Hank - my heartbreak boy

Hank is my Buddy. He climbs in my lap most every night for a nap and wiggles everywhere when we see each other. He's the sweetest guy ever. He's also a real handful in the field...

You see Hank can RUN and he has BIRD on his mind when we're out running a trial. Though he's gotten much much better at handling, he still thinks there's times when he knows best where the birds are - and he's right! The problem is that the course and judges want to go on a different direction at some point, and that's where Hank can have a problem.

He's had some really great runs, always to front, good finds, high style and tearing up the course - and has in my mind won a bonafide first at least three times. Yet, he keeps getting second, whether it be a judge's buddy's dog, a pro handler that also runs the trial, or just "flipping a coin", second place - it's getting old... especially when you're braced with the dog that was put up first and it's out of gas 5 minutes before time is called...

But then, that's the heartache for all field trialers at some point in time! All we can do is go home, train more and keep running. Eventually all those knocks on the door, it's gonna be our turn. And it will be all the sweeter when it is!