictues were taken the same day in Heartland, Michigan.  Boone is on the left in the second picture and on the right in the third picture.  The other dog in the picture is Boone's son, Garrett, at age three.  Boone is backing Garrett's points in both pictures.  And, of course, that is Kyle in his hunting garb.

Pictures of Boone

Boone at four years old at Lake Chauncy in Massachusetts

Boone at 5 years running in the woods in Massachusetts

Boone the clown.  He loves to smile… yes, that’s a smile in the third and fourth picture.  In his full smile, he actually pulls his lips all the way up and back and shows you all of his teeth, but it’s hard to get a picture of it.  Boone is about 4 years old in all of these pictures.

Apparently, Boone has aspirations to be a sports star or maybe a monkey trainer.  Here is Boone with his soccer ball at age 4 and his monkey at age 5.

Boone is a phenomenal swimmer that rivals many retrievers.  He will even go in during winter up until the lake freezes!  His favorite retrieving toy is the Frisbee.  There is not a water retrieving test for Pointers, but Boone did pass an AKC Water Test (which was designed to test versatile dogs) at a German Wirehaired club hunt test.  In the second picture he is just swimming around for the fun of it with nothing to retrieve.

Boone at 5 years pretending he is a wolf

Occasionally, Boone sleeps.  There is a disproportionately large number of sleeping pictures simply because it is one of the only times he slows down long enough to get a picture.  He tries hard not to miss any fun though, so you can often see him head bobbing and his eyes squinting to try to stay awake as long as possible… this trait makes him a great copilot on road trips.  The first picture was taken at age 4, the second at age 5, and the rest at age 6.  Now 6 years old, he sleeps a bit more than he used to… in his earlier years he could hardly find the time to.