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56 | JANUARY 8, 2014
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OUT OF BOUNDS Rob Breeding
Get your Golf

Notes from the Border

Passes Early!

I
LIKE TO MIGRATE SOUTH FOR learn to trust her.
Christmas break. My usual excuse I was reminded of this the morning

for the 1,000-mile journey is quail. of New Year’s Eve. Papa Bill and I were
But I had an even more important mis- hunting with Doll in a birdy-looking
sion this year: retrieving my bird dog.
draw near the Mexican border. Doll got
I sent my young English setter Doll on scent, then backtracked with her nose
to Arizona for bird dog inishing school on the ground trying to ind a covey that
with a friend, The Dog Whisperer.
had grown wise to our pursuit. The birds
Our irst day back together in the lushed and Papa Bill dropped a pair. The

ield wasn’t really about hunting. In- irst bird hit the ground hard, while the
stead, it was a time for Doll to shift her second was wounded, but still obvious-
allegiance back to me. It was odd watch- ly alive. Doll pounced on the wounded
ing her bounce out of the truck right bird, and we turned our attention to the
over to me to get reacquainted, and then spot where we’d seen the irst bird hit the
spend the rest of the day following The ground, expecting to ind feathers and a
Dog Whisperer around like I wasn’t deadquail.
even there. I exaggerate a bit, but she We found neither, though we spent
2014 Season Golf Passes
was clearly someone else’s dog when I the better part of a half hour drag-
arrived in Arizona.
ging Doll back to the spot and insisting
NAME: ______________________________________ PHONE: _________________________ We didn’t move any birds, though the she search the ground for “dead.” She
hillsides north of Nogales were covered showed no interest.
PERMANENT ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________ with sign. That’s one way Mearns hunt- It’s always frustrating when you
ing is diferent from most upland birds: lose a bird, especially when your highly
CITY: _______________________________STATE: _________________ ZIP: ____________ you follow sign, almost like you’re track- prized, trained bird dog shows no inter-

E-MAIL ADDRESS: ____________________________________ for special offers!
ing big game. Mearns dig for a good por- est in the task. But toward the end of
tion of their diet, excavating the loose the day I dropped another bird just as it
ALL PRICES ARE PER PERSON
Through 3/14/14 After 3/14/14 soil under oak trees in search of oxalis crested a ridgeline. I marked where it fell
bulbs, which look like miniature pearl and moved to it, but didn’t immediately
_________ Unrestricted:
$650.00 $740.00 onions. The excavations are easily iden- see the quail. Doll got birdy, then trailed
(Unrestricted play; Tee times 3 days in advance)
tiiable, and when you see fresh diggings of. She then came back and trailed of
you can usually expect dogs on point to again, this time in the opposite direc-
_________ Twilight:
$490.00
$525.00
soon follow.
tion. She came back to the spot a third
(After 4:00 PM Daily)
_________ Junior Pass:
$295.00
For much of the day The Dog Whis- time, got hard scent and found the dead
perer’s focus was not Doll, but me. If bird in heavy grass.
(18 and under *Must be full-time student *Must present student ID *Limited to Space Available)
the dog has the right bloodlines and in- That evening as Bill and I talked
_________Cart Pass $540.00 stincts, the handler’s job is in large part about the lost bird and Doll’s seeming
to get out of the dog’s way and let its ob- lack of interest I told him how she’d han-
_________Range Pass $425.00 session with birds be your guide. You dled that last bird. I realized what she’d
don’t control a bird dog, but you can been trying to tell us in the morning was
_________Junior Range Pass
$250.00
destroy a good dog trying to control it.
(18 and under *Must be full-time student *Must present student ID *Limited to Space Available)
that that bird wasn’t dead at all. It al-
_________Family Pass #1 $825.00 Good handlers set boundaries, but don’t most certainly was a wounded bird that
(1 Adult, 1 Child) expect to dictate a dog’s every move.
hit the ground running. We just weren’t
_________Family Pass #2 (2 Person Family) $1,100.00 So it goes with young bird dogs, and prepared to listen.
Doll is no exception. Over the course The trick is to learn to read your
_________Family Pass #3 (3 Person Family including 1 child)
$1,300.00
of ive days of hunting she was at times dog, and have faith in what she’s trying
maddening, at times brilliant. What I to tell you. Listen, and you won’t waste
_________Family Pass #4 (4 Person Family including 2 children)
$1,475.00
learned is that I’ve got a smart young the better part of the morning searching
**Families with more than 2 children please contact pro shop for pricing **
_________Combination Pass #1 $1,400.00 setter, who, with proper boundaries, will a hillside where a bird used to be, when
(Golf, Cart, Range)
mature into a mighty ine bird dog. For you can instead help your dog igure out
_________Combination Pass #2 (Golf and Cart)
$1,050.00 me the challenge is to be patient, and
where it’s headed.

_________Combination Pass #3 (Golf and Range)
$975.00
**Combination Passes must be purchased by March 14, 2014**

TOTAL ENCLOSED: ____________
CASH _____ CHECK _____ CREDIT CARD _______________________________ Exp _________

Please complete this form in its entirety and return to:
Golf Northwest • P.O. Box 1257 • Bigfork, Montana 59911

Or call: 837-7373 or 751-1950 www.northernpinesgolfclub.com email: [email protected]

Call or go to

northernpinesgolfclub.com to

view all our pass information.

837-7373