I got a remarkable e-mail from a fellow who will remain nameless.  I'm going to share it with you so you may learn something without paying so dear a price.  The little underlined parts are links to my web site and blog entries.  I'll be selling him a pup from one of the upcoming litters.  He is trying to figure out which litter he'd like one from.

"Hi, I had emailed you last year about up and coming litters, but I guess I couldn't wait for a new pup and jumped into the first one I found locally. I fell for the banging of food bowls and wing on a string literally, so now I would like to avoid any more mistakes, because I ended up with a gun-shy dog and I had her properly gun trained.

"I have seen first hand what a typical white trash hunter did to a gun-shy pup and I was furious and swore that if I ever bought a hunting dog I would do it the right way....well I did it right. I sent her for 3 months of training and proper gun introduction, when I picked her up I saw her not even flinch at the sound of a gun.  But when hunting season came, it was a whole other ballgame, she freaked, so I guess I just had bad luck due to bad genetics (first dog mistake).

"My girl has beautiful markings and is very shy and very soft spoken, but she would rather be just a family dog and not my early morning riser buddy. So in that note, yes I'm searching for a new female hunting buddy. If you could give me an idea when your expecting a litter and when to give a deposit.....I'm ready, and have learned my lesson. "

What I suspect happened to the pup after talking with the fellow, is she hit a fear period.  The pup always had a soft temperament, and I don't think she found hunting really fun, and at some point she just mentally quit.  I saw the same thing happen with Winnie.  She went from being a precocious pup to a bold little girl, to a sensitive youngster, to gun sensitive, to gun-shy.  I can hunt with her sometimes, but she has a screw loose somewhere in her nervous system.

Now he owns a gun-shy pooch, with a family that is attached to her (and she does sound like a sweetheart).  Assuming she doesn't have a major medical issue, the dog will cost about $10,000 over her lifetime in:

• Food
• Routine Veterinary Care
• Consumable Supplies like Toys and Treats
• Durable Supplies (that do wear out) like Crates and Bowls
• Items destroyed or ruined by the dog

And to "Mr. Doe," thank you for sharing your story with me.  You seem like a great guy and I am looking forward to having you raise one of my pups.