Today was one of those… 😉 You can raise a dog as well as you can. Put him through the health schemes and get all good results from those. Take him as part of the family and adore him. Have some working test and training days that give you a flicker of hope. But till you sit him up on a few drives with live game falling, you don’t know the dog. Not as a trial/working dog. Anyway, Bondy was so very promising today, on the most wonderful shoot that I could ever have been asked on (thank you Gilly and Clive So much!), that I am bubbling over tonight. Five drives steady and quiet. Uncomplicated picking of partridge and duck. Handling fine. Hey!? Who am I to complain that it was raining!!! So the nominations go in for Nov/Dec & Jan and lets see. I know some will cringe that he is just 17 months old. Some will rejoice in it. But either way, darling, sweet Bondy had a wonderful day, even if reasonably lightly taxed as regards diffculty of retrieves went…. and I am THRILLED! Had to share!!! Roll on Saturday and a walked up training day. Unlike Fish might be less of his thing than a Driven…. but we shall see!