By David DiBenedetto

I’ll admit it, I’m a pooper scooper. (And, yes, I realize I’m setting myself up for jokes here.) But I don’t have the niceties of a close wooded lot or huge backyard to let Pritch do her business. More often than not, if we’re not training, Pritchard is dropping bombs on the sidewalks of downtown Charleston, and I’m bagging them. Though recently she’s decided that a mid-road crossing isn’t a bad place to let fly…which has made for some interesting traffic backups. Though I’m usually applauded for my clean-up work. (Thankfully there have been no more sock incidents.)

By David DiBenedetto

Without a doubt, one of the most useful commands (other than Here and Sit) that I have taught Pritchard is the Place command, which instructs her to sit exactly where I’d like her to. For instance, I use Place to get Pritchard to sit on a water stand in the swamp, on a seat on the boat, and on her dog bed. Even my wife finds the command extremely useful. (She’s quite proud of the way Pritch places on the scale at the vet’s office.)

By David DiBenedetto

While I was watching my Georgia Bulldogs get their butts handed to them by the South Carolina Gamecocks I started thinking about the canine mascots of college football. (Full disclosure: I graduated from the University of Vermont, but since UVM has no football team I’ve stuck with my native state’s Dawgs.)

By David DiBenedetto

In the midlands of South Carolina, deer season began September 1. And on opening day I sat in a stand in 89-degree weather while a small 6-point, a 4-point, and a spike ever so gently sparred in a field (the 4-point was still in velvet), and four does went about eating. I was sitting on a harvested cornfield. I didn’t pull the trigger, but it was a spectacular evening.

Still one of the more entertaining moments of the day happened before the hunt when I came down the stairs in my camo, and Pritch went bonkers. First she ran up and sniffed my legs like I was fire hydrant at a dog park. Then after a good whiff she started hopping around the living room as if the carpet had turned to hot coals, turning in tight circles with stubby tail working like mad. As I packed the truck she followed my every step. When it was time to leave she sat by the front gate whimpering as I pulled away. My wife tells me she positioned herself by the front door until I came home later that night.