Hunter Puppy

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Hunter

A pen and ink of my old boy “Hunter.” He was the best hunting dog I ever had.

The photo I used for this drawing appeared in the post Forestry Friday … What A Difference A Decade Makes.

 

golden retriever, working dog, golden, retriever

Hunter’s motto was “It’s good to be Hunter!”

golden retriever puppy, golden puppy, puppy

It must have hurt to be that cute. He was always Hunter puppy to me, even when he was old. Makes me kind of misty.

Pen and ink prints available at Fine Art America.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/woods-dog-timothy-livingston.html

 

 

 

49 thoughts on “Hunter Puppy”

  4. Irresistible ! Lovely ink drawing of your Hunter Puppy Tim . I know what you mean about thinking of them in ‘puppy’ terms . Never with us long enough .
    Wishing you a happy new year 🙂

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    • We had a very nice holiday and I hope you and your family had a great one too Ilex! Doing the art of him definitely keeps him alive for me. It’s hard to describe how I feel when I do these pieces, but it’s a nice feeling.

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  15. Just as soon as I saw the first picture I was wondering if it were your aged dog. I was sad to find out it was true and that he had passed away. I am sorry for your loss. I know how difficult that is. My old boy, Princeton, passed away in March and he took a big chunk of my heart with him.

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    • He been gone for a few years now, but I have so many old pictures that are wonderful to use that my old dogs pop up now and then. Plus we’ve raised goldens for thirty years and have had many dogs. Whenever I do a piece of art of my old dogs it makes me a bit sad, but brings up a lot of good memories.

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      • Oh okay, I thought I remembered you writing about your older dog (which if you raise Goldens then you probably have). I just thought he (the one you were talking about in your post) had passed away. I agree, it is sad when we remember them and the joy they brought to us.

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  17. There is nothing like a good working dog to make you feel really good. This guy is really beautiful! Walks on water, hey??? Your photography is great, and so is your very sweet drawing. I lost my working dog partner/buddy in 2007 and haven’t had the heart to replace him to this day. Working up to it though 🙂
    –Laura

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    • Thank you Laura. I understand how you feel. They are unreplacable, which is why I never think of the new one as a replacement, only and extension of our family. That being said, it does take a while before I’m ready for my next puppy.
      I had Hunter’s daughter Blitz, but lost her last spring. I expect by this spring to have a new pup. My truck has been feeling pretty empty without a dog riding around with me. You should get a new one and then we could compare notes!

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      • Oh no, you lost his daughter too? That’s so sad. I did get a Lhasa Apso to keep me company, and she is quite a character. She has a great nose and I’m thinking of trying her out on footstep to footstep tracking. The problem is that Apsos are very intelligent and talented, but in general they are extremely independent and will do what suits them. She loves obedience training because it involves treats. I am seriously thinking of getting another GSD to train for search & rescue, which is one of the things I did with my Ivan. Working lines GSDs are a handful as pups though, and I don’t have the physical strength I had when training Ivan the Sweet. I would have to rely completely on motivational training, which might be a fun challenge for me, with the right pup. It’s no fun to be dogless…so I look forward to hearing about your new one! FrIends of mine who hunted with dogs always got their new pup when the old one was still alive and hunting, so the old one could train the new one. Have you ever done that?

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    • He was earnest indeed. I like to make the dogs sit and stay. Then I throw a stick for them. It gives them a very intense pose before I let them fetch. Our dogs tend to be well trained models for all the practice they get.

      The photo reference is a big deal to Mary and I. For that reason we take tons of pictures and archive them. I know some day we won’t be doing the same things or won’t be able to get around as much, so I want a huge archive of reference photos. Digital format make this so much easier.

      Did you ever find a new dog?

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      • Not yet. We were moving closer to contacting some breeders, but there is a possibility that our daughter’s cat may spend some time with us and it would not be a good mix. He is not very animal social and he would be more important now. Hopefully, things will be clearer this spring.

        I agree about the digital photos. I think I have more photos of our 7 weeks with Alex than the years of Brandy and Dakota.

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    • They are such wonderful companions with no shortage of personality! When I was a kid, we had a springer spaniel that would go after bullfrogs and pollywogs too. When she caught them she’d drop them on the bank and watch them wiggle with great fascination. If the pollywogs couldn’t wiggle back in, I’d have to throw them back.

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Let me know what you think!