26/07/2025
Saxo’s first whiff of Greywing Francolin at 2600m. I decided to run him for the first time in the mountains finally. He took some time to put it all together, which is very much understandable, but with the help of the team, we got him into some birds soon enough. It’s always special watching a young dog start putting the pieces together. It’s probably my favourite part of this whole journey that I find myself on.
Developing young dogs takes hours and hours afield, plenty of boot mileage, and probably most important of all, patience. Especially when you train exclusively on wild birds. But there is nothing better in my humble opinion. Nothing compares. The end result is worth every painstaking mile, every challenging trek, and all of the hours spent up in no man’s land. The way they become, you also find yourself becoming someone a bit different. You watch, you learn, you savour it all, and you marvel at how quickly their instincts kick in and allow the birds to do their thing. It never ceases to amaze me, even after doing this now with so many other dogs. Saxo is a special young boy, and I pray we have many more happy days in the mountains together, making memories side by side, and learning from one another. Although it’s safe to say, I learn more from them than they do from me.
Always chasing the horizon.